The risks for today's youth are many.  As I am entering the profession that I am, I feel like these risks are something that I should be fully aware of, and have a understanding in how to handle them.  As our population grows, and becomes larger, children are at risk of being "left behind" compared to others of their same age if they do not catch on quickly, and become acclimated to their environment, educationally and socially.  From an earlier age than ever, schools are starting to become more specialized in categorizing students in categories comparable to above average, average, and below average.  These students have their path in school chosen for them before they even have a chance to show any kind of improvement, or regression.  Kids who catch on quicker are streamlined into programs and classes that will hopefully advance them towards a college prep path.  Meanwhile, kids who start slower are put into a path that will hopefully lead them to finish high school, maybe with a few skills they can use in the real world.  As the population of America grows larger, schools are becoming filled over with students, and the pressure to do something different is being put to education officials.  They cannot turn students away.  They cannot just build newer schools overnight.  So the only logical thing is to determine from an early age who is who among students, separate them into streamlined paths based on their learning capability, and let the chips fall where they may.  There becomes a system where individual students are forgotten, as they are placed into the system and forgotten about.  The only way they are seen is by a test score on a piece of paper from a standardized test that everyone has taken.  This is a great risk to our students of present, and the future.  As educators, we must strive to be better than this.  Every child deserves a chance at a very good education and the situation that I have described here is not it.

The area where I grew up is much like Dahlonega and Lumpkin County. In Northwest Georgia in Chattooga County, the places and the people are very similar to here. Its a rural place and I lived in a rural area out in the country that provided a great place to grow up. My brother, my sister, and I, other than our mother, are actually the first members of our family to go to college. My family, for generations before me, all stayed close to home and usually worked some kind of labor job. The small, rural town I grew up only offers so many work options. Unless you worked a farm or on one, the only real work in Chattooga County is in either the rug mill or cotton mill. These jobs, while providing some income, did not lead to riches to say the least. This way of life, and places like Chattooga county, are a dying breed it seems. With manufacturing being outsourced, and agriculture on the brink of being completely taken over by corporations, these rural towns are drying up. Most people in Chattooga county have to either work out of town, in bigger cities, or work minimum wage jobs around home. In saying all this, growing up where I did shaped who I am. Growing up in the country, the pace of life has always seemed to suit me. My personality has always been laid back. I do love to travel and see different places, but I know where home is. My values were shaped by this place too. Right from wrong has always been instilled in me, and treating people right goes right with that. I was always taught to treat all others as my equal and help whoever I can. To me, this is the biggest reason for me to become a teacher and coach. I feel like I can take what I have, and where I come from, and by using the two, help others thrive and succeed.

People with disabilities often find it hard to navigate activities that we take for granted. Things as simple as driving a vehicle, walking the stairs to class, or finding a seat when you get there can be an everyday obstacle. Taking time to notice these things in our everyday routine gives us just an inkling of insight into what some have to go through. Just yesterday, I made a point to observe during my daily routine the everyday obstacles that someone with a disability would encounter. It started with my drive to school. My grandmother is bound to scooter to get around and I know from helping her the difficulty she has in getting in and out of a vehicle. Then once one is out of the car, the obstacles begin on campus. The amount of steps and elevation changes on this campus are plenty without having a disability. Just getting to a building where your class is held would take detours and planning ahead. All of the buildings on campus were originally built without anyone handicapped in mind, so needless to say, they have many steps and staircases. Once one finds their way into class, finding a seat can be difficult. Most of my classes either have tables with many chairs, or have many rows of tables separated slanted at an elevation. Just looking at them, it looks like it would be hard for a person with a disability to find a place to sit, especially in ones with the floor being slanted uphill. All this made me think about something I read in the book about normalization. "Normalization means making available to all persons with disabilities or other handicaps, patterns of life and conditions of everyday living which are as close as possible to or indeed the same as the regular circumstances and ways of life of society" (Gollnick, p. 189). I feel like the school has done a great deal in adapting for those with disabilities to have as "normal" a school experience as possible. However, this experience can still be difficult and in the future, more must be done to accommodate those with disabilities.

