In her discussion on the importance of mutual understanding in building democracy, Green writes: “It requires actual conversations, collaboratively aiming for mutual understanding about self and world, with others who are differently located than oneself within a shared culture ...” (24).
Green's been talking a lot about diversity and democracy – the fundamental point, I think, being that deep democracy requires letting all voices be heard, including those on the margins. This doesn't mean just that the government or state should hear all voices, either, but rather that we have to listen to each other. Real conversations, as basic as this might sound, are the building blocks of democracy.
Briefly recount a conversation you've had at your APPLES site – either with a fellow volunteer, supervisor, or someone to whom you're providing services. What did you learn from the encounter? How did it change you, or change the way you thought about something?
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Working at the bread ministry in Northside, I always find myself having conversations with the ladies of the bread ministry regarding the interesting dishes they somehow manage to create. I recently found myself having a conversation with Ms. Gladys about all the different organic products that are donated to the bread ministry. She told me that these various products have really helped her expand upon here cooking methods and options. This really made me think about the impact that the bread ministry has on all its volunteers and visitors. The bread ministry creates an outlet for conversations and creativity amongst all the people that visit. Who would have ever thought adding some "green leaves" into Ramon Noodles would have completely changed its flavor. Or the 1000 and 1 things that you can do with fruits that I had never even heard of. Though the organic products symbolize a growing gap of income and opportunity (because the people whom visit the bread ministry would never purchase half of those products), they also act as catalysts of creativity. Visitors come to the bread ministry not only gaining food, but gaining ideas and building relationships. These various products help foster a bond amongst all the visitors. I no longer view the bread ministry as a donation center, but more as a center of creativity and inspiration. Even the language barrier does not hinder the visitors from carrying out their conversations. Almost like a dinner table, people gather around the bread ministry sharing their stories, thoughts, and ideas amongst each other;thus, strengthening the bonds of the Northside family.
ReplyDeleteAt the hospital, I have conversations with both blood donors, staff and other volunteers there. While voluntereering last week, there was a large influx of donors and they all seemed to know each other. When I asked one of them why all of them decided to donate, she told me that a co-worker was getting a transplant and needed platelets. While this was very nice of his co-workers to do, I wondered if they would ever come back to donate. Do we only care about things only if they directly affect us? After all, it's completely safe to donate platelets every week and they go to SOMEONE in need. Does it matter if we are not related to them? I guess it was sad that when I saw such an influx of donors, I knew something was not normal. I think that as an Indian, I have always grown up in a culture that puts other people ahead of yourself. You always offer guests the best food, room, new clothes, etc. before you help yourself. In America, I think things are more about independence, and maybe donating just for the sake of donating doesn't fall in line with the American dream. While some people might argue that it comes down to individual morals and decisions, I would say that statistics regarding platelet donation at UNC and the nation as a whole would say otherwise...apathy is a social problem.
ReplyDeleteLast week when I went to Abbey Court Center, I had the pleasure of working with a young Asian girl (I currently do not know how to spell her name). I had walked to the back computer room to see if any children needed assistance back there and I stumbled upon here laying with her head down on the table looking quite miserable. As I proceeded to attempt to engage in a conversation with here, she was quite hesitant and not very forthcoming with her name or homework assignment. I felt as if I was literally pulling teeth to extract her homework from here. Her first homework assignment was to write a short story about anything she was interested in. She finally began to open up to me and professed her love for bananas and her creativity took off from there. She came alive and was quite bubbly. I then proceeded to help her with her math homework after we finished her bananas story. After all of homework was completed we began to just have general conversation about her, me, food, school, etc. At the end of the conversation I could tell that she was very grateful for my time and did not want me to leave nor the conversation to end.
ReplyDeleteFrom our conversation I gathered a lot. I figured that she wa initially quite hesistant to work with me, not only possibly because she was extrememly shy, but also because of language barriers. Although she could speak some English, it was quite broken and I had to guide her a lot in her sentences and stories. She was initially apprehensive of how I would react and how we would effectively accomplish her homework, however to her and my happiness this worked out great. This encounter taught me that patience is worth it. We could miss out on a lot of great friends, conversation, and wisdom if we pass up the opportunities to learn them through patiencce even when barriers are present and odds are stacked up in opposition.
This past Monday when I went to Rashkis Elementary to volunteer with a Pre-K classroom the teacher had a surprise for the children. The teacher had bought a fish to keep in the classroom as a classroom pet. At first, I thought this was quite sweet but then she proceeded to ask the class what they wanted to name it. Rather than choosing a name for the pet, the teacher went around the room asking for suggestions for names. After all suggestions were in, each child was able to vote on the name that they preferred.
ReplyDeleteEven though this action is so small, I believe that Green would see this as deep democracy at a basic level. Even though the students are so young, the teacher is allowing each child and every adult in the room to suggest a name for the fish, which is in itself a form of what Green would call deep democracy because everyone taking part in this situation is able to speak up. The teacher is hearing all voices, not only her own.
Witnessing this encounter has made me understand what Green was referring to when she mentions that deep democracy involves having a collaborative understanding and listening to those around you. Being able to apply Green's explanations to real life encounters has truly helped me understand the concepts she presents so much better.
I volunteer at Carrboro Elementary School as a Pre-K helper. Every time I'm there, the kids pick to play in centers such as housekeeping, building blocks, and art. Each time, I initiate a conversation and asks which centers the kids, and the kids raise their hands to say which one they wanted to go to. There are a few quiet kids who don't say where they want to go so they are randomly assigned to centers. After going to the centers, the kids will go around and mingle in other centers. Every time, the teacher yells at them saying that they weren't assigned to that center and to go back to their own. I think that a democracy can occur at this level. There are some kids who vote, and the ones who don't vote are unhappy and try to do their own thing. The people who didn't use their voice didn't have their wishes heard. I'm not sure what Green would do in this instance. Would she encourage the teachers to encourage the children to be used more? This changed my view because its occurred to me, maybe it isn't easy to have a democracy. All voices were heard in the case of the pre-k class, but all people didn't use their voices.
ReplyDeleteLast week while coaching soccer at the Human Rights Center I had a conversation with a fellow coach. During this coaching session, we had no children come to play with us and we brainstormed ways to include more kids. Our ideas included having the sessions at a different time, changing the area, etc. I liked these ideas until I considered Green's view on deep democracy.
ReplyDeleteI realized that our ideas sounded like we were forcing the children to come out and play; also as if we were saying "we are putting on this program and you guys need to take advantage of it". Then I thought that possibly the children didn't want to play soccer or would rather have college students help them with something else. As I'm writing this I thought that brainstorming with the other coaches would be a good way to improve the foundations of the program, but the basic units of our program are the children.
According to Green, instead of speaking with the coaches, I should have gone in the Center and asked for the comments of the children. Using a metaphor, the coaches are the government and the children are those being governed. For our soccer program to be successful and to begin including more children, we must speak with the children and seriously take their opinions into account. No matter a person's race, class, gender, age, education level, etc. their opinion must be heard and seriously considered to truly have deep democracy. In my case, a "soccer deep democracy" must include the coaches, children, parents and anyone else involved.
