Criminalization or Prevention

Some argue that truancy tickets, a practice used in Los Angeles, which requires that truant or tardy students  pay a fine, do community service, and/or have a court hearing is a useful practice that deters people from coming to school late or cutting school.  Others argue that this is another way that youth are criminalized because many students are fingerprinted when they get their truancy system, and it forces them into the court system.  If they don't pay the fines, they are denied other rights like ability to get a drivers license. 80% of LAUSD students are Title I, meaning their families are below the poverty line. That means truancy tickets are given overwhelmingly to low-income, majority Black and Brown youth whose families are now going to pay money they most certainly do not have at their disposal.  What do you think about truancy tickets?  Do they work?  What would be an alternative solution for getting students to school on time.  REMINDER: Your response should not be a sentence long!

Should We Celebrate?

Watch the top video posted on the video bar.  Then respond to the following:  What is the connection between this talk and Thanksgiving?  Based on what the speaker Aaron Huey explains, what are we celebrating on Thanksgiving day?  Should we celebrate?  We don't usually think of Native Americans as prisoners of war.   Why does Aaron Huey rename reservations as Prisoner of War Camps?  Based on what he said and what you see in his photographs, is that an accurate term to describe Native peoples and the reservations they live in?

Analyzing Characters

McBride writes, "Mommy's contradictions crashed and slammed against one another like bumper cars at Coney Island. White folks, she felt, were implicitly evil toward blacks, yet she forced us to go to white schools to get the best education. Blacks could be trusted more, but anything involving blacks was probably substandard... She was against welfare and never applied for it despite our need, but championed those who availed themselves of it." Do you think these contradictions served to confuse Ruth's children further, or did they somehow contribute to the balanced view of humanity that James McBride possesses?

Running Away

One can argue that chapters 14 & 15 are about how the decisions we make always catch up to us; there is no way of running away from the consequences of our choices, they will always come back to haunt us.  How is this true for Chicken Man?  For James? and for Rachel/Ruth/Mama?  How is it true for you?

#2 (week 8) RACE MATTERS???

In The Color of Water, why does James’ mother refuse to talk about race?  How is this helping or hurting her children?  What do mixed-race children face in today’s world? Is it more excepted?   What would your parents say if you dated outside of your ethnic group?   Refer to a specific part of the text in your response.

A Girl Like Me: Who Creates Our Standard of Beauty

In the film "A Girl Like Me" and in the novel, Coffee Will Make You Black, standards of beauty are examined through the lens of race.  Both authors are making the argument that our standards of beauty are shaped by the racist system that we live in.  How do both author's make this argument?  What evidence can you find in the text?  Are women today, from your generation, still trying to meet a standard of beauty that is white?  If not, whose standard are they trying to live up to?