Toys: Multiculturalism, Gender Roles, and Politics

This week’s readings and blog entry was a flash back in time! I immediately began thinking of my childhood toys and the influence they had on my development. I started by thinking of all the toys I played with growing up--My Little Pony, Barbie, Cabbage Patch Dolls, Rainbow Bright, and She-Ra Figurines-- to examine the role that toys have on defining gender roles and children’s views of the world. Toys peak kids’ imagination and act as their link to the future jobs, roles, friends, and fantasies. So what do these toys reveal? How do these toys create stereotypical gender roles or help ‘break’ kids from stereotypical roles? I decided to pick a few toys which I believe have strong messages and meaning. Most are geared toward my childhood experiences with "girl toys."



I recall my experience getting my much anticipated cabbage patch doll at Christmas when I was 6 years old. I remember going to the store and picking out my doll with my mom. She figured I would want a blonde-haired, blue-eyed cabbage patch doll that looks like me. Viewing the Cabbage Patch commercials from the 1980s, it’s as if little girls were supposed to choose a doll that best resembles themselves and care for it as if it were a miniature version of themselves. Why wouldn’t a little girl want a doll that looks like them? When looking at the huge display of all kinds of cabbage patch dolls in the store, I pointed to the African American Cabbage Patch Doll and boldly stated “I want that one.” I don’t think my mother knew what to say or think. I remember her asking me, “Are you sure you want that one, Gina? Don’t you want one that looks like you?” I responded with a strong, “NO. I want that doll.” I couldn’t wait for that doll for Christmas! Thinking back to this experience, I am not sure where I got the idea of wanting an African American cabbage patch doll, since I am from European decent (Good ol’ German and Norwegian). I didn’t have any friends of different ethnicities than me and I didn’t play with other African American dolls. Looking back on it, I’m glad my mom bought me that doll. I believed it carried a strong message. Even at 6 years old, I think it taught me respect for others and encouraged me to be accepting of everyone. Dolls teach girls strong messages….girls play with dolls as if they were their own. Girls develop caring and nurturing skills that definitely help create a “motherly” instinct. With my cabbage patch dolls, I like to think it revealed my strong future values of diversity and multiculturalism.

Flash forward a few years and I soon became obsessed with Barbie! And I sure had my fair share of Barbies! Barbie family, Barbie Dog, and of course Barbie corvette, house, and beach hotdog stand! Opposite of my multicultural Cabbage Patch Dolls, my Barbie Dolls were pretty much all blonde-haired and wore skimpy dresses and bikinis. Granted, Mattel introduced the “Doctor Barbie” and other occupations to teach girls that you can grow up to be anything. However, I think the overall message that Barbies send is the idea that you have to be tall and thin to be beautiful. Barbie's body proportions could realistically never be possible on a woman. Morever, I look at the Barbie videos with “Barbie and Friends” and I’ve noticed that in everything Barbie, the blonde-haired Barbie is the “leader of the pack” with her other friends being less significant. Brown-haired Barbies, African American Barbies, and Asian Barbies are never featured in commercials or advertisements as much as the Blonde-haired Barbie. I often think this sends such a wrong message to young girls…..that you have to “look” a certain way to be the “leader” or “most popular.”

I was also totally into “She-Ra: Princess of Power!” She-Ra is the girl version of He-Man. While I realize that She-Ra is totally wearing a tight outfit with a mini-skirt, I think it sent a positive message. With a sword in hand, she’s ready to fight off evil and defend her land. I think this taught me that girls can be just as powerful as boys. Girls can do anything boys can do. Women can rule the country just as much as men can.

Toys teach us gender roles at a very young age. When I think of boy toys …Gi-Jo, trucks, figurines, and blocks often come to mind. Toys are often marketed by gender with specifics geared towards girls or boys. Can kitchen sets’ by gender-neutral? My sister bought my nephew a kitchen complete with food…..not sure what I thought about this at first, but glad that he’s able to experiment and play with toys that are not typical boy toys. My sister and brother-in-law are sending the message that boys can have a role in the kitchen. Perhaps he will be called a “Chef” but he should learn to cook up a great meal! Most toys do come gender-defined, so how can society still encourage girls and boys that they can grow up to be whatever they want?