There are many things that come to mind in terms of memorable conversations that I have had with the children I volunteer with at Communiversity. Two conversations that come to mind show the small mindedness that the children (first graders) are surrounded by on a daily basis. For example, one of the counselors in the program is an Asian-American. One of the first graders (a black male) in the program attempted to tell me that the counselor was not American and did not speak American, only Chinese. My first reaction was to laugh and to try to explain to the child that the counselor was Asian-American and that she did speak English (not “American”). My next thought was about the limited environment that the child must have been surrounded by, both at school and at home to give him the idea that automatically made people who did not look like him non-American. Although the child is only in the first grade and clearly has lots more to learn, I found it sad that this was his limited view of the world. Another memorable conversation came with another first-grader, this time a Hispanic male. It simply stemmed from coloring a printed out story about Jackie Robinson. It was easy to color Jackie brown, but the child was unsure of what color to color the white characters. We colored them apricot, but that sparked a small conversation on the colors of everyone in the room. Most people were brown, but he classified some of the counselors and himself as white. Also, notably, he did have trouble classifying the light skinned black counselor. At this interaction I had to question to myself whether he was really “white” as he assumed he was. When I tried to tell him he was Hispanic he had to ask the meaning of the term. Again I found it interesting that there was a necessity to classify people on the basis of skin color, or even ethnicity, as it does not clearly or totally identify the person. Why can there not be a general classification of human? Sadly, I don’t see this deal becoming a reality anytime soon, if at all.
ReplyDeleteI think what Green is trying to say here is quite interesting especially when our APPLES placement involves visiting a community not like ourselves. This is true for my community placement. This semester, much like last semester, I am volunteering with the students of Abbey Court. Since last semester, I have put away the preconceived ideas I had about their intelligence and will to learn and be involved with the tutoring project. But now, I still find myself doubting my ability to help them in a manner where they will understand.
ReplyDeleteCase and point, on Monday I went to the center and volunteered with one of the students. She was finish with her homework, so she told me, and wanted to complete a letter to her pen pal. I subtle doubted ALL of her homework was done, but I figured reading and writing this letter would still serve as academic enrichment, so we got to it! She started the project off by searching for a Valentine's Day Image to post on the final letter. She had navigated herself to the Google Images page and found the image she wanted to use. I talked her through the process of printing the image and then we began the letter.
The letter, I thought would be challenging for her to write, but I found myself wrong. The student had read the letter from her pen pal many times and knew exactly what she wanted to say back. I talked with her while she wrote the letter. She would make some grammatical mistakes, but I wanted us to wait until the end to correct them. She disagreed, she would read each sentence and correct each sentence as she went. For some reason, I did not think she had the capabilities to recognize the mistakes she had made in the letter. I never asked her what grade she was in and this was my first time working with her even from last semester. I think by talking with her throughout that assignment I learned that she was fairly accomplished in understanding grammatical mistakes and spelling. What she didn't know, she did mind asking me questions about. Like one particular mistake, she did not understand why it was wrong and I explained it to her, it took 3 minutes of explanation, but she walked away understanding why she should use "on" instead of "in".
I think conversations that aim for mutual understanding, as Green discusses, are vital to working, progressive, successful relationships between providers of service and those being provided the service. In this case, me conversing with the student I was working with allowed me to help her in her weaknesses rather than dwell on what she already knew! This can be true with others in their community placements; opening up these lines of communication will be the initial step to growth!
Today at my volunteer placement at the Bread Ministry of St. Joe's church I had a conversation with a woman who spoke very little English. I first asked her how she was doing in English when she came to sign in and she looked at me with a blank stare. Realizing she couldn't speak English, I repeated the phrase in Spanish which she met with a smile and a lengthy reply. We got to talking and she told me how surprised she was that I spoke Spanish and that I would take the time to ask about how her day was going. She told me that most of the time she feels very lost and looked down upon because of her limited English proficiency.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I did not realize it at the time, this five minute conversation taught me a lot. It made me realize that I take for granted the cultural advantages that I have as a result of my English proficiency. It is because I can converse and interact with others that my unique voice is heard. I started to think about how hard and demoralizing it must be just to get through normal mundane tasks in this country without being able to read and speak English. A trip to the grocery store would be a complete nightmare, let alone fighting for one's rights in government. Our conversation made me take a step back and look at the world through another person's eyes, which gave me a better understanding of those who are marginalized. By having a real conversation, as basic as it was, that woman's voice was heard. For a true democracy to exist, all voices must be heard.
I had a conversation with a parent at the Human Rights Center as he was waiting for his child to get ready to leave. I asked him mostly the same questions that I asked the Mexican gentlemen that came to class a couple of weeks ago. His responses revealed that the only reason he had come to the US, risking his life crossing the border, was to experience the illusion, as he now perceived it, of the American dream. He felt he could be just as well off, if not better, if he had stayed in Mexico. The stories he heard of potential wealth convinced him to risk the journey, but he feels it wasn't worth and he wouldn't recommend it to many people. He believes it might only be worth it if the person has absolutely nothing in their native country.
ReplyDeleteWhat I learned from this conversation, that I never thought about before, was that the pull factor seems to be much stronger than the push factor to migrate to the US. There is potential in Mexico to lead a good life, and these Mexicans know it, but there's something out there, whether media, rumors, etc, that whispers in their ear that life in the US would be much better. It is only when it's too late that they come to realize that it was all an illusion or exaggeration. The situation in Mexico is bad, and it's largely due to US intervention on the countries economy, but its not as bad as I thought.
I talked to him about my experience as a first generation born in the US and the struggles my mother went to, but it seemed like nothing compared to what he was going through. I feel he learned how the difference of being legal in the US makes the American dream, which he perceived as an illusion, more attainable.
I have had many conversations with my supervisor, Mrs. Britton. One that I found particularly interesting happened today during class, and it was in reference to a student that has been labeled as an "underachiever" among other names. Mrs. Britton brought up a few examples during the weekly teacher to teacher conference. This is where all of the 1st grade teachers assemble and go over lesson plans, teaching techniques, discipline strategies, and set goals for the upcoming week. Much to my surprise, I was invited to attend today.
ReplyDeleteThe topic today was, "how to help lower ability group students prepare for 2nd grade." Many teachers stated that a few of their lower track students would most likely need to attend summer school in order to be adequately prepared for 2nd grade. Another teacher said that she had a few students she was going to recommend repeat the 1st grade. Then, Mrs. Britton said that most of her lower track students just do not apply themselves or take learning seriously. Personally, I thought all of the teachers were missing the real problem. Are low ability students lazy or are they really underprivileged?
I posed the question, "what is the education level of most of the lower track students?" It did not come as a surprise to me that most of them were working poor families, nor was it surprising that many of them also lived in government subsidized housing. If learning happens both inside and out of the classroom, are the students to blame that there is no one at home to continue that process? If their parents are working 2-3 different jobs and only see their children for a few hours during the day, can they really fault the child and label them for their "lack of success" as seen by the school system? I asked the teachers to consider the possibility that the lack of progress among students in lower level ability groups might be more closely related to their parents SES than it was to their apathy. I introduced the idea of cultural capital, and the influence resources approved by the dominant culture can have on a students academic success.
