Month: July 2020

Posted on

Week of 7/6 Discussion Post – Dominique Van Gilst

  1. The overall message of the article, “Inclusive education: Perspectives on implementation and practice from international experts” is that every child deserves the right to a good education. This article defines inclusive education in many different ways, but one is  as “a process and practice of designing schools to support and benefit all learners” (p. 1). Inclusion means allowing each and every student to learn and grow a general education classroom. However, it also means providing support for students who need it in that classroom. Later in the article, there is a study done to find out if inclusive education is worth it. In the end, the authors, who are experts in the field of education, find that inclusivity is certainly worth studying, and in order for inclusive classrooms to be successful, we must know the barriers.

This article will be extremely helpful because it talks a lot about the ways in which inclusive education can be defined. For example, in the paragraph above, I quoted one of the definitions. However, this article uses more sources in order to have more definitions. The more the article talks about inclusion, the better the reader can understand it.  I believe that the study included in the article will be helpful too because it gives proof of inclusion working, and tells the reader what is needed to make it successful.

 

2. “I do have a rather robust response to being watched, having been one of the first girls at a boys school, and then the first female on the factory floor in three organizations. But after moving to local government, I noticed several of the points raised. However, one seems left out. A lot of the women would get in early to be able to sit by the walls, not the aisles, in an open office. This let them feel slightly less exposed in situ, but of course also put the men at the end where it was easy to ‘aisle watch’! This early start, coupled with the pressure to dress well–let’s face it, dress down Friday is for men!–made them more likely to do unpaid overtime at the end of the day. Because the men were still going, work was still being discussed.” —Kristin W. 

I chose this response because the author, Kristin W., builds on what was said in the original article, while also writing about her take on open office plans. I believe that according to Rewriting,  Kristin is extending, or putting her spin on the original article based on her own experiences. Kristin adds something that was not talked about in the original article, which is intriguing because it unfortunately makes a lot of sense. Kristin opens a new line of inquiry with her response because she says that many women would get to work early just so that they could sit closer to the wall during the day so that they would not be noticed as much. This is not surprising to me, but it should be eye opening for offices, and people working there. Women should not have to feel that they must get to work early so that they will not be “watched” by their male co-workers. I think that Kristin makes a very valid, interesting point. This response was different from a lot of the women who responded to the original article, so I thought that it would be a good response to choose.

Posted on

7/6 Discussion

  1. The article “Changing preservice Teacher’s Attitudes/Beliefs About Diversity” investigates the motives behind racial bias and what is needed to reform the bias into awareness. M. Arthur Garmon is the author and a professor of early education and human development at Western Michigan University and uses past study’s results to introduce us to the issue of preservice teachers having discriminatory biases. He created his own study of one of his students, Leslie P., who becomes a great example of the development of the racially sensitive mindset that is crucial in teaching. Garmon bases his study around the question “what are the factors that appeared to be most critical in the development of her multicultural awareness and sensitivity?” Through 10 hours of recorded interviews, Garmon analyzes the conversations he had with Leslie in her senior year of college and categorized her reflections on diversity and multiculturalism throughout her life and how she developed a healthy perspective on the topic. The article is filled with large quotes from their conversations, between them, professor Garmon adds in his inferences and analysis of Leslie and her mindset. He continually mentions Leslies mindfulness and how she is more perceptive than any of his other students. Like most of her white classmates, Leslie came from a homogenous rural town where diversity was rarely discussed. Her interest to open her mind to the topic is what stood out so much to Garmon, although she had not grown up surrounded by multiple cultures she believed it was important to be engaged in all the different walks of life that surrounded her when she arrived at college. 

