Identiy chart

Learning through experiences: Week 14

            My sister, Yolanda, recently arrived back to Japan after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and we had passing conversations about living in Japan and how we were raised differently than most Americans.  In one conversation we had about  Japan is a very different than American, she described the experience of first living in Japan as “you have culture shock and then you have Japan.”  Japan has different ways of doing a lot of things, for example, if a subway is filled with people and two people are standing face to face to one another they wouldn’t acknowledge one another like we would in the States.  This cultural difference is confusing to me, but it makes sense when one considers that they avoid making direct eye contact with one another, because it is considered aggressive, instead they gaze at each other, as to avoid being seen as aggressive.  Another thing that relates to eyes is how in Japan no one wears sunglasses in public, even when the sun is beaming, because it is considered to mean that they are hiding something.  This serves as another example of how an object can create different meanings, because in American sunglasses are thought of as stylish and a means to protect one from the sun.   It was interesting because Ann said that you would see a lot of Japanese people driving with sunglasses on, but when they would be in public they would take them off. 

            In another conversation we talked how in Japan recycling is taken very seriously to the point that buildings are built in a certain direction so that the sun rises behind them.  The purpose of this is because dryers use a lot of energy to dry clothes, so by everyone hanging clothes it reduces the use of energy country wide.  Japan is very focused in creating a very sustainable community and it shows by how they recycle.  A particular day of the week will be designated to recycle certain materials, one day plastic, next paper, another garbage, lastly glass.  The containers would be dropped off and within the hour they are collected.  Because residents didn’t have a container of their own to put on the corner for trash days, the person at home during the hours, usually the woman, would have to take out the trash, something that we in America give a weary eye on.  But in Japan it makes perfect sense, because of the environment that they live in.  When my sisters and their children came to visit on the April 15^th weekend, I told her that my trash is in the freezer and without a look of confusion she instantly understood the logic of it.  Because I recycle I have food scrapes and those food scrapes creates a smell if left out in the open and since they are scraps I only take out the trash once a week, so putting the trash in the freezer is essential so that  my apartment doesn’t smell of rotten eggs and other unpleasantries.  She understood my perceived strangeness because she experienced living in another environment that was strange to the current environment (America).  By experiencing something different she was able to gain a better understanding of individual differences.

            Yolanda has two children, boy (10) and girl (7), when they came back to the States, they looked at the signs and were happy that they could read them, when they were lost Yolanda said maybe I should ask for directions and the girl said, ”That’s gonna take forever,” then Yolanda reminded her that the people here speak English.  Sometimes we, in America take for granted how powerful language is, language can make you feel a part of society at large or can exclude you from participating.  Upon being able to read the signs, Yolanda’s son said, “So this is how people that aren’t from America feel.”  Simple statement, but it shows the understanding and compassion that he was able to learn by being a foreigner to a distant land.  Adult learning is the same as child learning, their experiences are the major factors on what they learn.  Learning weather formal or informal is learning nonetheless, what is learned in one can be used in all settings, weather formal or informal to educate anyone at any given time.  The outcome is the same, but the methodology used is the difference.

Filling in the Literacy Gap

Li: Week 13

This week we read Li’s (2001) article, “Literacy as situated practice,” which depicts how a child, Amy, learns literacy through learning from visitors in her parents’ restaurant, as her parents are Chinese immigrants who knew no English upon coming to Canada.  Although she learned how to count, read, and her ABC’s, she experienced what the author called “literacy shock” in which the way that she learned was different from the way she will be formally taught in school.

            This article opened my eyes to something I couldn’t put into words or into comprehension.  The article expressed the handicaps that children from poor families with little education experience or just immigrants of people that didn’t speak the language of the country they are emerging into experience when they learn the language and attend school.  I know I never thought about the specifics of how people are taught language, I just took it matter of factly that people learned the same way I learned, but not al people are in the right situation to learn.  This was an eye opening reading which helped me understand the intricacies, better understand, on second thought, the intricacies that other people have in regards to learning language.  Although the literacy gap is created how can we address this to help all people that develop literacy shock?  We can’t rely on the parents because they aren’t adequate sources to go to because they don’t know the language and we can’t put more pressure on educators because they can’t possibly know all the languages and other differences in the student faces.  A possible solution could be literacy workshops, where people that speak common nonpopular language help teach the student to move towards reading and writing in a more formal manner.  By investing in the children hopefully it will pay off in the future and benefit the parents too as they learn from the child.

