Blog Post #10 by Cabrera, Roberto

 

    When I first heard of the word play, I think about young adolescents gathering around and competing against one another. Some youth compete to see who has better skills, while others do it to have fun. They are learning how to communicate in those spaces, but something important to understand for youth who are playing against each other is to have fun. After reading the article's, it helped me see how Play is an important aspect of children's lives.

     According to Jenkins, "Play refers to the young child's activities characterized by freedom from all but personally imposed rules (which are changed at will), by free-wheeling fantasy involvement, and by the absence of any goals outside the activities itself" (n.d, p.2-3). Students are being acknowledged to be themselves by showing their peers what skills they bring to the space. There are also different kinds of activities kids like to play. As an educator, I must think about games that interests students. The plan is to have them do an assignment where they will be involved in participating in doing something creative. I also want it to be something they are good at or matches their educational needs. If I just give them a game I want them to play, it will not help them develop their own knowledge. They will find each other in a situation where someone is leading the activity and is close to beating the person they are facing. One quote that resonated with me to mention how students will experience winning and losing while they play is "Children recognize early on that play is an opportunity for pure enjoyment, whereas games may involve considerable stress" (Jenkins, n.d, p.3). If students happen to lose a match by any means, it is not for them to think about say their opponents are better or they are not too good. The point of losing is to help them see what mistakes they made during the game and see how they can learn from those actions to improve the next time they face someone. Losing is something that happens to many young folks and I think it can be part of play as it helps us grow our own skills. Every member should have an opportunity to participate and give it their best shot. Whether they win or lose, we are all here to communicate and improve each other's qualities of life. Also, we are gaining better communication as a team to show why each one of us deserves to play.

      Another important concept I captured from Jenkin's article are the 6 P's, which are "Permission, Process, Passion, Productivity, Participation, and Pleasure". The more I heard these words, the better I was able to think my own actions as well as the way I want my future students to feel when they experience play in their educational journeys. The author was portraying how students learn through all different types of play. As a youth worker, my goal is to have to each student participate. They must give themselves the opportunity to play and say "I can do it" to show they belong in this space and are ready to meet the challenges they are up against. Also, I "must work very hard to give signals when play is an acceptable mode of engaging with the activities" and help them build a positive relationship when they are either competing against each other or playing for fun. Students must be given as many ideas to see how they can improve their own skills. Practice is another method to support their ability to achieve greatness throughout the game. If all of us could work together as a team, the better it would be for all of us to participate and feel as we belong in this workspace. Permission and process were the two P's I resonated with as this something I experienced when participating in an event as a young child. I put myself to the test to show my peers how my skills were OK to use. Not only was I respected for giving myself a chance, I was also being acknowledged by my teachers and classmates to do a great job as they prepared me for these challenges. The same this was applied to me, I also want to apply this to my kids and tell them their skills matter to me and will help me see how I can better support them for future activities.

    As with Passion, Productivity, Participation, and Pleasure those are also important for students to use. Although I did not have an experience with either of those P'S, I know young adolescents will have to a chance to see those things happen. Depending on the topics students like or learn most from, those topics they utilize is what will motivate them to learn. An example would be if art helps their growth mindset, they are passionate about becoming great artists and use art as their model to help them become a great drawer or painter when they reach their secondary level of education. They will be able to stay concentrated and have more opportunities to learn in school. Anything that entertains them is what will keep them occupied and ready to learn. Many of our students will learn much material. When they play, they are being creative. If I were to give them an assignment based on their own ideas, they are using their own creativity and are positive about doing a great job. We do not tell kids what to do, they are being themselves and having fun using the materials they think will work out best. They are also showing us something we might not have used as young adolescents. The skills they bring is what also helps us learn how they became better students. All this helped me see Play in a better way.