 

Leslie opened up about the prejudices that had formed in her childhood and the ignorance that the biased beliefs fed off of. Although, she affirms that this openness and mindfulness to ones own prejudiced views is a necessary step to forming the multicultural awareness that all people should work towards. She places a lot of the responsibility of this mindfulness on going to college, which was the first time Leslie had really become a part of a culture that included many varying cultures. This source will be especially helpful because it tells a true story of the development of an unbiased open mind; a crucial characteristic for anyone working in the education system. The article also addresses her commitment to social justice, this is a topic I feel very strongly about because I believe it should be a characteristic that is taught and encouraged in everyone, not just teachers. In past article summaries, and in my research plan I have addressed the issue that people have become selfish with their privilege, and how not only the education system but the whole world needs to turn their attention to the number of people forced into crime and poverty, not the number in their bank accounts.

 

  1. While the article from Katherine Shwab does a great job of informing the reader about the perspective of open offices from a female it lacks in the topic of how to change it. It works as a great informative piece, and I noticed many solid and concise quotes that would make great additions to a paper or study regarding this issue, but to make this article a stronger argumentative piece I would include a possible solution. Typical cubicle office spaces seem to be uninviting; you are designated only a small square of space to do your work and you have walls surrounding you to help you not get distracted. It eliminates any feng shui that can improve an environments comfortability like the open office space is able to. Although, the open office plan clearly has problems of its own, and a large factor is how it eliminates all privacy that the cubicles offered. 

My suggested solution to these conflicting office arrangements would be to find a balance of the two. A main problem I saw repeatedly in the article was how there was no place to go in an open office to relieve stress or to make a private call. An open office that consisted of larger ‘mega-cubicles’ may be able to fix this issue, where some would be designated to teams of employees are meeting areas while others would be an open space that worked as a break room or collaborative space. This idea can also work like the casual-Fridays appeal, where the rooms are given designated days for their purpose, such as having a comfortable room with dimmed lights as a de-stress room two days a week. Not only does this address the issues women are facing, but it allows a person to choose how they want to spend each day. Forcing everyone into the same work conditions may seem like equality, but that’s not the answer to inequality; equity is.

Posted on

Overview for week of 7/6

Your research work continues this week, and will be the primary focus of your writing work. We’ll be doing that against the backdrop of a conversation about office design that intersects with our larger discussions around inclusion and organizational culture.

See, all the work we’re doing individually overlaps with these other conversations–there’s a lot of thinking and writing around these issues, and we can learn from all of the pieces that we bump into.

So, first, please take a few minutes to read through this post about the conversation analogy we’ll be using: 

Rounding out the conversation

Then, move on to this week’s work.

Reading

  • “The subtle sexism of your open office plan”
  • “Readers respond: open offices are terrible for women” (both linked from Bb)
  • your own sources as you locate, take notes, and get ready to write about them

Writing

  • Complicating your Research–look through the folder of that name in Helpful Links on Blackboard, and then head to the Unit 2 dropboxes for instructions (due Wednesday)
  • Rounding out the Conversation (detailed in the Unit 2 dropbox) (due Sunday)
  • Complete this week’s discussion work on the blog (due Thursday). See this post for prompts:

    Discussion prompts for week of 7/6

Posted on

Discussion prompts for week of 7/6

We’re diving into a series of conversations this week–around the physical design of office spaces, around the issues you’re exploring in your own inquiries, and around the very work of research and pulling together a range of perspectives. Let’s continue all of that work on the blog.

For this week, everyone should respond to #1 and then choose 1 of the other 2 questions to answer. Your initial posts are due by the end of the day on Thursday, and then I’ll ask you to log back into read through your classmates’ posts and respond as you wish.

