Sex Trafficking

     This past Thursday, I attended a seminar on Sex Trafficking and Children, hosted by Carol Simensky. She spoke about sex trafficking on an international level and how its definition is different than what people think it is. By law, it is the recruitment, harboring, transportation and holding of anyone or someone under the age of 18.

    One individual Simensky introduced us to was a woman she called Sara. She was forced to be a servant in a family friend’s household after she was brought to the U.S believing she could have a better life. She was isolated from the outside world and abused for four years before running away. She was 13 when this all began.

    Simensky claims that these types of things occur because people want to get to a better place, often economically better, which leads them to agree to things that they normally wouldn’t agree to. They are told they will be able to send money back home and get their family out of poverty, and any family that says ‘no’ are seen as a bad family for turning the offer down. If accepted, people/children will find themselves in an unknown place, threatened, not knowing where they are or anybody, or even the language. This occurs around the globe and does not have to cross borders.                                                       

           

     Simensky belongs to Ecpat USA, an organization dedicated to helping children, who are 18 and under, who were once victims of sex trafficking. Originally based in Thailand, Ecpat is currently in 75 countries, fighting to protect basic human rights.

     The presentation brought up several points that connect to readings we have discussed over the last few weeks. S.C.W.A.M.P, Johnson and McIntosh can all be grouped together under the 1^st connection. All three articles discuss white privilege, and how a person’s background, race, class etc. affects how they are treated. Sex trafficking you can say, is the lack of white privilege. It does not discriminate against gender, age, ethnicity, income or sexual orientation. Instead those involved, the pimps, look for the most vulnerable kids; abused, foster kids, low income etc. This will increase the chance to convince them to join their ranks in hope of a better life. In an interview a Pimp admits, in reference to a former girl, “she was raped so many times, we might as well pay her for it”. Pimps also focus on recruiting attractive people base on physique, youth and beauty to attract more clients and business. These pimps will play the part that the victims need, whether that is a father figure, first lover, or even just a friend. According to a survivor, they would be given something that they never had before, “like a dream come true”.

     The second connection I see is from Delpit’s article, Silenced Dialogue. In Delpit’s article, people, usually women are silenced because there is not much expected of them. Sex traffic victims, especially the women, are silenced by their pimps and their circumstances. They are cut off from their family and friends, silenced from their old life, and controlled by their pimp. A survivor, Katherine Owens, tells her story and talks about how pimps would treat girls so well that the girls would feel like the pimps were entitled to their services. Once the victims realized they were being used, regardless of the emotional attachment to them, the pimps would do whatever it took to keep the girls under their control. When Owens tried to leave, she not only had to escape her pimp, but also his dog that was set to attack her. The pimps would control their victims so much that they would take away their rights to make their own decisions and to control their own actions. They were even expected to turn all their earnings over to the pimps, taking away any financial freedom they might have had.

     The third connection I see between the readings and sex trafficking is through Kozol’s article and the impact of institutions on individuals. Until recently, most states allowed children as young as 10 to be arrested for prostitution. It is universally derived for these children to be considered bad and there is confusion if the child is entitled to protection or to keep them criminalized. By criminalizing them, it just confirms what the pimp said about them, (‘you’re a bad kid, no one else cares about you but me etc.). Sara, who I mentioned earlier, was warned to stay away from the police because they wouldn’t care about her and would send her back home, which led to her avoiding them when she ran away. A judge claimed there is no effective way to respond to these situations in a five-minute hearing, so it’s easy to send them to a detention center. Although it gets them off the streets for a while, it is only an illusion of a solution. The institution of law enforcement has either terrified victims or made it so they are treated no better than how the pimps treat them. Only 19 states has, as of recently, passed state laws to help trafficking victims.

      If you would need to report any knowledge of sex trafficking, call 888-3737-88. If you want to learn more about the issue or learn how to help, visit www.ecpatusa.com, www.witness.org, or www.ngocstip.com. 

In Service of What?

 

 

   In the Service of What?, readers learn about service-learning, schools and their relationship to one another. This link gives more background on Service Learning and how one can impact their community http://www.epa.gov/osw/education/pdfs/svclearn.pdf. When reading, three quotes stood out to me. The first quote is from Mr. Johnson, a teacher who gave his 12^th graders a service-learning project. He claimed, “By finding and engaging in community service activities…students would interact with those less fortunate than themselves and would experience the excitement and joy of learning while using community as a classroom”. I believe very strongly in this quote because I think the best means of education is firsthand experience. Sure you can donate money or items that those who are less fortunate need, but you won’t understand what they are going through unless you see it for yourself. By physically going out into the world and actually working with others, you can see the world through their eyes. This I feel makes your emotions towards them more real, more understanding, which can compel you to continue helping others.

