Upon finishing this Walden University course, Understanding the impact of technology on education, work and society, I have learned a lot of new skills and ways of thinking that I will now be able to use in the classroom and beyond. From podcasting and producing a blog to using wiki pages to help students set up and create their own website. I feel that this course has helped me to take my base line understanding of a lot of these technologies and think about them in terms of the classroom. Many things change when they enter the classroom and this is also true of technology.
by keeping up with technology and science blogs through RSS I will be able to continue the education that I have already started here during this course. I have found that using RSS is very helpful and like a personalized newspaper in the morning. I can even access my RSS on my handheld whenever im in commute from one place to another. This makes keeping up to date and on top of things very easy.
One goal that I would like to set it to redesign 3 units that I teach next year to incorporate more of the 21st century skills. I would like to build on the problem solving and group work that seems very important for today's students to learn. I would also like to work on a grant that will create funds for the school I work at to have more computers for the students that attend. By having more computers it opens up the opportunity for teachers to start using them. The more teachers that use them the more conversation that happens among teachers etc. good things happen. I think that technology is making large leaps and bounds in my school and I can use what i learned here (and hopefully will continue to learn) to help support other teachers in incorporating tech in the classroom.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
21st century skills?
I just checked out this website: 21st Century Skills. I found it very interesting as a teacher to think about everything we are unable to teach as a result of the high stakes test taking environment that education is these days. As a teach more, as I read more, and as I think more about what it is my students really need these days I increasingly waver on the importance of content. Before I go any further I would like to say that we need to figure out a base line of content that all students need to have and be able to operate with. However, with the availability to information ever increasing from libraries, to bookshelves, to school computers, to home computers, to laptops, to smart phones... our students CONSTANTLY have access to information. What is more important these days is educating our students on how to access the RIGHT information to answer their questions or how to solve their own problems using that information.
I think that the p21.org website really starts to address these concerns and realities. The job market has become less and less of a specialization based process and more of an adaptability process. More and more jobs are not looking for the specialization of your college degree but rather looking at how you work in a group, how you adapt to difficult or challenging situations etc. These skills are fast becoming more important to gaining and maintaining a job.
By taking the existing curriculum and modifying it to include the following things a lot of positive things could happen in schools.
• Global Awareness
• Financial, Economic, Business and Entrepreneurial Literacy
• Civic Literacy
• Health Literacy
• Environmental Literacy
• Creativity and Innovation
• Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
• Communication and Collaboration
• Information Literacy
• Media Literacy
• ICT (Information, Communications and Technology) Literacy
• Flexibility and Adaptability
• Initiative and Self-Direction
• Social and Cross-Cultural Skills
• Productivity and Accountability
• Leadership and Responsibility
I believe these last one are the most important for always being ready for any challenge the world has to offer.
All and all, I am a very young and optimistic teacher. However, I can imagine that by the time this curriculum gets implemented it will be changed, modified and watered down to the point of being pointless. Right now the process is happening top down which is good in many regards. It will make it so the teachers will be provided curriculum to work with, time to incorporate it and support under which to do this. However, I feel this will minimize the potential impact this idea of 21st century skills can have in our classrooms. I think our classrooms really need to be updated (yeah with materials and technology but more so) with the way we approach curriculum and standards.
I think that the p21.org website really starts to address these concerns and realities. The job market has become less and less of a specialization based process and more of an adaptability process. More and more jobs are not looking for the specialization of your college degree but rather looking at how you work in a group, how you adapt to difficult or challenging situations etc. These skills are fast becoming more important to gaining and maintaining a job.
By taking the existing curriculum and modifying it to include the following things a lot of positive things could happen in schools.
• Global Awareness
• Financial, Economic, Business and Entrepreneurial Literacy
• Civic Literacy
• Health Literacy
• Environmental Literacy
• Creativity and Innovation
• Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
• Communication and Collaboration
• Information Literacy
• Media Literacy
• ICT (Information, Communications and Technology) Literacy
• Flexibility and Adaptability
• Initiative and Self-Direction
• Social and Cross-Cultural Skills
• Productivity and Accountability
• Leadership and Responsibility
I believe these last one are the most important for always being ready for any challenge the world has to offer.
