"Democracy depends on us and what we do--even on the little things. . ." (Zinn, 85).
Both these pieces make a case for "democratic" education that is not "neat", that helps students to understand and maybe even embrace the complexity of our lives, especially our collective reality. In "A People's History of the U.S." Howard Zinn tells us of the way he learned about democracy in action through his involvement in the civil rights movement and how that differed from the "neat" democracy he was taught in school"
"But of course, democracy can't be put on the blackboard. It's not a formula, it's not a constitution, it's not laws, it's not a framework, it's not a structure. Democracy is people acting on behalf of justice" (83).Both Zinn and Rode makes the case for critical thinking and consciousness that make us capable of this type of action. Zinn writes, "If you don't know important things about history, then it's as if you were born yesterday. And if you were born yesterday, then you will believe anything that is told to you by somebody in authority and you have no way of checking up on it" (69).
The piece that I posted in the news forum about educational standards and methods for teaching 911, makes Zinn's point abundantly clear (read it!). Civic discourse and the ability to discern, engage, and analyze multiple perspectives comes through the ways in which we are educated and how we chose to educate ourselves: "So, yes, history can be trivial and history can be really important, depending on what you do with it and depending on what you learn" (Zinn, 71).
Zinn's point about history is that there is rarely, if ever, one narrative, one side to the story, one perspective, or a single understanding of any experience. Meredith Rode illustrates this through the story of art and teaching art history in her paper, "The Hunt for Democracy: The Lion's Perspective". She writes about the ways in which, " Works from other times, cultures, and traditions have often been force-fit into the Western idea of art, and this sometimes has distorted or deformed the work itself" (28).
Seeing from multiple perspectives and challenge stereotypes and assumptions allows us to engage in real thinking and in dialogue with others are civic skills that allow us to take civic knowledge (all the societal issues that seem and are so huge and complex) and find ways to act:
"New awarenesses create new possibilities, both for individual learning and for societal change. What we have been doing no longer meets the conditions of our time, and what we must create will require a relinquishing of ideas and structures so familiar that they seem inviolable truths. What evolves must come through dialogue,exchange and difficult debate"(Rodes, 31).
What are other places in these readings that speak to you about these issues? What other connections do you find between the two pieces and your own experience? Who are the people who have helped you learn or who have inspired you to want to want to be involved in change or a movement that you are involved in or would like to be involved in?
Robin Goldschmidt
ReplyDeleteSeptember 12, 2011
CLQ: Thinking for Change
Blog Response 3
Throughout the paper Howard Zinn mentions numerous times how important history is on shaping the understanding of people. I completely agree with what he states about the great importance of understanding history in our society. Most things are learned by looking at history as we have encountered almost every problem in the past. That is how people perform tests is by looking back at old data and past events. If you understand the events that have occurred in the past, you will be more able to understand issues in the future. Zinn gave many examples that fit the explanation very well, “We bombed the Sudan because they’re producing agents of chemical warfare and so on, but it turns out that there’s no evidence for this, no evidence at all. Turns out that we bombed a medicine factory that produced half the medicines used by the people of Sudan. These are important lies, these are matters of life and death” (71). A very important thing to take away from history is that it is very important to question and not just accept what is told to us. Actually, that is not only the key to history, but also the key to knowledge is to know to always question what is told and never fully trust the information you have received. For examples of lies just look at history and especially the government because they produce lies to all their needs. So, it seems like the modern democracy is just a set of lies that best suit the individuals in power. From history I have learned to always question whatever I’m told especially if the information is passed down from the government on a semi-controversial topic.
To this point I cannot say that a certain individual has inspired me to become involved in a big change or movement. However, I can attribute the way I look at experiences and information to the AP classes I took while in high school. In the classes I learned to analyze all the information I received and make an accurate and worthwhile conclusion from this information. I’m very thankful for my teachers as before I always just took the information that was given to me and trusted it, which gave a really different view of the world. From certain events/issues that have occurred I would want to help in humanitarian efforts by helping others establish a better life. These classes have helped me think in a different light, by letting me see all of the different angles to an argument. I agree with Zinn in the aspect of how he learned about democracy. The basics you learn while in school, but the majority is learned through experience and by looking at history and learning from past events. Another important aspect stated by Zinn, “"If you don't know important things about history, then it's as if you were born yesterday. And if you were born yesterday, then you will believe anything that is told to you by somebody in authority and you have no way of checking up on it" (69). I completely agree with Zinn in this aspect as if you do not know history and how to analyze it then you are open for lies. After reading Rode’s piece, I agree that there needs to be a good deal of tolerance in society and understanding in democracy. Another aspect that Rode stated saying that, “Our painful history lurks beneath the surface of even the most simple observations, shadowing our efforts at tolerance and inclusion” (22). It is very important to observe things in society and compare them and also be open to tolerate everyone and everything.
