Christensen Blog Post

Linda Christensen's, "Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us"

QUOTES:

1. "When we read children's books, we aren't just reading cute little stories, we are discovering the tools with which a young society is manipulated" (126)

• One of Linda Christensen's students had written this quote after studying children's literature and films. It means that children's books are much more than just a story for a child's enjoyment, and that the stories young children read really change the way that they think about things for the rest of their lives. It's relevant to the text because the entire article is about how young children are influenced by the television, different stories, and things that they hear from other people.

2. "For some the lesson doesn't end in the classroom. Many who watched cartoons before we start our study say they can no longer enjoy them. Now instead of seeing a bunch of ducks in clothes, they see the racism, sexism, and violence that swim under the surface of the stories."(134)

• This means that because of Linda Christensen's teachings, her students have learned something. They have received enlightenment, and are no longer capable of being brainwashed by the different underlying messages in the shows. Her students, and others that receive the same information now see cartoons aren't all good, and that a lot of them actually portray some really negative messages. Maybe if people stopped watching the shows, they would eventually be taken off the air.

 

3. "Most students wrote artides for local and national newspapers or magazines. Some published in neighborhood papers, some in church newsletters."(137)

• Christensen's student's studied many different cartoons, and had felt very strongly about the messages that they were portraying to younger children. Many of them had written articles explaining the hidden messages in different well-known cartoons, with intentions of creating awareness of the manipulation. This is relevant to the article because people are taking action against the racist and prejudice messages being displayed in children's cartoons and movies. This not only enlightens parents on the different messages portrayed in cartoons that their children are watching, but also can give older people an idea of where some of their insecurities and perspectives could be coming from.

The article included above is a little explicit and very blunt, but I believe it holds some truth and is relevant to tonight's article.
 

Talking Points #3: Safe Spaces

Reflection:

Tonight, the article "Safe Spaces: Making Schools and Communities Welcoming to LGBT Youth" by Annemarie Vaccaro, Gerri August, and Megan S. Kennedy really made me realize that the high school, and especially the middle school that I attended did an awful job at discussing anything to do with the LGBT lifestyle. Much like Maria's Spanish professor, both my middle school and college Spanish teachers and professors have all refused to acknowledge the fact that homosexuality even exists. Whenever relationships were discussed, it was always between a man and a woman. LGBT historical figures were ignored and unacknowledged. It was, however, alright to discuss heterosexual historical figures who had had several affairs throughout their lifetime. Things like that are mentioned, but LGBT individuals aren't talked about. After reading the article, I did some research on the Stonewall riots (yes, I had to research them--because they were never once mentioned in any of my History courses). I had no idea that these riots had even taken place, and yet they had such a huge impact on the gay rights movement in the United States! That's crazy to me. I knew that the Gay Pride celebrations were every summer, but I didn't know that they were at the end of June to celebrate the anniversary of the Stonewall riots. Needless to say, "Safe Spaces" brought an undiscussed topic to light. I someday hope to be a Kindergarten teacher, and after reading the story of teacher Zeke Lerner on page 89, I've realized that it's important to integrate different family lifestyles into the communication and curriculum in the classroom- even when the children are young. Children should be accepting and aware of everyone, and they should know that it is okay.

Upon researching, I found this to be very interesting.