Blog Post #8 RI Laws and Policies + Video

 

                                           Blog Post #8 RI Laws and Policies + Video

Argument - Both the reading and the video have similar arguments in that they both aim to create safe and free environments for all children, bypassing any type of discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation, or race. Both the reading and the video take different approaches in that the reading focuses mainly on the legal aspect, as in creating specific laws making it illegal to discriminate against students based on these factors. These laws include, Civil Rights Act of 1964, which banned discrimination against anyone based on these factors, or Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits discrimination based on sex in any educational program that receives federal funding. The video takes a different approach, instead of telling us discrimination is wrong upfront and making it illegal, the video focuses on teaching WHY discrimination wrong. It takes a teacher forward approach, using a tone that would be used for children, to make sure that people of all ages can understand the point they are trying to get across. This cannot be said for the reading due to its complex nature.

I Think both of these pieces are important and work hand in hand with one another. One one hand, it is important for us, especially as inspiring teachers and youth development workers, to understand the laws and history of laws against discrimination. It is important to look at the progress made, especially for those who are in the LGBTIA+ community who have made recent strides in laws protecting their rights. However, the video is almost as important as the reading because when having these conversations, especially about gender identity, it doesn't need to be all about government. It is important to humanize these conversations, and not make people in the community feel any different than people who are not. At the end of the day, gender identity is not just a government issue. It is a human issue, and it centers around how people treat one another. The video highlights this facts, and attempts to teach people how to better understand this issue by using a soft and teaching tone, which I think it very important. 

Comments - I think the video is very interesting because it can be taken in many different ways. On one hand, it can be taken as a video just for kids, where someone is trying to read them a book with a nice meeting. It is easy to brush this video off as just another children's book reading. However, I think it is more complex than that. I think this video is equally important for adults to listen to. The world is rapidly changing, and because of that, I give some slack to the older generation for not fully understanding things like gender identity and certain people using different pronouns, etc. However, this does not exclude them from having to educate themselves. People can argue that it is too difficult to keep up with the times, but that is why videos like this are so important. It shows that complex ideas can be taught in a simple manner that everyone can understand. I do not feel like this video should just be limited to the children demographic and can be very helpful for the older generation that may be struggling to understand new terms and ideologies. 

HyperLinks - https://www.waterford.org/education/equity-vs-equality-in-education/