On February 27th I went to go see the film Miss Representation by Jennifer Siebel Newsom about how women are represented in media. Pretty overdone right? Well... Newsom had a refreshing approach to the topic. As a pregnant woman, she was scared for her daughter's future, afraid that she would struggle with the same self-image issues Newsom did when she was younger. Shown at Blaine Elementary School, parents and teachers are trying to create awareness about issues through their "Blaine Film Festival".
The film showed a lot of the basic ads you see when talking about this subject such as women in bikinis or Britney Spears scantily clad. However, it also talked about women in politics and how they either have to be seen as the "ball-buster" or the sexy one. The main example Newsom used was the comparison between Hillary Clinton (the crazy bitch) or Sarah Palin (the hot stupid one). Whether it is in politics, TV, or news, it seems as if women are being classified which leaves the younger generation to believe that they have to be a certain way to succeed. The most surprising part of the film for me was the radio hosts and news anchors that were shown making overtly sexist comments. Just think of the recent uprising when Rush Limbaugh called someone a "bitch". The worst part of that scandal was that it was nothing new. I had watched that happen multiple times during the film.
What links the film to Doing Democracy is how this film was talked about in the context of a school. The film explicitly said that parents and teachers have to start having a conversation about what they see in the media. After the film, the school hosted a discussion panel with Rachel Durchslag the Executive Director of CAASE, Kate Webster the Director of Violence Prevention at the Thousand Waves Martial Arts Center and Jennifer Loudon the Director of Behavioral Health from Chicago Public Schools. These influential women talked about how to have those conversations with your students or children. Jennifer Loudon suggested casually asking your child what they think is wrong with the way that person is shown on TV? Or, how does it make you feel to see a woman on a magazine cover like that? The movie and the panelists stressed not only to talk to your girls about this, but to reach out to the boys because males contribute heavily to gender stereotyping.
This film was important in making me realize the way I often accept the representation of women. I have called other women bitches, I don't stop my male friends when they sexualize or put down successful women. With my growing awareness, hopefully I can make others aware of how women are represented through media and in our everyday lives.
To learn more visit: missrepresentation.org or text represent to 313131
For more on the Blaine Film Festival visit: http://blainepta.weebly.com
Monday, March 19, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Chicago Public School Board Meeting- 3 hours of observation
What a heated board meeting! As our class waited in line to get in to a CPS board meeting, I couldn't help but feel excited and encouraged that so many people were showing up to support public school education. There ARE people who are outraged enough to stand up for what they believe is hurting their communities and children.
What were people so upset about? Well... a lot of things. But one of the main issues under scrutiny was the closings and turnarounds of schools. If a school is low-performing, under No Child Left Behind, the district has a right to fire all of the staff and basically "refresh" the school or turn it around. Many people who spoke at the meeting felt that doing this to the schools or closing them is detrimental to the community. One word that was used a lot was apartheid, noting that the kids in Title I schools are purposely getting less and being shuffled from one bad school to another. Another speaker mentioned that more policy can actually hurt the schools and that the board needed to start at the grass roots. Grass roots was a word also used a lot- the sense that the changes need to start within the community. Community members know what is best for their neighborhood and they need to come together to create change.
While I heard a lot of empowering speeches, unlike when I came in, I left discouraged; knowing all too well that the public's voices would not be heard. It was very clear to me that the Chairman of the Board was obligated to sit there and that he really did NOT want to. Under this democracy, leaders are mandated to listen to "the people". However, this democracy is dysfunctional because the leaders might listen, but they will still make decisions on what is best for them and their advisors.
On the other hand, I almost felt bad for the board as they had to sit there and be ridiculed. Perhaps they deserved it... perhaps they didn't. Part of me thought, it isn't the board's fault- it's the whole system. CPS cannot make real change because they have the state and Washington breathing down their necks. They are confined under NCLB and other policies. So what big changes can they really make?
While I felt discouraged, there is still the part of me that was proud of the people who fought for what they believed in. If more people got angry, not just the ones being affected by the closings and turnarounds, I think we would be a much different society. I definitely feel more aware, and I know that's a good thing.
What were people so upset about? Well... a lot of things. But one of the main issues under scrutiny was the closings and turnarounds of schools. If a school is low-performing, under No Child Left Behind, the district has a right to fire all of the staff and basically "refresh" the school or turn it around. Many people who spoke at the meeting felt that doing this to the schools or closing them is detrimental to the community. One word that was used a lot was apartheid, noting that the kids in Title I schools are purposely getting less and being shuffled from one bad school to another. Another speaker mentioned that more policy can actually hurt the schools and that the board needed to start at the grass roots. Grass roots was a word also used a lot- the sense that the changes need to start within the community. Community members know what is best for their neighborhood and they need to come together to create change.
While I heard a lot of empowering speeches, unlike when I came in, I left discouraged; knowing all too well that the public's voices would not be heard. It was very clear to me that the Chairman of the Board was obligated to sit there and that he really did NOT want to. Under this democracy, leaders are mandated to listen to "the people". However, this democracy is dysfunctional because the leaders might listen, but they will still make decisions on what is best for them and their advisors.
On the other hand, I almost felt bad for the board as they had to sit there and be ridiculed. Perhaps they deserved it... perhaps they didn't. Part of me thought, it isn't the board's fault- it's the whole system. CPS cannot make real change because they have the state and Washington breathing down their necks. They are confined under NCLB and other policies. So what big changes can they really make?
