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A propos of Kaye's questions @ the end of class on Tuesday, about the complexities of passing --
What information do we use to categorize people/events or to make judgments? 
What information do we let pass? --see this morning's NYTimes article, The Freedom to Choose Your Pronoun:
“These teens are fighting the idea that your equipment defines what it means for you to be a boy or girl. They are saying: ‘You don’t know me by looking at me. Assume nothing’ ”.... some of the new adjectives young people use to describe themselves: “bi-curious,” “heteroflexible,” “polyamorous” and even “wiggly.”

I thought the slient board was a GREAT discussion tool. It really made me start thinking about the high school. I like to come into a new environment with out expectations except the expectation to learn from it. But when we were writing on the board someone put on the board 'I wonder how it would have been if we had gone to another school without the high school's resources.' I think that would be a very different experience. Even though we're going to a high school in Philadelphia, this specific school requires entrance exams and has a strong partnership with a Liberal Arts College. I wonder if our presence will make more of an impact at the high school or would it have made more of an impact on a more disadvantaged school?

I have so many expectations. I wanna see what an American public high school looks like. I would love to discuss their curriculum, pedagogy, teacher student relationship, challenges and views on the SAT testing, which i enjoyed proctoring and tutoring kids for.

I will also ask them about the situation on drugs, crime, dropping out etc in their school and since they are predominantly black, the relationship between black and white kids in the school and neighborhood. If I feel like it, I might seek their views on the use of the word we discussed in class last Tuesday.

I will describe a typical Nigerian public high school to them, contrasting the differences and noting the similarities if any. I would appreciate their thoughts on the issue of equal educational opportunities and then  share my access story with them.

Going to the high school, I want to expand my knowledge about different academic situations and the impact they have on students’ lives. Having gone to the same school for 12 years, I haven’t had much exposure to different academic cultures such as public and urban schools and thus, I am curious about the way the different backgrounds of the students in contrast to those that made up my class will have shaped the students’ expectations for their academic and vocational futures. Since I will be volunteering at the high school in the near future, I would also like to take this as an opportunity to observe the situations that the seniors I will be working with have faced in order to be able to understand them better and become the best help I can be for them. I would like to learn about the overall perspectives of the class, about how they see themselves in relation to their peers, the world around them and the authority figures that shape their lives; however, concurrently, I also expect that my questions won’t be definitively answered as the students may not open up as easily. I can’t just come into the school expecting that they will tell me everything about their lives, especially when I am a stranger asking about their personal academic and home life. I also can’t just make assumptions about aspects of their lives which may not be true. In any case, my main goal is to make a human connection, to have this be a learning experience that will not only benefit me but most importantly, benefit them. 

I am very much looking forward to our visit to the high school. I am honestly not sure what to expect because having gone to high school outside of the U.S. the only idea I have of what public school will be like is from movies and TV shows, which is probably not that accurate. I am interested to see if the fact that a test is required for entry will make a difference in the motivation of the students. Also, if there are teachers and students who are burned out I would like to know specifically what causes this. I agree that this trip should be one of equal exchange, but I am not completely sure what I bring to the visit besides a “college outlook”. It will be interesting after my visit to reflect on what I felt they learned from me, because it will most probably not be what I originally expected

The question I asked myself was not what about what I want to learn, but how much I can learn. Like Shannon said, I would love to know "everything". I want to know what its like going to a public school that you have to be accepted into, going to school in the city, and what their life is like at home. Since we are visiting sophomores and juniors, I want to hear some feedback on standardized testing because sophomore year and junior year are considered the "important years". I would also love to hear about their ideas for the future, what they hope to do, where they hope to go etc.

Since this is a mutual learning experience, I hope I can give them some feedback on what high school was like for me, how I felt about testing, what I was thinking at the time about my  future plans and so on. I also hope to share my background and where I come from. I also hope to give them a sense of going to a non-selective public high school in the suburbs. Hopefully we can discuss some of the topics we discuss in class get new ideas thrown into the mix.

Let's just say, I can't wait to go to the high school.

Here is a link to an article explaining the circumstances of the youtube video entitled "Jonathan's Cochlear Implant Activation 8 mo., Rt Ear cont'd"

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1283703/Moment-deaf-baby-Jonathan-hears-mothers-voice-time.html

I find this really interesting in terms of disability studies, I know it can be a dangerous game to look at the comments on youtube videos/websites, but even just a quick glance at the top few were pretty generative in terms of discussion:

"How ironic that 8months ago this boy could have been aborted if it were known he was deaf, apparently considered a serious disability. And here we have him receiving treatment from doctors as if they are life savers. When they could have been killing him behind closed doors not so long ago & we would never have known about it. He is an human being first & foremost, has been since fertilisation. These people are not gods, they have not 'given him back his life' just given him a new sense. A lot of deaf people feel very angry & alienated because of peoples ignorant views about deafness."

"99 people are blind.