  1. With the due date approaching for your research portfolio, it’s time to start practicing writing about your sources. Please compose an annotation for 1 of your sources, following the guidance on the unit 2 assignment sheet. This annotation should be 2 paragraphs long–1 of summary, 1 of analysis/ discussion of how this source will be useful to you. The draft is good practice for you, and provides me an opportunity to give you feedback on adjustments that you might want to make as you continue to work toward the portfolio (which is due next Wednesday, 7/15)
  2. Choose one of the responses from “Readers respond: open offices are terrible for women,” and consider how the writer builds upon the ideas in the original article (“The subtle sexism of your open office plan”). Use Harris’s terms from chapter 2 of Rewriting to describe what you see this writer doing (i.e. extending, illustrating, etc.) and what intrigues you about that. How does this person open up a new line of inquiry with their response?
  3. In the reader response piece, Katharine Schwab introduces those letters with a brief overview of some of the patterns she detects in their feedback. This segment includes some jump-out links to other related articles, and then segues into a selection of letters that focus on the gendered implications of open office plans (the impacts that disproportionately affect women). Thus, Schwab facilitates a complex discussion with many participants, but it’s by no means exhaustive. What else would YOU want to inject into the discussion? What is an issue/perspective you think is not represented here? (You can draw on your own experience if you wish, or conjecture as to what others might wish to incorporate, but offer up another take on this using one of the templates from They Say/I Say, any chapter.)

Please categorize your post as “discussions/homework,” and tag it with “unit 2,” “week of 7/6” and [your name].

Posted on

Rounding out the conversation

I’m looking forward to seeing how your conversations are starting to take shape. Let’s take a few minutes to run through this conversation analogy and how this particular assignment is helping you move toward your next project.

First the analogy: we’ve touched on this metaphor a bit recently, and it’s front and center this week as we’re looking at linked sources (that are effectively ‘talking’ to each other). This conversation analogy was introduced by writing scholar Kenneth Burke in 1974. Burke argued that research writing is akin to a conversation at a party. The conversation you’re interested in is already underway when you show up at the party, and as you drift into that room where folks are talking, you take some time to listen to what other folks have to say before joining in to offer your perspective. When you speak up, it’s not really your mission to offer the definitive word on the subject, but rather to move/shape the discussion in some way. You say your piece, building upon the ideas that are already in circulation, and then you move on. That conversation continues once you’re done with it, but your contribution has changed it in some way.

Now, just like at a party, “conversations” in researched writing are more interesting –textured, nuanced, insightful–when there are a lot of perspectives represented, not just a bunch of folks sitting around and agreeing with one another. The conversation is more likely to move into new and fascinating territory when people who have valuable first-hand perspectives or data-driven insights are involved, when they’ve got good stories to share. And you’re more likely to have something valuable to contribute when you’ve spent some time taking in what others have to say.

You’re at the listening phase of that conversation now–taking in what others have to say and assessing who’s ‘present’ to make sure that you’ve got an interesting range of perspectives. That’s what you’re representing on the Rounding out the Conversation worksheet due this Sunday (7/12)–who’s in the ‘room’ and what roles they might be playing in the discussion. This will help you to identify gaps in your roster, so that you can keep looking for new and interesting people to engage in the discussion.

Your research portfolio (due next Wednesday, 7/15) will represent the conversation that you’ve orchestrated, pulling together at least 6 sources that represent different perspectives and knowledges and that chart a course for your ongoing research and writing work in our final unit. Be sure to review the unit 2 assignment sheet for specific instructions.

Posted on

Research Plan

In this assignment my goal is to bring more awareness to the true hardship of minorities in the face of discrimination. In order to clearly articulate to the reader how the lives of these individuals are continuously impacted I plan to incorporate quotes from individuals who were discriminated from a position or  a classroom based on their race, gender r disability. In my assignment I plan to answer the question “what happens when a minority is discriminated against in a classroom or workplace and whether they are able to succeed despite their hardship”. We conduct so much research on diversity and inclusion yet we have yet to read first hands account of individuals being degraded by the system in place. In order to truly understand my research and the injustice being faced daily we must hear first hand accounts of those who have experienced it.

In my research it has been depicted the individuals who experience racial discrimination in terms of class placement sometimes fall behind and end up dropping out of school. The action of one individual profiling a minority student as unable to succeed can make or break this child at such a young age. The actions of careless individuals can ruin the lives of the student and anyone who has ever been treated differently because of the way they look. It is important to me that we hear these stories and understand what happens to an individual when they aren’t able to accomplish things beach of the way the system is built. I want to understand what type of lasting effect can this have on someone life.

