Who knew that so many lions wanted to eat human babies..

Learning Gender

Here is a paper I just wrote for my Women's Studies Class....I havent really edited it. I just whipped it out this morning.

I thought and thought and thought about the moment I learned gender. That moment where I realized I was a girl and so had different expectations for life than if I were a boy. I thought about my childhood and growing up.  I thought about my first years at school. I thought about my friends; were they boys or were they girls? I thought about the activities I enjoyed when I was younger; were they girls’ activities or boys’ activities? I could not come up with anything. I drew a blank as to when I realized I was a girl and what that meant for my identity. I seriously considered creating a fictitious experience. Something striking and profound, yet still believable. BUT, I decided to use the truth. I still may not know what being female is supposed to mean.

            Growing up I would classify myself as a tomboy. You would be hard pressed to see me in anything other than my brother’s hand-me-down basketball shorts and an old t-shirt that once may have been a girl’s, but was now so dirty you’d think it was a boy’s. I didn’t have female friends in my neighborhood until I was about 10. There were a couple girls when I was really young, but they moved away early. I spent 75% of my time with my brother and his three neighborhood friends. I did (or watched) everything they did. Climbing fences, skateboarding, tennis, digging holes to China in the backyard, videogames, fireworks, fires and all other things that cause parents to claim, “boys will be boys”.

            I knew my brother did not like me hanging around all the time but never did it cross my mind that he didn’t want me there because I was a girl. I always knew he didn’t want me there because I was a whole 21 months younger than him. I was younger, smaller, less coordinated and less capable than he or his friends. Still, I attempted everything they did fearlessly, trying to earn my spot. I don’t believe I was acting like a boy. I was acting like myself. I was doing things that made me happy.

            When I finally did find a female friend my age we did all sorts of things that I would not assign to one gender or another. We rollerbladed, biked, swam, played Mario, dug to China, rode horses, played basketball in the driveway, made our own 11 year old business cards with stickers and markers, made those beaded lizards, and many other activities. I have never been big into playing with dolls or dress up. I enjoy doing arts & crafts (a stereotypical female activity – just look at Pinterest), sewing, and babies. I also love longboarding, playing sports, fishing, playing videogames and setting off fireworks. Until now I have not assigned these likes or dislikes to a male or female category. They have always just been me. I never learned gender I suppose. I learned Kylee. Whatever Kylee was or liked.

            I understand that I had a freedom to be like a boy, whereas boys do not have the freedom to be like girls. As it says in Women’s Voices, Feminist Visions, girls will proudly raise their hands when asked if they identified as tomboys in their youth. When asked if they were sissies in their youth, very few guys proudly raise their hand and claim that. (Shaw and Lee 105). I was able to participate in activities that I liked even if traditionally they were boys activities. I could l enjoy skateboarding and fireworks without criticism or mocking. If a young boy enjoys playing with dolls or doing arts & crafts, he gets beat up by others, called gay and weak. These things are girls’ activities and so they are less.

            While it is absolutely hilarious, If Men Could Menstruate by Gloria Steinem proves a point in the assigning of gender roles and expectations (Shaw and Lee 238). The point is that activities and things associated with men are more desirable, more prestigious, and more valuable. If men could menstruate, “menstruation would become an enviable, boast worthy, masculine event” (Shaw and Lee 238). If men suddenly all enjoyed knitting, instead of Super Bowl Sunday, there would be Knitting in November celebration with beer and chips. This proves the point that gender is what we make it. The things associated with each gender are ranked, but when reappropriated that ranking changes. This can be a positive change or a negative change. As it is put in The Social Construction of Gender, “wherever a task is done by women it is considered easy, and where it is done by men it is considered difficult” (Shaw and Lee 127). This includes menstruation.

            I think it a fascinating construction. I still cannot seem to grasp why we insist on places people and activities and identities into little boxes labeled “Men” & “Women”. It seems to me that these restrictions and assignments only limit our abilities to be 3-dimensional, fluid, and flexible. Why can’t a girl play baseball with the boys without enduring comments and criticism? Why do the boys on her team have to be told that a girl throws better than them to motivate them? I have been fortunate to learn Kylee and not gender, but I feel that I am one of very few.

