How early in your life were you aware of your gender identity? Usually, from the moment we are born, we have a gender identity: Girls wear pink, dresses and play with dolls; boys wear blue, pants and play with trucks. For some children though, their gender identity doesn’t match their assigned sex.
Last night, I had the opportunity to watch Lisa Ling’s new documentary series “Our America”. This particular episode covered the life of Hailey, a young biological boy born as Harry, who expressed early on in life that “he” was really a “she”. By age three, “Harry” as she was known then had already begun engaging in traditional female behaviors – dressing up as princesses, playing with dolls and drawing self-portraits depicting him as a girl. By kindergarten, “Harry” was already choosing to be called Hailey. The thing I found most amazing about this show was that his parents went along with it. Although at times they were confused, hurt and perhaps even angry, they never stopped loving their son. You can check out a clip from the episode here: http://www.oprah.com/own-our-america-lisa-ling/Transgender-Child-A-Parents-Difficult-Choice
According to a study recently done by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, 41% of transgender individuals have attempted suicide, 26% have lost a job due to being transgender and 19% have been denied housing. They face wide spread discrimination as youth and adults. Many people don’t even know transgender children exist. To be honest, I had never really given it much though myself, until I saw this show.
I remember my mom always instructing me at a young age to “sit like a little lady”. So it got me thinking, “Do you remember when you first realized your gender identity role? Did your parents do things to encourage you one way or another? What would you do if you found yourself in the position of Hailey’s parents?” Answers are due no later than Tuesday, March 1st, 2011.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Ode to Presidents
This week in class we will talk about the Presidency. This Monday, the nation celebrates George Washington's birthday, commonly known as President's Day. So, in honor of our first President, I decided to blog this week about the men who have served our nation as "Commander in Chief".
Some of our Presidents have had great courage. George Washington and Dwight D. Eisenhower commanded troops in battle in two of the most important wars in our nation's history. Without their courage, it is hard to say if America as nation would be where it is today.
Some of our Presidents have been great scholars. Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, which remains a model of democratic thought and is studied in political science classes around the world to this day. Woodrow Wilson was the only President to earn a doctorate degree, which he earned in political science.
Some of our Presidents have been great orators. John Adams was considered the "voice" of the revolution. John Kennedy's inauguration address inspired a new generation of Americans to serve their communities. Ronald Reagan was known as "The Great Communicator" and is credited with helping to end the Cold War.
My question to you this week is "Throughout history, who do you think would've made a great President that never held the office?" My answer is Benjamin Franklin. We all know of Benjamin Franklin's famous lightening rod experiment, but did you know he invented many other things including the Franklin stove, bifocals, batteries and the glass 'armonica'? He also formed our nation's first library and fire departments, and founded the University of Pennsylvania. Franklin was a great statesmen, diplomat and politician. He is credited with developing the ideals of the American character. Had he not been so advanced in age, it is possible he would've added 'President' to his long list of accomplishments. So, "Who do you think would've made a great President that never held the office?" Answers are due no later than Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011.
P.S. Okay, okay, most of you didn't seem to like the new changes I made to the blog. I'm going to try the link Steven sent me - thank you by the way. Until then, I've changed the font back to black to avoid hurting anyone's eyes. Sigh.
Some of our Presidents have had great courage. George Washington and Dwight D. Eisenhower commanded troops in battle in two of the most important wars in our nation's history. Without their courage, it is hard to say if America as nation would be where it is today.
Some of our Presidents have been great scholars. Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, which remains a model of democratic thought and is studied in political science classes around the world to this day. Woodrow Wilson was the only President to earn a doctorate degree, which he earned in political science.
Some of our Presidents have been great orators. John Adams was considered the "voice" of the revolution. John Kennedy's inauguration address inspired a new generation of Americans to serve their communities. Ronald Reagan was known as "The Great Communicator" and is credited with helping to end the Cold War.
My question to you this week is "Throughout history, who do you think would've made a great President that never held the office?" My answer is Benjamin Franklin. We all know of Benjamin Franklin's famous lightening rod experiment, but did you know he invented many other things including the Franklin stove, bifocals, batteries and the glass 'armonica'? He also formed our nation's first library and fire departments, and founded the University of Pennsylvania. Franklin was a great statesmen, diplomat and politician. He is credited with developing the ideals of the American character. Had he not been so advanced in age, it is possible he would've added 'President' to his long list of accomplishments. So, "Who do you think would've made a great President that never held the office?" Answers are due no later than Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011.
P.S. Okay, okay, most of you didn't seem to like the new changes I made to the blog. I'm going to try the link Steven sent me - thank you by the way. Until then, I've changed the font back to black to avoid hurting anyone's eyes. Sigh.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Hell No, We Won't Go!
By now, I’m sure you have seen the news reports on the uprising in Egypt. Activists are protesting poverty, unemployment, government corruption and the rule of President Hosni Mubarak, who has been president since 1981.
On January 25th, millions of protesters defied the military-imposed curfew and demonstrated across the country. Protesters continue to clash with police, and at the time of this writing over 100 are dead with 750 police and 1,500 citizens injured. On February 1st, President Mubarak said he will work to improve the economy and create jobs, and will not seek re-election although he refuses to step down, defying the main demand from the protesters.
