Chalk Me!

One of the books I chose for this activity is called: The Skin You Live In. Written by: Michael Tyler. This book is about children who are different skin colors, and that Is ok. It is an important message of social acceptance of young children, friendship, and self esteem. The book has rhythm and the pages are very colorful. I felt this book was appropriate because it is important for children to be comfortable with their skin color, and who they are.

            Another book I chose is called: Little Blue, Little Yellow. By Leo Lionni. This is the story of two best friends: little blue and little yellow. They go to school and play everyday until one day they can't find each other. Finally, they reunite and the two friends hug until little blue and little yellow both become little greens! They go home and are rejected by their parents who do not recognize their own children! Not wanted in their own homes little blue and little yellow meet again and cry. Their tears change little blue and little yellow back to their original colors. Little blue speeds off to explain everything to his parents who are so overjoyed that they go running across the street to tell little yellow's parents. Then their parents end up hugging until they themselves turn green.

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Show This is appropriate because it is important for children to know early about the color of their skin, and other people’s skin color, so they don’t grow up being curious, or making fun of others.

It’s Me! The theme is the children’s bodies, and class. To recognize and celebrate one’s own physical features, and beauty, experience dignity and pride. You need small unbreakable mirrors, skin color paints, markers, or crayons, construction or drawing paper. Invite children to look at themselves in the mirror, help them notice and name their physical features, for instance, “your hair is brown, curly, and short. Your eyes are brown and round” encourage children to draw or paint a self portrait; encourage them to continually refer back to their mirrors if they forget what their face looks like. Ask each child to share his or her pictures at group time. Using larger unbreakable mirrors, invite children to draw their face on the mirror.

Self-Portrait

Bodies, our class, recognize and celebrate ones own physical features, recognize ones own beauty, experience dignity and pride. Photograph of each child, a color enlargement of each photo, a plexiglass easel or clear acetate, skin color paints, a variety of other colors of paint, paint brushes, smocks. Take a picture of each child’s face. Enlarge the photograph on a color copy machine. Lay it on the table and put a piece of clear acetate over it, or tape it to the back of a clear plexiglass easel. Invite mirrors. Encourage the child to compare and contrast their face in the mirror with the photograph and their self portrait.

Draw me/Draw you

I’m me and I’m special, friends, alike and different, five senses. Appreciate the beauty and value of others. Appreciate the physical characteristics of others. Experience positive, respectful interactions with people who are different. Drawing paper, felt tip pens, crayons. Have the children find a partner and ask them to sit across from one another at the table. Encourage the children to draw a picture of their partners face. Ask them to look at their partner. Then ask “what color is his skin? What color are her eyes? Does he have freckles? What color is her hair? How long is his hair? Is her hair straight or curly?” the drawing probably wont look like the partner. That’s all right. Looking at the features of another person is the important part. Ask the children to exchange the drawings when they are done. 1. Have the children describe themselves to each other before they begin drawing. 2. Have the children share their drawings with the class at group time. 3. Play a guessing game during group time. Have the children look at the drawing and guess who it is.


I chose an activity that I titled “Chalk Me”. For this you need chalk, kids, and sidewalk! Having a bunch of color chalk, asking the children to grab the color chalk they think their skin color is. The child hands that color to their partner and the other child lays on the ground, while the child with the chalk begins to trace the child laying down. I felt this would be a good idea for children, because they are choosing the color they think their skin color is. On page 42 (York) states “children as young as six months notice skin color.” This activity is appropriate for preschool children through age 6. On page 43 in the text York states “children of color learn racial labels and use racial labels after they classify alike and different. By age 5 or 6 children of color can correctly identify their own race.”

            When I asked a child to pick their color of skin from chalk, he grabbed the white one. I asked why he grabbed the while one and he said “because I’m white”. It made me think on the video we watched in class a while back about how children will just chose brown, or black or white, instead of peach, or Carmel. I found it very interesting that I had that experience myself.

Happy Feet

                                                           

                                                            Happy Feet

The film I decided to review on is Happy Feet. The film originated in November of 2006. The first time I watched the video I didn’t think anything of their being stereotypes or racism throughout the movie, but having to do a report on stereotypes and racism, I paid a lot more attention to the film, and noticed that the opening song “kiss” by Price, was not very child appropriate. Another thing that caught my attention in the film was when Mumble was born, and his feet were dancing all over the place and said his feet are happy also, his dad didn’t want to accept him for dancing. His dad said “it’s just not penguin”. The way I interpreted that was a stereotype, of being gay. He wasn’t accepted for who he was as an individual, and was supposed to be like all the other penguins, by having the ability to sing. His parents were embarrassed by him, and wished he could sing like all the other penguins. Another part of the movie that caught my attention was Loveless saying to the girl penguins “don’t be a snooty booty” when one of the girl penguins said “not tonight”.  I thought that interpretation was taken as don’t be such a prude, just do it for me, which can be a stereotype toward men, because all guys are pigs, and all they want is sex.

            When children are watching this film they might be absorbing to take in bad habits from the penguin Loveless, because he is always thinking he is the best, and should be worshiped and when penguins do not do has he says he says “go forth and multiply” which is another way of saying go away and do something else. Children can take that in and think it is ok to boss other people around.  In the end of the film it can show kids that being different is okay, because everyone danced with Mumble. It shows that kids should stick to what they believe in because Mumble never gave up dancing, and all the other penguins sang, and never danced. I never watched this film as a child because it did not come out until 2006, but the year it came out, I did watch it. I never thought anything of the movie having anything fowl until now, and know that children are watching this.