This man may be the reason I pass summer school

If are a student, either formally in classes or just in life, LOOK UP

KHAN ACADEMY



He's great. I am so grateful to him. His Chemistry videos are AMAZAZING

Check out his other subjects. He knows his stuffssss

Google Hangout Father's Day Style

Meaningful words

Y'all better read this.

Slacking

I apologize to my readers...if they care...for not being on top of it.


Remember this?

Well I wasn't in summer school then so I thought all would be great.

NOW THAT I AM IN IT I AM DYING.

Golly...it is kicking my butt.

But Public Speaking ends this week and then Chem and PE go for another two weeks and my two online classes start BUT!


Somewhere in there I will remember that I have a life and get back to it.
Which may mean that I might post sommore things.



By the way, Cassie and I are on a Heroes kick right now. Not sure if its that good, but two seasons in and starting the third one this week, we are addicted.

Speech #4

Here is part (I lost the complete draft in the depths of the computers on campus) of my 4th speech.

General Purpose: To persuade

Specific Purpose: At the end of my speech, the audience will agree that school uniforms are better than free dress or dress codes for 3 reasons.

Central Idea/Proposition of value: School uniforms are better than free dress/dress codes

Organizational Pattern: Topical

Introduction: Mark Twain once said, “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.” Educators have long debated the rules and regulations around clothing and attire of students. Should they enforce a uniform code or let the students wear what they please? I wore a uniform from the time I was in school at age 4 to the time I graduated high school at age 17, with the exception of one year. Using my own personal knowledge and the opinions and experience of educators today I am going to tell you three reasons why school uniforms are better than free dress or dress codes.

Signpost: To begin we will look at the equalizing power of uniforms.

Main Point 1: Uniforms act as social equalizers (Eppinger 2009)

               I.     Uniforms level the playing field for lower socioeconomic status (Eppinger 2009, Boutelle 2008)

a.     It is a common argument in the uniform debate that schools should be a safe place without worry about differences in status whether socially, economically, etc. (Bodine 2003).

b.     "What if the uniforms disappeared tomorrow?" Gulden asks. Differences between "our needy kids and fairly well-to do kids might become magnified and polarize the campus," creating resentment and tension. "Life has enough hurdles for families and kids; I don't think one of them should be here at school. There's that stigma of 'my socioeconomic status.' Kids 5, 6, 7 years old shouldn't have to deal with that." (Boutelle 2008).

             II.     Uniforms lessen comparisons based on material goods and place more emphasis on academic abilities.

a.     Some believe that uniforms take away the students individuality since it is most obviously expressed in the clothing that is worn. This clothing usually sparks envy and competition because so and so is wearing name brand while this person is wearing Walmart or Target.

b.     The creativity that is “being stifled” can be more appropriately expressed “academically and artistically… Uniforms allow children the right to distinguish themselves by the deeds they’ve done, not the duds they wear.” (Boutelle 2009)

Signpost: Now that we have seen the equalizing effects of the uniform, we will turn to the effects on school performance.

Main Point 2: Uniforms improve the “school climate” (Eppinger 2009)

               I.     Students are often distracted more by what they wear/how they look than their studies (Eppinger 2009)

a.     Viewed as work clothing rather than play clothing (Eppinger 2009, Boutelle 2008, Yeung 2009)

b.     Distractions over immodest clothing reduced or eliminated (Boutelle 2008)

             II.     Tardies are reduced when students wear uniforms

a.     There is no stress over dressing in the mornings because your administrators have decided what you will wear everyday (Eppinger 2009)

b.     This reducing the time needed to dress in the morning and so students are less frequently late to their morning classes

Signpost: Remembering the equalizing power and the effects on performance that uniforms have, we will next move on to the influence on crime in schools.