Although I never condone violence, I am glad to see people around the world standing up for their rights and letting their voices be heard. So my question to you this week is “Have you ever attended a protest or a rally, and if so, for what cause? If you were going to attend a demonstration, what cause would you be supporting?” Answers are due no later than Tuesday, February 15th, 2011.
P.S. I changed the look of the blog for the first time. You are all design students, be honest - is it better or worse?
On January 25th, millions of protesters defied the military-imposed curfew and demonstrated across the country. Protesters continue to clash with police, and at the time of this writing over 100 are dead with 750 police and 1,500 citizens injured. On February 1st, President Mubarak said he will work to improve the economy and create jobs, and will not seek re-election although he refuses to step down, defying the main demand from the protesters.
Although I never condone violence, I am glad to see people around the world standing up for their rights and letting their voices be heard. So my question to you this week is “Have you ever attended a protest or a rally, and if so, for what cause? If you were going to attend a demonstration, what cause would you be supporting?” Answers are due no later than Tuesday, February 15th, 2011.
P.S. I changed the look of the blog for the first time. You are all design students, be honest - is it better or worse?
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Do Big Things
As I mentioned in last week’s post, the Sate of the Union was on last week. Each year, the President gives a big speech to a joint session of Congress and the American people to update them on, well…the state of the union. I hope some of you caught all or part of it, but just in case you missed it, you can access the video link here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/state-of-the-union-2011
In his speech, President Obama called on Americans to "do big things". He challenged us to "win the future" by creating jobs through education and innovation. So for this week's blog post, I would like to know, what was one thing you liked about President Obama's ideas for the future? What was one thing you didn't like, or thought he didn't speak enough about?" Answers are due no later than Tuesday, February 8th, 2010.
I hope all of you survived the ice storm and enjoyed a couple days off of school. On a good note, Punxsutawney Phil, the groundhog, forecasted and early spring today!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Abortion: 38 Years Later
Last Saturday marked the 38th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, the highly controversial case which made abortion, in some situations legal. Norma McCorvey, called Jane Roe in court documents to protect her privacy, falsely said she had been raped in an attempt to obtain an abortion for her third pregnancy. At the time, Texas law allowed abortion in the case of rape, however Norma was denied due to lack of evidence and no police report. Norma then gave up her claim of being raped, hired an attorney and sued the state of Texas. Her case eventually wound up on the docket of the Supreme Court, leading to one of the most controversial decisions in American history.
Writing for the majority, Justice Harry Blackmun said that the implied right to privacy in the Constitution is “broad enough to encompass a women’s decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy”. The court’s decision made abortions legal in the first trimester without restrictions.
In the coming weeks, we will look more in-depth at this case and study how the court came to their decision. Supporters feel that a woman should have the right to choose, have reproductive freedom and maintain right to privacy. Opponents say there is no Constitutional foundation for supporting abortions, that life begins at conception and that there is a moral issue at stake.
Honestly, I’m not sure how I feel about abortion. On one hand, my faith makes me think abortion would not be a choice for me. On the other hand, I think it’s easy to say you feel a certain way when you haven’t been in that situation before. I would never want to pass judgment on someone. It’s a tricky situation and one I am grateful that I don’t have to face. So my question to you this week is “Do you favor or oppose the Supreme Court’s decision making abortions within the first trimester legal? Why or why not?” Guys, I want to hear from you too! Abortion is not just a female issue – it takes two to make a child. Answers are due no later than Tuesday, February 1st, 2011.
P.S. The State of the Union was on last night! Am I the only one who was excited? Probably, but I hope you watched it all the same…stay tuned for a recap on next week’s blog.
Writing for the majority, Justice Harry Blackmun said that the implied right to privacy in the Constitution is “broad enough to encompass a women’s decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy”. The court’s decision made abortions legal in the first trimester without restrictions.
In the coming weeks, we will look more in-depth at this case and study how the court came to their decision. Supporters feel that a woman should have the right to choose, have reproductive freedom and maintain right to privacy. Opponents say there is no Constitutional foundation for supporting abortions, that life begins at conception and that there is a moral issue at stake.
Honestly, I’m not sure how I feel about abortion. On one hand, my faith makes me think abortion would not be a choice for me. On the other hand, I think it’s easy to say you feel a certain way when you haven’t been in that situation before. I would never want to pass judgment on someone. It’s a tricky situation and one I am grateful that I don’t have to face. So my question to you this week is “Do you favor or oppose the Supreme Court’s decision making abortions within the first trimester legal? Why or why not?” Guys, I want to hear from you too! Abortion is not just a female issue – it takes two to make a child. Answers are due no later than Tuesday, February 1st, 2011.
P.S. The State of the Union was on last night! Am I the only one who was excited? Probably, but I hope you watched it all the same…stay tuned for a recap on next week’s blog.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Does America Make Homegrown Terrorists?
