Savana Gill
Lesson eight was a very interesting lesson. This lesson was mainly about all the races and what our view on them was. This lesson also had a few activities that went along with it that were very informative to me.
Lesson 8
Lesson 8
•How would you define race? What does “race” mean to you?
I would define race as one of what a person looks like. I would also define race as where a person comes from. If a person looks a certain type of way, I probably define them to what I think their race is. Race doesn’t really mean anything me. I don’t have a problem with what race I am or other races. I just care that we all are one race: The human race.
•How many races do you think there are? What are they? How do you decide which race someone belongs to?
I think that there are 4 different types of races. I think that there are the Hispanics, Whites, African Americans and Native Americans. I would say that a person belongs to a race from how they look. If a person looks a type of way, I would categorize them to what race that I think that they belong to.
•Would you trade your skin color? How do you think your life would be different if you looked like someone of a different race?
Sometimes I do wish that I could change my skin color just to see how the other races live. I really don’t know how my life would be if I looked like a different race. If I was a different race my life could either be better or it could be worse.
•What stereotypes have you heard or seen about different racial groups?
One stereotype that I have heard is that all white people are racist. I know that that stereotype is not true because I am white and I am not racist. I have many black friends that I love to the moon and back. I would do anything for my black friends.
•Do you think people today should be held accountable for past discrimination? Why or why not?
I don’t not think that people today should be held accountable for past discrimination. I think this because it’s not our fault that the people back then discriminated. Although some people today still discriminate we should not continue to do it.
•Forty years ago, the Civil Rights Act declared that forced racial segregation was illegal. In light of this, why do you think some neighborhoods, schools and workplaces are still segregated?
I think that these place are still somewhat segregated because the way some people was raised. Some of the people may not have been raised around different races, so they do not want to be around them at work or where they live. If some people don’t like a certain race, they, most likely, will not want to be around certain races. And in other case’s people may just want to be around their own race and not another.
There are six (6) activities (listed below) you will need to do in the web resource. Answer these questions concerning the activities:
Activity 1 - Is Race for Real? - This activity requires you to explore 10 different factoids associated with race. And, you have the option of “going deeper” as well.
•Describe what you learned by completing this activity?
What I learned my completing this activity is that being a certain race has advantages than being a different race. Some things that one race can do, another race is not allowed to do. Racism is still very powerful to this day. We may not can understand how big that racism still a big problem.
Activity 2 - Sorting People - How easy is it to group people into “races” based on appearance? What about using individual traits? There are two parts to this activity.
•Describe your results when you tried to sort people based on their appearance?
When I sorted the people based on their appearance, I didn’t do very well. I got most of the answers wrong because that’s where I thought that they should be classified.
•Describe your results when you tried to sort people based on physical traits?
When I tried to sort the people based on their physical traits it was not the results that I thought they were going to be. It is hard to sort people based on their physical traits because you don’t really know about the person.
Activity 3 - The Race Timeline - Learn more about the history and evolution of the race concept.
•Describe what you learned by exploring this timeline?
What I learned from doing this lesson is that science also help to determine what race a person belongs to. Thomas Jefferson was the first prominent American to say that African Americans were innately inferior. This was probably very big during this time period. Evolution also had a big impact on history. When Darwin uncovers mechanisms, he changes the way that people look at where people come from. Evolution introduces the concept of competition against people. I also learned that race as not all ways been around. Greeks looked at people by culture and language rather than physical differences. In 1994, the page said that whites are more likely to be segregated than any other group. 86% of suburban whites still live in places with a Black population of less than 1%, is what the website page stated. This is just few of the stuff that the page says about the evolution of the race concept.
Activity 4 - Human Diversity - Take the diversity quiz or explore the ways we're similar to one another. Learn about ancestry, the geographic distribution of traits, and the history of human migration.
•How did you do on the quiz? Describe the results.
I didn’t do so great on the quiz. I got most of the questions wrongs. I thought that I knew the answer to the question but I second guessed myself most of the time.
•Regarding the “exploring diversity” activity, describe what you learned.
I learned that most of us has the same idea form what a person looks like is to where they come from. The world is very diverse. Populations blend together all throughout the world. The page also said that nose sizes and head sizes vary across the world. In different regions people have different size heads and nose shapes. I didn’t know that there was that much of a difference in the shapes of the head and the noses. It also states that the world is more diverse than we might expect it to be.
Activity 5 - Me, My Race, and I - View four slideshows examining different perspectives on race.
•Describe what you learned after viewing the four slideshows?
What learned after these slideshow, is that this county is mainly still racist and people want a change but they don’t know how to do it. Most of this country is white. Whites are the top and have more privileges in this country. What people don’t realize is that we are the ones who can make the change into stopping racism.
Activity 6 - Where Race Lives - No measure of racial inequality in the U.S. is more striking than a comparison of housing and wealth. See how this happened, compare the story of two families, and understand why inequality persists 40 years after the civil rights movement. View the “Tail of Two Families”.
•Explain what happened to Max and Byron?
Max grew up in a family that was practically worry free about any money problem. He had money that he could just spend on anything in the future. His parents could retire and wouldn’t have to worry about nothing. Byron, however, did not grow up like max did. Byron grew up in a family that had to work for their money. He didn’t have anybody to give him checks like max did. Byron had to buy his own house and has to help his parents pay their things.
•After completing all of these activities, do you believe the information on this web site is factual? Explain.
I do believe that the web site is factual. I believe this because of all the things that I have seen go on in my life time. Some of the stiff that was stated on the website I have never heard before but I believe all of it is true.
Summary:
I really enjoyed doing this lesson. Some of the things that were involved with this lesson had so much information that I did not know. This lesson was very informative to stuff that everybody should know. I would suggest that we learn more about this kind of stuff so that we can make sure we inform our students to what is happening.
Research Question:
What kind of things can we as teacher do to insure that race does not have an effect on students learning what they need to learn?
References:
http://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/cultural-diversity-at-school/
Research Analysis:
The research that I found is one that is pretty much well stated. Most of the stuff that it states needs to me done in the classrooms. We was teachers need to look into some of this stuff and make sure that it is to be done in the classrooms. One thing that part of my research stated was that in the classrooms, teachers should structure learning groups that are diverse. This will make sure that each student gets to know everything that they need to know for the activity. It will also help the students know more about diverse things that they may not have known before. Another thing that the website about my research states is that teachers should make activities that each student can participate in. This will let the other students in the group see that everybody has a different view on the activities.
Another part of my research is in a chapter of a book or article. In one part of the chapter, it says that teachers’ expectations have a great impact on the outcome of their students. Teachers may not realize the impact that they have on a student’s life after school. The article says that if teachers act as though they expect their students to be hard working they are more likely to become hard working people in their career. The actions and words that teachers use can also help motivate a student’s work or demotivate them. Teachers don’t know how much that they use favoritism. The teachers may not can tell that they are doing it but all of the students know pretty much who is the teacher’s favorite. Teachers could stop favoritism by making sure that each students has a chance to sit in the front and to sit in the back. They also can let each student get the chance to help them if they need it. If teachers do this they may can help each student in their academics.
Research Summary:
The research that I found was informative. It gave me some things that I need to think about when I become a teacher. Some of the things that I found should be used in the classrooms today. I believe that most of this will help increase the academic level in schools. Some teachers may not know that some of this stuff could change the way that a student learns. It could help the students and it probably could change the teachers.