This really changed my opinion about educators. They are the gatekeepers of culture, and they have the ability to positively or negatively influence the lives of everyone they encounter. By making comments about underlying factors being irrelevant to classroom performance, I felt the lack of understanding of how closely they are linked. I learned that, although, they were willing to listen to my comments, they were unwilling to accept the fact that some students perform poorly for reasons other than their lack of interest. If everyone could explain their poor performance in terms of familial circumstance, then everyone would have an excuse to fail. I learned that the teachers bought into meritocracy and the achievement ideology, and this means that they pass that vision along to their students. "You are failing because you are not working hard enough!" "You did not succeed because you were not putting enough effort into your studies." Tell that to the child whose parents cannot even afford pencils and paper. How is that a product of the efforts of that child? I lost a lot of faith in the school system today. I think we need to scrap the current school system and start all over!
Working at the Bread Ministry at St. Joe's has given me the interesting position of working with people of many different races, financial circumstances, and education levels. On the outside, one might be quick to generalize that the people served by the Bread Ministry are minorities with low income and low education levels and that those supervising the distribution have more cultural and economic advantages. This is not always the case.
ReplyDeleteAlthough most of the volunteers at the food bank are college students, with obvious educational and financial resources, the real supervisors may be more disadvantaged than one would assume. This realization came to me after several conversations with a supervisor named Jackie. Without revealing anything too personal, our conversation revealed that her family was not so well off and that she had had few opportunities to improve herself through education, as she had been expected to have a job. What amazed me is that she still finds the time and energy to drive from Durham to help people who are less fortunate than her.
I think that's what Green was trying to get at: conversations expose differences, but they also reveal similarities. If everyone gave what they are capable of giving and did whatever they are capable of doing, we would have an optimal democracy.
Wednesday was one of the most memorable days I have had at my APPLES site. I typically spend my time tutoring four Korean 4th graders in reading. It is part of an ESL program. This week the teacher had me listen to every kid in her class' presentation on a famous North Carolinian. The children had to research a famous North Carolinian and prepare a presentation in which they would pretend to be that carolinian. Each conversation I had was memorable. It opened my eyes to the fact that as college students...we might think we know a lot...but we dont. We must have conversations with younger generations and marginalized groups because they know things that we dont. These children taught me things that I had never heard of. For instance...we all know about the California gold rush but few of us know that there was also one in North Carolina. A 12 year old boy by the name of Conrad Reed found a 17 pound gold rock in Catawba County, NC and started a gold rush here. I went to school in Catawba County and did not know this history!! A nine year old, Korean boy taught me this interesting fact! I have certainly learned from this experience. It taught me that I can learn just as much from these children as they can learn from me! :)
ReplyDeleteI have been working with the Blue Ribbon Mentoring Advocate since last semester and I have encountered many new people of various ages. To help students with their school work, it is very important to have good communication with both the students and the supervisors to understand the students and how they interact within an academic setting. People who come to tutor or get tutored come from different backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses. However, it is easy to quickly judge and generalize the people attending tutoring sessions and one-on-one sessions.
ReplyDeleteLast Thursday, I tutored a young student named Maggie at Chapel Hill HS. Although both of us were shy and unwilling to talk, we ended up being able to converse and do test corrections. I had made initial thoughts about her because I was confused on how she was an A student and have a D in math. However, after working together on her recent test, I started to see that she was a visual learning and the teacher was not teaching in a manner conducive for her students. We found out that we had similar problems with math, such as always forgetting sign changes and angle formulas (tan, cos, sin). Through interactions and conversations, I learned that my initial thoughts and reactions were unreasonable and simply wrong and that Maggie and I have more similarities than I assumed. Hopefully, she did well on her next quiz, which we studied hard for!
I have been working with kids in a pre k program at a local elementary school and there is another guy volunteering in the same classroom. He is doing Americorp for the year and when talking to him you can see that he is very passionate about making a difference in these kids lives. He told me that he loves interacting with the kids because talking to them and playing with them makes them feel good about themselves. The kids that are in the after school program come from homes where education isn't necessarily the number one priority. He makes it a point to help the kids with learning and always asks them questions that make them think and want to learn more. He knows all the kids names in the program and has grown to love all the kids. His attitude towards making a difference in these kids lives has inspired me to also do my best to help create a better future for these kids. By helping them with their school work and encouraging them to do activities that help them learn more I feel like I am making a difference.
ReplyDeleteWhile preparing to volunteer at the Human Rights Center I recently had the opportunity to have a conversation with fellow APPLES volunteer, Michael, about our experience. As someone who has volunteered at the Human Rights Center before, Michael began to tell me what to expect this semester. One of the great things about volunteering at the HR Center is the opportunity to see relationships develop through athletics. We will occasionally play soccer with the center visitors and other volunteers. Throughout the game you can see individuals become friends without a concern for a teammate’s language or background. My encounter with Michael taught me the joy of playing the game. In society today I think we focus more on the outcome than the process. The visitors at the Human Rights Center taught us to enjoy the process and the relationships developed along the way, regardless of the outcome.
ReplyDeleteVolunteering at the Bread Ministry has provided many instances for greater understanding. I value every interaction I encounter whether it is with a fellow volunteer, supervisor, or a recipient of my services. It’s my hope that I will be able to draw upon these experiences in the future to better serve my community. One occurrence in particular has made a lasting impact on me.
ReplyDeleteI was setting up the table as usual, when an older (homeless) male approached me. I’m not going to lie, he definitely startled me! We began to talk about our backgrounds and before I knew it we had been talking for 30 minutes. He spoke candidly of his past and how he ended up homeless in Orange County. His story of hard work and unforeseen misfortune struck a cord with me. This exchange reinforced an age-old virtue: “Don’t a judge a book by its cover.” Having the opportunity to get to know him and his situation would certainly be beneficial in conjunction with direct democracy. I’m grateful for having this experience and I look forward to having many more!
I am helping in an elementary school with fifth graders, mainly those of spanish backgrounds. After a few days with them and having conversations with the teachers it is difficult to judge the children on whether they aren't intrigued to learn or that they have just grown up under privileged. Understanding individual situations would definitely help deep democracy in deciding the extent in whom to listen to and govern. The few kids that I work with seem confused more than anything and so want to give up. I think that this frustration at times shows that they really want to learn and so they need to be paid attention to. Deep democracy will find it impossible to reach everyone, but I have learned that it may have the best chance to reach out to those who are willing and want to work to be better for society, especially such an underprivleged and large part of the society like the spanish speaking students seem to be a part of.
