Marriage & Relationship Recognition

It’s still extremely hard for me to believe that in today’s society people are fighting long and hard for equal rights. I am a firm believer that equality isn’t something that should be fought for, and it certainly is not a privilege, but a right. Everyone is entitled to personal equality, but often not we as people are faced more with the inequalities of social justice issues. More specifically, social justice issues concerning the GLBT community.

The GLBT community have been fighting for equal rights for many, many years. Although, for some reason, based on their sexual orientation, others believe it to be a choice or a lifestyle. It is much more than that, it is a part of who he/she is as a human being. With recent social issues concerning the GLBT community, such as California’s Proposition 8 (Same-Sex Marriage Amendment). Many Californians have been fighting constantly and consistently for their right to same-sex marriage. But they are being treated more like second-class citizens. Who decides to take away someone’s right to be with the person they truly love, whether it be man/man or woman/woman? Isn’t love the same for all couples? Doesn’t everyone have the right to full and utter happiness? These are questions that plague me. Why are GLBT couples treated differently than heterosexual couples? What sort of injustice and unconstitutional world are we living in?

Some may say that we have come a long way. According to the final statement from NO on PROP 8 Campaign, up until 1974 same-sex intimacy was a crime in California. There wasn’t single law recognizing the relationships of same-sex couples until 1984 — passed by the Berkeley School District. San Francisco did not pass domestic-partner protections until 1990, the state of California following in 2005. And in 2000, Proposition 22 passed with a 23% majority.

California: Proposition 8
11/4/08

Same-Sex Marriage Amendment

ELIMINATES RIGHT OF SAME-SEX COUPLES TO MARRY.
INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.

• Changes the California Constitution to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry in California.

• Provides that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.

Protestors, both gay and straight have been protesting against the Prop 8 ever since the amendment passed. Holding rallies and marches all over the state of California. Celebrities have also played a major role in the fight for equality amongst GLBT. Involvement included, Ellen DeGeneres, Melissa Etheridge, Wanda Sykes, Drew Barrymore, Ricki Lake, and numerous other celebrities! We need to work together as human beings to help increase peace around not only America, but around the world.

Helping fight for equality for everyone is, The Human Rights Campaign. The Human Rights Campaign is an organization that works closely with state leaders across the nation on marriage initiatives. According to HRC.org, same-sex couples are entitled to all of the state-level rights and benefits of marriage in Massachusetts. In addition, same-sex couples in New Jersey, New Hampshire, Vermont and Connecticut are able to enter into state-level civil unions, and there are broad domestic partnership laws in California and Oregon. In New York, after a 2008 court ruling, valid out-of-state marriages of same-sex couples must be legally recognized.

Marriage and relationship recognition...

...Is that so much to ask for?

There is something that I would like to share with all of you, and I urge you to watch! Comments are encouraged.

                                                       Thank you.

Olbermann: Gay marriage is a question of love

Nov. 10: In a Special Comment, Countdown's Keith Olbermann disagrees with the passing of Proposition 8 in California and urges people to accept love between people of the same sex.

 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/27652443#27652443

http://www.noonprop8.com/
http://www.pollster.com/polls/ca/08
http://www.hrc.org/issues/marriage.asp

Vocational Schools and Education in the United States

Vocational schools and education in the United States are also referred to as, post secondary schools. Most purely a private school setting, vocational education can also be set in a public school setting as well. There are many opportunities in vocational schools. For example, vocational education teaches a trade, or a craft which can help students excel in a specific area of work. The classes are not your typical high school classes, the vocational education classes are made up of a very hands on environment. The students learn by experiencing first hand some of the trades that they may be interested in. Some of the trades include carpentry, culinary arts, cosmetology, dental assistants, plumbing, and more; the possibilities are endless. There is so much that a student can benefit from a vocational education. It helps better prepare a student for continuing their education (college), or a career in a certain trade. I believe that vocational education has a lot to offer students. For instance, it can open up many doors for students both academically and career wise.

Maria Montessori: The Woman and Her Method

Maria Montessori was well known for her interests in medicine, but more specifically she was interested in diseases among children. This later perked a greater interest in education and educational methods, thus creating her very own method in education. In her experiences of medical practice, Montessori clinical observations fascinated her, leading her to analyze how children learn, which she concluded that children build themselves from what they find in their environment. Then shifting her focus from the body to the mind.

Maria Montessori believed that education of the senses developed first, then the education of the intellect would follow soon after. Montessori developed a teaching program that enabled 'defective' children to read and write. She sought to teach skills not by having children repeatedly try it, but by developing exercises that prepare them. These exercises would then be repeated: Looking becomes reading; touching becomes writing.

The success of her method then caused her to ask questions of 'normal' education and the ways in which failed children. Maria began to test her program and ideas with the establishment of the first Casa dei Bambini (Children's house or household), Rome in 1907. The house and those who believed in what it represented, were designed to provide a good environment for children to live and learn. An emphasis of self-determination and self-realization was instilled. This developed a concern for others and discipline, and to engage children in exercices de la vie pratique (exercise in daily living). Her main contributions to the work of those of us raising and educating children are in these areas:

• Preparing the most natural and life-supporting environments for the child

• Observing the child living freely in this environment

• Continually adapting the environment in order that the child may fulfill his or her greatest potential, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

With great knowledge comes deep inspiration, children teach themselves. This was the simple but profound truth that Montessori's lifelong pursuit of educational reform, methodology, psychology, teaching, and teacher training—all based on her dedication to furthering the self-creating process of the child.


http://www.montessori.edu/maria.html
http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-mont.html
http://www.montessori-namta.org/NAMTA/geninfo/mmbio.html

Social Justice Education: Resident Life Hires Social Justice Education Coordinator

Teaching for Social Justice Education is believed to be a fair way of teaching and learning. According to the article, Teaching for Social Justice, it states that it is morally sensible for our schools and society to advocate teaching for social justice. So I pose the question to you. Do you believe that social justice education is fair? Some may differ, perhaps you may feel that it is bias in a sense, for what ever reasons that you may have. I recently read an article regarding social justice in the residence halls of an Arizona campus, at Arizona University (AU).

Mohammed Naser, the newly hired social justice education coordinator, will be responsible for helping to introduce more targeted programs in the UA's residence halls.

The university feels that the students living in the resident halls at AU will get more pointed education on social justice issues. Naser 's role is to educate the students living on campus housing about diversity and social justice issues. He is helping Residence Life to redefine its focus on social justice education and tailor it to the communities it serves.

“Each building is different because of the size and who lives there,” said Naser, a doctoral degree candidate in the UA’s teaching and teacher education program. “I’m hoping we can factor those differences into the programs.”

I too live on campus, and I am exposed to cultural diversity within my own apartment. One of my roommates' native land is Japan, and her native language is naturally Japanese. Culturally there may seem to be a 'barrier,' but we actually have some things in common. For example, we both have a strong and passionate interest in Theatre. There is a lot that I have to learn about her and the world around me.

Now, I leave you with this thought... Have people endured more of the social justices', or have we been faced more with the social injustices'?

http://uanews.org/node/21605
http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/15_02/Just152.shtml