Lesbian and Gay Adolescents

With the increasing amounts of media and exposure of the gay community, i do not find it at all surprising that more and more students are identifying themselves as homosexual at earlier ages than in the past. Gays have a better opportunity to be open about their sexual orientation than ever before because although many people still fight against it, support for the gay community is rising. Awareness of one self is important for any person, no matter their orientation, it just may be more difficult for homosexuals during their middle school years because they are somewhat unsure about whether they are gay or straight, and many also worry about whether or not their peers will accept them. Being gay may be hard on some because they want to "come out" to their friends when they desire the right time is. It is understandable that many gays and lesbians try to hold their cover, because they do not wish to be ridiculed, but acceptance has to increase and be taught that it is okay to be different from a very early age in order to rid a person of any fear to express their true feelings.
I do find it interesting that the numbers are as high as they are about sexual experience in the middle school years because personally I was not even aware of any gays in my school until around my junior year of high school. Even though the saying goes women mature before men, it is interesting that gay men seem to be realizing their orientations and expermenting sexually earlier than their lesbian counterparts.

Bad Boys

I would have to agree, from experience, with the radical schooling theory, in believing that the schooling system reflecting the interests of the dominant groups in society. Tests have been used for I do not even know how long, but they tend to be the deciding factors of who goes where. The dominating class, though, may truly create, a hidden curriculum, one which defines the many inequalities in our society in its current state. Like read in our previous weeks, inequalities come about because of dominant classes views about society being passed down from parent to child, in which the child then uses to judge the fellow students around them. In turn, this creates a society in the school that could reflect the society of the one outside the school doors.
School disciplinary rules come to classify each student as a “case” rather than as an individual? These individuals are depicted as “cases” in which based on how well they behave in the classroom can determine their societal status. There is no “truth” to who students are in the classroom, they are being classified based on what others depict of them. It can be a harmful process if certain terms such as “troublesome” become a students label. These students may not have the ability to express their uniqueness in a classroom because they are being previously slated as someone who needs to be held to a short leash.
The black adult male body depicts fear? The body language displayed in a classroom is always supposed to be relegated as one that is respectful to the instructor. However, this highly expected posture can in all actuality be highly uncomfortable, and if the instructor has to feel obligated to maintain it in the classroom, how much time is that taking away from learning time to correct the situation. As seen in our college classes, posture is not always held as the most important means of respect, or it does not mean the student is not holding an awareness to what is going on in the classroom. I do not believe in creating a fearfulness in the classroom towards myself.

The Identity crisis

I must disagree with Erikson's translation of Identity from Jame's perspective. What James declares as being "character" should be exactly left as such. He describes that experiences, and the way one handles themselves in such situations, whether chosen of forced upon would depict one's character, not their identity.
I do believe however that identity is correctly termed by Sigmond Freud, who states identity is a common mental construction. Identity to me is a member of society that feels that they belong to a groups or multiple groups based on shared experiences and beliefs. Identity-consciousness can be a conflicted terminology because consciously being judged by others in negative terms creates an us verses them atmosphere.
The reading of Identity is relevant because as students become the age of early adolescents, they begin to create their own self identity, or at least the transition from their childhood identity to their adult one. The problem for students at this age is that they create their identities towards how others judge them rather than standing strong for their own beliefs. It may be natural to be conscious of others, but ideally breaking the status quo would create the best atmosphere. This to me could be best achieved by Ward's idea of each student proclaiming what they are not before they express who they are. Doing so could help a student realize what their self image is from others perspectives.