ReplyDeleteI met up with my supervisor Michelle last week at her office to discuss what I would be doing with the Heirs project. We discussed why the Heirs project was set up and why it is important for them to continue documenting oral history and keeping peoples' stories alive. Thinking about what she said, oral history is a form of history that not many people think about or even realize the importance of. Looking through their collection, I thought of how many people live their lives experiencing some great action that goes unheard. In that moment, I began to understand their vision and I even got excited to be working with such a unique project that advocates for those that are passed by.
ReplyDeleteWhile unloading food from the morning pick-up at the Bread Ministry the other day, I had a conversation with another volunteer who has been working there for a few months. We were dropping boxes of produce on the tables when she pointed out the cardboard box that was full of leftovers from the previous day's distribution. It was filled with labels reading "Organic" and "All Natural." She then told me that she's noticed in her time at the Bread Ministry that these foods tend to always be picked over; the fried chicken and Food Lion cakes go fast, but the organic whole wheat bread is left behind. This conversation shed light on issues surrounding a lack of nutritional education for many who visit the Bread Ministry, a problem which I hadn't really considered before in relation to such food distribution.
ReplyDeleteWhile working at the Abbey Court Human Rights center, I have obviously come in contact with some people who do not share the same privileges as me. Although most of the Latinos at the center are not U.S. Citizens, they still live in the U.S. and have kids that attend school in the U.S. A lot of conversations I have had at the center have focused around work and housing. These are probably the most important issues to these people. One man told me that something was broken in his apartment and the land lord at the Abbey Court complex ignored his request to fix it because he did not have to if he did not want to due to the fact that the tenant was an Illegal. Citizen or not, someone who makes rent payments should not have to live in unfair conditions based on race, ethnicity, or citizenship.
ReplyDeleteThis conversation clearly changed the way I look at immigration and fair treatment towards them (HUMAN RIGHTS). It is basically the same thing as me paying for something and expecting it to be delivered no matter what. This is just one of the ways immigrants are mistreated in our country. In deep democracy, the Latinos words should be heard and respected.
This past monday, I had to volunteer with bunch of orthodontics at the private clinic. They had a case who was a kid of age 12 years old, and there was about what was the for him to do the surgery of his teeth or do the braces. So there was such a long conversation in a group of 3 orthodontics to decide what is the best for him to , and while I was watching them, I just realized that every one came up with some good points and they respect each other's idea and decision and at the end they all decided what to do, so no one was ignored , they were all involved and they did the best they could.
ReplyDeleteOn tuesday I had an appointment to do some work for my teeth at the same clinic. There was a case about my teeth which I had to pay a lot of money and since I told them that I can't afford that, the dentist tried to work something out for me. While he was reviewing my case and was talking to the other dentist, I just came up with the idea that I heard that before from the other dentist. When I discussed it with them, they both listened to me and I explained it as details as I could, and they ended up doing that specific solution which I brought it up. I was so glad that I said that like I had that confidence to express it and I was heard. So these groups that I talked about basically could be bigger or smaller, the size is not important, the value of respecting each other and being all responsive could make democracy happen! It doesn't have to be entirely about government or state or some particular groups, it can be any body!
Planning out fliers promoting the Women's Circle at the Carrboro Human Rights Center, a fellow volunteer and I have had some conversations about the language barrier in serving the Latina community. Because the majority of the women we're serving are from Spanish speaking countries, and have learned or are currently learning English as a second language, we wonder if our inability to speak Spanish will hinder our efforts. Should we print fliers in Spanish or English? We also wonder if we will be able to facilitate in-depth discussions about human rights issues in English with these women. We know that some of the programs we would like to schedule (such as a presentation from the Rape Crisis Center) are available in Spanish, but we're nervous about the effectiveness of programs in English. Currently we hope to ask the co-director of the Center to attend the events and serve as a translator. We also hope to gauge the women’s comfort with speaking English at the initial meeting and change our plans accordingly. This conversation was useful because we evaluated an important issue that could make or break the success of the Women's Circle and came up with a few options to help us deal with the language barrier.
ReplyDeleteI am organizing a women's circle at the Carrboro Human Rights Center. My fellow volunteer and I have been developing flyers to advertise our first event. We were discussing whether or not to write the flyers completely in English or in English and Spanish. Neither of us know Spanish very well, so while discussing this we became more aware of the difficulties we may face when educating these women about local resources and human rights. We don't know how much English the women will know, and therefore it may be difficult to have extensive conversations. We know that at least one organization we are booking for an event,The Rape Crisis Center, has Spanish speakers to efficiently deliver the information. We are thinking about contacting the other co-director and asking if he could attend some of the events to help with translations.
ReplyDelete- Olivia Ramirez
By working at the bread ministry in Northside for the past weeks, I have had many open ended conversations with many of the people that come in to get the food provided. Usually I work around the vegetable area and I find myself not knowing most of the vegetables that we have put out on the table. I always tend to have encounters with people about the different vegetables and what they can use them for and what they cannot use them for. Seeing that most of the food that is donated to the bread ministry is not your ordinary food that you would get from the store, most people have to work with what they have. When I first started volunteering at the bread ministry, I noticed the wide variety of organic foods that were donated mostly from Trader Joes. In the world we live today most people are not a fan of organic foods because they have been overwhelmed with the unnecessary products that are in most foods that make them taste as they do. I have learned many different ways to use these products throughout the weeks. But by having these random encounters with the people that come to the bread ministry, I have learned the importance of using what one has or is offered. And by being in a setting that I am not common too, it allows me to get a better understanding of life and how I can better my life by doing some of the simple things. Phillip
ReplyDeleteWhile volunteering at the human rights center last year for professor Blaus class I recall playing soccer with many of the people there. Throughout this experience i realized how much us being there and participating helped them grow especially through sports. Our relationships with the kids grew as they became more familiar with us and it was a great feeling knowing that they enjoyed these opportunities to play with us. Looking back on this i am excited to continue to work at the HR center and establish new relationships throughout the semester. These kids made me realize how fun something as simple as playing soccer can be and to appreciate what i have in my life.
ReplyDeleteI am yet to still go to FPG Elementary School to volunteer because the teacher who I am suppose to assist is still working on her schedules. But the training session a couple weeks was quite a life changing experience for me. The first part of the training, after introductions of course, focused on showing potential volunteers how their students feel every single day. The trainers set up the class as if we were in Japan and treated all of us as if were Japanese- no English, no instructions, total confusion. But the second go round, they incorporated pictures, drawings, signals and explanations as to where we could get the general gist of what they were doing. I honestly had a different mindset going into that training, but now I feel as if I have been in these students' shoes and can understand how they feel. The change in my thought thinking process will be helpful when I finally am able to volunteer and will help me be more useful.
ReplyDeleteDuring the training for APPLES placement as an ESL volunteer at Rashkis Elementary School in Chapel Hill I had a conversation with George Ann McCay, the ESL volunteer coordinator. We were talking about how difficult it is for these children to be in a classroom with native English speakers. Not only do these children have difficulty with communication but they also have distinct cultural differences that they adapted from their life in their previous country. She told me that this would be a big issue discussed throughout the evening of training.
