FNED502-BBC

Franchesca Ramsey and Paulo Freire both touch upon a very important point. It is important to walk the walk. Franchesca says that in fact, among her tips for being a good ally, the most important one is using “Ally” as a verb. It is pointless to say that you are going to help the marginalized if you don’t actually get up and try to make an impact. The same sentiment is expressed and demonstrated by the way Paulo led his life. He was committed to changing the status quo by pursuing a less dehumanizing, more humane world for all. According to him, educators play a huge role in this and they need to recognize their power as a source of political awareness.             As someone who grew up in a family where politics were not discussed, because “beggars cannot be choosers”, it has been a huge learning curve for me, particularly over the past few years with all of the attention received by our last president and constant t...

On my way to work every morning I listen to a radio show called the Breakfast Club on 94.5FM. Yesterday they had on a syndicated t.v. court Judge Faith Jenkins on their show. Typically this show is about the latest news in the entertainment business but I’ve grown to love how they always seem to ask the right questions of the people they invite on the show. While on the show they began to ask the judge questions about prosecutors, lack of resources for public defenders and the huge lack of representation for the “haves” vs. the “have-nots”. The judge quoted her college professor in asking “Would you rather be rich and guilty or poor and innocent”? The conversation went on about the moral dilemma of having to represent guilty people and about tax payers’ money being spent on years of incarceration for those people while simply waiting to stand trial and someone asked the judge, “Why even provide legal services for people who are blatantly guilty? Why not save the money?” T...

Link to Language Magazine Smart form the Start The Promise of Universal Design for Learning This article describes the difficulties encountered in education and learning when space and materials are not accessible for all students, including those with disabilities. Over the years, thanks to initiatives such as the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, the physical space of buildings and classrooms have gained more attention. A more universal design needed to be developed and found to be most cost effective if addressed at the onset of building plans, rather than as an afterthought. Universal design can also be applied to curricula, materials, and methods. As the development of better, faster technology continues to hit the market, materials and tools such as eBooks, with “read-out-loud”, translators, visual aids, provide for faster more challenging and effective differentiation. Traditional tools and methods are proving suboptimal for teaching in tod...