       The second quote that stood out to me was, “much of the current discussion regarding service learning emphasizes charity, not change”. This quote really makes me think about how students are going about helping others. There is absolutely nothing wrong with volunteering, I encourage it and enjoy doing it myself. But is volunteering the best way to help others? Would it have more impact on others if we came up with actual plans and followed through with said plans to help others? For example, Habitat for Humanity is known for helping those in our community that are homeless and one method to help is by building homes for them. They not only have volunteers to help but they also have plans on how to help them. In this article, one classroom comes up with the planning process to help others but they don’t do any physical work towards helping. I think planning is only part of it, the same with physically volunteering. If you keep volunteering with no plan, where are you going with this volunteer work? What’s the goal of said volunteering?

       The last quote that piqued my interest was that “educators may miss important opportunities if they disconnect the act of service from a critical examination of the setting in which it occurs”. I like this quote because if one focuses so much on the setting, one can lose focus on why they are examining the setting. Examinations of the setting will help with the cause because you can understand the situation more. But if that’s all you focus on, you can forget why you are helping in the first place. You start thinking more with your head and not as much with your heart. Service Learning appeals to a person’s emotions and its not the same if you are emotionally disconnected from it.

     If you are interested in learning more about Habitat for Humanity, I highly encourage you to visit their website! http://www.habitat.org/

Disney: A Stereotypical Message

   

 

    Christensen talks about how books and elements of our childhood helped mold how we view society. She mentions Prince Charming as an example and how the fairytale stories set her up to believe that she needs Prince Charming to rescue her and will sweep her off her feet. Such stories have hidden messages to them that can warp children’s view on life and create stereotypes in their minds.

        I can personally say that I am in full agreement with Christensen’s theory. I’m 20 years old and I’m not afraid to say that I still love watching Disney movies. They remind me of the innocence of my childhood, when the biggest decision I had to make was what toy to play with, and they gave me the chance to dream. Regardless, it has shaded the reality of the situation; I’m not going to go flying on a magic carpet with the love of my life, fall in love and save a Prince from a curse, or turn into a human just to be with him. That’s not realistic. Love is complicated, sometimes messy, and always full of twists and turns. Disney however portrays it as simply black and white, you either love them or you don’t.

        Disney also portrays woman in specific ways, especially the classic films such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White. And I don’t just mean in the physical sense. All three films portray the protagonists as delicate females (tiny waist, tiny hands and feet, graceful etc). They must also however, be rescued by a man to get out of a difficult situation (servitude, sleeping curse or poisoned apple) with the result of riding (or dancing) into the sunset. And look at Ariel, when she gave up her voice, she had to rely on her beauty to entrance him. One of my piano students has never seen a Disney film because of this very reason. Her parents want her to know that she doesn’t need a man to make it in the world. She can be a strong, independent woman with her own goals in life besides getting married and having children.

        In terms of race, Disney has only started incorporating that aspect only within the last few years, starting with Tiana. My favorite version of Cinderella is in fact not a cartoon but a live action film from 1997. It is based off of the Roger and Hammerstein’s Cinderella and I enjoy it so much, not because of the music or the phenomenal cast, but rather the color of the cast. Cinderella is played by Brandy, a black woman, Whitney Houston played the fairy godmother, Whoopie Goldberg played the Prince’s mother and the Prince is of Asian descent! The film is not only crossing racial barriers but also ethnic barriers to create a wonderful musical.

         I love Disney films, or reading a romance novel, but they aren’t reality and they have actually clouded my view on love. Don’t get me wrong, I will continue to watch Disney movies but I can’t let them take charge of my views of the world. I want all the romance and roses that come with love (what girl doesn’t?) but I also realize that won’t always be the case. Disney, not to mention countless other forms of literature, stereotype women, gender and love, which ultimately can affect how a child views the world. These following links look into several Disney movies (including the ones I have mentioned) and how they portray women, race and culture.

http://newint.org/easier-english/Disney/diswomen.html

http://blogs.longwood.edu/genderrolesbroughttoyoubydisney/disneys-direct-effect-on-girls/

http://filmandmedia12.wikispaces.com/Gender+Roles+and+Stereotypes+Found+in+Disney+Films

https://bendergending.wordpress.com/2015/02/18/gender-stereotypes-in-disney-let-it-go-man/

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/04/01/disney-princes-princesses-slaves-stereotypes/

My question for you is this: Should all parents keep kids from watching such movies as Disney’s because of the stereotypes associated with them? Or can they be beneficial for children as well?

