This connects really well with what Gholdy Muhammed said in the "Abolitionist" video. She said that Black people just want to be recognized as human beings, and that's it. As people we are a body, and if your arm is hurting or broken you are going to go to the doctor to fix it, and then she concluded her statement by saying Black people are the broken arm right now. I feel as though this article connects so well with Gholdy's statment because it takes a community/a whole body as Paul Gorski says, to fix this issue. Great article, and I hope as teachers we all come together to fix this injustice.

I really like this, I think it explains so much about Contested Spaces in so little words. Overdetermination will lead to pride and will lead to infallibility, and with the included idea about how teachers cannot speak up - things will stay the same. Culture, therefore flows into many streams in this quote which inevitably maintains the status quo of social reproduction.

This reminds me of the Abolitionist video, where they discuss that the structure of schools must be taken down and reformed. My group came up with an analogy on the topic which I think speaks volumes, as one of us said that when you pick a weed, you can't just grab it from the top. Nothing will change, it will just grow larger over time, but one must pick a weed from the roots, because from there, the weed will disappear, and that makes room for something else to grow in its place.

This sounds like these teachers are the gatekeepers of social reproduction, in that, any form of "speaking out" is deemed unacceptable. With teachers helping and working with many marginalized students, I am surprised that this is a norm.

I absolutely agree with the fact that we should integrate contemporary language, and that yes, it would allow cultures to be more inclusive, and mix together in a connected way (as many contemporary teens love the same music regardless of cultural upbringing). However, the way that this article is written contradicts the message that they are trying to unfurl. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if someone is trying to get a message across that language, linguistics, and cultural upbringing (in a white culture) is the issue, should they not speak more clearly: feel comfortable sounding more like a layman than an academic. That being said though, maybe that is the issue that they feel they must connect with the culture that can speak this language in order to get their point across to its best ability.

I am reading a book and (in someways) it has some ties to baseball, and in the book the narrator makes the argument that baseball is a different form of war that does not facilitate killing, but it still holds within it the aggression, patriotism, and competition of war. This part that I highlighted here reminds me of just that, as it speaks in ways that "rhymes" ('history doesn't repeat itself, it speaks in rhymes' - Mark Twain) with the baseball metaphor, but in the way that society functions. In saying that, there is patriotism in acadademics, social ways with oral and written language and cultural practices which (like social reproduction) eliminate the competition.

It seems as though social reproduction and meritocracy has really solidified itself throughout this course, as it should. Everything that we read seems to connect to it on a certain level, and I must say I'm thankful for that huge piece of insight from that article because it changed the way I look at Canada. I just really do not want to be a part of the issue, but I know in some ways that just being here is contributing to it on some level.

At this time there is no sense of security no matter where the Indigenous people go within the Canadian education system. The education system was already exclusive and segregates the Indigenous people's beliefs, understanding, and culture.

Isn't the fact that these old army barrack boarding schools just so symbolic of the chaotic, destructive, and corrupt nature of the situation. Its hard to think that just over 100 years ago this was the leading authority (with regards to Canada as well) and they were trying to condition the Indigenous spirituality, customs, and language (etc.) out of them in order to make them farmers. 100 years is not long period of time and some times I wonder how much we have truly learned/changed as a nation. This is a very sad truth of Canadian history, and I look forward to learning more about it in the future (even after this article is complete).

This horrible reality reminds me a lot of a paper I wrote about Orientalism by Edward Said in undergrad. The thesis of Orientalism (the definition relating very well to my paper/Said) "is a way of seeing that imagines, emphasizes, exaggerates and distorts differences of Arab peoples and cultures as compared to that of Europe and the U.S. It often involves seeing Arab culture as exotic, backward, uncivilized, and at times dangerous." While Orientalism is written particularly about people from middle eastern countries, the definition of Orientalism extends to the Indigenous people in this part of the book. It is very difficult/sad to read this book, but I see how important it is to be educated on the subject.

This makes me very sad. One time I was crying in front of my family and I felt shame about crying in front of everyone. My grandfather though came over to me and put his hand on my shoulder and said "Brady, crying is not a weakness," and to this day that remains one of the most impactful moments of my life. I have been affected by everything I've read so far, but right here really struck a cord with me because of this important memory.

This method of learning is important to me because I (along with many I'm sure) learn in a more efficiently way when I can have a conversation about the content rather than just memorizing it. The Socratic method has stood the test of time and for me, I gain the most out of contesting and being contested (even though it can be uncomfortable).