    As I read Chillaxing, it talks about how New Urban Arts supports students in a positive way. New Urban Arts is an "Art Organization located in Westminster St. in Providence, RI" and they allow students to participate using their own creativity as well. One quote from this article that resonated with me in terms of play is "Protecting the qualities that so many young people at New Urban Arts desire requires thinking about productivity in ways that are not measurable and assured by categories of audit" (n.d, p.87) because many youth come into this space feeling as their needs are not being met in their schools. Also, they feel as they are not having fun in school. Students should play a role where they can express to their peers and educators their skills are different, but are also trying to seek for improvement or find a way to have their ideas be shown in class. New Urban Arts are doing the best they can to help youth feel supported and recognized rather than "troubled" (p.87). New Urban Arts let students be creative in their program and make space for them to be creative and express the issues they had in their educational settings. They make them feel as they belong to the community. As with some teachers, they sometimes make the assumption that someone who has a different identity compared to their peers do not have the same talents. It seems to me this program cares about the way people think no matter how different they are whether it has to do with a different race or skills they have in school. As Productivity is one of the 6 P's in play, we are allowing ourselves to see our own society in different ways. Also, we are changing our learning styles by letting the people we work with their talents matter and letting their ideas develop our style of play. The more we work together, the better our environment will be for each individual which not only lets them see how hard they play, but to also see they are giving it their best shot, which is an important part of play.

Mini-Lecture/Victoria's Zoom Meeting-Slide Deck Reflection by Cabrera, Roberto

 Restler, Victoria's Zoom Meeting - Zoom

    Victoria did a great job demonstrating the meaning of play. Play is not about seeing how children act when they face against each other or what skills they bring to the game. As I watched the video, "Play is the work of childhood" and it is a model used to help students increase their own qualities of life as well as seeing how they can benefit from their actions when they are playing. Also, it makes me think about how I see myself and others and how play helps us grow. A word Victoria mentions in her video that stood out to me when I think of play is fail. According to the video, "Fail is an approach to play and making mistakes can be a great experience" to learn from. I do not think of fail in terms of winning and losing, but the way I think about fail in play is by seeing how we perform. Also, failing at something is an important part of play because every mistake we make helps us grow. When I become an educator, I want every student in the future to be themselves and work to the best of their ability using their own experience. While they work to have fun, I want them to be creative and think about bringing their own talents to the space. Every skills my future students will express to me will help me think about how I can come up with an activity that will motivate students to learn about each other, gain better communication, and understand the definition of play.

     The last part of the presentation resonated with me as it makes me think about how "Play and Chillaxing" relate to each other as well as learning the similarities all the articles Dr. Restler presented in her video. Every idea presented in this video involves "learning, healing, un/productivity, and standards + measurement". The way I think my own performance in YDEV 350, it makes me think about the benefits I learn from my classmates as they bring in unique ideas and help me feel ready to participate as I get nervous about presenting my own ideas to the class. My class feels as if they were my support team. There were programs Victoria mentioned such as New Urban Arts to help people form a group and think about the challenges they are up against. When we have discussions in class, it makes me think about we are coming up with play to make our creativity stronger each week. This can be an example of ourselves showing play and chillaxing.

    As Dr. Restler asks, "So what do these articles have to do with each other", I think all these articles demonstrate the differences and similarities between play and chillaxing. Between both strategies, it involves our own participation in the space as well as giving it our best shot at something. Also, I think they all have to do with supporting one another and letting people they are joining. As an educator, both articles make me think about how I want to create games that interests youth and matches their learning needs. These articles make me think about the creativity I brought to my classes as a young student as well as making me feel welcomed and understood by the people aside of me. I want show each student feels as they are winners and challenge them using the skills they have. There would be no winner or loser involved nor would I give a prize to someone who might have won the game. The goal is to show every student is important in the society and let them be themselves when they are trying to play. 

    One quote of the video that confused was, "It was about dealing with the traumas of confronting, for example, the racist attitude of a guidance counselor during the school day. We were being told, 'you don't belong in that AP class'". I am wondering what a student of different race being insulted by a staff member for taking an AP (Advanced Placement) course has to do with play. This does bring me back to how students who identify as person of color are being oppressed or not supported for having a different culture. In terms of play, I view it as if educators were not letting students have fun when they are in an AP course. Instead of letting express their own knowledge, they make them feel isolated and act is they are not smart enough to be in an AP course. Something I learned between play and chillaxing is that young individuals are here to learn just like everyone else. They also have good skills and should not feel any different for having a different race. I would like to know more information on how taking an AP course can relate to play. Also, I am wondering if there is a way for educators to let people of all different identities have fun and seek enjoyment not only when they are playing a game, but communicating with their peers in school as well.

    There are some questions I would like to ask Victoria Restler if I saw her right now: In what ways do you demonstrate play to your own students in your classes? If you created an activity where students had to try their best and use their own knowledge, how would the activity be set up? Where will play be involved?