Dora the Explorer. My cousin is a big fan of Dora the Explorer for her children. I love Dora. Not only does she speak Spanish and encourages multiculturalism, but she also does not do your typical “girl doll” things. She climbs trees, loves the outdoors, plays sports, and is up for adventure. She re-defines stereotypical gender roles and illustrates that girls can be as adventurous as boys! Most importantly, she’s smart and encourages girls that they can be anything they want! She is a much better alternative to Bratz Dolls or Hannah Montana.

Lastly….the politics of American Girl Dolls
The latest craze among little girls is the infamous American Girl Doll. American Girls Dolls feature dolls from different eras with their story attached. The Mall of America recently opened the American Girl Doll store where you can buy accessories and get your dolls’ hair done! There are even American Girl Doll parties at the store. I do love the books and stories about history that comes with these dolls. I think they teach young girls to be appreciative of the history and the values that can influence a person’s life. However, the most recent American Girl doll is “Gwen: the Homeless Doll.” She costs $95 and the money does not go to charity, which has caused an stir. While many support the creation of this dolls, kids who are homeless could never afford it. The story that the dolls comes with explains that the father ran out on the family and the mother couldn’t make ends meet, so they end up living in a car. However, most single mothers do make it without ending up on the streets. (with the right kind of support) I wonder if the creators felt that as the American Girl Dolls was somehow needed to dispel myths? What kind of message does this send about fathers and fatherhood? While the company was trying to send a positive message of acceptance, perhaps they should have thought about the messages that this could send. Is it possible to create the identities of people and society through toys? Should we be teaching children about society issues through toys? To what extent? While we can try, there will always be controversy and a better alternative or approach will be argued.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/homeless_doll_costs_hairstyling_4Ic0hC7Lacpfo8HQbczsQM

Caribou, Soda, and Junk Food

I really enjoyed this week’s reading because I could recall many experiences teaching where food direclty impacts my students and school. I’ve had experiences both in urban situations and suburban situations; while they share many similarities, I think there are some vast differences in the role food plays in their culture. I was very suprised that Walker and White mentioned eating disorders also becoming an urban problem, as my immediate thought on eating disorders turns to white suburban teenage girls. I think urban and low-income students have many other factors that impact their health. I feel very fortunate that I grew up in a household where family dinners were the norm. However, the busier Americans get, our health and ability to experience a healthy lifestyle suffers. I’m excited to share many of my thoughts and ideas in this blog.

In my experience teaching in an affluent suburban middle school, popular coffee drinks play a large role in making you “popular.” I admit, I would get my share of coffee in the morning to make it through the school day. With a coffee shop at almost every corner, it's hard to resist. Many times, I would run into my students grabbing a coffee with their parents! Caffeine addiction is starting in middle school. I recall many situations where girls would come strolling to school with a Caribou Coffee in their hand, begging me to let me finish it during first hour class! Many of these girls sported a Caribou Coffee in hand like an accessory. Ironically, these were also the girls concerned with their weight. Many of the girls reminded me of the image of MaryKate Olson with a thin body and coffee in hand. At lunch time, these girls would not eat healthy foods, but choose the fries or pizza at lunch and only pick at it!

Walker and White commented, “If girls come to school hungry, they will not develop to their full potential. When you are hungry, your powers of concentration are not sharep; your attention span is short.” (139) I feel that our education system and culture fails to teach young women about proper nutrition and diet. Many young girls today watch “America’s Next Top Model” and are influenced by the stick-think models. White and Walker stated, “Images of thin, beautiful, and successful women are constantly bombarding us, implying that while being thin begets love and success, being fat, or even average to large, leads to one being unloved, unwanted, and unworthy.” (131)

So what can change this? Do plus-size models have a place in our society? Many “plus-size” (which is really size 10 or 12; the average size of American women) models have been featured in magazines and on the show “America’s Next Top Model.” When they do make the cover of a magazine, the media makes a huge announcement about it as if it’s out of the ordinary to be normal size. I recall when Glamour Magazine featured 20-year-old model Lizzi Miller. I think it was fantastic that Glamour Magazine recognized and appreciated what most women look like. I only wish that this wouldn’t be considered a special feature but be seen regularly in all magazines. Perhaps if the media would show images of normal looking young girls, it would also become the norm for young teens. Perhaps if young girls saw women looking healthy AND happy on the front covers, they would not become overly concerned with being thin themselves….we can only hope.


