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Critical race theory article because it challenges the dominant narrative prevalent in academia.

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I was really interested by the Hursch reading on the Rise of Neoliberal Education Policies. I think it encouraged looking at a lot of educational policies, and how decisions in general are made about education and reform, through an important political lens, which is often overlooked when we talk about the on-the-surface issues and inequities in education. I particularly found his remark that for neoliberals, those who do not succeed are held to have made bad choices, because I think this is a prevalent issue in American society, and I think this concept tied in well with the other readings and ideas we have been discussing.

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I made a connection with the neoliberalism (Hursh) article. I think this speaks to some of the major political conflict in this country over government regulation and the role of the government in our schools. This article challenged many of the ideas that I was taught in my economics classes, and it's an issue that I'm really interested in exploring; how can we make an equitable education system in a capitalist economy and what can we define as equity in the context of this ideology?

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It was interesting to learn some theories on the of social reproduction. It made me think of the  intentionality of these theories and practices.

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I connected with the social reproduction article most. The ideas presented involving students coming in with different types of cultural capital resonated with me and reminded me of my experience serving in an elementary school last year.

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I am interested in the "social reproduction" in our first reading. I thought the reproduction of social class based on the socioeconomic status of students' parents is quite surprised me. That was not like what an "American Dream" portrayed in the American cultural context.

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I am interested in the "social reproduction" in our first reading. I thought the reproduction of social class based on the socioeconomic status of students' parents is quite surprised me. That was not like what an "American Dream" portrayed in the American cultural context.

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I had a connection with the social reproduction theory because of my own personal experiences.

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Nirva: thinking about how social structures can impact students/individuals success.

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Nirva: thinking about how social structures can impact students/individuals success.

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I enjoyed the CRT reading because it resonated with my experiences of confusion being a transracial adoptee. Although things were made to ostensibly comfort me, and while my parents believed that I was comfortable, I was not. Examining whiteness from the limit point where I am a "perfect immigrant" makes it easier to expose the falsity of aesthetic in the American Dream.

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The readings on neoliberalism resonated with me because I have often struggled with the decision to take advantage of the "opportunities" that neoliberalism provides for students of color. Many people argue that high stakes testing and high standards go hand in hand, and that by raising the bar for all students, more students of color will be able to participate in a global economy and be competitive with their peers. I was raised to work hard and take advantage of the opportunities I was afforded because of my academic success, and that was often framed as the goal of my educational experience--i.e. do well in school, get scholarships to go to college, get a good job to make money and bring it back to your community and family. However, the reality is that neoliberalism doesn't provide the supports for all students to reach its ambitious goals, and my experience was unique amongst my peers and family members.

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While reading the Social Reproduction Theory, I thought of my students  when thinking of these issues of "predefined roles" and cultural capital. I have students who come to school everyday, work hard, and do well, but who will then talk to me about how they plan to not apply to college because "why bother? I won't get in." While it is very clear to me that my students in no way lack the cultural capital to succeed in a class structure where they are not defined within the dominant sphere, they certainly come with a self-deprecating mindset breed from a society that has taught them they are, without question, stuck.

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I connected with the CRT and Social Reproduction theories in the readings upon reflection of my own public schooling, in a white suburban town in Massachusetts, I did not see segregation (or learn about it in a historical or modern context) until I had left my hometown. I attended Penn State, and barely saw it there either.  "Whiteness" became very apparent to me when I moved to Baltimore city, but what was most apparent to me was my own isolation from the realities of racial disparities.

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I had a personal connection with the Hursh article in that I was able to really connect to the flow of economic activity and how that directly influenced the onset of Neoliberal ideology, which then fed into education policy. It was very reminiscent of Naomi Klein, if you've ever read anything by her, where she directly related the economic forces at play to the slow deterioration of countries around the world (I'm thinking of Shock Doctrine specifically). Hursh here explains how the Neoliberal agenda was used to create NCLB in order to show the ultimate failures of public schooling to push education into privatization.

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It was interesting to consider Bowles' & Gintis' theories of social reproduction within the context of first-generation American citizens. As the daughter of Filipino immigrants, I am curious how my parents fit into existing stratified status groups from the perspective of White people at the time that they arrived to the states, and how my education has either followed or deviated from those expectations.

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Neoliberalism at its core centered around social darwinism and meritocracy. All three are like best friends

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I connected with Macleod's Social Reproduction as I experienced a similar environment growing up in the Public School system in Brooklyn, NY. When I was in school we did have rules and a structure that revolved around discipline and respect and narrow thinking while today, I have a nephew that is currently attending a charter school in Red Hook, New York where the students are allowed to think freely and are their own bosses. Hearing that students have the freedom to go to the bathroom as many times a day as they want with out asking permission surprised me as we were only allowed a pass twice a semester.

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While reading the CRT reading, I made a connection with the part about how decisions are made that make white people feel comfortable like the example of Arizona choosing to observe MLK day. At Central this year, I have seen important decisions made in a similar way - always making sure the white teachers are comfortable before considering what is best for the students.

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The readings for today have been the most interesting to me so far. Reading about concepts I thought I understood and seeing how the author's examined education through lenses I have never thought to apply to education was a learning experience for me.

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I made a strong connection with the CRT reading (Gloria Ladson-Billings) with race "has assumed a metaphorical life so completely embedded in daily discourse that is perhaps more necessary and more display than ever before." This has resonated when working as a high school teacher in Fall River. In that environment, race is extremely powerful and important to most students. Upon reaching high school, many students at Durfee has a deep understanding of "conceptual whiteness" and "conceptual blackness", and can easily identify the characteristics within themselves and others of which sphere they adhere to. With Fall River having minimal curriculum on racial identity, racial history, etc., it is easy to see how ingrained race is within their society as teenagers and is resonated throughout the city.

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I felt a personal connection to the Landson-Billings' article on critical race theory as well. After my first year teaching new arrival ESL social studies, the idea that curriculum is a "culturally specific artifact designed to maintain a white supremacist master script" seems valid. The curriculum that PPSD pushes in the classroom is not sensitive to racial issues, and is come contexts not entirely historically accurate. I believe that the history taught in public schools teaches the Eurocentric (white) norms to students that are predominantly students of color.

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While reading the RTTP reading, I thought of something that has happened with me while I was conducting a survey in a private school in India. The teachers were not very supportive of the survey as they did not want to adapt to changes and in our readings Arne Dunkan mentioned that the teachers, administrators and principals are eager to work urgently. Is that really the case? Or has the RTTP not really been successful because of the lack of interest or lack of wanting to change.

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I made a strong personal connection to Ladson- Billings' article on critical race theory because she explains that we live in a society where whiteness is normative, and everything else is "ranked and categorized" in relation to this social construct. I have worked in a school over the past year that is characterized by intentional diversity, but operates using whiteness as the normative standard for conduct.