Main Point 3: Uniforms reduce crime in schools.

               I.     Theft/violence over expensive clothing is reduced (Eppinger (2009)

a.     In his 1996 State of the Union Address, Bill Clinton challenged schools ''to teach character education, to teach good values and good citizenship. And if it means that teenagers will stop killing each other over designer jackets, then our public schools should be able to require their students to wear school uniforms." (Boutelle 2008)

             II.     Gang clothing/signs are eliminated (Eppinger 2009, Boutelle 2008)

a.     In inner city schools, much of the conflict, violence, and crime occur due to gang affiliations. Wearing the wrong color can get you into trouble in certain neighborhoods

b.     By implementing uniforms, these risks are reduced

Signpost: To close lets review the three reasons we discussed today.

Conclusion: The three reasons uniforms are better than free dress are: 1. Uniforms are social equalizers, 2. Uniforms improve the school climate, and 3. Uniforms decrease crime in schools. ______?

Public Speaking Speech

I have 4-5 minutes to inform my class about something.

Here is what I have decided:

The Curse of the Great Bambino

General Purpose: To Inform

Specific Purpose: At the end of my speech, the audience will be able to describe the 3 main facets of the history of the curse.

Central Idea: There are three main phases of time of the curse of the Great Bambino; when it began, the failed attempts at breaking it, and breaking it.

Organizational Pattern: Spatial

Intro: Duke Blue Devils and the North Carolina Tar Heels. Celtics and the Lakers. Real Madrid and Barcelona. Colorado State University and University of Wyoming. There are hundreds of sports rivalries, and each has its own unique history and significance. As sports fans we all know these rivalries make games worth watching. One of the most famous sports rivalries between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees began almost a century ago when Harry Frazee traded Babe Ruth to the Yankees and the curse began. I was in 6^th grade when the curse was broken. At that point I had been a baseball fan my whole life. I grew up watching baseball and loved it with a passion. My dad taught me how to be a Red Sox fan and his dad taught him how to be a Red Sox fan. Today, I will discuss three significant phases of the curse: when it began, the failed attempts at breaking it, and when the curse was broken.

Signpost: To begin, we will go back nearly a century to 1918.

Body:

1          In 1918 the Red Sox beat the Chicago Cubs to win the World Series (Waterman & Springer, 1999).

a.     Babe Ruth pitched 17 scoreless innings for the Red Sox that series  (Celebrate Boston)

b.     In 1919, the Red Sox manager sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees to pay off a debt on Fenway Park (NBCSports, 2004). This began the curse.

c.      After this, Red Sox did not win another World Series until 2004

d.     Yankees went on to win 26 World Series

Signpost: Now that we know when the curse began we will follow the Red Sox in their subsequent World Series appearances

                   The Red Sox made it to the World Series 4 times between 1918 and 2003

a.     They made it in ’46, ’67, ’75, and ’86 and each time something terrible happened and they lost (Celebrate Boston)

b.     Each time the curse was to blame. It could not be broken

c.      Red Sox were doomed by the curse to be a losing team

d.     Meanwhile, the Yankees became an empire that ruled Major League Baseball

Signpost: We now have seen the 4 failed attempts at breaking the curse. Lets move on to when they actually did break it.

3             In 2004 the Red Sox won the World Series

a.     The Red Sox came back from a 3 game deficit against the Yankees in the League Championship Series to make it to the World Series for the 5^th time since 1918

b.     The Red Sox beat the Cardinals in 4 World Series games and the curse was broken after 86 years

c.      Show Youtube Clip beginning at 2:44:16(MLBClassics, 2010)

Signpost: To wrap it up, lets review the three phases of the curse.

Conclusion: We have talked about when the curse began in 1919, how the Red Sox tried to overcome it in their World Series appearances and when they actually did break the curse in 2004 against the Cardinals. So next time you are watching a game between rivals you can think on and maybe dig into the history and significance of that rivalry. You might find out something like the history we discussed today.

Here is the whole 3 hours in case you've got nothing going on today