All and all, I am a very young and optimistic teacher. However, I can imagine that by the time this curriculum gets implemented it will be changed, modified and watered down to the point of being pointless. Right now the process is happening top down which is good in many regards. It will make it so the teachers will be provided curriculum to work with, time to incorporate it and support under which to do this. However, I feel this will minimize the potential impact this idea of 21st century skills can have in our classrooms. I think our classrooms really need to be updated (yeah with materials and technology but more so) with the way we approach curriculum and standards.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Bloggin in Science
What purpose would the blog serve? Is it a place for students to interact about content? Is it a showcase for their work? How does using a blog enhance the lesson? Include your grade level, content area, and your rationale as to why a blog is a good tool for the instructional context.
So I am currently teaching two sections of 7th and 8th grade science. In all of my classes I have groups working on science fair projects. These projects are done outside of school and require groups to meet up and share ideas and document their findings together. They need to be in constant communication around any progression and results.
I think that this project is ideal for using blogs. The great part about blogs is that they encourage participation. Falling into the web 2.0 category multiple students can participate and contribute to the content being published on any particular strand. For the science fair I can see this being used as a common location and method to facilitate group communication around key topics of the science fair. Each major step of the science fair can have its own strand and all of the students can contribute when they perform research. Other students in the group can participate and ask questions about the next steps to take to make headway forward. At the end when it comes time to make the lab report all of the information is already categorized into each step of the scientific method. This will aide in the organization and creation of a good lab report. Some other benefits to this way of doing the science fair are; 1) The teacher can check in with the students and make comments helping the students to know where to go next, 2) students don't need to be in the same room or location or at the same time to participate and help the group 3) skills will be built for the future regarding how to use online resources to collaborate and turn out an end product.
I think Science Fair Blogging is a great set up for using the benefits of Web 2.0 and helps to do something different rather than doing the same thing only differently. I mean to say that the way students will "meet" is completely different. The skills needed to participate in blogs are very different and the students will learn brand new skills outside of regular group work in the class. Each student will feel accountable for their work rather than assuming their normal roles when getting together to work in groups. I anticipate seeing much more contribution from those students that generally are quiet. As a Teacher it will be must more clear cut when and how students participate in the science fair projects.
Let me know what you think?
So I am currently teaching two sections of 7th and 8th grade science. In all of my classes I have groups working on science fair projects. These projects are done outside of school and require groups to meet up and share ideas and document their findings together. They need to be in constant communication around any progression and results.
I think that this project is ideal for using blogs. The great part about blogs is that they encourage participation. Falling into the web 2.0 category multiple students can participate and contribute to the content being published on any particular strand. For the science fair I can see this being used as a common location and method to facilitate group communication around key topics of the science fair. Each major step of the science fair can have its own strand and all of the students can contribute when they perform research. Other students in the group can participate and ask questions about the next steps to take to make headway forward. At the end when it comes time to make the lab report all of the information is already categorized into each step of the scientific method. This will aide in the organization and creation of a good lab report. Some other benefits to this way of doing the science fair are; 1) The teacher can check in with the students and make comments helping the students to know where to go next, 2) students don't need to be in the same room or location or at the same time to participate and help the group 3) skills will be built for the future regarding how to use online resources to collaborate and turn out an end product.
I think Science Fair Blogging is a great set up for using the benefits of Web 2.0 and helps to do something different rather than doing the same thing only differently. I mean to say that the way students will "meet" is completely different. The skills needed to participate in blogs are very different and the students will learn brand new skills outside of regular group work in the class. Each student will feel accountable for their work rather than assuming their normal roles when getting together to work in groups. I anticipate seeing much more contribution from those students that generally are quiet. As a Teacher it will be must more clear cut when and how students participate in the science fair projects.
Let me know what you think?
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Setting up a blog for class usage
I am very interested in setting up and using a blog to help enhance and improve the classes I teach. There are so many resources, concepts, ideas, and fun facts I learn as I design/modify lessons that I will never have the opportunity to introduce my students to. In thinking abut a blog I started to brainstorm some items or categories of thing I would want to include to make it functional and interesting.
- One blog for each grade level/curriculum.
- Links to fun websites and other sources of science games and information for the kids.
- Pictures: in class work (don't know if this is legal or not), general pictures that relate to units.
- RSS feeds to great publications that I don't have the funding to have delivered to the school.
- Possible Podcasts: My own (if I ever get to that level), itunes, or Laboutloud.com
- Frequency of updates... This one I would love to be optomistic and say once a week by in setting up a class website this year, I have found that these extra resources QUICKLY get forgotten in the multitude of other teaching responsibilities I have. Instead I am thinking 3 times per unit, beginning, middle and end.
