The "Lost Boys of Sudan"

     Prior to watching the video “Lost Boys of Sudan”, I knew next to nothing about them and the problems people were suffering from in Sudan.  It reminded me that I have heard that there were problems in Sudan but I had never really looked into the details at all. I was truly moved watching and listening to their experiences that I could never have imagined before. After losing family and friends to war and fighting many still managed to trek thousands of miles to the refugee camp, and that fact in itself is amazing. Where a lot of people would be depressed and give up, these boys mustered up the courage and strength to rise above the mess they were in.

      I learned that everyday commonalities ceased to even exist there; these boys had never knew cold, used a sink or toilet let alone flew on a plane or drove in a car. Seeing the transformations of several men that went from next to nothing, to becoming an American citizen, becoming a bishop, graduating school, learning to drive a car, etc. has been a real eye opener making me remember not to take my comfortable lifestyle for granted. The “American dream” for me has been a reality since I was born, but seeing others turn the dream into actuality is highly respectable and motivating to always strive further. 

     I think that the most negative experience they had was witnessing death all around them, seeing bodies floating in the water and scattered across the land. That image will never leave their minds and will forever haunt their dreams; one man even expressed that he continually suffers from nightmares.

     If these boys were in my class, I think I could have helped them learn by first educating myself about their situation and urging them to talk about their experiences and feelings to give myself and them a better understanding of the struggle. I would research and gather information about what had happened and is still happening in Sudan and compile it into a handout for all my students; increasing awareness of the past and present can only help the future for all students, let alone the ones that were directly involved. I would constantly remind them of how far they have already come which proves they are destined for success and can rise above any problems placed in front of them.

The Family Stories That Bind Us

            I thought the article “The Family Stories That Bind Us” was extremely interesting and offered great insight. The study showed that the students involved in the research who knew more about their family background and history tended to do better when facing challenges. As Dr. Duke stated, “the ones who knew more about their families proved to be more resilient, meaning they could moderate the effects of stress.” After observing these students after a major trauma such as 9/11, the important role of having a family narrative became very evident. The students that felt like they belonged to a family larger than their own, and had what Dr. Duke and Dr. Fivush call a strong “ inter-generational self” proved to handle a situation involving others much more easily.
            After reading this article, it would make sense to develop a family history project that aimed to promote the exploration of one’s background. Being that my content area is mathematics, I could have the students talk with relatives and compare the differences in prices of anything from groceries to gas, etc. from when they were in middle/high school till now. Seeing the shift through each generation and tying in relative wages would allow the student to make connections on how hard their family has worked to reach their current level. Maybe even exploring as far back as immigrant ancestors and learning about their journey to this country in search of different dreams with however much money they had in their pocket would encourage them to explore their own dreams and financial success and gain respect and understanding of where they come from.

Bedtime Stories and Videos

            As a child my parents always read bedtime stories to me and encouraged me to pick them out and even read them myself early on. It is not until somewhat recently have I really thought about the implications of bedtime stories especially in the middle-class household such as my own. It was interesting to read that few parents actually realize that this ritual is actually preparation for the “kinds of learning and displays of knowledge expected in school”. The practice of questioning, labeling and responding which essentially defines the patterns found in classrooms is exactly what children are being introduced to through bedtime stories. Also, learning not just to take meaning from the books, but being able to talk about them is a key parallel to classroom activities. The more obvious benefits include learning to read/sound out words, spell, speak, and extend one’s imagination. Overall, bedtime stories are often chosen based on the content (learning ABCs or numbers, animals, nursery rhymes, etc.) and often teach lessons beyond the scope of the text and/or pictures. This article has only reinforced my plan to encourage bedtime story reading as the benefits are abundant.

            The video of Little Toot and the Loch Ness Monster was great in that there were deep meanings and morals beyond the cartoon story. Little Toot’s determination and exploration to quench his curiosity about the monster is an important lesson in itself – all children should be taught to follow their dreams and as Mark Twain said “Explore. Dream. Discover.” Also, this story did a good job in showing that it is not always best to go by the words of others – one should always explore for them; seeing is believing. Everyone may have an opinion or perception of a situation but one’s ultimate decision should not be fully based on others’.

            The Russian story the Four Friends about a deer, a crow, a mouse, and a crow portrayed an ideal friendship among the four animals. It shows that although each animal is different and has their own attributes; together they can help each other out and create balance during certain hardships. When the deer was trapped, the other three friends decided to use the ability of the mouse to chew through the net along with the ability of the crow to fly him there. Then, the deer used its mobility to distract the hunter so the turtle could be freed. This is a perfect display of teamwork and problem solving among friends that truly care about each other. Although this video was in Russian, the idea of the story was still evident and thus learning to associate the words with the pictures is an important step in learning a different language. Thus I think this video was great in teaching about friendships and embracing each other’s differences, as well as in using multiple strategies to get the story across (auditory, visual imagery, words).

Becoming American

After watching "Becoming American", I began to really think about my own family’s immigration history. Learning that my great-grandparents were among more than thirty-six million immigrants that migrated to America between 1820 and 1924 was interesting and almost hard to comprehend. Such a huge number of anything is difficult to imagine, let alone people all leaving their homes and lives in one country in search of new opportunities. The uncertainty yet determination these immigrants were comprised of is remarkable.