By now, we all know of the Arizona shootings that took place on January 8th, 2011, in which a gunman killed six people and wounded thirteen others at an event for Representative Gabrielle Giffords. Representative Giffords survived a single gunshot wound to the head. At the time of this writing, it is reported that she is able to open her eyes, move both of her legs and one of her hands, however she has a long road of recovery ahead. One of her staffers, three retirees, a federal judge and a nine year old girl were all killed. The suspect, Jared Lee Loughner, was taken into federal custody at the scene, after being tackled by onlookers as he struggled to reload.
The attack raise questions about the tone of America’s political discourse. Sarah Palin has received a lot of heat after news outlets reported that she had targeted Gifford’s district using a crosshair image on her website. Representative Giffords had warned Palin that her use of violent imagery would have “consequences”. For her part, Palin issued a statement expressing sympathy for the victims and stating she does not condone violence and that “acts of monstrous criminality stand on their own”. She went on to say that “journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn.” The term “blood libel” set off another firestorm of controversy with leaders from the Jewish community saying they found the use of the term offensive.
Now I am sure that Sarah Palin never intended for anyone to shoot Representative Giffords or anyone else for that matter. However, there is no denying that America’s political discourse seems to have taken a very nasty tone. It is one thing to disagree with someone and discuss why you disagree, in fact, having open political debate is one of the things that make our country so great but where do you draw the line? Is it acceptable to use violent imagery, threats and derogatory comments about people’s race, religion or gender? On the other side, when you start censoring people, or condemning people for every speech they make you take away the very liberties America stands for.
So my question to you this week is, “What do you think about the state of America’s political discourse? Do you think it’s acceptable for political leaders to say whatever they want about other candidates/ office holders? Should these people be censored in some way and if so, how should we go about it?” Answers are due no later than Tuesday, January 24th, 2011.
The attack raise questions about the tone of America’s political discourse. Sarah Palin has received a lot of heat after news outlets reported that she had targeted Gifford’s district using a crosshair image on her website. Representative Giffords had warned Palin that her use of violent imagery would have “consequences”. For her part, Palin issued a statement expressing sympathy for the victims and stating she does not condone violence and that “acts of monstrous criminality stand on their own”. She went on to say that “journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn.” The term “blood libel” set off another firestorm of controversy with leaders from the Jewish community saying they found the use of the term offensive.
Now I am sure that Sarah Palin never intended for anyone to shoot Representative Giffords or anyone else for that matter. However, there is no denying that America’s political discourse seems to have taken a very nasty tone. It is one thing to disagree with someone and discuss why you disagree, in fact, having open political debate is one of the things that make our country so great but where do you draw the line? Is it acceptable to use violent imagery, threats and derogatory comments about people’s race, religion or gender? On the other side, when you start censoring people, or condemning people for every speech they make you take away the very liberties America stands for.
So my question to you this week is, “What do you think about the state of America’s political discourse? Do you think it’s acceptable for political leaders to say whatever they want about other candidates/ office holders? Should these people be censored in some way and if so, how should we go about it?” Answers are due no later than Tuesday, January 24th, 2011.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Like, Comment, Share!
Some of you, who know me, know that I’ve never been much of a technology person. I don’t have a smart phone, I don’t use GPS and I don’t post pictures online. For years, my friends have been encouraging me to set up a Facebook account, and recently I finally took their advice. Now I have all of these “virtual friends” that I feel pressured to keep up with. I know who is where and what they are doing every second of the day. I’m not sure I need to know these little details, but I’m slowly getting more accustomed to checking in with family and friends via Facebook. Sigh.
Although I haven’t seen the movie The Social Network yet, I did read that Time magazine named the creator of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg their Person of the Year for 2010. The twenty-six year old, created Facebook in 2004 while still a sophomore at Harvard. Today he is worth an estimated $6.9 billion and Facebook has over 550 million users. Every sixty seconds there are over 1.7 million actions performed on Facebook and their membership rate grows at about 700,000 people every day! In fact, 1 out of every 12 people on the planet has a Facebook account. That’s right…the PLANET! This means, according to Time magazine, “In less than seven years, Zuckerberg wired together a twelfth of humanity into a single network”.
That really got me thinking. We now live in a global community, with access to resources that our parents and grandparents could’ve never imagined. The world is literally at our fingertips. So my question to you this week is, “If money were no object, how could you use technology to better your community, school or planet?” Answers are due no later than Tuesday, January 18th, 2011.
Although I haven’t seen the movie The Social Network yet, I did read that Time magazine named the creator of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg their Person of the Year for 2010. The twenty-six year old, created Facebook in 2004 while still a sophomore at Harvard. Today he is worth an estimated $6.9 billion and Facebook has over 550 million users. Every sixty seconds there are over 1.7 million actions performed on Facebook and their membership rate grows at about 700,000 people every day! In fact, 1 out of every 12 people on the planet has a Facebook account. That’s right…the PLANET! This means, according to Time magazine, “In less than seven years, Zuckerberg wired together a twelfth of humanity into a single network”.
That really got me thinking. We now live in a global community, with access to resources that our parents and grandparents could’ve never imagined. The world is literally at our fingertips. So my question to you this week is, “If money were no object, how could you use technology to better your community, school or planet?” Answers are due no later than Tuesday, January 18th, 2011.
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