hlipkin
Joined: 15 Oct 2009
Posts: 39
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 Posted: Tue Dec 15, 2009 5:47 am Post subject: hw due 12/15 |
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I really enjoyed this reading because I learned a lot about Rosa Parks and MLK Jr that I hadn't learned in previous studies of them. We had talked about the limited information and the limited story that most people know about the Civil Rights Movement. This reading enforced our concern that children weren't receiving a proper explanation as to what the movement was, as we can testify because we learned about it not too long ago.
I agree with the teacher whose class acted out the play in some ways. Certain events are too graphic and hard to understand in elementary school. Certainly I wouldn't have been able to fully understand what racial unjustice was in 4th grade unless it was explained. I do, however, think that if the story is going to be told, it must be accurate. Certain details can be left out (beating of blacks, etc) but the overall facts must be there. It is important, in my opinion, for students to learn the background of Rosa Park's hometown so that it doesn't make her sound crazy, as Kohl pointed out throughout the article. I, too, imagined Rosa Parks as a "poor, single parents with lots of children, and an unskilled worker" (pg 115).
One thing that really caught my attention was on page 114 when Kohl talks about the play (again) and his talk with the teacher. "The teacher agreed that the play took some liberties with history but said that since his class was interracial it was better for all of the children to do the play as an integrated struggle. Otherwise, he said, the play might lead to racial strife in the classroom" (114)
hmm... so is he saying that he would have put together a more accurate, offensive play if there were no African Americans in his class? It doesn't seem fair for certain children to hear the background story and others not to just to avoid a discussion. That, although it seems to be attempting to protect the feelings of the students, seems unfair.
I was wondering when this article was written and when Kohl had the discussion with the teacher (just as an idea of how long ago this was)
I thought that the passage from the textbook on page 118 was shocking, as it seemed to hold a clear bias (even moreso than in other textbooks).
I also had never heard of half of the people that Kohl mentions which goes to show how isolated Rosa Parks and MLK Jr have been from the history of other members of their communities.
Lastly, I was thinking back to my experience in middle school and elementary school. I remember that everyone used to always fight over the back of the bus. All of the cool kids (who were really mean!) got to sit in the back, and there was always a big fight over who had to sit in the front. How do you think this relates to Rosa Parks, if at all? Was that the same situation for you, too?
and a final question: do you think that African Americans today feel empowered when they sit in the front of the bus, as they once were not allowed to? |
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