Security!!!

"Three of the five African Amercan men working with children in the school are responsible for discipline. Each has impressive physiques, as if body size is a part of the job description. The figure whose job it is to strike fear in the hearts of children in school is epitomized by the intimidating physical presence of the African American male." Hold the phone. Before we accept this as gospel, let's pick this statement apart. First of all, What kind of schools are we talking about here. If they are urban schools, then is it any wonder that most of the security guards are black. This is just a reflection of the community in which these schools operate, and furthermore, I would say that having these men in schools is more of an asset than a liability. Some of the coolest people in my school were security guards, and in some cases they knew the students better than the teachers did. Is it so bad that we're using African Amercans to discipline African Americans? We can sit here and talk about diversity till we're blue in the face, but the fact of the matter is that many people just feel more comfortable around people who look like them. We already have an abundance of white people in society serving as diciplinarians, they're called cops, and many people will tell you that minorities don't always hold the plice in the highest regard. By the way, body size IS a part of the job description. Have you seen the size of these kids lately; I don't know what they're putting in milk, but restassured I'd be more comfortable putiing discipline in the hands of someone who is 6ft and not 5ft. The African American male is not an intimidating figure simply because society makes him out to be this way, but because many lack the sufficient information to form their own opinion.

Group Projects

I guess I don't understand the point of blogging on something that we're going to be presenting tp the class anyways, so i 'd like to take the opportunity to discuss group presentations in general. Does anyone else find the process of putting together a group presentaiton somewhat akward? In my experience its usually only a superficial collaborative effort. You get together and discuss what everyone's roles will be, and then you seperate and do your own thing. Its alawys difficult to asses the outcome of such an effort. It usually turns into a group of seperate presentaions, loosely held together by the subject matter. How do you create a true group project? It sometimes feels as though the presentation needs to be constructed from start to finish, with all group members present. I would like to add that this isn't a dig at the members of my group, and that I'm just looking for suggestions. Perhaps I'm oversimplifying or overthinking it.