Media Lit Introduction

Hello everyone!

My name is Christian Collins. I am originally from San Diego, CA, but I have been living in Rhode Island since the summer of 2016. I moved here with my boyfriend Ammar, as we both were placed in Rhode Island as part of the Americorps programs City Year (for myself) and Teach for America (for him). Without knowing a soul in New England, we moved from one of the largest and most populous states, to little Rhode Island.

I have since fallen in love with Rhode Island and New England in general. We have decided to make Rhode Island our long term home and have since put down roots here, including; buying our first house (yay!), adopting our dog/son Winston (super cute!), recently sold our first home to buy our second (that was fast!) and have created long term commitments with our employers.

Currently, I am teaching as part of the Americorps program Teach for America. I teach 6th and 7th grade English Language Arts (with "English as a Second Language" certification) at Del Sesto Middle School. I have just completed my first year of teaching and I am so excited to have my first summer! So far, I have spent most of my time building IKEA furniture and sleeping. In July however, I will be going on a cruise to the Bahamas, visiting my brother in Seattle, and have tickets to go see Hamilton! I am taking CURR 550 as part of my IMED program, which I will be finishing this July!

In my spare time, I love to garden, hang out with my boyfriend and dog, bake, play video games or go hiking.

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Going to school...but how do I get in?

The documentary "Going to School" investigates the reality of special education in Los Angeles School District in the early 2000's. The district was in the midst of revamping its special education services, due to the district having significant shortcomings in regards to its services for students with disabilities. The film follows several students, and there are many interviews with educators, support staff, students and parents about what education (and special education) means for them. Below are some of the quotes that made me think the most about the current state of special education and the inadequacies that are present even today. Throughout the film, a particular parent of a student named Richard, was a vocal advocate for the inclusion of students with disabilities in the general education classroom. Beyond advocating for her own son, she worked to help other students and parents understand the special education system and what they need to do in order to advo

Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us

While I was not a Disney obsessed child like some friends I had, I believe Disney played an important role in my childhood as source of entertainment and culture. I fondly remember watching many Disney classics such as Fox and the Hound or Robin Hood. As an adult, I primarily remember watching the movies that were unrelated to the princesses, likely because those were mostly directed towards typical female audiences. An exception that I recall would be the movie Mulan, which seemed more appealing as a child with its action and fighting. Additionally, I was fortunate enough to have been raised in San Diego, CA, which was only an hour away from Disneyland. Disneyland as an attraction was always a desirable location to go to, and one that was rare to attend as a family of 8. Regardless of background, everyone loved going to Disneyland if they had the means to do so. I also recall the 'playground status' given to students in elementary school that came back from vacations wea

Rethinking Schools: Ignoring Diversity, Undermining Equity

For this week's reading, I chose to read the article Ignoring Diversity, Undermining Equity by Katherine Crawford-Garrett. Professor Crawford-Garrett teaches at the University of New Mexico, and prepares preservice teachers for their service in schools, specifically teaching them literacy best practices. I was immediately drawn by the title of the article, and was curious to learn in what ways diversity was being ignored at the expense of increasing equity in schools. Crawford-Garrett beings the article discussing a conversation she had with her Dean. There was a high-stakes evaluation of the school's curriculum by the National Council on Teacher Quality ( NCTQ ). Per NCTQ's website, "The National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit research and policy organization that is committed to modernizing the teaching profession". NCTQ was to come into the school, and evaluate whether the curriculum at UNM was up to the standards of t

Collins Compositions

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