Freedom in Learning

Lately, the idea of Social Justice has been coming up. We have talked about it an almost every single one of my classes as well as in conversation. I cannot ignore it- nor should it be something ignored. It is a very important topic that dives into globalization yet again. In social justice, there are many arenas of defnitions and subtopics. What I have found in all facets of this toipic is that education is required in order to be aware of social justice and lack there of. What this means is that education is a poignant step in benefitting the world as a whole. Teachers need to take their job seriously and know that they are given the opportunity to relay information to students in order to inspire and ignite movement. We cannot let this chance pass on without making our mark. We should be teaching world issues as well as growing their identity and shaping their thoughts.

globalization

Globalization in regards to education cannot be ignored. Because the world is becoming so much smaller in the sense that we involve ourselves with international affairs, education must also. Everything is so connected now. Whether we are discussing business, social media, culture, entertainment, literature, or even our history, in order to get a comprehensive analysis, one must include the globe and not merely a part of it. Also, I believe that this “smallness” of the world will only continue to get smaller. We can already Face Time with people literally half way around the world….who knows what the next advance will bring us?

When it some to educating students, we would be doing them an extreme disservice to not include aspects of globalization. They will constantly be faced with ideals and people from all over the world and will need to familiarize themselves with world issues. With immigration and international business being at such a high level, it simply cannot be ignored. This notion, however, is not new. When you think back to literature, immediately your mind goes to British Literature. Globalization has been around. We have always shared ideas and explored options and it is only increasing.

Giving students knowledge about the entire world will make them better people. It will drastically improve their life. Learning about the reasons behind various peoples’ decisions will create more peace and equality. It lessens the judgment and uncomfortability that comes with not knowing things. Along with being able to understand others better, this will also help our students understand themselves better. One can learn a lot about themselves when they are learning about others. We realize how similar the human race really is and we know what to appreciate and value. I think doing this will allow for knowing oneself to come at a younger age than usual.

On the downside, we should educate our students on the negatives about globalization, so that they can know how to improve it. Too often, certain cultures get commercialized and commidified until it has no respect left. The value in it gets diminished due to its mass production for tourism and the like. This needs to be avoided. Also, part of the business world that globalization is involved in are the sweatshops. Substandard working conditions fill the major corporations and must be put to an end. Hopefully, while students are learning more about other cultures, they will come to a sense of equality and realize the mistreatment these workers are enduring. Hopefully the idea of globalization will be taught in a way that will bring the world so close that the dangers of the sweatshops will become real and not just a far off world. 

globalization

I am currently in Seattle, Washington visiting some friends with my husband and having a blast! We have been here for three days and are exploring  and learning so much!
These are just a few of the pictures from it. The first is a picture if my husband and I when we went on a hike to a light house and searched for the geocache my friend Jon had looked up. This was an excellent experience and I could not help but think of how beneficial this could be for education. You have to be able to learn to read coordinates as well as follow a compass. I was thinking if a class was assigned a geocache in a certain location and had to include a porn in the box once found or a riddle or a fact or something if the like it could be a wonderful experience to appreciate nature, get active, learn to navigate, get creative, and have lots of fun! It would be great to incorporate this type of learning with a book such as Lord of the Flies where the kids must learn to fend for themselves.

The second picture is Jon and I in a German town called Leavenworth. This was an amazing town and provided yet another great learning experience! Granted what we learned was mostly about various beers and bratwursts and how they are made, however, I did realize how much people can and do choose to learn in an average day. If we can make school entertaining and interactive for students it will almost cover up the fact that they are learning and it will have the result that we hope to achieve.

Lastly, during the trip my husband mentioned how much he loved thriller movies and as conversation tends to do, we ended up talking about Genie the girl with no language. My husband Ben had never heard of this story before but was very interested and wanted to know more about it. He simply pulled out his cell phone and searched her name in YouTube. Next thing you know, we were watching video clips and reading articles. It just showed how much learning can be done in everyday life. I just hope that I can tie this fun simple way of learning into my style of teaching.

http://youtu.be/cN7Z_ctY2bU

greater responsibility

Sundance Institute Feature Film Program



With technology advancing as quickly as it is, people are more and more rapidly gaining access into various cultures and insights. The ability to cross borders is accomplished with a click of the mouse nowadays. However, with this great access comes great responsibility. Today, we, humans, are looked at as mere consumers that are fed message after message about the society we live in as well as other society. This becomes a problem when we look at who is in control of giving the message. Knowing that we cannot separate the message from the messenger, we must critically think about the message itself. We must ask ourselves, "who is sending the message?" "what is their ideals?" "what do they want us to see?" Depending on the answer to the question, we might have to use caution in watching and consuming what we do. Our views of things can be greatly slanted depending on the lens that we see it through. Sundance Film is one organization that understands this and sees the need for true, raw storytelling. These independent films are not heightened by the stereotypical roles, characters, and themes and instead allow the message to be heard through a true voice. The organization tries to cultivate true voices. In the video it says: "They do not tell you what to do and not do, they ask you 'what are you going to say?'" As teachers, we need to cultivate the same voice in our students and ourselves. We are the future and if we can grab media and technology by the horns and direct in a way that builds people up instead of breaking people down, the world could be something special.