Soda also played a large role in school. The previous school I taught at banned caffeine drinks in the soda machines. Interestingly enough, I remember the day in which I caught my favorite students selling special edition "Mountain Dew Game Fuel" from his locker for $5 a can! I took it from him and said that he can “look for it on e-bay!” More and more, kids have become addicted to soda and energy drinks and this has a direct impact on their school. They become hyper and wild in class from drinking it, and then by the afternoon crash and become droggy and tired. In addition, these energy drinks and soda can have a direct impact on obesity. Although the school can take a stand on soda and candy by banning it from machines, kids will still find a way to have it.

I have also been very much interested in the Documentary series titled “Unnatural Causes” which looks at how where you live predicts your health. Research shows that those living in urban settings lack the resources to find healthy food options. Within the average urban neighborhood, the only available options are fast food, which has significantly contributed to the health of people of low-income, immigrants, and minorities. If kids want something to eat, their only option is the processed junk food from the local gas station. As a result, school has often become the place where youth receive a healthy meal through free and reduced lunch programs. While cities fail to provide adequate policies about fast-food restaurants within a certain area, schooling and education have to step in and provide for students. Unnatural Causes


Assignment Ideas


When I taught history, I often talked about the role food played during World War II. I discussed invention of SPAM and how it replaced meat for the soldiers. Most importantly, I discussed WWII Victory Gardens and how women and children contributed to the war effort through gardening. I think that organic and locally grown products are making a comeback....slowly but surely. I am very impressed that our First Lady Michelle Obama has brought Victory Gardens back! She has created a community garden at the white house to teach young school children about gardening as well as providing organic food for the White House.

I also think another way to incorporate food into lessons is to explore hunger through a service-learning project. This would be appropriate on both a local and global level. Kids should understand why hunger exists in their own communities and solve ways to prevent it. I think for a geography class, it would be ideal to explore food distribution across the world and explore why there is an inequality of food and resources. In an economics class, kids could try to balance a family household budget and determine the difficult choices some people are forced to make in providing healthy meals to their families. Local Twin Cities Organizations such as 2nd Harvest Heartland and Feed My Starving Children do a great job in educating volunteers about hunger and how kids can help reduce it.

Pop Culture Lesson Plan

Lesson for History/Government ClassAdapted and used from AssociatedContent

Objectives:
-Students will identify the difference between a war and massacre
-Students will interpret the meaning of “Ohio” by Crosby, Stills, Young, and Nash
-Students will compare and contrast the Kent State Massacre with the Boston Massacre
-Students will understand and analyze the importance of the Boston Massacre and the role the -media played in the event.

Listen to and analyze the song “Ohio” by Crosby, Stills, Young, and Nash. Questions to ask students:
-What is this song about?
-What can you infer is happening?



Read article on Kent State Massacre with students and ask the following questions:
-Who was brought in to control the protesters?
-How many students died?
-Why were they shot?
-What happened to the guardsman?
-Why was this a significant event?

Read background on Boston Massacre and analyze picture.
-Where is Captain Preston, the British commander?
-What is he doing? Where are the troops?
-What are they doing?
-Describe the crowd—its size, composition, and location.
-What is the crowd doing?
-What time of day is it?
-How do you think Paul Revere intended his viewers to understand the event?

Final Reflection:
Compare and Contrast the Boston Massacre with the Kent State Massacre by using a Double Bubble Map.

-What role did the media play in the events?
-How important was the Boston Massacre?