To be honest, I have never really thought too much about my own gender identity.  I am from a very small town, and was raised in a family with conservative family values, therefore I have always accepted the fact that my gender identity is normal.  This is not to say that I have been sheltered my whole life and have never saw or experienced people who think and identify differently than I do.  I have always tried to inform myself about other people's views and accept everyone for who they are.  I have just always saw myself as being rather "normal", especially when it comes to gender identity.  My father has probably had the most influence on my own gender identity.  I am the youngest of four brothers, and my father has always been a blue-collar, working class guy.  He has instilled in all of us the value of hard work, and doing things the right way, as well as a love for the outdoors and athletics.  From the time I was four years old, I was playing organized sports, usually coached by my father, and from the time I could walk, I have been on a creek bank fishing, or in a hunting blind in the woods.  To me, this has been all that I have ever known, and to me, "normal".  I never even realized that these aspects of my life, identified my gender role.  Obviously, these aspects and activities of influence have always matched my gender identity, as I have never felt an inkling of want or need to go against them.  The identity that was placed on me has always been the one that just happened to perfectly match my personality and therefore I have never even realized the influence this had on my gender identity. However, I definitely realize the negative impact that having gender forced on someone could have.  For people that take on the gender identity of the opposite sex, I respect their life and who they are. While my identity of gender was formed by what activities I was placed in by my parents, they have always taught  me to respect others and accept people for whomever they are. I have never had a problem with someone for just being who they are. I do feel that boys who take on the gender identity of females suffer more than girls do when the situation is reversed. I feel like that girls are more accepted by society, because girls are stereotyped as emotional, whereas boys are "supposed" to take on a hard, rough identity, and reinforce the stereotype of masculinity.

The idea of raising a baby in a genderless environment is a very groundbreaking idea. Just seeing how relatives and friends react to not knowing if the baby is male or female would be an revealing experiment. The whole process would of course have to start with the ultrasound during pregnancy that allows parents to see what sex their baby will be. I myself have always thought that whenever I get ready to have children, I would not like to know boy or girl before they are born. But the possibility of carrying this secret over into the child's life after birth creates an environment that I could have never imagined without seeing these stories involved with this assignment. I tried to put myself in those parents' situation and seeing how my child's life might be if I chose that life for them from birth. My family is very conservative in background, and not too keen on the idea of new elements that affect lifestyles of today. If I approached them and told them that my wife and I had chosen to do this for our child, I am almost certain it would be met with backlash. I don't think that backlash would come out anger, or hate of a different background than the ones they know, but more out of ignorance and lack of introduction to the situation. Now, when the baby arrived, I am also certain that the backlash would be completely forgotten, replaced with the love for the child that was now apart of the family, just as every child born into our family before has been, as we are a very tight-knit family. Over time, there would no doubt be moments when frustration and awkwardness would show their presence, just from the idea of not knowing, GI Joe or Barbie, football or cheerleading. However, I feel for the child, this could be a very productive environment. They could choose their own path, regardless of social taboo and decide when and where they wanted to reveal themselves, and choose the life for which they wanted to live, not the one that their determined sex would choose for them.

Privilege is a status or ranking in which someone gains, not through personal achievement or sacrifice, but through an unearned clause, like race, money, family name, etc. I feel like growing up where I did, in a rural area, where things tend to slow themselves to almost a reverse in terms of change, I had opportunities that my black peers did not. Certain businesses were basically "segregated" for lack of a better term. These establishments, mostly restaurants, had been open for almost fifty years and it some ways were the same socially as they were the day they opened. There were no actual policies or rules that said so, but blacks never frequented these places. This fact never even crossed my mind until I was in tenth grade. I played football and on gameday we would always have a pregame meal, either at school or at a restaurant. One Friday we found out that pregame meal would be at one of these restaurants that I've described. The reactions of my black teammates opened my eyes. None of them had ever set foot in this place and they were very uneasy in doing so. Most were noticeably nervous. The employees seemed to have a feeling of confusion in just seeing black people in the restaurant. The whole situation really floored me because I was unconscious of the situation before. This unconsciousness to the situation bothered me and I've taken with me since. I don't feel the restaurant was specifically prejudice or racist, but a lack of change on their part had built this social segregation. I feel like there are social privileges that some of us enjoy that we never realized and this can definitely create social gaps in our society.

