Gabcast! Audioblog for 10 Actions Assignment #1
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Volunteer in or join an organization or get involved in a group comprised of people who are significantly different than you
The other afternoon I was able to spend some time at the Goshen Public Library. I generally enjoy people watching, whether it's in a mall or another public location, I find it fascinating to watch how people interact with their family and friends. In this circumstance, I thought it would be most beneficial for me to go to the children's section to watch how parents interact with their children. I discovered pretty quickly that I felt kind of creepy doing this, even though I had a perfectly good explanation if anyone were to ask me, it felt a little strange to be watching little kids.At this point in my life, I feel very disconnected from anyone who isn't of college age. Approximately 95% of my interactions take place with other college students with the other 5% taking place with my professors and family members. Going to the library and observing families was a good way for me to connect with that demographic, but also to think about how I will need to interact with my students.
One of the first interactions that caught my eye was between a father and son. There is a giant chess board and this boy who was probably 6 years old, wanted to play chess. He is obviously too young to understand the complexities of the game, but his father went along with it. His father remained pretty detached for the whole game, helping his son as necessary, but not really seeming to enjoy the interaction at all. I wondered how this interaction would be different if it were between a father and a daughter or between a mother and one of her children. Even if it's not intentional, we treat boys and girls in different ways; this is something that is crucial for teachers to be aware of.I also noticed a mother with a baby in a sling around her with at least two other children. In the period that I was down in the children's wing of the library, there were also at least two fathers with their children. Overall, I would say that I noticed lots of families with only one parent present. I wonder if that indicates a rise in the number of single parent households or if families simply tend to divide tasks, such as going to the library. Growing up, I always went to the library with my mom, never with my dad.
As I was sitting there, I realized that libraries are a place where everyone can come together. Perhaps I am naive, but I do not perceive any racial or class overtones regarding who comes to a library. People of any age, any class, and any ethnicity have an equal opportunity to make use of a library, providing there is one in their community. However, I did notice that all employees of the library were white, female, and probably over 55. However, the clientele of the library represented a much larger range. I would estimate that of the people I saw, 60-70% were white, but age and gender were fairly equally represented. I looked up some data on the demographics of Goshen and found that about 75% of the population is white and almost 20% are Latino/a. That data seems to correspond with what I observed at the Goshen Library.
Several questions were raised in my mind as I was observing. The first question was what is the primary motivation for coming to a library for most people? The two most obvious reasons would seem to be for either education or entertainment. Also the children were seemed to be at ease in this environment. Do children interact with their siblings differently in the library than they do in other public areas or at home? I also wondered how such a study at the library at my home in Pennsylvania would differ.
I think that such observation is helpful as I think about how students interact when they are with their parents versus being alone and how they behave at home versus how they behave in public. There are many aspects of behavior that could be studied by simple observation. Also, libraries can help nurture students in many different ways. They can provide a safe place to go after school, technology that may not be available at home, additional resources for papers and projects, and books to be read for pleasure. If there is a good library in the vicinity of your school, it would be to the teacher's benefit to make sure that all of the families are aware of that resource.
Website consulted:
http://www.muninetguide.com/states/indiana/municipality/Goshen.php
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Practice democratic principles
In my Women's Studies class, we recently spent time discussing how many typical ways of conversing tend to exclude the participation of women. I decided to look at the differences between how men and women tend to interact in group settings.
One interesting idea is that women are more likely to use various linguistic devices to lessen the degree of their statements. For example: "I would probably like to leave soon," rather than saying "I would like to leave." In a study done by the University of Texas-Austin reported on by U.S. News and World Report in July 2007 stated that while men and women typically use the same number of words each day, women are more likely to use pronouns while men use more articles. This agrees with the notion that women are more likely to talk about people, while men talk more about things.
Men are more likely to promote hierarchal relationships and talk about what they done. While women tend to form support networks and talk in encouraging ways. The contrast between these styles is where communication between men and women tends to fall apart. We can see that in a classroom discussion, while women would tend to build off of each other's ideas in order to move the conversation along, men often express more critical ideas and explain why they disagree with particular points.
I think that this is an important topic for all teachers. Most of us will end up in coed schools, since there are very few all-girl or all-boy schools. We need to know how to moderate between the genders and show that each gender is valued for their communication methods. Since the female method of communication tends to be less dominant, males are often blamed for their own actions, which isn't fair either. Communication with our students is a two-way street; it's not only about how our students interact with each other, we need to be conscious of how each gender responds to a male or female teacher.