According to commonsense.com, Christians were attacked throughout this film, from portraying the penguin "elders" as condemning religious leaders who quoted bible verses and a "televangelist"-like leader who blasphemed Scripture, speaking of "Going forth and multiplying", then taking several female penguins out of sight to "have pleasure" on his couch, asking, "who will be first?". Mumble, the main character, decides to find out who the "aliens" are and ask them to stop taking the penguins' food supply, fish. The "aliens", who are clearly defined as human beings, are portrayed as evil, uncaring, scary, palliative and destructive. As Mumble crests a hill looking for signs of "alien" life, the first structure that is shown is a church. Sexual innuendo is all over this movie, as male penguins frequently try to "get laid" and sing offensive secular songs that I don't let my children listen to, such as, Salt 'n Peppa's "Let's talk about sex baby" as well as Prince's "Kiss" and others. Mumble's parents are basically Marilyn Monroe and Elvis personified, and very "sexual" in their speaking and body movements. Mumble's penguin friends are very sexual when speaking about getting female penguins, at times thrusting their pelvises when speaking about how "hot" and desirable they are.

Comparing what commonsense.com and I had both said, there is a lot of agreement in the video that was discussed. I think it’s not very age appropriate for children who are under 12. However, the younger kids (ages 2-5) may not even understand how to interpret the movie other than it being a childrens movie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjhvWf7OeEE

                                                                                                                                                           

One Of Us

Are characters "outside the mainstream culture" depicted as individuals or as caricatures? They are being looked at as a group of people instead of individuality, and what they look like instead of their personalities.

Does their representation include significant specific cultural information? Or does it follow stereotypes? It follows stereotypes, student’s who have their hair put up, and have different lunchboxes, wear different kind of shoes, etc, are to sit at a different table during lunch, then the kids who are wearing cowboy boots, have their hair down.

Who has the power in this story? What is the nature of their power, and how do they use it? A girl named Katie, seems to have the power in the story. She tells Roberta, who is the girl who was late to school, that she is not allowed to play on the monkey bars she has to hang out there and sit and chat with Katie’s group of friends, and that she isn’t allowed to hang out with her at lunch because she is different from them.

Who has wisdom? What is the nature of their wisdom, and how do they use it?

Nobody in particular has the wisdom, all the students thought they knew it, but they all had their own independence.

How is language used to create images of people of a particular group? How are artistic elements used to create those images? Language is used by stereotypes. Pictures are used from showing different items of what children have, and the language is used by saying if you have cowboys boots for example, you are in a different group, then the kids who wear running shoes.

Who has written this story? Who has illustrated it? Are they inside or outside the groups they are presenting? What are they in a position to know? What do they claim to know? Peggy Moss wrote the story, Penny Weber illustrated the book. They are presenting that “you are one of us” it doesn’t matter what color hair you have, what color eyes, or shoes, that people shouldn’t judge on the way that somebody looks, and should be friends with everyone just because they look different.

Whose voices are heard? Whose are missing? The students voices were heard the most, and so was the principle of the school. There wasn’t any parent interaction, or teachers involved.

What does this narrative and these pictures say about race? Class? Culture? Gender? Age? Resistance to the status quote? There were all kind of different races in the book, not just one specific race or gender. The ages of the children were probably around second grade.

Analyze the illustrations for stereotypes.  What are people doing that may create or perpetuate a stereotype?
They had different images of what they should and shouldn’t do. What they should and shouldn’t wear, and who was who, and you should follow this group or that group.
Analyze the storyline.  How are problems presented and resolved? At the end of the story it is resolved by children who are not in a specific group that it’s ok to sit with them because nobody is different, and it didn’t matter what you wore or what you were dressed as.

Would you recommend this book?  Why or why not? I would recommend this book to parents and teacher to read to their children/students because it’s important for kids to know early in age that kids should all be able to get along.

About me

My name is Chanel, and I just turned 21 years old. As far as my name given to me there is no background of it. My mom loved the name, my parents agreed upon it, and then after they named me, they heard there was a perfume and blanket called Chanel.My first and only language I know is, English. I was born in Clovis, California, just outside Fresno. I grew up all over the central and northern parts of California, mostly the mountains, and then reside in granite bay when I was in the sixth grade and have lived in the Sacramento area since then. Currently, I live in Newcastle, just past loomis and right before auburn, I love the country atmosphere. I am white, and have German and Irish in my blood. My mother is Irish and my dad is German. I don't know much more about that, other than I know I have it. The most important thing to me is family and friends. I had a rough senior year of high school as far as friends went, but I've also had some tragic memories with family. My older brother and I have always been close, so he is one who knows more about me than anybody. I think the most important thing for teachers to provide to children is trust, and compainship. If a child can trust the teacher, then kids build their self esteem, and more likely for kids to build confidence. I would define myself as nice, quiet, and caring. I definitely have a soft spot, and have been taken advantage a lot. I have two brothers, one who is older and one younger. I have my mom and step dad. I also have a family who I am not blood related to that have taken care of me as well, so I have a brother and sister from that family as well is what I like to call it. I don't have Ny kids of my own, but I would love to in the future, just not anytime in the nest five years! I live on my own with several roommates and three small kids in the house. I am a nanny so I do currently work with kids, who are ages 14 month twin boys. Learning about culture and diversity, sounds exciting. With the world the way it is, it would be nice to know more about other cultures, and not be so judgmental of those who are different. On my free time, I love going on road trips, especially to the beach. I love the water. I think my favorite place would be monterey, because its relaxing and calm. I love watching movies. I'm not much of a shopper, I don't like spending money on myself. I do enjoy listening to music as I was in choir in high school, and love taking pictures. I was in yearbook in high school, and this term I'm actually taking a photography class.