Archive for month: October, 2014

I am a senior at CSUCI, expecting to graduate this December. My major is Early Childhood Education. I will then continue to pursue my Multiple Subject Teaching Credential with the Bilingual Authorization. My ultimate goal is to be an elementary school teacher (2nd or 3rd grade) at a bilingual school. My passion for bilingual education began with courses taken at CSUCI. Professor Matera and Professor Quintero have inspired me to teach more than I thought possible! They are true educators with a huge passion for teaching. Professor Contreras really motivated me to pursue bilingual education. A course I took with her made me realize how much the Spanish language affected me as a child, and how I would love to make other English Language Learners feel comfortable with their education in their language. Not only children, but their parents as well. I want to create a positive, engaging, welcoming, warm, familiar and familial learning community in my classroom that makes students and parents feel welcomed into this world of learning. Join me in my journey to becoming a bilingual teacher! 

Episode 3 of Survivor goes along with the conflict chapter perfectly!

In the beginning, Drew becomes frustrated with making a better roof that does not have holes and decides to take a nap instead of helping the rest of the tribe. There is affective conflict between Missy, Natalie and Drew because Drew does not think he needed to contribute to weaving leaves for a roof without holes because he can do better things.

Jeremy’s wife Val was voted off and when Jeremy realizes that, he feels betrayed by John Rocker who agreed to watch over Val. This is a form of competition conflict. Jeremy sees it as John did not do what he agreed to, but John did what was best for his tribe and Jeremy focuses on the personal goal if it. In turn, Jeremy tells everyone the truth about who John Rocker really is: an ex baseball player who made racist and homophobic remarks.

Later, Baylor tries to remind everyone that this is just a game and really everyone is just out to get each other and there area no real alliances. Baylor also tries to convince the boys to vote John Rocker out. Alec thinks Baylor is at the bottom and is trying to get John voted off, to save herself from being eliminated.

Members of Hunahpu are trying to convince Coyopa to vote Rocker off their tribe this week because now they know about his past. Now there is conflict between both tribes especially because of the way John responded to Natalie’s rude remarks about voting him off. John goes to the girls and tried to get them to vote Dale off because to him, Dale is useless, when in reality he’s just trying to save himself. After the girls agree to this, John goes against it and votes Baylor off. Now everyone is going against each other and not keeping their word.

If I were in their situation, it would cause conflict for me that no one stays true to their word and I would never trust anyone.

In the end, John’s plan backfires and he is voted off even when he has an immunity idol because he thought he was safe.

Conflict and cohesion is written all over the third episode. It begins with affective conflict combined with Procedural conflict, the example being Drew giving up on the idea to contribute to the groups method in strengthening their hut, their living arrangement because of future concerns, storms being one of them. He chose to be lazy and not be a team player, it caused tension and members expressed their feelings.

We then face procedural conflict from a previous alliance formed but results exposed till this episode when Jeremy notices that his wife was no longer in the competition and was voted off the island. The promise was between John and Jeremy which was to protect each others wife, that was not the case in this circumstance. It brought tension and words were expressed. Jeremy expresses his feeling of betrayal from John which in a way back fires for John showing his alliance that he had never mentioned this strategy to them, this allows for others in his tribe to see that he continues to be sneaky and playing behind others backs.

The conflict continues but towards the tribes, back and forth with each other especially during and after one of the challenges. It became physical and aggressive throughout the challenge to the point where it became done on purpose. Affective conflict took a lead and showed more of its meaning while words were exchanged out of anger from John past and beliefs to statements he had previously mentioned as once being an athlete which shocked people in the opposite tribe and they decided to voice their thoughts.

