Class+13+-+Apr+27

=** Class 13 **= **Class Notes** : Pedagogy- Connection between the thinking of teaching and the doing of teaching.

Art is a major way of getting into issues

Ecojustice pedagogy- resisting a colonizing culture of consumerism by engaging in practices connected to the culture commons Ecojustice looks at the connections between ecology and culture. -Students will be more able to: - Identify sustainable social and ecological relationships - connect with intergenerational knowledges - Decrease the influence of the media and consumerism - be more culturally inclusive and have a greater awearness or interconnectedness nurturance and reciprocity -its not abut being a strong individual but being a strong community

Roots of ecojustice pegagogy - Ecofeminism - Indigenous education

Eco-racism- the relationsship between poor environmental conditions and people of color and lower socioeconomic classes disproportionately living in those conditions

Summary points of Ecojustice Theory 1) Eliminate ecoracism- the relationship between poor environmental conditions and peoples of color and lower socioeconomic classes disproportionitly livin in those conditions - third world nations - environmental conditons -asthma in citys 2) Reviltalizing Cultural Commons - Sharing - naturals systems - culture patterns and traditions- food, medicine, the arts, and religons - shared with little or no cost - mutual support systems and local democracy

(Kari M & Chris Kyle)

**Clarifications for the class notes this week** :

**Clarifications, points, and questions work pursuing for future weeks (Extend the discussion from this week's class):**

One thing I was really thinking about after last night's lecture was the cultural commons and the videos we watched about India. I came to the conclusion that once the cultural commons start decreasing or are completely eliminated from a society, that is when privilege comes into play. People start struggling to get everyday supplies they need to survive, so enters competition and greed between the people who once all had access to the cultural commons. The ones with privilege have connections or other sources to get the things they need, but what happens to those who don't have outside connections? It always comes down to privilege, like Kozol discusses in his book. The ones with inside connections who have other people working to help them, they succeed and progress (in the wrong ways), but the ones who are simply trying to get by with whatever resources they have...well, you know the rest. It is a very sad thing when people take away a society's resources for their own selfish benefit. They are harming themselves in the longrun. (Katya Lagun)

That last movie, "Shop Till You Drop" hit me hard guys. I felt embarassed to be an American, understanding how true it really was. We spend so much time and devote so much energy to buying and spending and in the process collect far too much than we ever should. The movie depicted a society ultimately like the one that the government and public education have been striving to achieve for decades: a society in which notions of radical thought and interest in the greater pcture are cast aside and replaced with material possesions and temporary enjoyments. The notion of "Keepng up with the Joneses" or that through commodities you can ultimately find happiness is all a clever scheme to suck us dry of the money we work our whole lifes to obtain and to keep us preoccuied so that those in charge can shape the world as they see fit. It will be harder for some but, how do we snap ourselves out of this situation? Is an ecojustice education system the answer? By focusing on the ideals of sharing and common cultures within our society and societies of others we can slowly help people realize that there are more impotant things in life than, a Lexus with Phat Rims. But how long will that take, too long to change things within our times? Maybe we need something radical to encourage a wide awakening amongst the people? I like to feel that commodities ceraintly do bring happiness within everyone and that we shouldn't resist the growth of technology, to an extent, but should rather help people to understand that there is more to life, that comsumeriam is something to monitor, and that common culture communities are obtainable in America. Movies like the one in class work to teach us just that. (Chris Kyle) Branching off of what Katya and Chris have said, I have to agree with what they are saying, and the comments they have made. I haven't seen "Shop tillyou Drop" but i experience it on a daily basis because I work at the mall- and I see this everyday. But I did just finished watching the movie “Avatar” and I can see/make the connection towards how we are simply trying to get others to do either what we want them to do- and if or when they don’t we resort to violence or driving them out of their homes.Taking these issues into another asect of what occurs in or society- as well as many others- We have seen this time and time again in wars, colonization, etc.. Even as Katya said-It is a very sad thing when people take away a society's resources for their own selfish benefit-”. I agree! But this is a cycle that is repeating- I can even see how its occurring in education. Politian’s are coming in and now taking over the schools- and making them “better”. But really we all know that this never works out. (Tara Gleason)

I read your post Chris and even though I did not see the film, based on your comments I can imagine the message it contained. When I think about the youngest generation, I still cannot believe they are going to grow up with the things in society today. The idea of being a “digital native” amazes me. Some kids in America today won’t know what it’s like to live without cell phones, computers, video games, immediate access to everything, etc. What could be even worse though is that censorship for these things has gone out the window. Parents may want their kids to have cell phone for safety reasons, they may provide computers for school or learning, but I believe giving children technology has a different meaning for them. And for other parents, they may feel as though their children are entitled to these things simply because the majority of people in their particular society does. I can remember my grandparents saying, “I can’t believe all of the things you have (games, movies, video games)…we didn’t have this when I was growing up.” The thing is, I didn’t really have a choice. I was born into a world where these things existed. I didn’t know a world without these things. So how will we educate the youngest generation now who does not know a world without technology? It should not be by providing them with every single gadget that exists. It should not be by going shopping every weekend and consuming, consuming, consuming. But that is what’s happening now, correct? (Laura Vagnini)

