Why are women the targets of low self-esteem? Why do we have to worry about our looks more than men do? Why do we have to count calories to feel good about ourselves? Why do we constantly carry that guilty feeling? Why are women on all of the Lean Cuisine, Smart Ones, Jenny Craig, and Weight Watchers commercials? IT'S JUST NOT FAIR!
My personal take on this issue is that over many generations, women have gradually become increasingly self-aware and this self-awareness has been skewed (in a negative direction) very heavily over time. As a nation, particularly the United States, where food is plentiful and most of the population is obese, the women of this country are still not comfortable with themselves. It doesn't matter if they're normal, underweight, or overweight. There is ALWAYS a flaw that we (women) will find within ourselves.
I guess my overall feeling about this issue is anger. It makes me angry that women have to look good all of the time just to feel complete. No one should have to constantly think about this - not even men! The mystery question is why do men have a generally higher self-esteem? Sometimes I think life would be easier if we were all men (of course, this would not be practical, but with advancements in technology today, it may be possible to one day have a world of men or at least sexless individuals). I know, or at least I've heard, that men deal with other issues, but come on! They aren't half as bad as ours.
The major problem with women's self-esteem issues is that these days, girls begin to develop much earlier (much of this is due to hormones in meat, particularly chicken) and the earlier they start to develop, the earlier they start to think about how their changing bodies are somehow "ugly." I think that if we emphasized self-esteem issues more heavily in classrooms and at home earlier (like at age 5 or 6), girls and women would slowly get rid of those "ugly" thoughts.
I think it's great that some women are confident enough to embrace their bodies even though the rest of the population doesn't think they're perfect. Confidence=Gold. The reason I believe this is good analogy or comparison is because these days gold is very expensive and very rare, and so is confidence! Even silver has gone up drastically in value. If we (women) could at least get at the "silver" level regarding our self-esteem, we would be much better off, at least mentally and emotionally.
The reason I am writing about self-esteem problems with women is because I have experienced the entire spectrum of confidence regarding myself. It would be nice if we could learn to compliment ourselves more and teach others to give more compliments (especially men!). I know that there have been after-school programs dedicated to girls' self-esteem issues, and I think that's great. The problem is, these programs aren't everywhere, and our self-esteem issues are present everywhere! Even with the implementation of these programs, I believe that women will still experience low self-esteem. We need to somehow learn to re-program ourselves into thinking that we really are o.k. the way we are!
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Sunday, November 7, 2010
1920s and 1930s Media
This movie is meant to wrap-up a lesson for a VA-US History Class on the impact of key domestic events of the 1920s and 30s. Some images that appear include FDR, Frida Khalo, Mr. Bojangles, Shirley Temple, and Will Rogers (a prominent actor and cowboy during the 1920s). The background music is "Jeepers Creepers," a popular 1938 hit by Al Donahue and his Orchestra. I hope to engage my VA-US History students through a question and answer session after the movie is played.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Classical Conditioning
Classical Conditioning Podcast
I decided to create a podcast about classical conditioning because I hope to teach psychology at the high school level. Classical conditioning is a concept that is likely to come up in the psychology classroom, so I thought a podcast on this topic would be appropriate.
I decided to break up the podcast in the following way: First, I gave a brief background on classical conditioning. Then, I tried to emphasize the most essential vocabulary associated with classical conditioning. Finally, I gave a personal example of classical conditioning so that it was relatable to the audience.
Please enjoy!
I decided to create a podcast about classical conditioning because I hope to teach psychology at the high school level. Classical conditioning is a concept that is likely to come up in the psychology classroom, so I thought a podcast on this topic would be appropriate.
I decided to break up the podcast in the following way: First, I gave a brief background on classical conditioning. Then, I tried to emphasize the most essential vocabulary associated with classical conditioning. Finally, I gave a personal example of classical conditioning so that it was relatable to the audience.
Please enjoy!
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Differentiated Instruction
Over the past few weeks, I have learned that there are different meanings of "diffentiated instruction." Some Instructors advocate giving gifted students more work, and some argue against it. The instructors that are against it believe that gifted students should not be "punished," in essence, for being brighter than the rest of the class by being given more work. They advocate for giving those students more choices in how they learn the material. As a student in the Teacher Licensure Program, I think this can get very confusing. One of my professors told my class to make sure that we don't let the rest of the class find out about a student being gifted (or have a learning disability) when you give them a different assignment. My question is how do we do that without singling them out? Other students will see the gifted or special needs student get a different worksheet or assignment and may question them or you (the teacher) about it.