Untraditional ways to reach nontraditional students: Week 12

Week 12: Untraditional ways to reach nontraditional students

            After reading some of the posts I remember reading learning may not take place when we “want” it to and how learning may occur after a class is over.  This past week I did an environmental audit and redesign of Graduate Student and Family Housing (GSFH) the place that I reside and GA at.  I interviewed four students two graduate students and two students with families to get gain insight to their experience at GSFH.  It was interesting learning how they view the environment and with their insights I designed a way to get more people involved with the community, by enhancing what already brings people together and combining it with other methods to generate more interaction.  A common place people meet each other is through washing their clothes.  While washing clothes residents see one another and over the course of seeing them consistently it increases their chances of talking to one another.  Because the laundry room was a place where people naturally met, I suggested creating crafts for their children so instead of going home while washing clothes they would be more likely to hang around and do something with their children in the common area, which would increase people interacting.  Because this is a mostly family environment by targeting the kids to get them involved will get parents involved too.  I’ve seen kids play with other kids and remember when I grew up how my parents would meet my parents, without me they were less likely to have met.  My same experience is seen here at GSFH on a consistent basis.

            Also while reading the posts today I read how Joanna and Chris are posting information in restrooms and the instructor, Barbara Mullins Nelson, state how effective it is.  It’s effective because people have to be stationary while in the bathroom and the bathroom is a staple in the environment it is in.  So not only are people in the environment, but they are engaged in the environment.  I thought about how we at GSFH could place laminated flyers with information on top of washer lids so that residents can learn about different things about sustainability and other interesting information, even how to get rid of certain stains.  Maybe this will have the same effect as flyers in the bathrooms.

Bilateral learning: Week 11

          This week the article by Klein  (2008), From Mao to Memphis, talked about how Chinese fathers engage with their children.  Chinese fathers focus on teaching their children to be successful academically and develop morals to help continue the family legacy, in a way.  The fathers felt that there was a lack of moral development in US schools so they would fill in the gap, also the learning gap when they felt their children weren’t learning enough.  Although they were involved at home they weren’t visible at school events so a disconnect between them and the parents was created.  On a trip to Washington they came in contact with American parents and had a mutual learning experience.  Through that interaction and interaction with their kids in the American educational system they began to understand their coworkers better, because they understood how they were taught and how they grew up.

            People often say the children are our future, but the children also speak volume on the present state of things.  The way the children learn is because of the present people in power influencing how they learn and what they learn.  People often complain about the violence and harmful messages on tv, but it’s not the young people that are putting the messages out their it’s the older generation that controls the media.  Although it targets the younger generation and they generate ratings and make it popular and profitable for those that control the media, other generations are watching it too.  True if people didn’t watch it is likely not to be on tv, but if it wasn’t on tv people couldn’t watch it.  While living in a society that promotes individual choice and responsibility, it is harmful to the society at large when people begin to point fingers and not being able to determine the source… Is it the chicken or the egg?  Is it the people watching the shows or the people creating the shows?  Is it purely entertainment, thus not harmful because a person can separate fiction from reality or is it seen as a real life representation of what actually happens in society?  No matter the logic an argument is made to justify why they watch certain programs like the Bad Girls Club, which to the untrained and naïve mind thinks reflects reality, but in actuality doesn’t.  When will five or six people live in a mansion or in one place for that matter, with no job, no outside contact with no friends, boyfriends, and girlfriends as a source of outlet, in an environment that they are new to.  The answer only on tv.