ReplyDeleteLater in the evening, the instructors presented a lesson of the four seasons in Japanese. All of the volunteers were role playing as students new to Japan who do not speak the language and are immersed in a new culture. They did the lesson twice first only speaking in Japanese and mainly involving only the other leaders (posing as students who were native Japanese speakers). The second time through the lesson the instructor involved all the students. She took time to be sure she is pronouncing everyone’s name correctly and having the “native” students encourage and involve us in cultural norms such as standing when answering the teacher.
The second time this lesson was given shows how basic democracy can be. As posed in the prompt that when building democracy Green says, “It requires actual conversations, collaboratively aiming for mutual understanding about self and world, with others who are differently located than oneself within a shared culture ...” (24). This second lesson is an example of how basic the roots of democracy are. With involving these students of other cultures and including them in ours, as ESL children are when they are placed in traditional classrooms, it is essential that everyone receive mutual respect and all have the ability to become contributing members of the group. Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools are teaching their native English speaking students to involve their ESL classmates and encourage their participation creating a more equal playing field for democracy. This encounter really changed the way I thought about the ESL program because I thought that the importance of ESL was to teach students to speak English, but more than that it is a program to include students as equals into the classroom, the basis of democracy.
I also have not began volunteering at my site, I start next week. I was assigned the Campus Y through my other APPLES course for my psyc 250, child development, class. My supervisor and I have only communicated through email and I have not been to any training of any sort. I hope that my first day goes as well as everyone else's.
ReplyDeleteThis past Monday, I remembers having a short orientation with the other student volunteers on what to do or the order of things at the site. I learned very quickly that the job was simple: put out the food and organize it, be sure to help get the food off the truck when it arrives from the grocery store and maintain the lines once people are allowed inside. This short conversation was helpful. Once I actually did the work assigned by the agency, I was impacted in such a way that one small job can make people very happy. In interacting with the people needing the food, I was able to see how much they value the assistance from the Bread Ministry. The experience there changed the way I thought about the ability to purchase food for myself and how much other people struggle with what seems a basic human right: to feed yourself.
ReplyDeleteI am now volunteering at Culbreth Middle School in an Avid program. The goal of this program is to find the weak areas that middle school minorities are struggling with, in hopes to catch them up with college bound students. As I was talking to Mr. Hennessee, the AVID teacher/program coordinator, I observed his style of teaching and manners with the students. Being a black male in the educational system is rare, but I did recognize his stern style of expectations and his demand to take nothing less than that from the students. A lot of the students that I would have observed as class clowns and potential drop outs have really stepped up their game in school because of Mr. Hennesse's stern manner. Black males have always been stereotyped as inferior beings. This is one instance where his inferiority is reflecting in positive ways for students and gave me a new outlook on the black male species. We need more of them in the school systems.
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ReplyDeleteBesides the fact that playing soccer at Abbey Court is required, it is fun, and gives each Carolina student the opportunity to act as a positive role model in a younger person life. When I first went to Abbey Court some of the teen/pre-teens would say you must have been really smart to get into UNC. I would reply not really but rather, I worked hard to get where I am today. What I learned from this encounter is how vastly different my life experience has been compared to theirs. Both of my parents went to college so it was expected that when I graduate college I would do the same thing. Realizing this, I want to help plant the seed that higher education (college, trade school, etc) is a possibility and can be achieved if you work hard.
ReplyDeleteOur Heels for Haiti fundraiser (perhaps a class project) recently put me in contact with a thankful supporter of the cause. Cristy, who saw us selling wristbands and quickly came to purchase one, explained to me the feeling of seeing people who are not directly related to any Haitians, such as ourselves, go out of their way to help her country people. Cristy was born in Haiti and has since moved to North Carolina. She wanted to emphasize how grateful she was for our support. Looking back on our conversation, I realize it illustrates the importance of diversity within democracy. After Cristy told us how she felt, I felt good about raising money and being appreciated. This is comparable to democracy, for example, as minority voices are heard and impact a society's legislature. People receive that same satisfaction (of fundraising or building a democracy) by knowing that what they are doing is meaningful (as in for the Haitian people or ensuring that every person's vote counts).
ReplyDeleteI have been working with these children at the human rights center at Abbey Court for a couple of weeks. On this Wednesday, while I was helping a third grader with his math, one of his friends asked me “what’s one thousand divided by 3?” I answered the question really fast and the boy had a grin on his face and told his friends that I was a college student and I could do a lot “hard” math problems. Then I ask them if they would like to go to college one day and several of them replied maybe, and their main reason was that college is hard. I then told them my schedule this semester and how awesome it is that you get to choose your own schedule, and how awesome college is in general. They then all got excited and happy again. I could tell that they all wanted to go to college at that moment. It was a short and interesting conversation. I normally do not ask these little kids what they want to do in the future, since they are too young to figure out that, even some of our college volunteers do not know their futures. But it raised a question whether they want to have high education, and I think it is very important for these young children to have an ambitious mind. They need to know that they have the same opportunity as any other kid out there to dream big and do something that they really like. I will continue working with disadvantaged children and let them know that they all have a bright future.
ReplyDeleteWhile I was volunteering at the HRC the other day, I started to have a conversation with one of the young girls who I normally tutor. She asked me if I was spanish, I said Yes im half Hispanic. Then i proceeded to ask her what she was. She told me 3 or 4 different ethnicities which I was amazed because I had no idea she was multiracial. Being interested in this mix I asked her what her mom was. Korean she replied. Then I asked her what her dad was, and she replied " i dont have a dad". I paused for a second contemplating that this was probably a sensitive area I didn't want to go in.
ReplyDeleteTo my suprise she went on, "He's dead, he died shortly after I was born, my mom told me died fighting for our country." She seemed to keep good composure while talking about this. I couldn't help but be saddened by this, A sweet and intelligent little girl who had to be no older than 8 or 9 who sadly lost the opportunity to bond and grow through life with a father figure. What suprised me though was just how well she still seem to carry on through her day to day activities just as happy and bright as any of the other children. Whether it be because of support from her mother or strong inner resolve she seemed to be in a very good condition as far as demeanor and character growth was concerned.
This made me happy because despite a big personal loss she still seemed to be able to be as social and happy as the other kids. I've seen other kids in my life who were in a similar situation and were very much affected. Some have resorted to withdrawn anti-social behavior while others lash out or seem to develop a need to seek attention elsewhere. I think these issues are key to understanding someone, it taught me not to attribute certain behavior to conscious personal choices. It also taught me through this girl's situation not to assume that someone can't still come out as bright, social, and articulate as anyone else.
It is hard because this is a common situation in most lower income households where there is a struggling single parent for whatever reason trying to financially but also emotionally support a young impressionable child. I think the broader connection to the journal question would be to understand the setbacks of other individuals and not to overlook them as insignificant but also not to use them to discredit their abilities.
