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Diversity, Difference, and Disparity (Janks, 2010, Ch. 5) ("The…

- - - - "So refugees are just like us, except that they are not. They have nothing. At the very moment that unity is declared, fragmentation emerges. The emphasis on what refugees have lost, by the use of repetition and overlexicalisation, suggests that we are simply the sum of our possession (Janks 2010, Chp. 5) (Danny Bonitz) #
        
        "Divorced from history and geography, from socio-political and economic conditions, and from the ugly specifics of racial, ethnic and religious othering, the fact of refugees is presented simply as a state of affairs, with undefined causes and inevitable effects." (Janks 2010, 108) (Jake Winkelman)
        
        I feel also in our current political climate regarding immigrants and refugees, Katie's quote essentially dehumanizing refugees seems to embody expurgation of the other, or the construction of an enemy within that is evil which individuals need collectively to expel (Annie Choy)
      - One of the readings from our methods class discussed the ways in which it was important and productive to engage with students' misunderstandings about academic concepts in order to effectively provide counter-examples and promote new learning. I wonder if this idea can be applied to working through issues of racism, classism, and xenophobia in that acknowledging the realities of these societal forces is a necessary prerequisite to having substantive conversations about how to create changes in society. I often feel that schools attempt to create a somewhat false counter-narrative about a multicultural society that doesn't exist rather than recognizing reality and working with students to understand how our culture can shift. (Jake Winkelman)
- - - - I'm glad that Amy pulled out this quote about naturalisation, it is one of Thomspon's Modes of Operation of Ideology from Janks Chapter 3. Just like reification, naturalisation functions as part of a mode in which, "transitory states [are] presented as permanent, natural outside of time" (p. 40) (Lauren Nord)
        
        In the personal narrative example of "Christmas and the Pink Rabbit," the teacher, Mrs. B, was so deeply situated within the dominant British-Christian practices that she did not recognize her attitudes toward Christmas as a cultural practice but rather took it for granted as a norm. Her proximity to the experience made it hard to read against the situation. (Lauren Nord)
        
        I thought the personal example where Ms. B essentially tells the parent to "assimilate or brand your child as different" was incredibly powerful. If we do see a student making an effort to assimilate should we as teachers stop it? What is our role? (p. 101) (Annie Choy)
      - I also felt that Amy's quote could serve as an example of rationalization. (Annie Choy)
    - - Wait but, wouldn't not recognizing their divergence from the "norm" be ignoring the realities race and gender play in politics/every social sphere thus underselling the very real barriers to political ascension both Obama and Clinton faced? Ignoring or glazing over the fact Obama was the first African American president is what people who claimed to "not see race" did during the time of his election. I don't know that it is othering to talk about a candidate's race in a historical election. However, I agree there is a distinct lack of dialogue around the lack of diversity in all-white spaces of power until people of color enter the scene. Then, their race is the only one talked about. (Lauren Nord)
        
        "telling members of a marginalized group that their identity is irrelevant" I feel this twitter debate on the sexuality of Bert and Ernie of Sesame Street illustrates my point. I wouldn't want to downplay the importance of someone of a marginalized group making a "first" achievement in the public sphere. (Lauren Nord)
- - - - "It is clear that the more languages one speaks the more speech communities one has access to...without acquiring secondary discourse we remain locked into our local communities. While speakers of a dominant world language such as English, a language with a great deal of linguistic capital, are able to move beyond the confines of the local, monolingualism limits their perspectives" (Janks 2010, 121).
        The lack of value placed on multilingualism and linguistic diversity has and is creating a world in which the dominant culture and language is normalized and "local" everywhere. Colonialism through language!! (Liz Vaughn) #
        
        “That languages have no inherent linguistic inferiority or superiority does not mean that they enjoy social equality. What counts as acceptable language in different social contexts is tied to the construction of… a ‘linguistic market’” (Janks 2010, 115)
        Even when multilingualism is taught, there are still some languages that have more linguistic capital than others - teaching languages gives students access to more cultures and groups, but which cultures and groups does society/education value gaining access to? (Annie Corkery)
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    - - In describing Delpit, "she sees the value of children's community language in relation to identity , self-worth, standing in the community and enculturation as indisputable, while simultaneously being able to recognise the importance of English for access to the wider society" (Janks, 2010, p.121). I really liked that Janks connected the importance of access to Delpit's ideas. The readings we did over the summer about warm demanders really resonated with me and I think the balance of students' encouraged use of home language in the classroom while accessing dominant discourses is vital. (Elizabeth Lewis)
    - - English-only instruction is a decision made based on "power without diversity," which did not recognize and respect the "difference and diversity" of the U.S. society (Janks, 2010, p.102)