Dealing with issues of race and ethnicity in this day in time is something that every single American has to deal with. Our society has evolved into one that is not seen has being dominated by one race or culture. When someone is asked the question "what does an American look like?" that person cannot answer with a single, definitive physical characteristic. We are a society built by a melting pot. This look however, does not mean we have surpassed the issues that have held this country back when it comes to race. With that in mind, race should be an issue in the forefront of our educational system. The problems must be acknowledged and presented in a way that allows educators to not only properly handle these issues in the classroom, but to educate their students in a way where society can someday surpass them.  As educators, I feel it is our duty to confront issues dealing with race. Only so much can change when attitudes and feelings of past generations are passed down to our young people. Those attitudes and feelings that promote discrimination have to be ripped away and education is the only way. These teaching methods should involve effective ways to bring children from all backgrounds together and make them feel comfortable with discussing issues. White children shouldn't be reprimanded for being involved in conversations that discuss the solution to a racial issue and black children shouldn't be taught that they cannot discuss issues that affect their white classmates. A community attitude is important to develop and through our schools we can educate for our future to form that community.

Joey Browning EDUC 2120 Blog Entry 8/31/13 Breaking Cultural Norm

I had an interesting time trying to think of a cultural norm to break for this blog submission. I asked my parents, brothers, and sister for suggestions, and after long periods of thought they all seemed to be as clueless as I was about what I should do. I found myself with some downtime between classes, and decided to walk around campus and see if anything presented itself.  After about half an hour, I decided to give up and walk to my truck.  I went to the parking deck, walked down the stairs to my level, and it hit me: the elevator.  I noticed a girl get off of the elevator on the same level I was on, and I thought what could be more awkward than to engage strangers on the elevator. I stood idly by my truck and waited for the first opportunity. It did not take long. A girl was walking towards the elevator and I grabbed my book bag and headed that way. We both got on the elevator and the door shut. Without even having made eye contact before, I blurted out a question: "Where are your from?" She was obviously caught off guard, looking to see if maybe I was talking on my phone. After realizing I was talking to her, she said "I'm sorry?" pretending she had not understood me. I asked again, and reluctantly she named her hometown. At this point the door opened and she quickly walked away, trying to clear the awkwardness.  Then I waited at the top level, outside of the rec center.  Just to clarify, I could easily see how creepy this scene might sound, but I also think that adds to the breaking of cultural norm. Three more people was all I could stand to try this on, as there were only so many blank looks and obvious fake cell phone usages I could handle. I never felt as if I was saying anything provocative or out of line, however, the simple breaking of a quiet few seconds on the elevator consistently shook up whomever I shared the space with.  Simple phrases like "hey, my name's Joey" or "what's your major" seemed to throw people off of their expected routine of a quiet ride in the elevator.
        I feel like this experience brought to light how people are comfortable in their own space, even in the most public of places. However, when that space is compromised by unexpected engagement from a stranger, even the most innocent outside gestures can throw someone for a loop. I think this easily connects to the conversations we've had in class in that people like what they are comfortable with and even the most innocent diversions or changes can be troubling at first. Each culture comes with it's own background and way of life.  When that way of life is made to conform or change to fit another, the initial reaction is often negative.  However, if we can focus on the actual question or statement instead of the "different" way in which it was presented, we can learn to cross those lines of culture, and enter into an understanding of where that question or statement came from.