As I was leaving the school I volunteer at, I found myself in a conversation that I often have with people. I've been having this same conversation for the past 10 years that I've lived in America. It started with a discussion about my name and where it's from and how pretty it is. What followed were questions like, "how did you learn english so fast?" "how come you don't have an accent" "did you come here as a refugee?" . At first I was a little annoyed, this seemed like a conversation that was filled with the stereotypes and questions I considered ignorant. I was tempted to answer shortly and walk away. Then the the lady said to me, "I know I might sound silly but I really want to learn more." This softened me up a little bit. I always have to remind myself not to be so hard on people. Maybe it was because I hadn't experienced a barrage of those types questions in a while so I was taken aback. I decided to answer the questions and explain different things. I was reminded that I should not be so hard on people. She genuinely did not know much about Zimbabwe and what is most important is that she did want to learn and understand. Ultimately, I think that what is most important is that I can use encounters like this to educate and to dispel preconceived notions. It is important to remember that everything isn't common knowledge to everyone. That is what this little encounter reminded me.
ReplyDelete-Zanele Mhlaba
While spending some time at the Human Rights Center earlier this semester, I had the opportunity to talk to a couple parents who expressed how grateful they were for some of the things the Human Rights Center has provided, whether it is playing soccer with their children or even providing community support. Seeing these people interact with the Center reminded me of how on a smaller scale the Center provides a democracy; a place where their voice can be heard in the community. Thinking back on my other experiences, it reminded me of my housekeeper growing up.
ReplyDeleteZorida and her daughter, Rosio, have become a part of my family over the past 10 years and I have witnessed firsthand how their place in society prevents them from feeling they have the same opportunities. A core principle of a democracy allows all voices to be heard and that includes the opportunity to be heard. Hopefully, through the Center and our class’s work in the community the Latino voice in Carborro and Chapel Hill will be heard.
i been tutoring jake, a fifth grader at morris elementary school for the past two weeks and i have learned just as much from him as he has learned from me. it is rewarding to know that you have taught and helped and individual grow and that it took very little effort to do so. while in the first two weeks ive worked with him, i have taught him mostly long division, he has helped me to become more open minded and to be more care free. ive always heard not to judge a book by its cover, but until i worked with jake i never understood what it actually meant. he has friends of all backgrounds and ethnicity's and treats them all as equalz. there is a lot to be learned from talking and listening to children like jake, especially about deep democracy.
ReplyDeleteWorking at the Orange County Rape Crisis Center, I've been able to have conversations with several women who have worked at the center for a long while. Recently, I had a conversation regarding the diversity of services that the OCRCC provides. I learned that the OCRCC, unlike many other rape crisis centers, has a specific coordinator for Latino/Latina services. Unfortunately, this great services that is useful to so many Spanish speaking people here in the US isn't found in many other locations. One coordinator told me that the woman in charge of the Latina(o) services at the OCRCC often fielded calls from surrounding counties, even some as far as 2-3 hours from Orange County. It really made me realize that another form of oppression that is often overlooked is the ability to speak English here in the US.
ReplyDeleteDuring my APPLES service this week, I had a conversation with a potential borrower. We were talking about the application for the micro-loan and we mentioed the fact that we would be glad to assist him with the process. At this point he began to describe his recent experience with homelessness and how it changed him as a person; he described the way in which he used to be a very private person who did not share many things about himself or open up to ask for help or assistance and went on to describe the way being homeless affected him and forced him to do these things in order to get back on his feet. This man's determination and resiliency is very intriguing to me, and the way in which he described how homelessness chnaged him truly made me think. Homeless people (or those who have transitioned in or out of homelessness) are often seen as people who are looking for hand-outs and are unwilling to work or do better for themselves. However, this is clearly not the case in that oftentimes circumstances far beyond one's control can lead to tough times and sometimes homelessness. This comment about having to become a more open person and become more able to ask for help with things really showed me that homelessness changes the people who experience it and it reminded me to be careful when discussing things such as "help" or "aid" to individuals who may already be very sensitive to these subjects because of the way in which society often looks down upon them. In other words, communication with others in different situations is necessary in order to break down stereotypes.
ReplyDeleteSo, last week during my tutoring assignment, I had the opportunity to work with a boy by the name of Jake. Jake is a very intelligent young boy who is by far one of the advance children in the classroom. During our reading time, he asked me a question that caught me off guard. He asked if I remembered when I came out of my mother's womb. I told him no I do not and I asked if he did. He said he did and began to describe it. Then, we continued reading and he kissed the boy on the book. I asked him why did he kiss the boy and he said, Well, I like, nevermind. This made me wonder what he wanted to say but even in the first grade he is nervous to say everything that he wants to. It put a whole new perspective on how even little children are trying to voice their feelings.
ReplyDeleteCurrently, I am interacting with about four to five students when I volunteer at Estes Elementary. A recent conversation with the fourth grade teacher, Liz, was eye opening to the experience I was about to have with the children I was about to help. Liz mainly discussed the various groups in her classroom and how they were grouped depending on their abilities and struggles. Liz discussed how I would be working with the blue group and how the children in this particular group struggle with various topics and some of the children are pulled out of the class to have special one on one session to help better their abilities in a particular subject. This experience was eye opening, in particular for this school, because it showed how Estes Elementary cared about a child's education without restriction to background, race, or any other defining characteristics, they were strictly interested in helping a child to become better and I, too, was a part of this effort through simply volunteering a few hours a week. This encounter made me aware of how simple efforts made in the community can make a big change or difference in someone's life.
ReplyDeleteI think my biggest conversation came with a little 5 year old at Carolina Apts. named Joseph. And like your normal, 5 year old boy, he likes to do "boy things": run around, laugh, play hide and seek, etc. But when I sat down and read several books with him, he asked about where did I go to school. And I said, I go to Carolina. He looked at me quizzically. I said I go to the school with the basketball team and the football team. THEN it clicked in his head. And he said to me, "I want to go there. When I get bigger." Of course, this little conversation is nothing to some, however, it was refreshing to see a child that is still hoping and wishing to go to school (even if it is for the teams!). He just looked so hopeful and yet some of us take going to school for granted.
ReplyDeleteMy placement is with the Heirs to a Fighting Tradition project, and I had my first meeting with its director this past week. I have not yet started working on my assignment, but I am excited that I will be working on indexing interviews that have been conducted with activists and other grassroots organizers so that the public can better understand what it takes to make change in the world. It takes listening, and in this case, interviews, for people to learn about each other and how to enact social change. I look forward to listening to these interviews so that I can learn more and know how to do my part in the future.
ReplyDelete-Chelsea Glenn
A particular conversation that stood out to me was during my APPLES project last semester. I spoke with a man named Epot who worked for Lutheran Family Services in Raleigh, and he told us that he came from Vietnam. He told us about his people and how they were separate from both the Vietcong and the South Vietnamese. During the Vietnam war they were driven out of their communities by the Vietcong and they had to constantly run and hide for safety. Eventually Epot made his way to the U.S. where he now has a family and helps other immigrants assimilate to American society at Lutheran Family Services. When asked about the transition from Vietnam to the U.S. he initially said the language barrier was hard. There are several difficulties with assimilating to the U.S. and many immigrants have a really hard time adjusting. That is why he works for Lutheran Family Services, so that he can help those newcomers make the smoothest transition possible to the U.S. Most of these immigrants are whole families coming over to start a new life and it takes a lot of hard work to prepare for their arrival. They also assist these newcomers with jobs, schools, and all the other necessities of family life. Without Epot’s help, these immigrants would be, in a way, “thrown to the wolves” with little other resources to aid them.
