Slavery Lesson

AP reported today that a white middle school teacher in White Plains, NY, attempted to teach her class a lesson on slavery by binding the hands and feet of two black students and making them crawl under a table. Wow. Her ignorance of this sensitive and relevant issue is alarming and amazing at the same time. Alarming because she distressed the children in her class as a person in a position of trust--I can assure you, none of her students will forget that lesson. Amazing because even after going through elementary, middle, high school AND college, she somehow missed the seriousness of the white vs. black issue. Her crime, if you can call it that, is tantamount to burning my child's hand to teach him how someone might feel burned at the stake; or perhaps making my child stand naked in public to show them how the holocaust victims felt before they were tortured to death. What is going on with teachers? How can we allow uneducated individuals through our education system and place our precious children in their care? Can anything be done? One thought--is it so terrible to make those who will teach our babies 1) take a psychological test, and 2) take a cultural sensitivity test prior to receiving their teaching certificate? I think our little ones are worth it.

Palin's Wardrobe

The New York Times December 5, 2008 online edition has an article entitled, "McCain Campaign Spent $110,000 on Palin’s Stylists," which reviews the cost of Palin's campaign wardrobe, makeup, and hairstylist. I would love to know why this is so interesting. Is it because she is a woman? Clinton did not suffer this type of female-related scrutiny on her two very visible campaigns. More likely, it is because Palin is a political candidate who refuses to bend to the male-saturated political machine, which so obviously dictates that a woman is not as competent or intelligent if she presents herself as an attractive woman. Women are relatively new on the political front, and generally dress themselves in pants with short hair, little make-up, and little jewelry. However, the media has not scrutized men in terms of their campaign wardrobes, make-up, or hairstylists--which they do have, by the way. It is simply frustrating to see women as objects in this "civilized" and modern society, while men are judged by their accomplishments and qualifications.

Overview

This semester has flown. Perhaps more quickly for me than any previous school semester. I have enjoyed learning so much about the media. Although I was aware of certain biases on some level, I have come to appreciate how much the media does perpetuate society's biases in almost every facet of news and entertainment. Or, is it that they simply reflect them? That's the question, isn't it? How much is what they give us what we want, and how much is what we make?
I work at an airline that places family photos on the walls of every hallway. I love looking at the pictures of chubby babies, sweet families, and new pilots just getting their wings. I can no longer see them as innocent and independent of societal woes, because now I see the male "intelligent" pilot pointing out complicated aircraft to an admiring, and ignorant, female who crouches by his side. Why is it that after all these years, women still hold the title of stupid and beautiful? Are men so threatened by intelligent women? And why does the media still perpetuate this silliness?
More to ponder.

Offensive photo of McCain supporter

I am shocked and offended at the photograph I saw online of Sarah Palin's supporter "looking" through her legs. This photograph, while online since at least early October, remains linked to a current article. I cannot imagine what the photographer was thinking. From someone studying the media, as well as its effect on the public's perception of them, I am quite alarmed that this photo would have ended up on a Web site linked to a main page article--especially in this so-called modern age. It is evident that the message the photo is sending is that women are still sex objects, even in politics, and hardly worthy of a vice-presidential nomination. This photo is definitely one I will be referencing in my personal study of voter perception of female candidates.

Here is a link to an article about the offensive and sexist photograph:

http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/10/10/viewers-perspectives-widespread-palin-leg-photo/

Election

As the election winds up (or down), we can see history being made. I will be happy when it is over, if nothing else because I'm tired of all of the ads and tension between parties and (even) friends and co-workers. I have discovered that most people I speak with about the election have very strong views of the candidates; however, they get their information mostly from the news media, and do not look very deeply into the issues on their own time. This speaks volumes about this generation--dare I say "my" generation--those who were brought up by their television, those who were the first of the "latch-key" generation when scores of mothers went to work in the 70s. It is most interesting to see how behaviors pay off in time--years afterward. Perhaps it isn't all bad--after all, it is this generation most likely to vote for an African American, or for a woman--a choice many of our parents or grandparents were unwilling or unable to make.

My personal experience

This past week was one filled with stress, anxiety, and humiliation! Besides working for 8 hours per day at my internship, I attend class twice a week, and care for my three sons. The days I work and attend class I do not see my sons for about 30 hours.

This week I felt the sting of frustration as my youngest son began having trouble in school. I feel guilty working and going to class. I think perhaps he is misbehaving because I am away so much. On Monday I received a call from his caregiver stating that he'd called her son "bad" because he was black. How ironic is it that we studied this exact phrasing with children just a few days prior. My husband and I are very strict with them about bullying and racism because my husband experienced bullying in school first-hand, and knows how it can damage a child. I was horrified that my son said such a thing, and wondered how he picked it up. It made me wonder if the media had an effect on him, or (most likely) he heard it at school, since he doesn't watch a lot of TV.

My concerns about this are not only of how television affects my boys, but also how the outside world will affect them, even when I'm not around. My husband even mentioned home-schooling, but as a former home-schooled kid, I know that won't solve the issue--the media is all around us. The best way to handle this is to teach them from the beginning how to behave. I hope I'm right....I want to work and put my degree to good use, I just hope it is worth it in the end.