- Questions Board- I hope to make a questions board similar to a commonly used post-it note practice in class called a Parking Lot. My hope is to have this be a section where students can post and answer each others questions.
WOW... I guess my goals are extremely lofty... maybe I will take it one step at a time and start with just 3 posts per unit and a links section.
One thing that I have found interesting is how blogs that initially were set up for students morphed and became shared teacher resources. I really desire a functional way to store and display all of my worksheets and lesson plans so they can be accessed and get feedback from others.
- One blog for each grade level/curriculum.
- Links to fun websites and other sources of science games and information for the kids.
- Pictures: in class work (don't know if this is legal or not), general pictures that relate to units.
- RSS feeds to great publications that I don't have the funding to have delivered to the school.
- Possible Podcasts: My own (if I ever get to that level), itunes, or Laboutloud.com
- Frequency of updates... This one I would love to be optomistic and say once a week by in setting up a class website this year, I have found that these extra resources QUICKLY get forgotten in the multitude of other teaching responsibilities I have. Instead I am thinking 3 times per unit, beginning, middle and end.
- Questions Board- I hope to make a questions board similar to a commonly used post-it note practice in class called a Parking Lot. My hope is to have this be a section where students can post and answer each others questions.
WOW... I guess my goals are extremely lofty... maybe I will take it one step at a time and start with just 3 posts per unit and a links section.
One thing that I have found interesting is how blogs that initially were set up for students morphed and became shared teacher resources. I really desire a functional way to store and display all of my worksheets and lesson plans so they can be accessed and get feedback from others.
Education Blogs... Hard to find
I have been looking up education blogs for the past 1.5 hours. No, this is not something I normally do in my free time. I am currently working on research for a grad class I am taking. I have found this process very interesting.
Either I am very inept at searching for blogs that pertain to education in an regard or the search engines struggle with providing good sources for blog searches. I found plenty of hosting sites for education blogs, but once there had a hard time finding functional blogs to read and comment on. I guess I am curious to know why it is so easy to post online, but so hard to be found once you have posted? Are there communities out there that help to keep bloggers connected and read?
I hope I can find a blog in time to complete the assignment. Maybe I am just being too picky and not participating in one that looks like simple teacher ramblings. I want to find one that is mainly factual and a good structured resource for my teaching and endeavours as an educator.
5 hours later ----
After finding a blog of another NYC educator I finally found something to comment on and participate within. This blog ranged from random video postings to anecdotes about the classroom to major commentary about the functioning of the teachers Union. It was the later of these that I chose to comment on. I have found a fascination with the teachers union and how passionate people get around politics. As a New York City teacher I feel I have benefited greatly from the power and influence of the UFT. By reading this blog, however, I became informed that the union itself has many factions or groups that are competing for power and jobs within the larger union. It was very interesting to see two opposing members of the union attack each other verbally on mental prowess and factual basis. I interjected in hopes of learning some more about the divisions within the union I am apart of. My naivety became drastically apparent when responses came back. I am not inspired to learn more about the organization I take for granted.
Either I am very inept at searching for blogs that pertain to education in an regard or the search engines struggle with providing good sources for blog searches. I found plenty of hosting sites for education blogs, but once there had a hard time finding functional blogs to read and comment on. I guess I am curious to know why it is so easy to post online, but so hard to be found once you have posted? Are there communities out there that help to keep bloggers connected and read?
I hope I can find a blog in time to complete the assignment. Maybe I am just being too picky and not participating in one that looks like simple teacher ramblings. I want to find one that is mainly factual and a good structured resource for my teaching and endeavours as an educator.
5 hours later ----
After finding a blog of another NYC educator I finally found something to comment on and participate within. This blog ranged from random video postings to anecdotes about the classroom to major commentary about the functioning of the teachers Union. It was the later of these that I chose to comment on. I have found a fascination with the teachers union and how passionate people get around politics. As a New York City teacher I feel I have benefited greatly from the power and influence of the UFT. By reading this blog, however, I became informed that the union itself has many factions or groups that are competing for power and jobs within the larger union. It was very interesting to see two opposing members of the union attack each other verbally on mental prowess and factual basis. I interjected in hopes of learning some more about the divisions within the union I am apart of. My naivety became drastically apparent when responses came back. I am not inspired to learn more about the organization I take for granted.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
CREDE standards and Culturally Responsive Teaching
I will address the last unit I have taught in my middle school science classroom and determine the level of success in meeting the standards set forth by CREDE and Dr. Eugine Garcia.
