Large, Boyce, Gilyard, Aronsen and hooks

1. Large's article is a nice change of perspective because he is not writing about his own work but instead a book written by Paul Tough called, "How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character". He describes the need to build character in order to help students succeed rather then focusing on academic acheivement. According to Large, Paul Tough supports his opinion with research and backs that up with real live experience as a parent.

5. In Boyce's article he  stresses the need for as Mark Greenburg states it, "Kindness, caring, empathy, being able to de-center from your own point of view and listen deeply to others..." Mark Greenburg is the director of the Prevention Research Center for the Promotion of Human Development at Penn State University. The atricle explains that yoga, meditation and even parenting classes can all help students succeed by helping them control their emotions and have greater empathy for others.

2. In "Children, Art's, and Du Bois", Keith Gilyard follows the trend of the previous articles in which he calls for changes in our school system. He does remark that "I take no position against science, technology, engineering, and mathematics efforts" . The changes he asked for are to stop cutting programs that encourage creativity such as the after school program he mentions in the first few paragraphs of his article.

3. Deb Aronson's article discusses MAS (Mexican American Studies" which was a program started in 1995 in Tuscon, Arizona. The program was intended "to improve retention and graduation rates among Mexican Americans," The program was cancelled due to statements by Arizona politicians claiming the program biased Mexican Americans against mainstream culture with the books chosen in the program. While students protested with marches, addressing the school board and even chaining themselves to chairs at meetings. In her article teachers are encouraged teachers to reach out to parents and the community about the books they are teaching. She even expresses frustration about the involvement of people who are not trained in education setting policy that affects education.

4. bell hooks, who stands out simply because of how she spells her name has a compelling narrative. She states that "Sadly, children's passion for thinking often ends when they encounter a world that seeks to educate them for conformity and obedience" I agree with her on that point, we are encouraged towards creativity only if it does not intervene with the required math, science and technical classes/training. hooks asks for schools to encourage critical thinking, a good relationship between teacher and student as well as an open mind. According to hooks this encourages students to learn and pushes students to "think passionately and share ideas in a passionate open manner."