Teaching students with differentiated instruction is in itself challenging. Doing this correctly may prove to be even more challenging.
Teaching students with differentiated instruction is in itself challenging. Doing this correctly may prove to be even more challenging.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Waiting for Superman
I got a chance to see Waiting for Superman last weekend, and a few things really jumped out at me.
First, teacher unions are bad. There were a group of teachers from D.C. Public Schools in the documentary who were protesting Michelle Rhee's (the Superintendent of D.C. public Schools) proposal for higher pay instead of tenure. Why do teachers feel as though they are entitled to their jobs? Teachers should have to "work" to keep their jobs just like any other professional.
Another issue worth noting was the "dance of the lemons." Bad teachers (the lemons) are passed from school to school until a principal gets the mediocre one of the group. In the state of NY, there's a place called "the rubber room" where teachers who needed reform were sent to complete their reform program. The teachers show up for 6 hours per day and get to do (essentially) whatever they want. They can play cards, read, listen to their ipod, text, eat, etc. And while they're there, they get paid their full salaries! This seems like a giant waste of taxpayer dollars.
Overall, I thought this documentary was very accurate and raised a lot of good points about the state of education today. It was very depressing to see kids "stuck" in schools that are bound to fail, and the only way out is to get in a charter school (which has a limited number of seats available). Most of the kids in the movie did not get into the charter school. There has to be a better way!
First, teacher unions are bad. There were a group of teachers from D.C. Public Schools in the documentary who were protesting Michelle Rhee's (the Superintendent of D.C. public Schools) proposal for higher pay instead of tenure. Why do teachers feel as though they are entitled to their jobs? Teachers should have to "work" to keep their jobs just like any other professional.
Another issue worth noting was the "dance of the lemons." Bad teachers (the lemons) are passed from school to school until a principal gets the mediocre one of the group. In the state of NY, there's a place called "the rubber room" where teachers who needed reform were sent to complete their reform program. The teachers show up for 6 hours per day and get to do (essentially) whatever they want. They can play cards, read, listen to their ipod, text, eat, etc. And while they're there, they get paid their full salaries! This seems like a giant waste of taxpayer dollars.
Overall, I thought this documentary was very accurate and raised a lot of good points about the state of education today. It was very depressing to see kids "stuck" in schools that are bound to fail, and the only way out is to get in a charter school (which has a limited number of seats available). Most of the kids in the movie did not get into the charter school. There has to be a better way!
Friday, October 15, 2010
Merit Pay and Teaching Attitudes
Although the idea of merit pay is quite admirable, I don't think it is going to be implemented any time soon. The way I see it, most teachers are not expecting to get paid a lot. I'm sure they would appreciate a monetary reward now and then for a job well done, but according to Education Week, top teachers aren't the ones getting recruited anymore. New teachers are the hot commodity. Why? Because they're cheap and don't have to get paid as much as an experienced teacher (because they don't have a leg to stand on yet).
On another note, it seems like ever since I've started the Teacher Licensure Program, I've been hearing a lot of negative things about the teaching profession. This can be very discouraging to new teachers. Last week, a panel of former U of R TLP students (that are now teaching) came to discuss their views on teaching in our Foundations class. Although I wasn't surprised at what the panel was saying, their attitudes were very negative. How do they expect us to love our job if everyone else is being so negative? I do not understand this. I can understand the importance of being fully prepared and knowing what you're getting yourself into, however; if you are in teaching for the long run, you shouldn't let anyone or anything get in the way.
Attitude can make a huge difference in how well someone performs his or her job. If we're expecting merit pay to become a reality, we need to look at changing our attitudes first.
On another note, it seems like ever since I've started the Teacher Licensure Program, I've been hearing a lot of negative things about the teaching profession. This can be very discouraging to new teachers. Last week, a panel of former U of R TLP students (that are now teaching) came to discuss their views on teaching in our Foundations class. Although I wasn't surprised at what the panel was saying, their attitudes were very negative. How do they expect us to love our job if everyone else is being so negative? I do not understand this. I can understand the importance of being fully prepared and knowing what you're getting yourself into, however; if you are in teaching for the long run, you shouldn't let anyone or anything get in the way.
Attitude can make a huge difference in how well someone performs his or her job. If we're expecting merit pay to become a reality, we need to look at changing our attitudes first.
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