The student population I teach is 7th and 8th graders living in New York city. These students come from many backgrounds and bring a lot of different levels of knowledge to the classroom on a daily basis. My classes have approximately 30% special education students in them. A few receive special services for speech, English language development, and OT. Our school is a small middle school (225 students) located in Greenwich Village, Manhattan. The population of students varies widely from class to class containing different majority/minority demographics.
In this past unit I have worked with the students in preparing them with the skills they will need to complete this years science fair. I started by going over the requirements, goals, purpose of the science fair as I saw it with them to preface the whole unit. We then went into some scientific method review by putting different experiments they have learned about or done in the past into the correct order based on the sci meth. We then worked into learning about the two types of science fair projects they would be able to choose from; Field study and Controlled experiment. The controlled experiment they have ample experience with. For field study I used PowerPoint presentations and demonstrations (where I personally acted like a baboon) to create opportunities for the students to practice the different ways a scientist can observe an animal in its habitat. The students later went on a field trip to continue this practice at the NY aquarium while doing some background research on what animals they might want to study or use for their project. After the students did a think-pair-share activity about good and bad group member qualities. Students then selected their own group partners using a ballot request format. I ensured that all students were included in the groupings and set them off to researching their topics using computers, books, and magazines. The rest of the work will be driven by goals and deadlines. The groups will be required to meet before or after school to complete the project.
Areas where I feel I am meeting standards-
Connecting to students lives: Creating opportunities for students to participate and do science in the world around them rather than simply inside the classroom. This was done by taking all of the students to the NY aquarium where they got to practice using science skills needed for the science fair.
Developing literacy and language: Students spent time breaking down the words that describe the types of field study they would be using. For example, Zonal Ethogram: Zonal sounds a lot like zone and they brainstormed other words for ZONE and created a new definition using their knowledge that an ethogram is a list of animal behaviors and therefore a Zonal Ethogram must be a list of places or zones that animals behave within.
Responsive: letting students select their own groups. This allows students to use their own knowledge of who they get along with and who they could see themselves succeeding with to select their groups. This also Shows a level of Respect and trust in the students to take the knowledge from the group member qualities activities to make good decisions that will impact their over all project.
Engaging students with challenging work: the great part about science fair is that students will be able to self select topics of interest and design the project that will meet their needs and strengths. I have found that with the smallest amount of guidance most students will end up picking topics that are challenging for them. Some of the time it is hard to get students to back down from a project that is simply beyond their means.
Areas for improvement-
Emphasizing Dialogue over lecture: in the beginning of the unit there was too much direct instruction where I simply handed out information through lectures. From the expectations and reasons for science fair till the students started practicing their field study techniques the students mainly receive knowledge through lecture.
Teachers and Students working together: While this will happen now that the groups are set up there were not enough times during this unit where the students were working in small groups. They spent lots of time engaged in call and response with me as their teacher/leader. In this way I feel I could also work on being Resourceful as Dr. Garcia mentions, and use the students as a resource for input and direction while going through the unit.
While I feel that the students have done a very good job with this unit and are well prepared for the science fair and working in groups, I have a great many qualms with the way that this unit went. Even within the standards that I feel I am meeting there are definite areas for improvement. I think that I need to use tools like the CREDE assessment tool to look at my teacher theory. As Dr. Eugine Garcia said in a video I watched today, our preconceived notions will impact everything from our planning to the way we interact with students and peers on a day to day basis. I would like to look at what my notions are that keep leading me towards lecture and whole class instruction.
The student population I teach is 7th and 8th graders living in New York city. These students come from many backgrounds and bring a lot of different levels of knowledge to the classroom on a daily basis. My classes have approximately 30% special education students in them. A few receive special services for speech, English language development, and OT. Our school is a small middle school (225 students) located in Greenwich Village, Manhattan. The population of students varies widely from class to class containing different majority/minority demographics.