 

Last class began with instructions from Julian on how to write an outline. I believe this will come in handy, especially in this class where we must write an outline for credit. I have been writing outlines for years, so this wasn’t exactly new to me, but it stressed the importance of doing so. Regardless of how long I have been writing outlines, I could always use tips and this activity showed me a more concise way to write an outline. I know I will use this in the near future. Afterwards, we attended what Jaimie called an “Awareness Fair”. We split up into four groups and went through four scenarios together to simulate various disabilities. They were mostly reading, learning and intellectual disabilities such as seeing how one with eye impairment feels or someone with dyslexia. Then we split into two groups; one activity involved taking a wheel chair across the building and the other simulated Autism by having each of us read with distractions. All of the activities gave me insight, a small glimpse, as to how someone with a disability might feel on a daily basis, in and outside of the classroom setting. I can understand how frustrating at times it may be. The wheelchair activity was powerful because it showed me how inaccessible the Bell Tower is. This in turn got me thinking about how other schools might be the same and that if it isn’t brought to the school’s attention they might not realize how inaccessible parts of their campus might be. The other activity also opened my eyes. I have always been fairly good at paying attention to multiple things and focusing on one, but this activity proved difficult. I never realized how truly difficult simply focusing on one task might be for someone with a disability such as Autism. We then had a discussion about the reading and whether disability is part of diversity. Disabilities are in fact underrepresented and it has become evident that schools do the minimal to accommodate students with disabilities. This past week has made me realize how students with disabilities face discrimination in various ways and has got me thinking what I can do to help change things.

 

This week’s readings centered on Gender and Sexual Orientation in Education. I honestly don’t know why someone’s sexual orientation is such an issue, whether in regards to marriage or education. The readings sparked some anger in me as to why certain people are being secluded based upon their gender or sexual orientation. Education should be equal for everyone. Chapter 9 in Diversity in Higher Education focused on Gender Equity in Higher Education. It discussed the various gender gaps in education and discussed reasons why certain genders might be applying more so for certain majors based on a multitude of factors. I just recently watched a movie that was set years ago at an all-girls school and many of the girls were getting married because “that was what a woman was supposed to do” in their eyes. Education also steers female and males into different directions and that has created gaps. Chapter 10 talked about LGBT Students, Faculty, and Staff. I grew up with a best friend who is out about his sexual orientation and liking the same sex. For me, it is shocking as to why anyone wouldn’t be accepting of another based on that fact, but it does happen and much too often. There is a history in the LGBT community and I enjoy watching movies such as Milk, but am also saddened that it is even an issue. I have always heard about LGBT on campus, as brought up in the book, but I have never attended. Partly because of the label of the group and not wanting people to group me as “lesbian” even though I am not and would go to support my friends. I like the point the book makes on creating a group with less label to accept all students for diversity. Beyond a Binary: The Lives of Gender-Nonconforming Youth showed me how different it is to grow up now than it was years ago. We have more resources and more students coming out that can help support students today. Although I am sad that many have had to suffer and still do, it gives me hope that there is growing support. I can’t even begin to imagine the feelings brought up in the readings, of feeling gender different at a young age. I can relate somewhat because I had a friend who hadn’t come out until high school and I remember how terrified he was to come out to his mother and friends, yet how much support he got from everyone, as well as some not to supportive looks from strangers. It is true, as this article mentions, that you must restructure relationships when you come out. The next reading, Lipstick and Labcoats: Undergraduate Women’s Gender Negotiation in STEM Fields, discusses the experiences of women in undergraduate education, the changes that they have made, and the impacts it has had. There are various explanations set forth, such as biological, social, structural and psychological. It is no secret that men and women are socialized differently from birth and impacts them later in life, including their educational career. This reading conducted studies in order to get a better idea on the topic. There are different pressures put on each gender and, as demonstrated in the reading, it follows them through college and beyond. Lastly, there was a short article online about a Ventura high school choosing not to allow Chick-Fil-A to participate in their fundraiser. It is clearly a touchy subject and I understand their choice in not allowing them and I also understand the other side’s point on including them would be demonstrating inclusion and not seclusion. Overall, I enjoyed the readings and learned a lot although it was very thick.