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.