In this past unit I have worked with the students in preparing them with the skills they will need to complete this years science fair. I started by going over the requirements, goals, purpose of the science fair as I saw it with them to preface the whole unit. We then went into some scientific method review by putting different experiments they have learned about or done in the past into the correct order based on the sci meth. We then worked into learning about the two types of science fair projects they would be able to choose from; Field study and Controlled experiment. The controlled experiment they have ample experience with. For field study I used PowerPoint presentations and demonstrations (where I personally acted like a baboon) to create opportunities for the students to practice the different ways a scientist can observe an animal in its habitat. The students later went on a field trip to continue this practice at the NY aquarium while doing some background research on what animals they might want to study or use for their project. After the students did a think-pair-share activity about good and bad group member qualities. Students then selected their own group partners using a ballot request format. I ensured that all students were included in the groupings and set them off to researching their topics using computers, books, and magazines. The rest of the work will be driven by goals and deadlines. The groups will be required to meet before or after school to complete the project.
Areas where I feel I am meeting standards-
Connecting to students lives: Creating opportunities for students to participate and do science in the world around them rather than simply inside the classroom. This was done by taking all of the students to the NY aquarium where they got to practice using science skills needed for the science fair.
Developing literacy and language: Students spent time breaking down the words that describe the types of field study they would be using. For example, Zonal Ethogram: Zonal sounds a lot like zone and they brainstormed other words for ZONE and created a new definition using their knowledge that an ethogram is a list of animal behaviors and therefore a Zonal Ethogram must be a list of places or zones that animals behave within.
Responsive: letting students select their own groups. This allows students to use their own knowledge of who they get along with and who they could see themselves succeeding with to select their groups. This also Shows a level of Respect and trust in the students to take the knowledge from the group member qualities activities to make good decisions that will impact their over all project.
Engaging students with challenging work: the great part about science fair is that students will be able to self select topics of interest and design the project that will meet their needs and strengths. I have found that with the smallest amount of guidance most students will end up picking topics that are challenging for them. Some of the time it is hard to get students to back down from a project that is simply beyond their means.
Areas for improvement-
Emphasizing Dialogue over lecture: in the beginning of the unit there was too much direct instruction where I simply handed out information through lectures. From the expectations and reasons for science fair till the students started practicing their field study techniques the students mainly receive knowledge through lecture.
Teachers and Students working together: While this will happen now that the groups are set up there were not enough times during this unit where the students were working in small groups. They spent lots of time engaged in call and response with me as their teacher/leader. In this way I feel I could also work on being Resourceful as Dr. Garcia mentions, and use the students as a resource for input and direction while going through the unit.
While I feel that the students have done a very good job with this unit and are well prepared for the science fair and working in groups, I have a great many qualms with the way that this unit went. Even within the standards that I feel I am meeting there are definite areas for improvement. I think that I need to use tools like the CREDE assessment tool to look at my teacher theory. As Dr. Eugine Garcia said in a video I watched today, our preconceived notions will impact everything from our planning to the way we interact with students and peers on a day to day basis. I would like to look at what my notions are that keep leading me towards lecture and whole class instruction.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Who am I? What the cultural lens through which is see the world?
I am currently taking an online course about multicultural education. In this course I have been asked to reflect on what my culture is. So here goes...
Who am I?
I am white male who speaks English, to be more specific I like to call myself a northern European Mut. Sweedish, Swiss, a bit o' German, and possibly some English in there too. There have been times when I have been ashamed of my white heritage due to the calamities (crusades, genocide, slavery, etc) produced by my 'race' in the past. Because of this and my apparent love for other cultures I have always had a hard time defining what culture I am apart of. Over the years I have reached out to other cultures and been influenced by and incorporated many aspects of different cultures into my own. I think the largest piece of my personal culture comes from living in a small town in New Hampshire for a large portion of my life. I have a small town way of connecting with and valuing the people around me. I feel it is important to make a personal connection with those around you. I place a very strong and vital emphasis on family and the role it plays in my life. My family is my support structure and my mainstay that allows me to venture out and make the risks I do in my life while still feeling grounded and centered.
I feel that due to my initial aversion to associating with being white (high school age) I made it a point to go out and experience and learn about other cultures. Each and every time that I came in contact with another culture I had a desire to learn and try to understand that culture. In college I had a large group of friends who were Jamacian. This wats quite a learning experience. These people were so accepting of me and it was amazing to be the odd man out in the midst of another culture. I feel that this experience was the beginning of learning how beneficial it is to break down any boundaries keeping different groups apart. I have learned more about myself through my friendships with people who are different from me than I have from those that are similar to me. I have found that the attitude I present when coming in contact with other cultures directly influences the response I get. If I go in with an acceptance of differences and a desire to learn more I generally get a positive and open response from people of different cultures. However, those times when I have categorized groups of people or been preoccupied with perceived negative aspects of culture I have had negative interactions that further my concept of that culture.
