Katie

Reflecting on this semester there are many things I will remember.   The top three, however, are the way we built a community, the meaningful way Delpit’s ideas translate into everyday life, and the Aria reading by Rodriguez.   I didn’t realize until the first day of class that we were a combination of graduate and undergraduate students.   During this first class, we introduced each other, learned about each other, and laughed together.   The “Moo-in” at the beginning of each class further contributed to our community building.   We repeated our names before every class, learned how our day was, and learned different things about each other.   This experience, along with the food and laughs we often shared helped develop our sense of community.   I would use this technique in my classroom to both engage students and encourage comfort with each other.   On a more serious note, before this class, I had never heard of the author, Lisa Delpit. ...

I was a young mother when I had my children.  I had my oldest daughter first, then my son, and then my younger daughter.   They are all 18 months apart.  As they were so close in age, I would often bathe them together.  At that young age, the three of them noticed a difference between my son's body and their own.  I taught them the correct anatomical names, penis and vagina.  At this point, the three kids knew that boys have a penis and girls have a vagina.  I provided the first education on gender in my own home.  As this was almost 20 years ago, there was no conversation that existed about gender identity and personal pronouns.  I am now a school nurse in a public elementary school.  I work in conjunction with the health teachers to educate fourth and fifth grade boys and girls about puberty.  Currently the puberty lesson is one video with a short question/answer upon completion.  We send out permission slips to the fami...

  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5993176/  In his article, Hehir writes about a mother who refused to let her child be defined by their disabilities.  Penny is the mother who jumped off the path of least resistance in order to both protect and promote her child.  She worked with different people to dismantle assumptions about those people living with disabilities.  Penny felt that her child deserved every opportunity toward a successful and satisfactory life.  Penny developed awareness for the rights of those living with disabilities.   The YouTube video provided insight into a person living with a disability.  Judith Butler and Sanaura Taylor take a walk to discuss what it is like to live with a disability.   Sanaura is a person who lives with a disability.  Her disability is found within her body.  She cannot maneuver through life without assistive living devices that improve her mobility.  During thei...