Brittany Philpot
ReplyDelete13 September 2011
While reading both of these texts I realized that the way they were interpreting history was very different compared to how I learned history in school. I was so focused on just remembering the facts for a test that I never really understood the importance of historic events through the past and what I could learn from knowing them. Zinn states, “And that kind of focus, which is also repeated in the media again and again, drives home to the American people the idea that we are passive, that the making of history is not up to us, that it’s all up to those people in Washington” (84). Reading this made me think about history and how so many people do not realize that the rights we have today were fought so hard for. Nowadays we expect the government to make all our decisions and fix what we do not like without any action. I hear people complaining all the time about how they do not like how things are being done in this country but, I do not see any action to change how one feels about the way things are run. Or maybe we have no answers for how to fix the country in the way it needs to be fixed. Living in a democracy it can be complicated to solve problems that please everyone.
“The Hunt for Democracy” brought about many interesting ideas that in history there are many different viewpoints and they should all be examined when learning about the past. Two different people at the same time in history can have a totally different experience and have different opinions of what happened. When Rode teaches, she tries to incorporate many different races, and backgrounds to explain something with historical importance especially in art, “I begin classes by emphasizing the importance of recognizing how we know what we know, how much we do not know, and the difficulty of not knowing where our ignorance lies.” This is important because from one important event in history there are so many things we do not really know about it. All the details can’t be fit into one text book. Just how Zinn was saying that we are only learning certain facts in class that the government says we must know and not everything that really happened.
Viviana Parra
ReplyDeleteThere are many times in both readings where I was left thinking deeper about the importance of how you interpret what you learn, and then what you do with it. When Zinn writes about the story of the teacher who simply wants to teach facts, Zinn explains how that really is impossible. He says, “that you can’t talk about something being a pure fact, because as soon as it is presented it is no longer a fact”(72). This is extremely powerful and true because everyone has their own background, culture, environment, age and many more factors that effect how they will look at a fact. For the most part people do not look at a fact as a general statement. They see how it will affect them personally, or if that fact is even true depending on the situation they are in. This relates to Rode’s thoughts, because without tolerance we cannot be understanding of different people interpretations. When Rode says “I prefer recognizing our differences and appreciating them, not denying their existence” it really emphasizes this thought of everyone being unique. Some similarities that I find between the two pieces and my own experience come from my dance background. I used to compete in ballroom dancing and would sometimes take group classes. As a teacher demonstrates something everyone is supposed to basically do the same thing, but once you take a look around the room nobody is doing identically the same. Everyone adds their own attitude, musicality, and emphasis on different steps where they feel more comfortable. So for me dance class is much like an educational classroom. We learn the basics but as we get older we put more effort or thought into what we find more important.
One person that has really inspired me to want to join a movement is my dad. He is involved in a many non-profit organizations that give back to the community. He used to always wake me up early, and drag me along to city cleanups and fundraisers. I was not a happy camper, but once I got older and realized how much I was helping other people just by giving up a few hours of my day it felt amazing. I have been involved with organizations such as Christmas in July, and the Lions clubs in my hometown and would like to continue to help.
John Sansone
ReplyDeleteThinking For Change
Reflection 3
September 14, 2011
“Democracy is people acting on behalf of justice" (Zinn 83). This quotation demonstrates a fundamental aspect of our society that is sometimes not carried out to its full potential. Today people are losing sight of the values and principles that make up this country let alone our government system which affects everyone ignorant or not. I believe that most people do not carry out their individual duties as a citizen of the United States because many Americans do not full understand how our government works. Therefore, being kept in the dark for whatever reason leads to a severe gap between those who are knowledgeable and those who are not. There is a severe gap because once someone has finished there educational career or has become older it becomes very difficult to teach democracy as a formula. In order to act on the behalf of justice one must hold their own self-accountable to a moral conduct that takes on morality and righteousness. Therefore if everyone acted on the behalf of justice our government would be near flawless. This is possible because our government is a democracy, which was formatted as “for the people, by the people.” It is the duty of our education system to teach our youth about democracy and ethics however as of late there has been fallout between the two. Many Americans just like Zinn learned about democracy through an outside source such as groups, movements, or friends and family. These can be vital tools in helping teach our country about its history and future in order to keep it alive. Keeping in mind Zinn’s point about history and the influence it has on our understanding is true because it teaches us that there is a reason for everything and never one side to any story. Through history someone can increase their awareness of the world around them. I believe that history empowers individuals because it truly allows someone to understand what came before them and how those events impact our life today. History is my favorite subject because I enjoy searching for meaning and truth in this crazy always-changing world we live in today. I Think that most of the knowledge we obtain has to do with our surroundings and those closest to us. I fully endorse this statement because I always had great influences around me growing up. My biggest influences were both of my parents who always taught me about the world I was being brought up in. They constantly stressed how important it was for me to have good logical thinking as well as common sense. I always kept this in mind in the classroom and I told myself how fundamental it was to take the information I learned at school and incorporate that into my daily activities. To me this was called “street smart” and I remember how my friends and I would always classify our classmates as either book smart or street smart. To us we always considered street smart to be the better of the two because if someone needs a book in front of them to convey the information to a stranger on the street then are not truly smart. This only illustrated to us that they were better test takers than us while we believed if we needed to explain the concepts we learned in the classroom to a stranger we would get an A. I wasn’t the best test taker growing up and I always felt deprived when I took a multiple choice test because I just wanted to express myself through my own words rather than choosing between a or b. Therefore thanks to my surroundings growing up, being my friends and family I have found my self interests and learned how to act on the behalf of justice to the best of my ability.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThere are many connections between the pieces written by Rode and Zinn. One of the connections was that they both questioned the system and government. Zinn states "So while history might not tell you definitely what's the truth in this particular case, it at least teaches you to be cautious and skeptical" (69) In high school I was never taught to be skeptical in history class. I was always taught to learn and memorize the facts of American history. At that time I was so intrigued and overwhelmed by how glorious and mighty this country was. But little did I know I was just giving into the countless illusions. Rode says "What if everything was the opposite?..It's a question that is both humble and intellectually stringent. It allows us to question the question."(23) This encourages us to not be so vulnerable and believe everything we are told. We should also remember that there are two and sometimes even more sides to a story.