Using Popular Culture to help foster “Millennial Activism 2.0 “in the classroom

My argument to Parents:

Parents…..When did you first witness MTV? Where were you when you first saw your first music video on MTV? How did this impact your life, family, and friends? Since the formation of MTV, society found new way to relate with and identify with music. When the Buggles deputed the first ever video, “Video killed the Radio Star” in 1981, music videos became a new genre that influenced the lives of our youth. Generations have imitated Michael Jackson’s famous Thriller dance moves and kids have been influenced to “Rock the Vote.” MTV has become the definition of youth through elebrity interviews, fashion, trends, and reality TV. Rather than denying that music and MTV has played a role in students’ lives, we should embrace it and use it as a tool and strategy in the classroom to analyze society. Students individual experiences with music and popular culture can help define and understand history. Elvis and the 1950s; Beatles and the 1960s; Michael Jackson and the 1980s; Alternative Grunge bands and the 1990s; Hip Hop and today. Each generation can be define by music that helped shaped their era. The learning opportunities from using music and popular culture in the classroom provide an asset to undrestsand history and society.



Newsweek Editor and Princeton Professor Evan Thomas recently stated that students in today’s college classes rarely understand the significance and meaning of historical events and the events and themes that have created the foundation of our country. He stated, “I don’t see kids who are interested in history. I also do not need kids who know anything about history. More trouble….they don’t know the history of what makes this county special and qualities that make democracy and freedom special around the world. They have little grasp of the meaning of the essence of government by the people.” Please view his youtube video here:



With this in mind, how can we bring “more life” to history and help students understand and engage with history? A classroom should connect popular culture with history and our world because in reality, popular culture has become away to define our culture among today’s youth. Classrooms should promote academic understanding within the context of today’s world.

More than just music

In addition to music, other forms of popular culture influence our students. Today’s youth are exposed to more technology than ever before through facebook, video games, twitter, myspace, ipod, and texting. Rather than downplay the influence of these, I can use them as a tool to help students better understand society. We can use these as strategies to understand and critically analyze academic content. In doing so, help them realize their place in society and come to better understand our world. According to Thomas Fein in “American Pop Culture, “It would be irresponsible of us as educators not to study and embrace this culture because the result will be our youth will learn more, return more be better motivated, and most importantly, they will obtain an education that is relevant to the “real world” and that is meaningful to them.” Bringing popular culture forms into the classroom allows students to critical analyze issues through the lens of an artist and understand new meanings behind history and societal events. “Popular music has successfully usurped the system and affected society change. If nothing else, it often provides a context for connections to the world and sense making of them world,” stated White and Walker in Tooning In (7). It is my hope that using popular culture as a teaching tool will help involve students in the world around them and produce active, thoughtful citizens.

The new era of activism

While many can place a negative connotation on technology and popular culture in the classroom, it IS our young people, so we must view pop culture and students as one in the same. Our country as seen the most socially-minded youth since the 1960s, so we can use this desire for social change coupled with the force of popular culture to understand history and their place in it. Today’s youth are practicing active citizenship and embracing social change through technology (think facebook ‘causes” application). We can combine their idealism, desire for social activism, and technology savy skills to teach history and important social studies topics and make it meaningful and relevant to their lives. Rather than turning to a protest or march, younger students will declare their support or activism through ‘clicks” on the internet. Studies indicate that today’s millennial generation is the most active and most likely to volunteer since the Baby Boomers. The youngest members of our society, the Millennials, utilize new technology for civic purposes the most. For example, they are far more likely than older generations to use the Internet, blogs, web-contents, text messaging and social networking sites to gather civic-related information and express their opinions on various issues. (National Conference for Citizenship; http://www.ncoc.net/) If our youngest generation is embracing technology and popular culture to make their voice heard and become active citizens, I believe this has a strong place in the classroom to foster citizenship and a ‘social activism 2.0’ among youth.

I strive to create a classroom which is a reflection of the real-world. I want my students to be prepared to enter a society as active, engaged, and civic-minded people. So in order to do this, I foster citizenship and utilize popular culture as a means to teach them about history and society.

Learning? Or just Entertainment?

When thinking of Conversational Agents (CA) as tools for the learning process, I approach it with much caution. The two case studies we read took me by much surprise. The CA appeared to be used as more for entertainment purposes rather than learning purposes, so this leads me to wonder: Is there a place in the classroom for these “Conversation Agents?” If so, what role and purpose do they serve?