While I felt discouraged, there is still the part of me that was proud of the people who fought for what they believed in. If more people got angry, not just the ones being affected by the closings and turnarounds, I think we would be a much different society. I definitely feel more aware, and I know that's a good thing.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Doing Democracy
This semester as a Master's in Art Education student, I will be blogging about my field experiences in my class Doing Democracy. I'll be talking about my experiences in a school, watching films, and observing things in the Chicago community. Post about the CPS Board Meeting tomorrow!! It was HEATED.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Carol Krukoff and the Types of Museums
For my Social Theory class we were supposed to see a social worker speak and write about it in some form. Unfortunately, all of the interesting talks available to me this semester were are on class dates ARGH! So when I heard the museum educator Carol Krukoff would be lecturing to my Museum Education class I decided to see if I could make her work as my social theorist. After all, educators of any kind are constantly reassessing the environment around them and interpreting things about the world to their students or visitors.
When Carol walked in I felt humbled, here was this woman who had to be at least 75 years old still very much involved with the museum education community. Carol is a Chicago legend. She began her work at the Chicago History Museum, then worked in the education department at the Naper Settlement (a landmark museum) and now is the Director of Education at the Oriental Institute of Chicago (at University of Chicago). In addition, she is a grant reader for IMLS (museum and library services) and allocates thousands of dollars a year to those trying to do something profound in the museum community. Needless to say, Carol knew a lot about museum governance which was the topic she would be speaking on in class.
She explained that there were four main types of museums: private/non-for-profit, public museum, university museum, and public university museum. Each have a different hierarchy. For example, the University museum educator reports to the Board of Trustees at the University, the President of the University, the Provost, the Dean of the Department, the Department Chair, and then finally the director of the museum. Carol talked about how fast or slow changes can be made depending on how many people have to approve it and how having so many people to go through can affect the culture of the museum. Meaning, how collaboratively the educators, curators and other staff work together. She also discussed how sometimes having so many people to go through can be a good thing. A museum needs layers as a checks and balances system to make sure that there is not just change for change sake.
Carol also talked about the stability of the different kinds of museums within the economic crisis. As a class, we decided that public art museums are in the best position because they will always be funded by the government. While some of the staff jobs might be cut like other museums, it is unlikely that the museum will be shut down because they are a sign of a flourishing society. The government does not want our country to seem poor even though it might be and they definitely do not want it to be seen as an under-cultured country. This leads to a larger question of the function of museums in our American society. It is place for groups to gather, it is a place for the education of society, it is where priceless pieces are held and displayed. A museum is a monument in our cities and shows that we are still a great world power. Anyways, I'm getting a little off track but I think Carol's main point was not only how museums function internally, but also how they become symbols for our community and how they interact with groups within these communities.
I was so fortunate to meet someone who does exactly what I want to do. Our class had a great discussion about the roles of educators in museums and our obligations. To see the work Carol Krukoff has been doing at her museum, visit the Oriental Institute of Chicago on the University of Chicago campus or visit their website .
When Carol walked in I felt humbled, here was this woman who had to be at least 75 years old still very much involved with the museum education community. Carol is a Chicago legend. She began her work at the Chicago History Museum, then worked in the education department at the Naper Settlement (a landmark museum) and now is the Director of Education at the Oriental Institute of Chicago (at University of Chicago). In addition, she is a grant reader for IMLS (museum and library services) and allocates thousands of dollars a year to those trying to do something profound in the museum community. Needless to say, Carol knew a lot about museum governance which was the topic she would be speaking on in class.
She explained that there were four main types of museums: private/non-for-profit, public museum, university museum, and public university museum. Each have a different hierarchy. For example, the University museum educator reports to the Board of Trustees at the University, the President of the University, the Provost, the Dean of the Department, the Department Chair, and then finally the director of the museum. Carol talked about how fast or slow changes can be made depending on how many people have to approve it and how having so many people to go through can affect the culture of the museum. Meaning, how collaboratively the educators, curators and other staff work together. She also discussed how sometimes having so many people to go through can be a good thing. A museum needs layers as a checks and balances system to make sure that there is not just change for change sake.
Carol also talked about the stability of the different kinds of museums within the economic crisis. As a class, we decided that public art museums are in the best position because they will always be funded by the government. While some of the staff jobs might be cut like other museums, it is unlikely that the museum will be shut down because they are a sign of a flourishing society. The government does not want our country to seem poor even though it might be and they definitely do not want it to be seen as an under-cultured country. This leads to a larger question of the function of museums in our American society. It is place for groups to gather, it is a place for the education of society, it is where priceless pieces are held and displayed. A museum is a monument in our cities and shows that we are still a great world power. Anyways, I'm getting a little off track but I think Carol's main point was not only how museums function internally, but also how they become symbols for our community and how they interact with groups within these communities.
I was so fortunate to meet someone who does exactly what I want to do. Our class had a great discussion about the roles of educators in museums and our obligations. To see the work Carol Krukoff has been doing at her museum, visit the Oriental Institute of Chicago on the University of Chicago campus or visit their website .
Museum 2.0 Post
Museum 2.0, a blog I heard about through our Cyberpedagogy class recently had an interesting post about redesigning a museum website. I thought this was VERY relevant to what we had been learning in class about how websites can support or hinder museums.
Museum Website Redesign
Museum Website Redesign
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Internship Countdown Week 3
This week it was all about getting ready for Treasures and Tea which will be happening on the 11th of December. Mainly today I edited the docent scripts and made texture boxes that will be used for the Mukenga Mask site. In teen lab tonight, we got to critique the student's digital sketchbooks. Their digital sketchbooks are i movies that have a theme about what they have seen and experienced in the museum. I was PLEASENTLY surprised. Not only were their movies well thought out and personal, they did a great job at critiquing each other's work as well. Great job teens!
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