ReplyDeleteAnother point I got out of the reading and from past experiences is there is so much pressure for our population to live up to the worldwide expectation that we are "living the American Dream in the land of the free". But in reality, we are not free. We don't have equality or justice. I feel that we are trying so hard to make it seem like we have everything under control when in reality we too need guidance. We sugar coat things and are constantly walking on egg shells because we don't want conflict. For example, our society emphasizes that color does not matter. We do this in order to have it known that we are all equal, despite the color of our skin. I, on the other hand, disagree because I do see color. I see brown, black, white, yellow, chocolate and many different colors. I see diversity, and diversity is what America is made up of. Each and every American comes from a different background, family and culture. We all have a story about how our relatives and ancestors came to America. Whether we're black, white, yellow, purple, blue; the truth of the matter is we all are not the same. Rode states "If we cannot face the pain of history, and the implications of exclusions and distortions, then we will never really confront the complexities of our common existence. And I believe that until we confront those complexities and incorporate them into our world view, we will not feel truly comfortable with each other." (22) Recognizing the differences in one another, helps us all to understand and accept each other for who we really are. This breaks down the walls of stereotypes. Before we even begin to try to treat each other equally, we all need to fully comprehend each other's stories so that there is respect between one another. "I prefer recognizing our differences and appreciating them, not denying their existence."(22)
These two pieces has definitely created hope in me and I am hopeful to see changes for the better in the near future.
Prime example of democracy coming alive.
http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/us/2011/09/14/pkg-az-ethnic-studies-ban.cnn
Victoria Escalada
ReplyDeleteMs. Julia van der Ryn
CLQ2142.1
14 September 2011
Revisionist History:
An Old World Order?
History is a powerful and influential aspect of society because it is the interpretation of past events that reflects and promotes the positives of the agenda of those who rewrote the textbooks currently taught in schools every single day to elementary students, middle school students, high school students and even college students. “Revisionist history,” an ironic term itself, is emphasized in both “The Hunt for Democracy: The Lion’s Perspective” and Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States. Back when I was in eleventh grade, my American history teacher told us to read Zinn’s book over the summer and explain the purpose of his book. The reason I believe that my teacher encouraged students to read the book is because Zinn asserted and explained through texts that may seem revised in our current history books that there is more to the story; there is more than one lens to look through. The mark that Zinn left on his readers was that students need to challenge those who just give facts more (Zinn, 72) because in reality, according to Meredith Rode, people change history in order to hide the truth in order to deceive people and their perceptions (Rode, 21).
What Zinn exemplified through his book and what Rode conveyed throughout her article is that the only way to democratize a classroom, students, the American people and anyone else involved in our history is by showing inclusive point of views; this means that Americans citizens should be aware about the many historical “facts” people have made in the past (Zinn, 74). The democratization of classrooms help students acknowledge different points of views in order to understand why they are here in their current place and current time (history is a reoccurring aspect of life that directly affects every single person living on earth today). What should be done in the classrooms, according to both Rode’s article and Zinn’s book is that people should not act color blind and recognize “differences and appreciate[e] them, not deny…their existence” (Rode, 22). Unfortunately, if we do not challenge teachers who teach revised history to us in the classroom, then who are we to blame but ourselves for ignoring others’ point of views? How can we be more aware of others surrounding us if we only look to one point of view and do not question and rethink the history that we taught growing up? We should not reconcile what we truly believe in our hearts in regards to history; however, by being more perceptive about the world and history surrounding us, we will soon understand who we are and why we are who we are. We understand the aspects of ourselves such as race and gender shape what we believe, but to be able to allow others’ histories into our minds we must live with contradictions and accept challenges when it is handed to us, accept that we learn distorted truth from no matter who is telling the tale, and understand that our favorite believes may not always be right (Rode, 22).
What we must do as American citizens is this: we must challenge the privileged teachers who get to engrain on us their own beliefs about American history and become more aware of what they are teaching us and what the purpose of their teaching is. For example, in the 9/11 article, the distorted truth about 9/11 throughout the years has been passed down by historical books but seeing how we lived during 9/11, why is it described differently than what it really was in most American’s eyes? As American citizens involved in our own past history, we must recognize what we know, recognize how much we don’t know and recognize where ignorance lies, and by doing that we are more aware of ourselves and of each other.