For most people it is probably terrifying to think that one day capitalism will cease to exist. It dictates the order of a lot of things and is a huge part of our lives. Even though it can be harmful, many people rely on this system and it will surely hurt a lot of people if it goes away. I completely agree that a cultural commons is an awesome thing that should be more prevalent in our society but it is difficult for me to imagine a world without capitalism. I think that I have a very open mind and I still have a difficult time imagining this. I can only wonder what our society as a whole would think. What would our society look like? Would we embrace this and prosper culturally and unify? (Sarah Rousseau)

I agree with Sarah in the questioning of cultural commons. Our culture is very competive and many people always strive to have the most or the best of things. If we were to lack capitalism and the system of working for what we have or dont have I dont think anyone would work as hard and possibly not prosper culturally and unify like Sarah had said. Im not saying it wouldnt be a good thing because it would probablly ultimatelly in some way make life easier but it is hard to see it that way when we have what we do. I just thing that capitalism is just so burned into our lives that we wouldnt be able to live without it and a lot of peope rely on this system of life. (Allie Beardsworth)

I agree with Allie, people wouldn't be working as hard if it was not for teh way society is now. People want the best of everything because they think that it makes people respect them more, so if they work harder and get more money they will be respected by society more than if they were using or wearing non name brand things. I'm not saying that this is how the world should be run however what would it be like if it was not that way? (Emily Hungerford)

I also agree with the statements made above with the way our society runs and thinks. People are always looking for the newest and greatest products they could fund and have it before anyone else. Capitalism is what drives this society and it would be really hard to imagine it not being this way. I strongly believe that this will not change in our lifetime. This has taken over our society to such extremes and to reverse is nit practically impossible to do. The more money people have supposedly the happier they are. But you look at other countries that are complete opposites of the U.S. and they have happiness in what they do and believe in. Greg Grochowski

The movie that we watched which focused on consumerism on behalf of Americans was almost like a reality check in my eyes. Not to say that I'm not aware of how dependant we are as consumers or how much we rely on brand name products/high quality items, but seeing this movie right after watching the other short film made me stop and think about what or how we would perceive our lives IF we didn't have all the things we have now to rely on? It isn't even like people necessarily have to rely on certain products, like the luxorious hand bags and other high priced things, but since they are available and for some people easy to just outright purchase, then I think that is where we begin to look like things are taken for, by far, granted. I also agreed with Katya's comment about everything always falling back to privilege. The ones who can afford it are going to have everything they want whereas the ones who can't afford nearly half as much as they want, are going to struggle while 'standards' in society keep raising because of how great of an impact consumerism has on our society. (Mandy Lucente)

I agree with you Mandy that the "Shop til you Drop" video was a reality check. We all like to think the others are the problem and that we aren't. This video shows how most people see that the consumerism is getting so bad in America. We are lucky to have all that we do in this country but at what price. It is hard to not buy the things that we want. The advertising and stores are everywhere and so easily available to us. My feeling is not to completely stop but to shop realistically and smart. Buy what you need and I try to find stores that are individually owned to support them members of my community. The relates to teaching our students to be involved in their world and community. They need to know how the world works and that they can make a difference. Our changes won't make a difference until the future and we need our students to carry on these changes. (Kelly Bates)

What caught my attention was part of the Ecojustice Theory. Part of it is summarized as, ‘the relationship between poor environmental conditions and peoples of color and lower socioeconomic classes disproportionitly living in those conditions.’ I feel that this has been talked about before in our discussions about how this relates to education relating back to families being a powerful support in a child’s education. It is the environment and the conditions around the students that affect them and can help or hinder their education process. The lack of resources or abundance of resources that are in that environment that affect the child. This goes along with third world nations, how they have no resources and poor conditions, which leads to worse. (Kristie Fergusson)

After watching the video I realized that the entire economic structure of the region changed so one person could get rich. And secretly (NOT REALLY A SECRET) that’s how the world is run. Look at the big bail out. It happened because the big CEOs of these major companies were trying to make it big and become rich without caring about who it hurt. We have experienced a huge bail out of the US but imagine a global bailout?? (Elisabeth dos Santos)