Hypertexts and the Essay

The Essay. The infamous student killer essay.
Essay's have always been thought of as the dreaded assignment by teachers. It takes students so much time to write this when it comes to outlining, writing a thesis, and all the drafts. Not to mention the very confusing ever-changing MLA works-cited page. It, of course, has to be Times New Roman, double-spaced, with 1-inch margins. It's a night-mare for everyone involved.
What if this process could be changed? Is there a way to make this more exciting? What about hypertext? This is writing an essay on a blog that is full of links and videos and the like. Is this a good idea? I am saying yes it is. Although it would require for the entire writing process to be changed and it would also require an entirely new grading method, it would put writing in a more exciting prevalent context for future students. In almost any job, one has to now be able to use technology and produce it. If the new form of essay writing required to be a form of media it would allow for students to practice what they will have to do in the real world.
In addition to practice, a media form of essay would also allow for students to become more involved with the essay. One could imagine many different facets of information and include it all on one page or links to a page. The works cited page could be the links provided.
For the strict grammar fans, none of this would be lost, however, it would be challenged. In addition to a well-written, grammatically correct essay, they would also include video clips and various links, providing the student with access to more knowledge.

The Feminine Divine

While thinking about our Myths project I stumbled in to a rather deep thought. I have the Female Divine Myth and we are focusing on "The White Buffalo Calf Woman". In this myth the Goddess of Life is depicted. This Goddess creates one's cultures and life in a group of people. In this myth the woman visits the Lakota tribe and sets the guidelines that they still follow and creates hope for them by giving them a sign. An attribute of the Goddess of Life in myths in general is that they avoid a life of violence and they tend to live in harmony.

I started thinking about this as most Native American tribes, like the Lakota tribe, follow these two qualities as well as they also live in harmony with nature more than other groups of people do. In doing more research I found that many matriarchal societies, like the Lakota tribe, have these qualities as part of their culture. I could not help but think of the United States as a patriarchal society having many exact opposite features at the root of their culture. The whole history of the Founding Fathers versus the Native Americans suddenly became a matter of much more than land and greed to me. It became a matter of culture and a matter of spirituality.

One aspect of a myth is to better understand one's beginnings and roots. Reading this myth I discovered not only the Lakota tribe's roots but also the roots and culture that are the foundation of everything US students are taught about our history. One of the Lakota tribe leaders, Chief Arvol, was saying a lot of the Myth has to do with the equality and harmony of all humans and to remind us that no one is better and no one is more powerful than others because nature is the real power and the one that truly changes our world.

In hearing this, I couldn't help but think of all the benefits our society would gain, both in and out of the classroom, if we had a sense of true equality like many matriarchal societies do. It would allow for more peace and result in gaining better understanding. In aspect of the classroom, it would open it up to true, honest discussion where students would feel comfortable being themselves and questioning and expressing their ideas without fear of embarrassment. Such a powerful broad idea can relate so intimately to each individual and if taken seriously on that level really could change our prejudiced filled society.

Like the White Buffalo Calk Woman says, Change is Coming when White Buffalo Calves are born. Chief Arvol said over the past years they have started to see one of those be born once a year. Perhaps this speaks to the kind of change that might be made....

Two Original Poems

POEM #1
"When I Lay My Head Down"
You're a sweet sweet melody
that keeps playing in my head.
And as your chords pour over me,
I'll be singing you all night long.
When I catch a glimpse
of my future walking by me,
I wanna grab a hold of ya
Cuz I'm at home with ya
in my arms
And I hope
And I hope you know,

When I lay my head down,
When I lay my head down,
All I see is you
All I see is you
You'll never be alone now
cuz when I lay my head down
all I see is you
and I know you see me too.

Tell me that I'm dreaming
There's no way this could be true.
Just stop for a minute
I just gotta take a long look at you.
You amaze me everyday
Take this ring I never stray
from your side I'll be yours
hold you tight forevermore.
Glorious you make me feel
the world spins around when were standing still
What you and me got this is real
I still get chills and I always will.

POEM #2
"The River"
I despise sitting at home, knowing flowing
water rolls hypnotizing those people casting
to deep holes holding gold under glass. Grass
edged music in motion, love potion for those
that love knowing holding just below the emerald
glow lies an underwater gift.