Today in class we discussed Ebonics or Black English.  Initially, I thought that Ebonics was slang speech that was influenced by Hip Hop music, but it is a language that many Black people see as common.  I always felt that teachers should correct students when they hear their students speaking in Ebonics because I felt Ebonics will hinder an individual when he or she has to go into the real world.  After our discussion I felt differently about Ebonics.  If we as teachers embrace it an also explain to students that Standard English should be used in the classroom we will be able to empower the students.  I believe this is empowering because the student will feel that they speak two languages, so I think that teachers should learn how to understand Ebonics as well as teach their students Standard English.

Today our class took a trip to the Martin Luther King Center and I really enjoyed the experience.  I have not been to the MLK Center since I was a young child, so I did not remember much about it.  While walking there from campus I noticed the difference on Auburn Ave in comparison to the way it was years ago.  We watched a video today on gentrification and Auburn Ave was mentioned in the video.  Auburn Avenue was a prosperous community where blacks lived years ago.  Walking down Auburn Avenue on today saddened me because it is not as lively and prosperous as it was many years ago.  The street looks very unkempt and dead, but the experience and the King Center was great.  What really got my attention were the children who participated in the movement.  A child had to be really brave to know the terrible possibilities of participating in the movement.  The sad thing is, many children were killed during the movement.  I ask myself what kind of person can kill a child.  Things were really bad during that time.  I think everyone should take a trip to the King Center at some point of their life to realize the social injustices that occurred during those times.  Social injustice still occurs today and we should take a stand when we witness it.   Hopefully, this trip will have a positive effect on us when we become educators.

Today, we discussed the systems that are in place that causes the wealth in the United States to be distributed unevenly.  Basically only 20% of the population controls about 90% of the wealth in this country.  This causes the remaining 80% of us to fight amongst one another for a piece of the pie.  This also causes immoral behavior by many just to survive.  Growing up we were taught that Socialism was bad because it was almost like Communism, the system that the Soviet Union practiced.  In school, there was a negative connotation towards the Soviet Union because they did not practice Capitalism, but in the Soviet Union no one had much more than anyone else.  Capitalism is system designed to keep the wealthy wealthy and the poor poor.  I always felt “Capitalism” is a nice sounding word for GREED.   If the United States’ wealth was distributed evenly,  what will happen to the crime rate in this country?  It will probably decrease by significant numbers, but the powers that be do not care about the crime rate because it does not affect them.  Also it will take much money out of their pockets.  So what can we do as regular working people to change the system so we all can benefit?  Because the children we will be teaching will continue to suffer by the system that is currently in place.  There is no simple solution.

Today, we watch a video that switched the roles of race relations in today’s society.    I found it to be very real because it demonstrated the harsh reality of being Black in a society that is  dominated by Whites.  The teacher in this video held a two hour program that put a group of Whites in very uncomfortable situations they were not use to,  to prove a point.  The point was to help them realize that people of color, especially blacks have to deal with what they went through for a lifetime.  The video was very blunt, but I believe that is what we need as a society to make changes.  I believe everyone in the United States needs to see this video.  I know doing this will not change every-one’s attitude, but I believe it is a start at improving race relations in this country.  I think by not tackling this issue head on, will cause the same ways of thinking to continue in this country.

We just arrived back from our retreat from the Serenbe Inn.  Initially when I arrived, I thought “this is not what a visualized”.  I visualized something that was similar to a modern day resort, but it was still a nice get away.  While on this retreat I was able to get to know more of my classmates and realized that they are good natured people who really want to make a difference in our children’s lives.  Today we discussed “The Ethnic Myth” and their was a shocking response to many people after reading this because it explained history in a totally different way than what we were taught in school.  We also discussed the conflict of teaching the true history in school versus continuing to teach what is currently taught.  The resolution will not be a simple one. 

Today in class we talked about different aspects of being an educator.  I came to a conclusion that our class is very passionate about education due to the conversation we had with one another.  As a class we are very realistic about the challenges we could face while being an educator.  I believe there is a great need for people who want to teach and I feel confident that the individuals in my class fit the description.  Today, an individual does not have to go through an education program to be in the classroom, so this masters program is not necessary to be a teacher.  This tells me that the people in my class are in this program because they want to be good at what they do, so I feel safe that the students in this class will be included when mentioning the number of qualified teachers.

Deep down in my heart I knew I should have been an educator, but trying to chase monetary reward I ignored the purpose for my life.  As an undergraduate my major was finance.  I chose this major because I was good at math, wanted to make lots of money and did not want to teach.  I always heard growing up that teachers did not make a lot of money, so I refused to major in education.  Once I graduated I had the toughest time finding a job and once I found one it was not what I wanted.  The pay was less than I felt I should be making as a college graduate and the hours sucked.  This was a very miserable part of my life and I also became very bitter.  While at that job I still ignored the purpose God had for me, so I looked for another job.  I few years later I got another job, still this job had nothing to do with my major, so again I was unfullfilled.  Everyone around always suggested that I should go into education because I am good with kids and I have a strong belief in education.  Still I ignored the signs.  But one day I asked myself ”what am I passionate about.”  The answer was working with children and giving back to the less fortunate.  So I decided to change careers because I believed teaching was my purpose in life.  I believe that everyone has a something that they are good at and passionate about.  If we focus on that rather than focus on what will make us money, we will have much more fullfillment out of life and this world will be a better place.  So I suggest to everyone out there, chase your purpose in life rather than money.

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