Equality For All!

 

     

   There is no real way to tell why someone can react negatively to homosexuality. I have often heard religion is the cause, but that isn’t always the case. Perhaps the biggest reason is due to the lack of knowledge people have about it. Just think about the 1960s and 1970s, when AIDS research started to become more prominent in the media. People were freaking out because they thought homosexuality was a disease and many people in the LGBTQ community were shunned and ignored by society in fear of turning others homosexual. Lack of knowledge and understanding has led to many issues in society and unfortunately that continues to be the case with homosexuality today. No Outsiders attempts to educate not only educators, but also parents, in how to approach the notion of homosexuality to students. Their website, which can be found at http://www.esrc.ac.uk/my-esrc/grants/RES-062-23-0095/read, explains the project in more details and includes full reports and summaries compiled by the research teams.

      Though You Should Know wrote an article about a school system that was planning on teaching homosexuality in sex education classes (http://www.tysknews.com/Depts/Educate/Homosexuality_in_Schools.htm). One quote really stood out, a parent, who said "I am furious and outraged that tax dollars are being spent to promote a lifestyle that if embraced will cut our son's life in half”. In the articles I have read, it often seems that the parents are the ones more concerned about their children learning about sex and homosexuality than the students are. (This could partly be due to the age group, seeing as some articles were concerning elementary students.) AVERT submitted an article (http://www.avert.org/gay-school.htm) that spoke about homosexuality in British school. The overall opinion for helping students become more aware and comfortable with it however seems to lie in simply educating the students who were homosexual in having safe sexual relationships. Why they aren’t trying to educate the entire student body is beyond me. A South Carolina college banned homosexuality after two profiles of out gay volleyball players was released to the public. (http://www.edgeboston.com/news/news//172641/sc_school_bans_homosexuality,_gay_athlete_speaks_out) The fact that a school thinks they can ban something like this is outrageous. Being a part of the LGBTQ community is not a lifestyle that one can choose. People are born this way and you can’t ask someone to try to change themselves.

       While it is nice to see that some people who support the LGBTQ community are trying to educate about homosexuality, it seems that not as much education is aimed towards society as a whole but rather those that are part of the LBGTQ community. On the other hand, there are people who refuse to accept the LBGTQ community and instead try to change it, make it ‘normal’, and make it conform to their beliefs.

       However there is a ray of hope for the future. Religious Tolerance has an article that suggest positive ways to discuss homosexuality in school (http://www.religioustolerance.org/homteach.htm) such as positions held by various religious groups in order to understand not only their positions on the matter but for students to better understand treatment the LGBTQ community can face from these groups. HaierUp on YouTube submitted a video in which being ‘Gay’ was the norm and being ‘Straight was not’. ***I highly suggest watching the video because it gives an interesting insight, putting you in the shoes of the treatment someone from the LGBTQ can face from society, especially at school (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnOJgDW0gPI). **** How does watching this video make you feel? Do you think you will treat someone from the LGBTQ community any differently now than you did before after watching the video?

       TheFineBros uploaded another video I highly suggest watching (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TJxnYgP6D8). In this video, children are shown videos that display same-sex couple and we get to see their reactions. Some children are initially shocked because they are not expecting it to be a couple that does not fit the usual “boy/girl” relationship, but they are able to quickly move past that and accept the couples and their actions. This specific video makes me excited for the future because more and more children are accepting of homosexuality and since children are our future, hopefully our future will be more tolerant of others.  

"Why Can't She Remember That?"

    Upon reading Meier’s article “Why Can’t She Remember That?” I was surprised to discover that children are a lot smarter than we give them credit for. It can even be argued that, even at such a young age, they are smart enough to know how to manipulate themselves into and out of different situations. For example, Meier tells us the story about little Marisa, who changed the tone of her voice to get out of trouble, or Lindsey, who quoted from a story her mother read to her in order to get what she wanted. I think adults often underestimate how intellectual children can be as children try to navigate their way through the world. While they do go to school to learn or have parents to teach them, children are attempting to understand their environment in a way different from adults. I can't help but wonder how we, as adults, can help children understand it a little better, if its even possible.