Every summer I work at a summer camp as a lifeguard with a bunch of other high school/college aged kids. However I am the only minority on my team and the only member of my race. I sometimes feel self-conscious about being the only person around me and wonder how I can be the only minority working such a prestigious job. Then I realize that not many opportunities are awarded to minorities and although I work there it took many years of practice and hardship. Some people never get the same opportunity and it is unfair that workforces can facilitate such discrimination in their walls. I think it is important to have equal representation within each workplace and I think this piece will help bring attention to that.

I have mainly been focusing on the experiences of school children and work offices. These locations exhibit the most discrimination and they have countless stories of either bias or inclusion within their different programs. I will of course be using Syracuse libraries and I hope to also incorporate the experiences of college aged students or individuals similar in age .

Posted on

Research Plan – Toni

The leading question I have is not necessarily about the diversity and inclusion of the religiously different, it is more the practices and principles that are currently being applied, discussed, researched, experimented with, etc., in how to include different religions into organizations.  This initial question does not necessarily relate to my workplace any more specifically than any other diversity and inclusion research would–they all would; but I find the subtly of religious inclusion and diversity more intriguing.

I feel strongly that any learning which could come from this research would benefit every work environment I could be in, and any diversity and inclusion topic, quite specifically, because of subtlety of it.  I feel this could connect to any work that I’m a part of in the world beyond this course, and in any field of study; thus, why I chose this broad, yet subtle topic of research.

I’ve compiled articles and TED talks, which address religious diversity directly, and some address diversity, implicit biases, unlearning biases, and some more “radical” approaches to diversity some have taken, including the idea of “organizational constellations” and “rent-a minority services”, which I’m very intrigued to learn more about through just some basic information on the creator (Arwa Mahdawi) of the “rent-a-minority” concept.

In looking at sources that are not just about the religiously different and religious discrimination, I feel I will be able to understand what the different degrees of subtly may be, and hopefully understand better if what’s working for other discrimination in organizations would also be able to work with religious discrimination.  How possible is to apply these ideas from other discrimination to all; is it possible?  Is that also just another form of pluralism?

Posted on

Research Proposal

I believe the guiding question to my own research will stem from the overarching question of “How can society improve the feelings of inclusion to LGBTQ community employees and overall gender diversity within the workplace?”. I myself am not a member of the LGBTQ community, as I am a heterosexual female, but I feel as though this is an area of inclusion that needs to be improved on as soon as possible. Gender identity is not always a visible distinguishing characteristic of an individual, many do not feel as though they are in workplaces that would accept their gender identity so they feel as though they should repress it. Unlike race and ethnicity, gender identity does not have a color or specific physical characteristics, it instead is an identifier that an individual chooses for themselves as they best see fit. Through extensive research with providing inclusive working environments for those who identify with the LGTBQ community, I hope to find a few things. For one, I would definitely want to better understand the discrimination those face when pressed with judgements of gender. I think it is essential as a heterosexual female, who does not face discreet discrimination when it comes to my gender, to understand what hardships those who experience backlash for their identity face and how it intervenes within their daily lives. I am also curious to see what action has started to take place in businesses to help improve this inclusion for those of all gender identifications. As a society, we have taken big leaps to provide such inclusion for the LGBTQ community such as legalizing marriage for those of any gender and being able to enlist any gender into the military, but we are still years away from providing the LGBTQ community with the inclusion and respect they deserve. Out of all subfields, I think it is the most beneficial to focus on the business aspect and how LGBTQ community members are treated as employees. Money makes the world go round, and to earn money you need a job; but if the job entails facing explicit discrimination, who would feel comfortable going into a working environment feeling belittled and threatened constantly? I hope to find some evidence of businesses working on improving their gender diversity within their respected companies/organizations, and I also hope to stumble upon some accounts of experiences from members of LGBTQ community have gone through when it comes to inclusion at work. It is hard to grasp something that you may not experience personally, from this I want to gain a better understanding of the LGBTQ community as an ally.