ReplyDeleteI will be working with other members in the outreach committee for our Fair trade project. I think it is first important to establish the responsibilities and or committees to which individuals have committed to and then choose a leader within those groups to better coordinate/facilitate the process. Meetings pertaining to the week’s responsibilities and goals should take place preferably after class on Thursdays since we know everyone is available to meet then.
ReplyDeleteI’m honestly still hesitant about this project because with a group as big as ours, there can only be two outcomes: success or failure. Regardless, I’m sure we’ll do a lot throughout the semester to at least spread awareness in our community, both on and off campus, as well as increase our own understanding of fair trade. Let’s hope for the best!
Moving onto the journal question this week...The deep democracy that Green speaks of definitely requires that all voices be heard, especially those that susceptible to vulnerability. Such marginalized groups include groups like women, children, immigrants, prisoners, etc. At my APPLES site, as a school reading partner at Scroggs Elementary in Southern Village, I have the opportunity to work with a marginalized group that fits in two the aforementioned categories: immigrant children. On my first day at the school last week, I read with 6 different children for about half an hour each. Though each child was different, there was one boy that particularly caught my attention. He was a six year old boy in the first grade, and unlike the other kids I worked with, he was very detached and distant. He had a serious face and gave quick one word responses to my questions before reading a book by Dr. Seuss. As our session proceeded, I came to learn that he had just emigrated a year ago from Israel with his parents. This was very surprising to me because he spoke English rather well, but then it occurred to me that perhaps his quiet manner was a result of the fear of not knowing the answers to my questions about the book. When I gave him three books to choose from to read first, he chose the one that he was most familiar after having read it once before. After reading the book, we played a game where different objects starting with the letter “m” were placed in a container. This is an activity that helps the student increase his/her vocabulary, and now I understand its importance. The boy did not know the words “mop” or “motorcycle,” and when I told him, he was quick to respond, “oh my mom never showed me that word.” This particularly struck me since I started thinking that my mom also didn’t show me most if not all the words in my English vocabulary today. I remember being frustrated when I was younger because my mom couldn’t help me with my homework. It was instead I that was teaching her words in English. I imagine that this may be some of what this boy must be going through. Parents are supposed to be there for help when you don’t understand certain things or when you want to learn about things. In the case of immigrant children and their parents, the roles are reversed. I told the boy to not worry if her mom teaches him a word or not, because the purpose of school is to learn. If his mom taught him everything then he wouldn’t have to come to school. He seemed to be more at ease afterwards, and was less hesitant about telling me he didn’t know the answer to the question and was less afraid to speak out and be wrong. I am looking forward to seeing him and other kids next week!
My conversation with my APPLES project director allowed me to really reflect on the nature of interactions between people. Michelle, the director for the APPLES component of the Heirs project, really tied it all together when she discussed the basic mission of the Heirs project in compiling narratives of those who have fought for social justice. Many of the heirs candidates have diverse backgrounds in which they have actively engaged with institutions and community members to raise awareness about critical issues pertaining to the rights of the people. In this sense it is very similar to direct democracy in the way that it fosters people to act in the interests of the public good. This has in turn allowed me to mature some of my own perceptions of deep democracy by allowing me to see how movements depend on different components of activism--especially when it comes to securing rights.
ReplyDeleteI recently had a conversation with one of the other mentors at my organization who was seeking advice on how to relate with one of his mentees. When he was first assigned to his mentee, he really like the young man and felt he could do him lots of good. However, this past week he approached me and said that he was having problems and felt as though he had nothing in common with him, and that he believed their connection was fading because of this fact. My advice was to embrace these difference and use this as a means of communication. I explained that when 2 people have everything in common they can communicate about these topics, however I showed him how this could go the other way as well. If you do not do, or participate in similar things, have your mentee explain to you what it is that he does or likes and vice versa (example: have him explain to you what frisbee golf is, and where he plays, are there leagues etc. which was a real life example from one of my mentees). This will allow the two of you to communicate with one another by describing experiences that the other one may have no idea about. By having this communication and dialogue it will draw the two of you closer and better help you communicate with the other when a more serious problem shall arise.
ReplyDeleteOn Wednesday for my tutoring assignment, I had the opportunity to work with a first grade boy by the name of Zack. He is a very smart young boy who loves his older brothers and sisters and loves to read. During our reading time I noticed that he will stop reading and loose focus. I also noticed that his reading level was lower than some of the other students in the class. I struggled initially with how to get him to pay more attention to his books, but after a while I figured it out. After each book we would finish I started to talk to Zack and just ask him more questions about what he likes to do in his spare time. Zack really began to open up to me and he also began to read his books faster and get more out of the stories. I guess I took from this that by talking to Zack and making him feel more comfortable around me it made him less worried about other things surrounding him.
ReplyDeleteLorenzo
I am currently working as a Pre-K volunteer at Seawell Elementary. Every time I arrive, I am immediately greeted by all the children. The classroom is set up with different stations, including a building blocks station, an arts and crafts station, and a reading station. Each child has the freedom to choose what station they want to go, and they are encouraged to participate in doing the activities at each station for at least a couple of minutes at a time. I feel that this opportunity to explore their surroundings is a form of deep democracy. Four young girls are particularly attached to me, and I find that they are always by my side. While we are doing certain activities together, I have constant conversations with them about little things in life. I have discovered that with each day, they open up even more to me about different things. Through these little conversations, I learned that at the age of 4, these children are very inquisitive and it's important to help them get a basic foundation and the education that they need to succeed in the future.
ReplyDelete-Nadeen Al-Ghandour
At Carolina Apts, I had a conversation with another student about race. He phenotypically looks white me, but he identifies as being African American. He told me how his dads side of the family had lived in Sudan for about 30 years, so he was literally half African America. I asked him when he had to check a box for race, what does he check and he replied, "African American." I will admit that I was surprised because I'm used to people always trying to take the easy road and I was happy that he didn't shun that side of him. It was a very interesting conversation to have. It made me have a slightly different perspective on how people choose to identify when they are more than one ethnicity or race. I can't put everyone in one category.
ReplyDeleteAt the Foodbank at St. Josephs Episcopal Church on Rosemary I had a conversation with one of the supervisors about the type of people they serve and allow to get food. The supervisor told me that they do not discriminate on who is allowed to come by and receive aid. Mainly, she described that anyone can come by and sign up for the lottery for a chance to get food whether they are homeless, a minority, or not homeless and/or Caucasian. They provide aid to anyone he feel they can benefit from it and provide help. Essentially as there are different levels of economic status and different types of people in society all of them have different levels of well-being, happiness, and dependence. Therefore, it is very important the foodbank does not create some sort of standard in giving out aid, they let anyone come by. I think this benefits society overall and made me realize that everyone has drastically different levels of well-being and need. Furthermore, programs like these that can benefit everyone (even volunteers as they give us left over supplies) in society and help bring more stability for everyone not just the extremely unfortunate.
