Some things I understand: In this piece I think the message the author is trying to portray is that the ideologies and stereotypes that many of us as adults have instilled in us happens at a very early age, around kindergarten age, or sometimes earlier. And this is because many of the cartoons and movies and even books, for example, portray the "pretty, blond skinny white girl" to be superior to the chubby, "not so pretty" Indian, Asian or African American. And as a result these "young people, unprotected by any intellectual armor hear these stories again and again".
Some things I don't understand:
- On the top of page 135, I am not quiet sure what the author means when she mentions "factories of cyncism".
- The theme or idea of stereotypes and discriminatory ideologies in this piece have been discussed in class with a couple of the activties we've completed.
- At the end of the author's lesson, her students started to, it seemed, get frustrated with everything around them that they saw some type of sexism or racism. One student was compelled to ask "don't you ever get tired of analyzing everything?". I think the lesson was great in opening up these student's eyes. However, what would some of them do after the lesson is learned? Will they become frustrated to the point of being careless?
You capture Christensen's main idea very well here. And your final point is a great one. Be sure to bring this stuff up in class when we are in discussion. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat point about "what some of them do after the lesson is learned," and I think it's completely connected to Christensen's concern over creating "factories of cynicism." I took that to mean that if students learned about the manipulations of the media without also realizing tools to resist, then, Christensen worries, they'll see only an insurmountable evil in the world and won't be able to effect positive change. That's when ignorance becomes blissful, hopeless, and cynical.
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