Posted on

Research Plan

Throughout Unit 1 we explored different aspects of diversity in relation to organized culture. From our weekly readings to expanding the canon, there was a plethora of information added to help our understanding of what diversity is, where it can be seen, and how important it is to increase inclusion and maintain it. The sources helped give me a general overview but as the weeks progressed I was still left with questions. One of the questions that stood out to me most was, why it took the world so long to work towards acceptance of everybody? This leads me to focus on empathy and perspective concerning diversity and inclusion because I believe that understanding diverse groups can help increase acceptance. I will use my research to understand the foundational idea of empathy, and why understanding the perspective of diverse individuals is so crucial when working towards a more inclusive world.

In my personal life and career, I see many people, including myself, struggling to think beyond themselves. As a Communications Design major our assignments are focused on creating new ways to communicate through the means of design. One way our teachers push us to come up with better work is to have an audience for our projects that excludes ourselves, that way we have to put ourselves into other’s shoes to think about what they want and how we can target and connect the best. I often find understanding and curating things towards groups I am not apart of difficult, especially when I try to include ones that I know little about. To make this process easier I have to do research on their perspective and figure out how the world affects them and not just me.

For my internship, as a Graphic Design intern at a beauty corporation, I often create content for the brand that must be inclusive and accepting of all. Since I am not apart of many diverse groups that I have to represent on things such as our Instagram feed I often struggle with how to do so properly. The company I work for is relatively small resulting in a lack of diversity so I feel as though if there was an increase in diversity it would allow me to have conversations with those different then me about, how the company can continue to post inclusive and positive content for all. That added perspective would help me do my job better then I could just on my own.

Since perspective is one main focus in my research, the inclusion of one or more primary sources is very important when making sure diverse voices are heard. Along with primary sources, it feels necessary for my source material to consist of a majority of scholarly texts. The effects of something especially empathy can be extremely subjective which is why it is so important to include facts and data to address all sides and provide solid evidence. Scholarly journals that include investigations or reviews on the results of empathy and perspective with diversity are beneficial because they provide solid analysis and include real-life results that will add to our knowledge of how to address diversity in organized culture. Understanding and empathizing with a group is a key strategy I have learned to use in my work and through my research, I hope to show how it can help create more efficient and inclusive organized cultures.

Posted on

Research Plan, Bryan

Recalling our first assignment I had come across an article speaking on how native and nonnative speakers’ interact and were perceived in the workplace. After reading this I found myself digging into a field of many more questions trying to understand how language, or linguistic diversity, affects the way we as humans interact (and in different applied environments). The obvious question, well what is linguistic diversity, was what I used to guide my initial research development.

My research interests quickly began to develop further as I’ve continued to read more on the topic and locate different sources. Questions such as how language could be used to explain the roots of many organizational cultures and explain where much of our implicit/ explicit bias comes from were areas that piqued my interest. I also connected this with many of the readings we’ve had in the past explaining why this form of diversity matters and how it could be used as a competitive advantage in the workplace.

Language ultimately pervades any form of communication whether that be through formal words, graphic symbols, or computer code (to name a few). When you think about it the applicability this has affects us daily. I’ve found myself so invested in this topic for that reason alone however I found it insightful for empathizing and better understanding others too. A lot of the work I do being an architecture major involves presenting and communicating ideas across a variety of audiences. Conducting this research, therefore, informs me of ways I can better engage with others at a more meaningful level.

Given the widespread applicability of language, I’ve been fortunate to find an array of sources. The material I’ve gathered thus far comes from linguistics databases (scholarly focus), online web-courses (educational context), and first-hand accounts such as personal interviews or surveyed responses (individual scale). What I’ve found matter most is learning how this information can be greater caught on by others. Much of the research out there today states that this is a relatively new field with a limited amount of investigation and that much of what there already is, is conducted in Western and English-speaking countries (limiting a more complete/global understanding). Therefore a lot of my inquiries over the coming weeks will be focusing on learning to better teach language diversity and the implications it has.