I am encouraged by the idea that the CA can “increase motivation and stimulate learning.” I think students are curious individuals and like to push the CAs to their limits and abilities, which the studies indicated. The Doering study indicated that “the student-agent interactions were unrelated to the assigned task.” Only 5.1% of the interactions pertained to the Social Studies assignment. Therefore, this really discourages me from using this type of technology with students. If I do use CAs or avatars in the classroom, I need to set it up in a very structured and limited format. Based upon these two articles, I would be very hesitant to utilize these unless they served a direct purpose and I had control over student interaction (ie. I got a copy of student conversation). It didn’t surprise me that middle school students asked a wide-array of questions based on the curiosity of their age. As a teacher, I do not want to tempt students with situation where they will engage in vulgar and sexual comments, as what happened in the study. I was also surprised that the pre-service elementary teachers started asking bizarre questions to the agent just for pure amusement and entertainment. I feel that they were never used for the purpose of learning. The CA almost served as a virtual friend for entertainment reasons to prevent the student from being bored while working on their assignment. While it did provide another resource besides textbooks and the internet, questions that were asked to the CA could have been ‘googled’ or asked of the teacher during in-class time.

Another concern that arises from these studies is the gender and appearance of the CA. How much did the female CA influence the questions and comments given by the middle school students? In the Veletsianos article, students did not view the CPA as an authority figure but rather as a peer—“someone they had the liberty to “play” with, flirt with, swear at, and bully.” I wonder how students would respond to a male CPA who was much older? Maybe a father or grandfather type figure? Or, maybe an athlete character whom the students could feel they could relate with? In what capacity can interactive technology serve in the classroom?

I do believe there is a place for interactive technology and if used correctly, can most definitely enhance students’ motivation for learning. Doering stated that CAs allow students to learn with technology rather than from technology, “If learners are able to share in the development of their own CAs, in essence personalizing the tools they are working with, they may become more motivated to work with the CA to elicit the correct answers and enhance their learning experience.” (268) With proper regulation and teacher control, CAs can add another “adult-figure” and unique level of support to foster student interest in the assignment. Many students in the case studies indicated they enjoyed the presence of a CA as a “friend.” Perhaps with regulation and teacher control, the students could view the CA as a positive resource and study buddy rather than a sexual figure to flirt with. For shy students or hard-to-reach students, the presence of a CA could draw them into the material and allow more questions about the assignment and content to surface.


Using Avatars in the Classroom

I do think that when used properly, I “classroom-version” of Second Life could really engage students and take them to a new dimension in learning. There are some kid-friendly Second Life websites that take kids to historical time periods to place students in the moment of history. Kids could take on different characters and act them out as if they were in the historical time period. For example, Whyville is a web-based virtual world for middle-school students where kids represent animated characters from different time period. http://www.edutopia.org/second-life-virtual-reality-collaboration. A situation and learning environment like this can engage the kids and with teacher presence, hold them accountable to what happens. More students become involved with the material. I could also envision a virtual world of the White House, Congress, or the United Nations where students take on various politicians and act out the roles through an avatar. This would be a new and engaging way to draw students into the material. I think that would be really fun and cool!

Another virtual simulation is called YackPack. www.yackpack.com. Students can create avatars or profiles for themselves and talk to each other in a group via the web. While the computer is not doing the talking, kids are experiencing conversing with each other in a new and different way. It elicits a different atmosphere for discussing assignments.

I have used moodle in my classroom. While this serves as more of a teacher website, students can create unique profiles and interact with other via chat. I bring up moodle because the teacher still has control over chat conversations. With the CA, the teacher had no control over the questions asked. Perhaps with more teacher control like in moodle, the CA could serve a strong role in the classroom and take on a “supportive” virtual buddy to help students.

Finally, I think that teacher-create avatars could be another way to reach students and capture their attention. While teachers are limited with their time, creating an avatar to explain assignments or give reminders would make things fun! Perhaps I could create an avatar to post on my website with weekly homework reminders....just another way to relate with students!