My value system stems from two major religious systems: Christianity and Buddhism. The former is the belief system I was raised on and the latter is what I draw on more recently. I feel that the combination of the two has allowed me to have a much more open perspective to the world around me. By having compassion (Buddhism) for myself and others I have been able to connect and interact with many different 'types' of people due to the fact that we are all the same; Human. By seeing all people as having a need for love and compassion including myself it is much easier to accept and work through differences that might exist in the finer print of belief systems.
I come from a family of what could be called 'new money'. This means that my family is not accustomed to having money but rather gained money through socioeconomic advances made by my parents. I feel blessed that in spite of having more than what was necessary to survive monetarily my parents made a point of teaching my brothers and I responsibility around money. I was never allowed to think of money and the privileges that come with it as something that I have a right to. On the contrary, I was taught money is something that one needs to be responsible and strategic with. It does provide luxury and security that can make life easier. However, money is transient and can just as easily disappear (as we have all seen with the recent stock market crash). As a result I have learned to place focus on things other than money as what keeps me satiated and feeling satisfied.
As I have grown up I can see so many ways that having money has eliminated possible problems or strife when it comes to the options I have before me at certain junctions in my life. In the other hand I can see how not having money can be a self perpetuating situation. Those with lower Socioeconomic status (SES) statistically have more health problems, and lower achievements in education. The combination of these three things are strong predictors for 'success' in the capitalistic society that is the USA. I feel that education is one avenue to try to equalize the playing field. By attempting to educate and provide skills to those children/students who may not have the money to back them these children will hopefully be able to rise above and find another way to exist in the world than that they came from. I would like to say that I feel too much emphasis is placed on money in our culture. I see education as a way to help children achieve what it is their hearts desire rather than being forced into one specific realm of work or SES.
Sliding on to another area of culture; Language. I love language. I love to encourage the use of many different types of language and feel it is important to value and learn new languages. I envy those people who know and are able to use multiple languages. I personally am only fluent in English and can partially understand conversational Spanish. I have found it improves interactions with parents and students when I attempt to communicate with them through their native language, even if it is broken and horrible. They almost always smile and open up to more and more interaction. It is amazing to see the difference. It is a wonderful role reversal most of the time. Instead of conversing and operating on my playing field I allow myself to show that I understand what it is like and I desire to work with them.
As a man I have an experience a very similar situation to that I have previously describe for race in the 1st paragraph. Due to all of the oppression men have done toward women I have a tendency to over compensate by trying to make up for all of the insensitive mistakes of my fellow males of the past. I fell ashamed when I hear men 'cat calling' a female across the street, or eying a beautiful woman as she enters the room. I feel this sort of objectification boxes women in and limits how they can be perceived. As I have stated before I have begun to come to terms and learn that by keeping and open mind to women and learning from them I am able to become a better man and start to set a positive example for those around me.
So there it is... My Cultural, Personal, belief system lens that I see the world through. As with anything associated with a human mind it is constantly shifting, growing and changing. I can only imagine how this blog will look tomorrow, this weekend, or next year. In fact I am really happy to have this to come back to. I want to see how I will change and be able to see where I am at currently. I feel that many of my beliefs and experiences have set me up to be a very understanding and compassionate teacher. I hope that I am able to take my understanding of cultures, class, language, gender, religion etc. and make a positive impact on the world I come in contact with.
Who am I?
I am white male who speaks English, to be more specific I like to call myself a northern European Mut. Sweedish, Swiss, a bit o' German, and possibly some English in there too. There have been times when I have been ashamed of my white heritage due to the calamities (crusades, genocide, slavery, etc) produced by my 'race' in the past. Because of this and my apparent love for other cultures I have always had a hard time defining what culture I am apart of. Over the years I have reached out to other cultures and been influenced by and incorporated many aspects of different cultures into my own. I think the largest piece of my personal culture comes from living in a small town in New Hampshire for a large portion of my life. I have a small town way of connecting with and valuing the people around me. I feel it is important to make a personal connection with those around you. I place a very strong and vital emphasis on family and the role it plays in my life. My family is my support structure and my mainstay that allows me to venture out and make the risks I do in my life while still feeling grounded and centered.
