Artículo Video Necesita Real Player (Transcripción) Noticias y Herramientas Activitides La Lista De La Lectura También del Interés Sitios Relacionados de PBS Sitios Relacionados del Web

Take an hour of viewing television at two different times and during that time; keep track of all commercials. In each commercial, note the sex of the people and what each is doing in the commercial. Pay attention to "voiceovers" also. Who is doing most of the talking in the commercials?

Also, take careful note of whether any people from any other ethnic group than white appear, when, that is, at what point in the commercial, and what they are doing.

Make a chart first and then check things off as they occur, with notes written at a place on the side. This avoids having to do a lot of rewriting and makes it possible to record data in an orderly way.

Take a look at your chart when it has been completed and analyze it. On the basis of that data, what are commercials teaching children about who is important and what are appropriate roles for different ethnic groups and men and women to assume?

Activities for the classroom
You are a middle class, white, well-meaning teacher, and you have just gotten a job working with a Head Start group in which the children are predominantly first-generation, in the U.S., Puerto Ricans. What will you do to make these children feel truly welcome? How can you utilize the rich cultural traditions of this minority group in your classroom?

Now suppose that you could not serve Puerto Rican food, use their native dances, or read books to the child about Puerto Rican children. What might be other valuable, though more subtle, ways to honor the cultural uniqueness of these youngsters? Are there ways to change to match the group you are serving more closely? Would changing yourself mean that you are losing your own cultural heritage?