      

      Meier draws on language for her argument about children having different linguistic understandings based on different cultural experiences. Similar to other articles we have read, this article is teaching readers how they can engage all children, regardless of their background. One idea is to choose books that relate to the children’s lives. This same rule is very similar to an art education class I previously took in which I learned that its easier to reach children and get them involved in art if the teacher understands their background, where they come from and allow their environment to influence their art in some way, shape or form. Diversity Digest gives another article to help educators understand how they can engage multicultural classrooms, as well as Penn State,  (http://www.diversityweb.org/digest/f97/curriculum.html) (http://www.personal.psu.edu/scs15/idweb/multicultural.htm).

      

       

Silent Dialogue

      Lisa Delpit’s The Silent Dialogue discusses culture conflict in the classroom, concerning communication blocks between parties that believe they have the same aim. While reading this article, several statements Delpit wrote stood out to me.

      

      The first statement is “success in institutions – schools, workplaces, and so on – is predicted upon acquisition of the culture of those who are in power”. Delpit uses an example that middle-class children tend to do better than children who are not middle-class, simply because the culture of the school is based on that of the upper and middle-classes. The Guardian, a winner of the Pulitzer Prize, claims middle-class students do better because parents and schools put more effort into their education. Parents are more likely to push their child to do better, which can have an influence on the school’s effort. "The parents' background also increases the school's effort, which increases the school achievement. Why schools work harder where parents are from a more privileged background we do not know. It might be because middle-class parents are more vocal in demanding that the school work hard. Influencing parental effort is certainly something that is much easier than modifying their social background." (http://www.theguardian.com/education/2010/oct/29/middle-class-children-better-school) I firmly believe that students have the ability to push themselves to do their best, but they will ultimately be more successful if they have support from their school and family. I’m not saying students who are not in the middle-class don’t get support, but I can’t help but wonder how this support may or may not differ from the middle-class.

       Another statement that stood out to me was the suggestion that “each classroom incorporate strategies appropriate for all the children in its confines”. When teaching a class of 23 children, one needs to present information and knowledge to them in a way everyone can understand. This relates to my father, a former elementary music teacher. When teaching a new concept, he would present something to the students in three different ways, ensuring that everyone understood.

       A third statement that stood out was “to deny students their own expert knowledge is to disempower them”. Similar to the Lake reading, teachers need to accept the different experiences each student goes through. By doing so, teachers can even turn to the students to teach through their own knowledge. One never knows what a student can bring to the class until they are able to express their own culture.

       Teaching will never be an easy job, but as long as students are able to embrace where they come from and get support for it, then the job can be an experience unlike any other. 

White Privilege.......

McIntosh's "White Privilege" talks about how many white individuals who may come across as oppressive often do so unconsciously. From an early age, whites are “taught” not to recognize white privilege while at the same time benefitting from such a notion. McIntosh calls it an “invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools, and blank checks”. In listing areas McIntosh notices she is privileged in brings up points one probably does not think much about.

      Number 4 and 10 on McIntosh’s list mentions not having the fear of being followed or harassed while out in public or not having to worry so much about financial reliability. A friend of mine often jokes about not having good enough credit to buy a new car or asking who will walk him to his car from school in fear of being jumped. He’s 6’2” and could bench press me if he wanted to and yet he jokes about things like being jumped. Whether or not he is truly joking is unknown but it will definitely make me think twice about saying he’ll be fine because I really don’t know whether or not something like that could happen. I don’t have to worry about that as much and I haven’t faced situations of that nature because of my white privilege. BuzzFeed posted an article highlighting 17 Deplorable Acts of White Privilege. (http://www.buzzfeed.com/michaelblackmon/17-harrowing-examples-of-white-privilege-9hu9#.jq8K8GaNp)

      Something I can’t help but wonder after reading this article is if teaching white children about white privilege is beneficial for them or not. White privilege can be like a protective blanket for whites, blocking them from the harshness of the world. But is it worth hiding them from the truth about their privilege or should they be well aware from the beginning how and why they are/can be treated differently than someone who isn’t white. Its something, as a future educator, to think about.