I feel that due to my initial aversion to associating with being white (high school age) I made it a point to go out and experience and learn about other cultures. Each and every time that I came in contact with another culture I had a desire to learn and try to understand that culture. In college I had a large group of friends who were Jamacian. This wats quite a learning experience. These people were so accepting of me and it was amazing to be the odd man out in the midst of another culture. I feel that this experience was the beginning of learning how beneficial it is to break down any boundaries keeping different groups apart. I have learned more about myself through my friendships with people who are different from me than I have from those that are similar to me. I have found that the attitude I present when coming in contact with other cultures directly influences the response I get. If I go in with an acceptance of differences and a desire to learn more I generally get a positive and open response from people of different cultures. However, those times when I have categorized groups of people or been preoccupied with perceived negative aspects of culture I have had negative interactions that further my concept of that culture.
My value system stems from two major religious systems: Christianity and Buddhism. The former is the belief system I was raised on and the latter is what I draw on more recently. I feel that the combination of the two has allowed me to have a much more open perspective to the world around me. By having compassion (Buddhism) for myself and others I have been able to connect and interact with many different 'types' of people due to the fact that we are all the same; Human. By seeing all people as having a need for love and compassion including myself it is much easier to accept and work through differences that might exist in the finer print of belief systems.
I come from a family of what could be called 'new money'. This means that my family is not accustomed to having money but rather gained money through socioeconomic advances made by my parents. I feel blessed that in spite of having more than what was necessary to survive monetarily my parents made a point of teaching my brothers and I responsibility around money. I was never allowed to think of money and the privileges that come with it as something that I have a right to. On the contrary, I was taught money is something that one needs to be responsible and strategic with. It does provide luxury and security that can make life easier. However, money is transient and can just as easily disappear (as we have all seen with the recent stock market crash). As a result I have learned to place focus on things other than money as what keeps me satiated and feeling satisfied.
As I have grown up I can see so many ways that having money has eliminated possible problems or strife when it comes to the options I have before me at certain junctions in my life. In the other hand I can see how not having money can be a self perpetuating situation. Those with lower Socioeconomic status (SES) statistically have more health problems, and lower achievements in education. The combination of these three things are strong predictors for 'success' in the capitalistic society that is the USA. I feel that education is one avenue to try to equalize the playing field. By attempting to educate and provide skills to those children/students who may not have the money to back them these children will hopefully be able to rise above and find another way to exist in the world than that they came from. I would like to say that I feel too much emphasis is placed on money in our culture. I see education as a way to help children achieve what it is their hearts desire rather than being forced into one specific realm of work or SES.
Sliding on to another area of culture; Language. I love language. I love to encourage the use of many different types of language and feel it is important to value and learn new languages. I envy those people who know and are able to use multiple languages. I personally am only fluent in English and can partially understand conversational Spanish. I have found it improves interactions with parents and students when I attempt to communicate with them through their native language, even if it is broken and horrible. They almost always smile and open up to more and more interaction. It is amazing to see the difference. It is a wonderful role reversal most of the time. Instead of conversing and operating on my playing field I allow myself to show that I understand what it is like and I desire to work with them.
As a man I have an experience a very similar situation to that I have previously describe for race in the 1st paragraph. Due to all of the oppression men have done toward women I have a tendency to over compensate by trying to make up for all of the insensitive mistakes of my fellow males of the past. I fell ashamed when I hear men 'cat calling' a female across the street, or eying a beautiful woman as she enters the room. I feel this sort of objectification boxes women in and limits how they can be perceived. As I have stated before I have begun to come to terms and learn that by keeping and open mind to women and learning from them I am able to become a better man and start to set a positive example for those around me.
So there it is... My Cultural, Personal, belief system lens that I see the world through. As with anything associated with a human mind it is constantly shifting, growing and changing. I can only imagine how this blog will look tomorrow, this weekend, or next year. In fact I am really happy to have this to come back to. I want to see how I will change and be able to see where I am at currently. I feel that many of my beliefs and experiences have set me up to be a very understanding and compassionate teacher. I hope that I am able to take my understanding of cultures, class, language, gender, religion etc. and make a positive impact on the world I come in contact with.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