ReplyDeleteAt Carolina Apartments, we are on the verge of a new movement. I spent last semester volunteering at the Human Rights Center in Carrboro. This semester Dr. Blau was able to get another school on board, Frank Porter Graham Elementary, and they set up the afterschool tutoring at Carolina Apartments. What sets apart this tutoring program from the HRC is the lack of structure. However, there is so much energy from every party that we are on the verge of something special. I had a conversation with the principal from FPG. She has a lot of passion for her students and was really excited to get this program off and running. We were calling the kids as they were getting off the bus to come to the center. I learned through our conversation that there are many populations in our community that face very different barriers. Just from some of the kids that came to the center, like language and socioeconomic situation. I had know about things like this but experiencing this first hand was very eye opening.
ReplyDeleteLast week we had a "youth mixer" at the Street Scene Teen Center on Franklin St. The director of the Center was there, as was Dr. Parker and students from her First-year seminar. A friend of mine from high school now works full-time at the Center as well, and he and I see one another on the street pretty often. We usually talk about life, jobs, and stuff like that, however recently weve been discussing how to bring more teens into the Center and ways to engage more college students...I cant say that I have changed so much as the actual aim of our conversations have changed, in that they have taken on new meaning and gained a foundation from which we can explore our common interests in working with youth. No longer are we simply "talking" but we are now walking together toward a more solid and more sustained youth program at the Street Scene. Its a very rewarding conversation to have, the benefits of which I do not think can be seen quite yet but are clearly worthwhile and worth every breath.
ReplyDeleteMarisol Rangel
ReplyDeleteI still haven’t been able to work as an ESL volunteer for Mary Scroggs elementary yet, but I did attend the training session for it. During the training session the ESL teachers performed a skit that made me experience firsthand how students in particular, feel when they come into a new environment, country and/or culture that they know nothing of, mrahiem mentioned it in their blog post as well. The ESL trainers talked about certain situations that they had encountered with teachers that you could say would be a little culturally unaware. The teachers would have some complaints, at times they assumed that their ESL students were acting disrespectfully and they didn’t know how to behave but there was always something deeper than that. For example on teacher was upset that a little boy would not look into her eyes when she was talking to him about his behavior and it was really irritating her but for him he wasn’t looking at her directly because in his country it was disrespectful to look authority in the eye. She didn’t know this until someone finally explained it to her. The training showed us how to communicate with these students so incidents like these don’t occur as frequently.
Nidia Menjivar
ReplyDeleteJournal 2:
Approximately two weeks ago I had an interesting conversation with Fernando, a third-grader from Scroggs Elementary school. I was working with him because he is an ESL student and needed extra help learning vocabulary. While I was trying to help him, he told me that he had immigrated to the United States from Mexico two months ago. He told me about his little brothers, cousins, his mother, and his father. He told me how his father had immigrated to the U.S. in hopes to find a better job. However, he explained to me how thus far it had been hard for his father to find a good job. Then he told me of the first time he saw snow. He vividly described how the snow felt; the excitement about his experience was clearly evident. While he had seemed to get sad while discussing his move to the U.S., he instantly became happier when he made a comment about the snow. It was interesting to see how something that so many people here take for granted brought so much happiness to him.
As I listened to him talk, I was reminded of my own family; how my mom had immigrated to the United States in hope of a better future. However, there is a major difference between Fernando and I; I was born in the U.S., he was born in Mexico. He had to leave the home, his friends, and family that he had known for most of his life the hope of a better life. While I have had my own family members immigrate to the U.S., it was interesting to talk to Fernando because he is so young; he gave me an interesting perspective. Fernando made me think about that fact that so many people who discuss immigration fail to try to comprehend the feelings that people have when they immigrate. As a whole, we have a certain negative view of immigrants. We fail to recognize the many reasons why they chose to immigrate. I feel that if we actually took the time to talk to people like Fernando, we would have a greater understanding of such issues. Like Green explains in her book, it is important for us to hear all people, even those in the margins in order to achieve a deeper democracy that would encompass all people.
Journal 2--Darine El-Sourady
ReplyDeleteI volunteered at McDougle Middle School, helping 8th grade students who are struggling with reading comprehension and math. I work with students individually during class and go through their supplemental exercises with them. A conversation that stands out to me occurred on my first day of volunteering. The teacher who I worked with explained that in 3 different class periods of the day, I would be helping 3 different students. She said that both of the male students were struggling and they had behavioral issues. She also said that there were vague problems at home with both of the boys but didn't go into any specifics. I remember this conversation because it's easy to assume that when students aren't excelling in school, the reason is based on apathy or a lack of value for education. But this conversation changed my perception since I was able to see how each person has his or her own struggles below the surface. Judging these students for getting poor grades is denying the fact that personal problems may be at play. Things are generally more complicated than they seem, and people are typically going through more complex struggles than you can see. I'm glad that I had this conversation since it helped me be more sensitive to the needs of my students and connect with them on a more personal level.
My Apples project requires me to sell wristbands through the Heels for Haiti fundraiser. One day when I was sitting in FedEx Center selling them with another member of our class, Michael Jarvis, we were approached by a very gracious supporter of our cause. Her name is Cristy, and when she saw us selling the wristbands she hurried over to buy one. She told us how nice it was to see people going out of their way to help a cause that they were not directly affected by, as neither of us are Haitian, as Cristy happens to be. She is originally from Haiti and now lives in North Carolina. She said that just seeing people like us care about the disaster that the people of her home country, Haiti were experiencing was healing in itself, because by being able to see all different kinds of people come together to aid strangers in distress,she was reminded of the underlying goodness that unites all of humanity. This exchange between Michael and I and Cristy shows not only the importance of diversity within democracy, but now the very essence of diversity itself necessitated the institutionalization of democracy. Or at least necessitated it for countries that value equality. Democracy unites people similar to the way that disasters like the earthquake in Haiti do, by causing people to forget surface differences and remember that we are all the same underneath, and thus we all deserve the same fundamental human rights, whether it is a helping hand in a time of need or equal opportunity under the law.
ReplyDeleteOne conversation I remember vividly at my APPLES site was between myself and the instructor of the second grade class that I volunteer with. I remember being amazed about how the students who are in a bilingual classroom have come so far with their language skills in such a small period of time. Last semester, I volunteered with the same program in a Kindergarten classroom and the difference in the ability of the Second Graders and the Kindergarteners with their reading, writing, and speaking of Spanish is truly remarkable. The teacher simply stated, however, that if you keep working towards a goal eventually you will see progress being made. This conversation resonates with me still because I was able to see first hand the truth behind the teacher's words. I can also apply this philosophy to our work with the Fair Trade Campaign, if we (Judith's class and Fair Trade Activists as a whole) stick with it eventually we will be able to look back and see all the progress that has been made.
ReplyDeleteNicole McClain