Blog Post #9 by Cabrera, Roberto

    After reading Locating Yourself for Your Students, this article has taught me how important it is to present my own race and identity to others. Both Parmar and Steinberg mentioned the times they became teachers while also experiencing themselves as the minority. Steinberg was the only "White" woman in her own room while Parmar was the only "Asian Indian" woman in her setting. They were completely different as a majority of their students were "Black". This is a compelling experience to me if you are the minority in your own class because you are used to being the majority, but every year changes. I think a good way for us to get people to understand who we are is by telling them our identity and ethnicity/nationality. The way the educators introduced themselves to their students has changed the way they view themselves. It makes me think as they want to change they look, but being the minority should not let them feel oppressed as the race we all are makes us unique. Something fascinating the students did was let the teacher tell them about their own culture as they seemed to have interest in getting to know who they are as adults living in the same society with a different personality. Although the students were different from the teachers, they appreciated and respected them for who they are because Parmar and Steinberg's job is to help students feel confident about their academic achievements, which I believe they are. Meeting new people of different race and identities is something great to consider as all of us live in a diverse community. We have the opportunity to learn about the different cultures we see from other people. I think both Parmar and Steinberg did a great job starting the school day by introducing their own personality to the class, which helped the class become motivated to share out their great experiences. Not only does this help me see who I am as an individual, it also helps me understand the different aspects of youth. Another thing it will allow me to do as a caring person is "advocate with youth" (Bogad, Mini Lecture #4-Racial Identity), treat each one of them equally, and help them do a great job in their education.

    One quote that stood out to me the most from the reading was, "As teachers, we have found that identifying ourselves to students in terms of our own positionality- that is, naming exactly who we are in terms of the racial, ethnic and religious group memberships that affect our social position" (Parmar and Steinberg, n.d,p.283) because it shows identity is being taught in most schools in our society. It is useful for teachers to express their identity because they can get respect from their students as well as some positive reactions/outcomes from their class such as "What has your experience been like being this person" or "How does it impact you". This is something that will help educators receive empathy as well as improving the quality of lives of their students. As they are doing this, they are getting better at communicating with one another and building a positive relationship. 

    This is something I experienced my sophomore year of high school. I was the one of the only students in most of my classes who spoke Spanish, but my peers acknowledged me for being the person I am. They respected my culture as well as the way I see them. When I began working with Black-American peers in my courses, it became a chance for me to to be able to working with people of different identities. One person I remember working with was one of my greatest friends as he helped me see the person I am. He was wondering what my culture was. I was scared to tell him what my race was, but something I remembered learning every year was to always tell the truth. By the time I told him I was Mexican and Guatemalan, he had interest in knowing about my family as well as how speaking Spanish makes me a great speaker. Although my identity does not seem affirmed in the way the authors were, I felt as if this reading changed the way I view all the people I have been in contact with in high school. If I had a chance to read this article before going to college, I could have a chance to introduce myself by stating my race and identity before even talking about other topics my peers and I used to talk about. I could have been in a better place if I have been honest before meeting my peers. This story is unique and I think it will help me think more about the we view/see each other in the future. If I were to meet Priya Parmer and Shirley Steinberg in-person, something I would like to ask them is: What was challenging about being the only person in a classroom with a different identity, how were they able to get respect from their students, what motivated you to express your own identity to others and how will the aspects your students identify impact the way you see yourself and others in an educational setting? Overall, this is what I liked most about the article. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4dc1axRwE4 (Video to Lyiscott's TED Talk)

     Lyiscott's presentation is another source that has helped me see identity and race better. Not only does she talk about Black-American students, she also discusses girls who are part of that crowd. One line from her video that stood out to me the most was, "If we do not have socially just practices in ourselves, here in the silence, then it is impossible to have social justice in our world" because everyone must acknowledge the fact that every individual living in our society is a different person with values that could be either similar and/or different to others. Not only does Jamila express race and identity as an issue in our community, she also explains how many African-American students have a hard time when taking English classes. As a student herself, she says "she was offended when for being a young black woman in her space" which makes her feel as she is the minority. Not only was it for identifying as a person of color, but also for being female. When Black-Women are giving the opportunity to speak, people believe their words are offensive, but they just expressing what they think based from their own knowledge. Many of them are also insulted, but they should receive respect. Black-women and other African-American students are the ones who are most afraid of how they are being seen in their educational spaces. They do not just enter the space because school is part of their lives, they come in because they are here to take a stand for themselves and show others their hard work. Judging people by their culture is not only offensive, but also depressive. Female students who identify as African-American should not be mistreated or discriminated for having a different identity. Instead, they should have empathy and be treated with respect, just like those those who do not identify as person of color. They are also important people and can create change in our environment. Without them living in our space, how will our world change or get better. 