Watching actress Meryl Streep learn that her ancestors had split as a family during this immigration period was unreal. I tried to imagine being separated from my siblings and one of my parents and it just seems impossible. Knowing that this was a common occurrence during the immigration time period is both upsetting yet remarkable.

Kristi Yamaguchi’s story was also very interesting. Her family wanted to assimilate so badly that they essentially lost sight of their native land/culture, and even contact with relatives that remained in Japan. They talked about finding her father’s cousin who they had never known even existed. Hearing a story like this really surprised me, because although I do not know all of my relatives personally or remember much information off the top of my head, my parents/grandparents have kept in touch with all family members in some form or another. To discover living relatives that you had never known existed must be an incredible situation.

Overall, seeing these celebrities discover their ancestral roots and learning new information about their family history has really made me eager to research my own heritage. I plan to investigate my own family history and learn more about when/why they immigrated to America.

A Class Divided

                I thought the video “A Class Divided” was extremely interesting. It is obvious that the teacher’s experiment proved to have a positive outcome. Given the time period and societal circumstances, I do believe the teacher had a right to carry out the experiment. Although the method is controversial, she thought it was necessary in order to truly get the point across and she did. I do not think the children would have had the same outlook on life in general, specifically including the aspect on racism and judgment without having gone through this experiment. Thus I believe it was a vital life lesson that was not only taught by the teacher, but experienced firsthand individually and as a group.

                Although I applaud the teacher’s innovative experiment, I think any teacher would experience much greater controversy and receive negative reactions in today’s society. I think that the kids would go home and tell their parents about it and although some would support the effort to teach understanding and the harsh effects of prejudice, I am sure many of them would still have major complaints. I believe this idea is important to teach at a young age, such as the third grade experiment, so I also do not believe it would have the same effects on my students in secondary school. As an elementary school teacher, I think this would be a great lesson to teach, with prior permission from supervisors and parents. Overall, the idea behind this lesson is invaluable and I applaud the teacher for a creative lesson  that has proven to be beyond effective.

Multicultural Manners In School, Body Language, and Verbal Expression

Multicultural Manners In School

            As someone who was brought up to have my education as a top priority, it is easy to view others with different values as wrong or less noble. However, it is interesting to think about how although my family has placed education at the top of the priority list, survival really does have a spot above. I have lived more than comfortably my whole life and never needed to worry about being hungry or ill-dressed as many other students have. It makes me understand that some students I may have in my classes in the future are coming in disheveled or unready to work, not because they don’t want to or for lack of concern, but they may have empty stomachs or an abundance of obligations beyond the scope of the classroom that I may have little or no knowledge about. I think that in the beginning of each school year I would like to arrange a brief one-on-one meeting with my students. Although it may take a lot of time, getting to know the background of my students will help both them and myself work towards common goals throughout the school year.

Manners And Body Language Across Cultures

     I have always assumed that body language is universal. Although many gestures do share the same/similar connotations across cultures, I have learned that many innocent body language expressions can be interpreted differently whether positive or negative. I have grown up with the sense that not looking someone in the eyes when they are speaking and crossing your arms while listening to someone are both signs of disrespect. However, learning from the videos that in some cultures those actions indicate the exact opposite I was blown away. After seeing and contemplating the horrible mixed/wrong messages I could be sending to future students, I will try to remember to reiterate my messages through verbal and written communication in addition to any body language I may intentionally or unintentionally convey.

Manners And Verbal Expressions Across Cultures

      My previous notion to call people by their title and last name has been reinforced after watching this video. I have been taught that that was the most professional and respectful way to address others, especially those I do not know too well/personally. I also have not really considered the constant idiomatic expressions used every day and how they can be very easily misinterpreted. Although something like “the graveyard shift” is widely understood in my own culture, looking at the situation in a more literal view really helps show how an innocent expression can be interpreted completely differently. Although it does seem humorous to a certain extent, it really portrays the cultural differences in everyday life that often go unnoticed or that could potentially cause grief or discomfort between two culturally diverse people. As an educator I never want to come off as disrespectful or ignorant and once again I plan to reiterate most of what I say in order to ensure understanding. Even people of the same culture may misinterpret signals depending on their learning style and thus it is important factor to consider when teaching.

Native Americans Reflection

I thought the excerpt from the movie The Last of the Mohicans was interesting in that it really portrayed an idea of how when cultures did not understand one another it ultimately lead to them clashing and fighting. None of cultures that were fighting stopped to try and understand the differences between them let alone embrace them as many cultures tend to do nowadays. It was disheartening to see bloodshed and death as a direct result of misunderstanding/ignorance, and although these ignorant views can still exist in any society it is comforting to know that the one I live in has made great strides in introducing the concept of acceptance to each new generation.

The video on Indian boarding schools essentially made known discrimination against Indians a reality for me. Although I have learned about prejudices in school and even seen different unjust actions with my own eyes, the emotions exemplified by the man in the video were impossible to not empathize with. I was raised with my parents preaching acceptance of all different cultures, and my parents actually exposed me to Indian culture when I was in elementary school; I have been to several pow-wows on Indian reservations and I have interacted with people from a completely different background than my own. Thus seeing this video was a reminder to preach acceptance as a future educator and parent, in order to help prevent such atrocities from happening in or out of schools.