Mennonite: Comparing apples to tangerines: Week 10

            By having less they have a better community.  Sometimes we as Americans are so consumed with life (work, family, school, technology, etc.) that we lose sight of our what really matters by having all of these things.  Only when we lose these things do we find a sense of peace and understanding… At least that was the case for me.  I remember going through undergrad having a busy life and felt that I was fulfilling my life’s goal, which I was, but I was still missing something in life.  The article talked about the Mennonite society, in which they live off of very few luxuries like farming technology (fertilizer).  Their lives center around a higher purpose of their religion and not the ways of the world.  It seems that the US tries to control nature and the world by figuring it out and creating technologies that helps us live comfortably.  In doing so, adverse effects take place to the environment like pollution, recycling, poor diet and exercise, and a society based on one upping another person, which does what is right for one, but detrimental for another and society at large.

            It’s interesting to hear how people say how America is the greatest country, but haven’t lived abroad, how America is the greatest country, but have problems with education, how America is the greatest country, but doesn’t provide health care as a fundamental right to all people.  How America is the greatest country, but is behind the world in education and environmental concerns.  How can America be the greatest country when others are ahead of us?  How can America be the greatest country when many American’s rarely travel to another country?  Often we see the good in ourselves and the flaws of others, we make others look worse to better ourselves, but it’s not the accurate or right way to approach how we compare ourselves.  We can’t compare an innovative capitalistic society valuing the here and now to a society that lives for the afterlife my living modestly and establishing religion in every facet of their lives.  Instead of comparing, we can learn how to create a society that lives with content instead of excess and wants.  We can learn how to live off of less and find peace in life, rather than the insatiable appetite for more and more.

Costa Rica (S'12): Week 9

Before spring break I met with a person in the study abroad office about my interest is becoming fluent in Spanish.  I had done a little research to see how much it would cost and looking at some of the course descriptions prior to the meeting, but because I am in grad school I had a lot of questions how I would go about applying.  Although I am pretty much dedicated to going I felt that I would be losing ties that I have with family and friends, but I would be gaining another language to communicate in along with a wealth of an experience to remember with new friends and a new sense of culture.  After my visit, to the study abroad office, I received the clarity I needed to go forth with to solidify my decision.   Now all I have to do is go through the process of applying as a grad student and defending why I feel that it is important/relevant to study abroad to get funding.  I plan on going to Costa Rica in spring 2011.

            This week we read, ”Learning language for work and life: The linguistic socialization of immigrant Canadians seeking careers in healthcare,” and it was a good read because I was able to get a heads up on how I would feel as an immigrant (per se) to Costa Rica having to learn Spanish to be able to be successful.  The article surprised me because once the immigrant settlement agency (ISA) group worked in the hospital they learned that their acquisition of English wasn’t needed in the urban hospital and they needed to learn different ways to communicate via nonverbal communication and pick up the language they were unfamiliar with through their peers and residents.

            This realization made e realize although I will be taught Spanish I have to learn how to communicate nonverbally to be more successful.  Often times I think of verbal language as the only way of communicating so when I overlooked it, it shocked me at how important nonverbal communication is to get a message across.  Although I may not be able to quickly acquire the Spanish language I feel that I will be able to get around in so facet, which put me to ease.

            Another interesting aspect of the study that I found was that the cultural difference between the cohort and the status that they wanted to achieve caused conflict between their cultures.  Many of the women in the study, whom were married, reported that their husbands did not want them to pursue an education because it was not the norm of their culture, but then the women wanted to have better pay in a field they are familiar with, so education was the way towards it.  The status they were moving towards valued independence and education, while it appeared their culture valued women to be focused on the family, which decreased the likelihood off women pursuing education.  Although I am not a woman, they faced challenges that they did not expect, which made me think about what challenges am I going to be faced with that I can’t phantom until I set foot in Costa Rica?

After reading the article, I was excited in the challenge of having to learn Spanish in a Spanish speaking country with few opportunities to speak English in the community.  Although I may not have a heads up on the challenges coming my way I am excited to take them on.  Hopefully by August I will have everything in order and ready to come January.