    Another important part of the video I think is important to remember are the five paradigms Lyiscott mentions which are "Awareness, agency and access, actualization, achievement, and alteration" (Lyiscott, Ted talk, 2018). All five of them are important as we must be aware of the different people we see and get a chance to express the type of person we are. We must be honest and tell the people aside of us why we are because if we do not let them know we are present, it fells as we are invisible or being ignored. If students were allowed to be taught these five principles, it will help increase their knowledge as well as their experience in their schools. No matter how different their skills are, their creative learning styles will always impact the way we are seeing things as well as acknowledging the great work they do in our class. If all of working together as a team, the better our community will grow and help our peers benefit from others.

    All these readings has helped me see where I am today. Not only would I tell people my race, I would also express to others I am a religious. I am a person Hispanic student with parents from Spanish countries. Also, I am a Jehovah's Witness as well as someone who loves God, also known as Jehovah. Something great about my religion is that it meets in all different languages, but the one I go to is in Spanish, which makes the individual I am not only in my congregation and family, but also in college. One way I can share my identity in youth spaces is by telling people who I am, even if I feel different. There are many Spanish-speaking people in our community, and one way I belong in that space is by getting to know them and see the great skills they have compared to mine. As people ask me what religion I am, one way I share my religious experience is by telling them what we do and believe such as "Preaching and supporting others, not celebrating holidays, and being able to build leadership". Holidays is one aspect that might belong in the youth space as a majority of people celebrate it, but as for me, I am different just like the Black-American girls who viewed themselves as the minority after they have been heard that their comments were considered offensive. I am not sure whether it is affirmed or not, but it is one thing I would like to learn about. I would also like to ask "How can my identity be affirmed". This has been a new learning experience for me when I become a youth worker in the future. I know for a fact people will ask me "Who I am" and it is important I express my identity as it is an important part of ourselves. It is also one of the five anchors of Youth Development and race can belong in that category. As I learned this semester, Identity is "the skills developed to support young people in identity exploration" and not only do I want to them to see the person I am, I want them to tell me the type of person they are including their race. As a caring person, I want to acknowledge their backgrounds and give them a chance to communicate with many different people.

    

Black Feminism & The Movement for Black Lives/Event #2 Reflection by Cabrera, Roberto

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eV3nnFheQRo&feature=youtu.be (Black Feminism & Movement for Black Lives-Video/event)

    Something that stood out to me the most after watching this event was Charline Carruther's words on policing. The way police view Black women in America is a problem. They think women who identify as Black-American are a threat in our society. the minority living in the United States, while more White women who live here in the same area Black women feel loved and respected. As Carruther's mentions during the event, she says "If Black women were to be free, then all people would be free" meaning everyone would have equal rights, opportunities, and chances to live in a better environment where they feel safe, but that is not case here. More Black women in our society are more likely to go prison than women of different race. As many of you know, "Prisons aren't safe for anybody", especially for women who identify as person of color. I think Charlene did a great job expressing to the crowd how "Prisons should not exist" as women of color end up getting into consequences for crimes they did not commit. If police did not live in out society, Black women would have peace and justice. Every person deserves to be treated with respect. As I have a different identity, I must respect the great actions from Black-Americans and help women feel supported. I do not have anything against them, but I would not cause harm to them as police would. They are here to receive freedom and find joy in their community. I want to help them find the fun and make them feel as they belong in our society. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NYk-NZ_kDY (Video to the Breonna Taylor Shooting)

    A lot of us ask, "When will racism end in America". As violence keeps happening in our society, it is unknown when people will stop being a threat to others for being different. The case of Breonna Taylor can relate to the event I saw as Charline says in her presentation, "Police should not exist". As you may know, the officers who shot Breonna Taylor has not been sentenced to prison after killing someone innocent. As Reina Gossett mentions in her event about The Movement for Black Lives, the people who are causing harm are the ones taking control of our society. Police seek for Black people in order to make them feel as they do not belong in our community. The damage they have done to Breonna Taylor is something known as "Racial Profiling". They must stop making assumptions on people just by their race. Race does not tell us who we are, it is only a part of our identity. This news spreaded everywhere in our country, which is why I think it is a good source to use to help people understand women of color are innocent. If we start treating them with respect, it will show us why they are living in this country as well as getting to know their identity. This issue is still being seen today, which is why we must put an end to racism.