Websites consulted:
http://www.eioba.com/a70155/relationships_and_communication_styles
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/070708/16talk.htm
http://feminism.eserver.org/gender-differences.txt
One interesting idea is that women are more likely to use various linguistic devices to lessen the degree of their statements. For example: "I would probably like to leave soon," rather than saying "I would like to leave." In a study done by the University of Texas-Austin reported on by U.S. News and World Report in July 2007 stated that while men and women typically use the same number of words each day, women are more likely to use pronouns while men use more articles. This agrees with the notion that women are more likely to talk about people, while men talk more about things.
Men are more likely to promote hierarchal relationships and talk about what they done. While women tend to form support networks and talk in encouraging ways. The contrast between these styles is where communication between men and women tends to fall apart. We can see that in a classroom discussion, while women would tend to build off of each other's ideas in order to move the conversation along, men often express more critical ideas and explain why they disagree with particular points.
I think that this is an important topic for all teachers. Most of us will end up in coed schools, since there are very few all-girl or all-boy schools. We need to know how to moderate between the genders and show that each gender is valued for their communication methods. Since the female method of communication tends to be less dominant, males are often blamed for their own actions, which isn't fair either. Communication with our students is a two-way street; it's not only about how our students interact with each other, we need to be conscious of how each gender responds to a male or female teacher.
Websites consulted:
http://www.eioba.com/a70155/relationships_and_communication_styles
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/070708/16talk.htm
http://feminism.eserver.org/gender-differences.txt
Get political
Through my Oral Communications class, I recently became aware of a series of Presidential debates that would air on CNN, in collaboration with YouTube. Since they are available on YouTube, I was able to watch the whole Democratic Debate that took place in Nevada on November 15. This year they also gave the unique opportunity for YouTube users to download a video of them presenting a question to the candidates. This past July, there was a debate in South Carolina during which a select number of those questions were presented to the Democratic Candidates. On November 28, there will be a Republican debate that follows the same format.
I think that this is an insightful idea. It's certainly not perfect because of all the editing that needs to occur. All of the questions cannot possibly be answered due to time constraints, however, it might a step in the right direction. Even the idea of making the debates available on YouTube makes them more readily available. For debates that are only televised, if you have a conflict, you totally miss the debate unless you have TiVo or other such technology. I think it's also a good way to get the younger generation involved and to help us stay informed.
In this debate, one question about education was posed. One of the moderators asked why teachers' unions make it difficult to reward great teachers with pay raises. I really liked Chris Dodd's response to the question. In his opinion, it depends on how you measure a great teacher. Some teachers go into inner-city schools and are able to make a difference in lives on their students, but other teachers stick to middle-class schools that often receive very good test scores. By what standard can you measure a great teacher? Click here to watch that segment of the debate (the question begins at time 3:37)
There are so many facets of each candidate to consider, which makes voting for a candidate very difficult. As a college student studying to be a teacher, I pay particular attention to questions about education, but education is not covered to the degree of the war in Iraq, immigration, or other such topics. Do I vote for the candidate who represents my views on education or do I vote for a candidate who deals with other issues in ways that I agree with? After watching this debate with several of my friends, we questioned the effectiveness of our system. The primaries in Iowa and New Hampshire essentially determine the fate of the candidates, well, why don't all of the states have their primaries on the same day?
By beginning my knowledge about the candidates with this debate, I will be able to stay better informed regarding the candidates for the 2008 elections. This will be the first presidential election that I will be eligible to vote in, so I hope to be able to make an informed decision. I like pieces of what each candidate had to say, but not all of each candidate's position. It comes down to weighing the issues which are most important to me. Personally, a candidate needs to be committed to ending the war in Iraq very quickly; that is something that I feel very strongly about. Oftentimes, the candidates use such elaborate wording that it is often hard to figure out exactly where each candidate stands on any particular issue. If you listen to them on another day, they might have altered their position ever so slightly. I'm glad that I had the chance to watch this debate because it helped to get me interested in this election. I am planning on watching the debate on November 28 as well, although with convenience of the Internet and YouTube, I will not necessarily have to watch it on the 28th.
I think that this is an insightful idea. It's certainly not perfect because of all the editing that needs to occur. All of the questions cannot possibly be answered due to time constraints, however, it might a step in the right direction. Even the idea of making the debates available on YouTube makes them more readily available. For debates that are only televised, if you have a conflict, you totally miss the debate unless you have TiVo or other such technology. I think it's also a good way to get the younger generation involved and to help us stay informed.