I think it is obvious that we have come a long way since the 1900's. Technology and some other factors have contributed to this advancement. The movie "Shop Til you Drop" really makes individuals realize how materialistic many people are. When the woman was going through the lengthy list of items that can be found in a house, my guess is that everyone including myself was thinking "I have that in my home". In today's society it is about having the top of the line products and the latest version of electronics. I would have to agree that we take things for granted because when it comes down to it, can someone live without their cellphone, laptop, or designer clothing? The media plays a big role in promoting these products. There are some people who can ignore the advertisements while others get sucked in and feel the need to go out and buy it right away. When I was watching the video it made me think about the people in third world countires who do not live the same kind of lifestyle Americans do, and they are happy with where they are. I also thought about the children that are slaving away to produce the products we are buying. At this point, I really don't think American's could change the materialistic lifestyle that they live unless it were absolutely necessary. (Allie French)

I agree with Allie when she wrote "I really don't think American's could change the materialistic lifestyle that they live unless it were absolutely necessary". I agree with this because I work in the mall and I see all the people walking around with expensive clothes, laptops, etc. I also talk to a lot of the little kids around the holidays and see what they are asking Santa and the Easter Bunny for. A lot of things they are asking for are expensive items that play into the hands of our consumer culture and materialistic lifestyle. I also find it shocking that if you talked to a lot of Americans they would not understand where all of the items that they buy or use come from (ex. sweatshops). I was also shocked when I was watching the movie "Shop Till you Drop" because like Allie I was sitting there saying in my head, "I have that in my home", every time the ladies rattled of something that I own that was on their list. I strongly agree with Allie when she wrote "In today's society it is about having the top of the line products and the latest version of electronic". Even though this statement is upsetting I do agree with it because I feel that this is a major view of almost every American. (Jessica Morneault)

I remember before watching the "Shop til You Drop" video Love mentioned how it might be hard to relate this to Physical Education, but I made a lot of connections. Physical Education touches on a broad criteria of healthy lifestyle choices. And a lot of what that means [healthy lifestyle] can be extremely skewed by the media. A Nation of Consumers, a Nation of people trying to fit in. Everyone's values and beliefs in this nation are very different, but this whole Nation of Consumers plays a huge effect in our health! In the U.S. there is so much impulsive eating, and most the time it's eating crap! So then we have Americans who are obese, but all the media advertisement displays skinny hot models and ripped, chiseled men... So now we have impulsive crap eaters who desire hot bods, so the American thing to do is look for quick-fix diets!! Do you see where I am going with this? Cause

then you get into all the sports advertisement, like NIKE or Underarmor who brain wash athletes and others who want to be physically active into buying their merchandise to be cool and look trendy and inspire you to train harder... What bullshit... and the sad part is, I'm one of those athletes who plays on a team that is labeled in NIKE gear. So a lot of the issues brought up in "Shop til You Drop" can be directly connected to Physical Education and a lot of the poor messages that are hurting our views of healthy living. Which then Physical educators need to teach around those stereotypes and help students gain a realistic view of healthy lifestyle choices, set goals and then help them achieve and maintain those goals. (Jessica Roberts)

What I find in common with eco-justice and theater of the oppressed is our lost connection to the outside world. The theater of the oppressed allows an out let to see the bigger picture through interpretation. Eco-justice attempts to remind humans that they arn't the dominant species. Lets be honost mother nature has the last say. Only when the lakes are dried up and every last tree is cut down, and the last grain of wheat is ground up will we realize that we can't eat money. (Tim Walczak)

When I read what Sarah wrote about what our world would be like with no more capitalism, it really got me thinking. It does dictate SO many things, like Sarah had said and its become so drilled into each and every one of our lives that without it, I wonder how we can even prosper day-to-day. I also agree with Allie when she said we wouldn't work as hard if our system lacked capitalism. Why would we have to? If we already had everything at our hands, wouldn't there be no reason to push ourselves to work as hard as we normally do? I think that a society with no more capitalism would have its advantages and disadvantages however it is extremely difficult to really imagine it until or if it happens. I wonder if it even will happen one day. If it does, I really hope that our society can come together as one and it won't hurt us as much if it does cease to exist. (Danielle Velodota)

"shop til you Drop" video was a real eye opener. The thing with this video was that it demonstrated us as an American Society how materialistic we are. If we had sucha zeal and desire to learn and education we might be learning and getting somewhere. Allie said that American cannot change their lifestyle and I agree they can't we are so hung up on having the latestes things that we forget and don't even think bout the kids and poor people how much they get paid for doing the work. And to even make things worse how we misuse water freshwater, when other countries don't have any we play with it wash our cars, like its nothing. As a nation we should be embarrased all this and we cannot even do simple math with out using calculator (frances V)