My Avatar....Colbert Style

Video Games and Learning

I have to admit that video games are not my specialty, which makes it difficult to relate to my “gamer” students. However, I believe that the experiences students have had with online games have a significant impact on their learning and thinking of civics/government curriculum. Let me tell you about one of my former students Johnny....Johnny suffered from ADHD, had a really difficult time focusing in class, and never turned his assignments in on time. BUT, if you put him in front of a computer game, he was a totally different Johnny than in class. Video games kept his attention for hours on end! I remember when a popular video game went on sale at Best Buy at midnight. Johnny’s mom let him wait in line at the store for this video game (I think World of Warcraft). Johnny and his friends bought the game and stayed up until 8am the next morning playing it, and of course, were late too school. I don’t necessarily agree with Johnny’s mom letting him stay up that late to buy it and then letting him stay up all night to play it, but regardless of that fact, something about that game Johnny loved and it maintained his attention. Oftentimes, when we had class discussions about global political approaches or political theories, Jonny and other gamer boys would jump right into the discussion with analogies to video games. I was left speechless as I had no idea what they were talking about!


I was very intrigued with James Paul Gee’s article “What Video Games Can Teach Us About Making Students Want To Learn.” Not only did he provide me with insight into the learning strategies with games, but challenged me to create a classroom framed around strategies that capture students’ attention. I didn’t realize that video games really do apply a lot of applicable learning strategies in their design, especially with strong character identities. Players are required to explore the game and approach playing from a character’s point of view. In doing so, they can emotionally relate to the game and get invested into the outcome…wanting to keep trying and winning. According to Gee, they see “learning in a new domain.” Games also let players choose the degree of challenge and accommodate automatically. This reminds me a lot of differentiation; players finish the game successfully with minor accommodations and different “twists and turns” throughout. Gee commented, players “feel pleasantly frustrated” putting them in a “flow state.” Isn’t this what was strive for in the classroom? We want students to feel challenged in a way that doesn’t stop them from learning but encourage and motivate them to engage in higher order thinking. Perhaps our classrooms need to create a more “game-like” atmosphere to help students solve problems through creative thinking. I also think it’s beneficial when teachers ask students to wear different “hats.” I have often asked students to think of an historical situation or political situation from various perspectives, often found in online games. Thinking back to my former student Johnny, something found in the video games was missing from my classroom for him…..higher order thinking? Strategy? Character identity? Constant visual simulation?


When looking at video games culture, there are several disadvantages that were identified in the articles. For example, it is difficult to find class-time and computer-room availability to play online video games during school. In the game Labyrinth, they required students to play this for “pre-work” for the teacher to allude to in class. If we require students to play a game at home, some won’t have internet access. Accommodations will have to be made for those who don’t. I also found it interesting about the gender of video games. I also carried the attitude that gaming was a “boy-thing.” While some of these video games are reaching out to girls, it’s almost in a negative way. I was appalled at some of the pictures of the women in the video games….I had no idea they were that stereotypical and portrayed women in skimpy dress! I think most games are definitely geared towards the male audience, and considering this, it’s hard to draw female students into this. When considering drawing students into classroom material, I’m definitely going to consider the gender roles the game utilizes.


In my own classroom, I have used games with students…both online video games, board games, and simulation games. One game that my school bought for civics class was the Demcocracy Game. (similar to the one found here http://takegame.com/strategic/htm/democracy.html). Students were in charge of running certain countries, and in doing so, earned and lost points of they balanced the budget or went into deficit. They had to strategize what to do when other countries attacked or wanted to trade with them. Students LOVED it! I think it really helped them to understand the political process. However, students also got tired of playing the game after awhile, especially female students. The male students were just a little bit more into the video game strategizing than girls! I’ve also used an online simulation game to show students how difficult it is to balance the U.S. budget. (similar to this one here: http://www.boingboing.net/2008/05/20/online-game-balance.html) Again, kids got really into the “online” aspect of it and changing the different departments to balance the budget. I specifically remember kids were shocked that they couldn’t provide the same amount of money to both education, defense, and health! They were frustrated at where to cut money! It definitely spoke to many kids’ emotions and captured their attention. It was well-suited for all kids and everyone was challenged or intrigued by it in some way. Additionally, there board games such as monopoly or real-life simulations present the ‘real-life’ situation that are well-suited for middle-school kids and get them involved in the learning process. I strongly believe that anytime you can get the kids involved and they find themselves attached to the situation through experience, emotion, or feeling, they will learn. To summarize, I think that video games as well as other games, provide meaning and purpose to learning. It challenges kids to think in new ways and forces them to invest energy, talent, and thinking to the situation. And, well, some are just fun!