In this debate, one question about education was posed. One of the moderators asked why teachers' unions make it difficult to reward great teachers with pay raises. I really liked Chris Dodd's response to the question. In his opinion, it depends on how you measure a great teacher. Some teachers go into inner-city schools and are able to make a difference in lives on their students, but other teachers stick to middle-class schools that often receive very good test scores. By what standard can you measure a great teacher? Click here to watch that segment of the debate (the question begins at time 3:37)
There are so many facets of each candidate to consider, which makes voting for a candidate very difficult. As a college student studying to be a teacher, I pay particular attention to questions about education, but education is not covered to the degree of the war in Iraq, immigration, or other such topics. Do I vote for the candidate who represents my views on education or do I vote for a candidate who deals with other issues in ways that I agree with? After watching this debate with several of my friends, we questioned the effectiveness of our system. The primaries in Iowa and New Hampshire essentially determine the fate of the candidates, well, why don't all of the states have their primaries on the same day?
By beginning my knowledge about the candidates with this debate, I will be able to stay better informed regarding the candidates for the 2008 elections. This will be the first presidential election that I will be eligible to vote in, so I hope to be able to make an informed decision. I like pieces of what each candidate had to say, but not all of each candidate's position. It comes down to weighing the issues which are most important to me. Personally, a candidate needs to be committed to ending the war in Iraq very quickly; that is something that I feel very strongly about. Oftentimes, the candidates use such elaborate wording that it is often hard to figure out exactly where each candidate stands on any particular issue. If you listen to them on another day, they might have altered their position ever so slightly. I'm glad that I had the chance to watch this debate because it helped to get me interested in this election. I am planning on watching the debate on November 28 as well, although with convenience of the Internet and YouTube, I will not necessarily have to watch it on the 28th.
Friday, November 23, 2007
Become aware that you are a role model and act accordingly
To me, there are very few good reasons not to recycle. This year I am daily reminded of it; I live right on the end of the hallway, so the recycling bins are basically right outside my door. After becoming more conscious of our throw-away society from one of my summer jobs, I realized that the clear cups that Java Junction uses for its smoothies and other such products are recyclable. While I don't purchase very many things from Java, that is one small way that all of us here at Goshen College can reduce our garbage footprint.Recycling is not the only important thing to teach our children, the other steps of the process are just as crucial: reduce and reuse. People often chuckle about the thriftiness of Mennonites, but there is something to be said for it. My grandmother and my mom both wash and reuse plastic Ziploc bags. It's not a hard and fast rule; if they store raw chicken in it, they'll just throw it out, but if you're just storing pretzels in the bag, why not wash it?
Growing up, my small school did not have a cafeteria, so my brother and I packed our lunch each day. Rather than buying individual packs of cookies or Lunchables, buying in larger quantities tends to be more cost effective and reduces the amount of unnecessary packing materials.Another way that I have become conscious about being a role model has to do with how I spend my weekends. I have made the decision not to drink until I am of legal age at 21. While there are quite a lot of reasons behind my decision, part of it is a simple awareness of how I am viewed by my younger brother and cousins. To varying degrees, they imitate my behavior. When two of my cousins were younger, they wanted to dress like me and wear glasses like me and just generally do whatever I was doing. I do not want to be responsible for encouraging them to drink. Also, I am aware of the consequences. If I were to be arrested for illegal alcohol consumption, there would be ramifications on my ability to get a job in a school.
Get experience with all types of learners and their families
Early this month I was able to attend Goshen's mainstage play Step on a Crack, which highlights how Ellie, a ten year old girl transitions after her father remarried. I have grown up in a household where both of my parents were always present; this play presented a way for me to think about how children deal with the death of a parent, parents' separation, divorce, or other circumstances that seem to be so common in our society today. As a teacher, I will need to be aware of the family background of my students because I think that it will often affect how they interact with persons in authority, such as the teacher and how they treat their classmates. A child who lives with both of their parents and has no siblings will respond very differently to me than a student who has lots of siblings and has been abandoned by one of their parents.
During high school I had the opportunity to tutor a third grade girl who came from a single parent household and lived in low-income housing. She often had trouble getting her work done and would sometimes simply refuse to answer any of my questions or do anything at all. What do you do with a student who refuses to look at you, listen to you, and just wants to stare off into space? She helped me develop patience among other things, but I enjoyed working with her. That was one of the first times in my life that I thought about teaching as a career because I realized that I really wanted to help her. I wanted her to succeed in school so that she would have a greater chance breaking out of the cycle of poverty.
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