End Adultification Bias

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3Xc08anZAE (Video to End Adultification Bias)

    This presentation also connects to End Adultification Bias, where I learned how young Black girls were being oppressed in their schools. It is also one of the videos/readings read for this course this semester. When watching the feelings of female students who identify as person of color, I knew they were all trying their best to be active in school, but no matter how hard they worked to succeed, their teachers would not tolerate them or appreciate them for working to the best of their ability. Something from the video that stood out to me the most was the mistakes both Black-American and White-American females make. As mentioned, "A white girl's mistakes might be met with sympathy and understanding, but time after time, black girls are punished instead because they are held to a more adult standard of behavior", which I believe should not happen. The only thing different between both students are race, but that should not separate them from having equal opportunities in education. Many staff I saw from watching this video were viewing Black female students as "Disrespectful", which is something harsh to say to a student of color who respect others even if they are of a different background. If someone were to ask me as an educator what I think about Black-American girls in their education, I would tell them how respectful/kind they are and give them the chance to succeed. If they make mistakes, I would not find a path to get them in trouble for causing the wrong action, but I would help them fix it. 

    After seeing all this, I learned that the movement for Black lives has to do with identity and care. As a caring educator, I want to treat each person equally as a whole class. All of us has a different identity, which shows who we are and why we are here. When I get a chance to teach young students of color, I want them to feel motivated to talk about their identity as I want to show my care for them as well as respecting the kind of person they are. Without getting a chance to know them, I will not be able to know the individual I am when getting to work with youth. All this has helped me learned more about the different situations Black-American girls face as well as the struggles they have when living in this society. No matter what grade I get to teach, racism is the first thing I want to teach as I did not get a chance to learn about the topic until early college. The earlier students learn about different cultural identities, the better they will be able to live with people of all different aspects and have the opportunity to work with them in areas such as education, jobs, etc.

    

 

 

Victoria's Mini Lecture/Zoom video Comment-Reflection by Cabrera, Roberto

 

        Dr. Restler did a great job in her presentation. Something that has resonated with me was the way she expressed youth should be leaders. The ladder she mentions gave me an expression of where youth find themselves depending on the outcomes of their participation. In society, youth must have the opportunity to tell adults what they think will make their learning environment better or how adults should treat them. In most educational spaces, youth are not able to participate authentically. If youth just wait for adults to be asked to participate or if they do not have a chance to express their opinions on what they think from the material they are learning in school, they find themselves in "Non-Participation" which is the bottom side of the ladder. That side is listed as "Manipulation, Decoration, and Tokenism" where "Youth are being used in projects or youth spaces" (Restler), which I believe they should not be in that spot. They should be on top of the ladder defined as, "Degrees of Participation" where "Youth are given what to do in context" (Restler) and expressing their educators how their own opinions and ideas matter to us. This ladder helps see the kind of person I am. Each student I will get a chance to support in the future matter in this society. The reason they come to school is not just to learn, but to become leaders and see how our educational plans for others and themselves can change. As an educator myself, I do not just want to assign tasks to students or tell them to do something without knowing their great skills. It is important for me to let them speak and take control of each material they are learning to help me see where I am correct/incorrect. 

    Some questions I would like to ask to Dr. Restler in concerns of the youth participation ladder is: How does this ladder help you see the way youth participate and did it take a lot of practice/research to do this demonstration? Also, where would a college students stand in the ladder and how does it impact you as an adult and the students as youth? This is also something I want to learn more about because I am doing an assignment based on Youth Work is Leading With and how will these ideas you discussed be able to support me as I do the assignment.

    One part of the video that confused was Youth In Action. Something I knew about this organization was they do help to support youth in the state to gain better qualities and support in their lives. As mentioned in the video, I learned the youth who are part of the organization, "Share their stories, practice leadership, and create change in their communities" to create better change in their society. I am wondering if Youth In Action can relate to the youth participation ladder. Also, in what way can this relate to Youth being leaders. As mentioned in the video, "Youth In Action doesn't believe that to make youth voices visible, you have to make the adult role invisible", which I do not think is true because adults are seeing how youth participate and how it impacts their way of thinking. It has been hard for me to think about his program can be "Leading With", which is why I want to know how Youth are growing when being part of the YIA team.