(Page 27) "Professors, for the most part, are friendly folks who are more than willing to help a student in need."
I'm really glad that most of my teachers are engaging and respectful. I don't feel afraid or intimidated to ask questions like I did in high school. Having this connection with my professors makes me look forward to going to school.
(Page 31) "Understand that there are several paths you can take during your college career. What works for some, may not work for you."
Every student needs to hear this. I personally am guilty of comparing myself to the paths that others take. Now I'm realizing that whatever I choose to do is okay because it makes me happy.
(Page 29) "When the time comes to decide on a major, you'll feel more confident that you've found a good fit."
Right now, I have no idea what I want to devote my life to. I'm hoping I can reach this conclusion in the near future and be confident about it.
(Page 28) "College is the ideal time to try new things and diversify your interests."
When I found out I got accepted into SFSU back in March, I was extremely excited to move out and start a new life. It was a chance for me to get involved and discover new hobbies. I'm saddened that I wasn't able to have that experience this year, but having it be delayed is kind of motivation for me not dropping out this year.
(Page 27) "[Vincent] Tinto says students devote so much time to the admissions process, they forget to focus on what lies ahead: challenging academics, living away from home, maintaining their finances, learning time management skills. and taking responsibility for their own lives."
This is unfortunately true. My experience was the same, where my school concentrated the focus of the future on college. They should focus on life skills, then have extracurricular classes for students who want to attend college. Every student will have to need life skills, but not every student will have to need college.
(Page 27) "Instead of asking his professors or classmates for help, VanAdams began to isolate himself, spending hours alone in his dorm room where he would play video games or send e-mails to friends back home."
I think this is a very common issue for students. It can be difficult to reach out for help because doing so makes us feel vulnerable.
Is the idea in the topic sentence fully explained? Do you need another sentence or two to elaborate on why you have the opinion you state in the topic sentence?
This is good to keep in mind because it can help you make sure that you have enough details to support your main idea
If we borrow another person’s ideas, language, sentence structures without properly acknowledging them, this is plagiarism and undermines our credibility.
Not only is plagiarism just flat out bad morale, it's also wrong to copy others' ideas because we're not thinking for ourselves. If we're not exercising our brain, it's not going to grow
Ask Yourself How, Why, and What Questions…
I think asking questions is important because it can give you a sense of direction of where you want to take your writing
(Pg. 266) "In fact, prison enabled me to study far more intensively than I would have if my life had gone differently and I had attended some college."
This is what I believe prison should be doing for inmates. It should be a place of rehabilitation and healing, not torture and mistreatment. Controlling people with fear doesn't work.
(Pg. 265) "As I see it today, the ability to read awoke inside me some long dormant craving to be mentally alive."
It's quite fascinating that something as simple as reading and writing had such an impact on Malcom X. It really opened a whole new world of possibilities and opportunity for him, as it does for all of us. He used his voice and literacy to change the world.
(Pg. 262) "There in Virginia one night in 1831, Nat and seven other slaves started out at his master's home and through the night they went from one plantation 'big house' to the next, killing, until by the next morning 57 white people were dead and Nat had about 70 slaves following him."
I remember learning about this in middle school. It was a tragedy, but also probably wouldn't have happened if slavery didn't exist. There were lots of horrific things happening to African-Americans, so I understand why someone would want vengeance.
(Pg. 263) "Over 115 million African blacks -- close to the 1930's population of the United States -- were murdered or enslaved during the slave trade."
I still find it surreal that this happened only 90 years ago. There are people alive right now that went through those times. It proves how far we've come, but also how much further we still have to go.
(Pg. 260) "Each time I heard the approaching footsteps, I jumped back into bed and feigned sleep."
This reminds me of myself when I was younger. I was so passionate about and obsessed with books that on school nights I stayed up late just reading and pretended to be asleep when my dad checked on me.
(Pg. 258) "I woke up the next morning, thinking about those words-- immensely proud to realize that not only had I written so much at one time, but I'd written words that I never knew were in the world."
I think sometimes we take our literacy and education for granted. Even now there are still people in other parts of the world who don't have access to these kind of resources.
the fact that people in departmentstores, at banks, and in restaurants did not take herseriously, did not give her good service, pretendednot to understand her, or even acted as if they didnot hear her.
It must feel really degrading to be mistreated simply because you can't speak "proper" English. I wish those people would experience the same treatment if they visited other countries so they know how it feels.
She reads the Forbes report, listens toWall Street Week, converses daily withher stockbroker, reads ShirleyMacLaine's books with ease—allkinds of things I can't begin to under-stand. Yet some of my friends tell methey understand fifty percent of whatmy mother says.
This happens more commonly than we know. Sometimes it's easier to process information than expressing it. This reminds me of emotions. We know what we're feeling, but it's just very difficult knowing how to express it. Feelings are complex like words.
I spend a great deal of my time thinkingabout the power of language—the way it canevoke an emotion, a visual image, a complexidea, or a simple truth.
I also find myself doing this. Your life can literally be changed with words. It's the way we give meaning to words that give them power.
Her language, asI hear it, is vivid, direct, full of obser-vation and imagery
Language is so much more than words. It's also the way we use tone, hand gestures, facial expressions, and many other things.
Like others, I havedescribed it to people as "broken" or"fractured" English.
I've never really thought about the terms we use to describe someone's English vocabulary. People who belittle others for this reason need to understand that even though someone's words are limited, it doesn't mean they're less than.
I knew I had succeeded where it countedwhen my mother finished reading my book andgave me her verdict: "So easy to read"
The fact that she decided her book was a success when she got her final verdict from her mother rather than a critic really proves that she wanted to write something even someone with "simple English" could understand.
Chicanos, after 250 years of Spanish/Anglo colonization, have developed Significant differences in the Spanish we speak.
I think it's really interesting when a group of people of the same ethnicity/culture develop different dialects. In the Hmong language, there are two dialects called white and green. This is because green was the original, but as time went on the white dialect formed.
And because we are a complex, heterogeneous people, we speak many languages.
I feel like this applies to many people. Even though I only speak English, there are different variations of it. I've heard it be called "code-switching" where we speak a certain way around certain people. I use standard English at work, school, etc., but slang English with friends and family.
"If you want to be American, speak 'American.' If you don't like it, go back to Mexico where you belong."
The irony in this is strong and there are so many things wrong with this statement. America is so called "land of the free", yet when people come here to find freedom they're shut down by these kind of people. America was also stolen from the Native Americans by white colonizers.
I've never heard them applied to men.
I can really feel the frustration of getting punished for something that would be okay if a guy did it. In Asian families, men are always considered superior even if they're lazy and don't do anything to help out.
I remember being caught speaking Spanish at recess -that was good for three licks on the knuckles with a sharp ruler.
It's crazy to know these discriminatory acts were tolerated. If this happened today, it would cause absolute chaos (as it should).
Keeping hers wild -ignoring the closing of linguistic borders-is Anzaldua's way of asserting her identity.
By keeping her tongue "wild" and asserting her identity, Anzaldua is refusing to allow those who try to "tame" her native language and culture to oppress her.
Before reading the narratives above, why do you think individual experience is important? How can we start to connect experiences in academic settings?
I think individual experience is important because it allows us to connect, empathize, and understand one another. We are also able to bring new and different perspectives to others. If everyone had the same mindset, there would be no growth or change.
What do you believe your learning style is? If you were to place yourself on the Zone of Appropriate Challenge and Growth, where has the majority of your education taken place as a learner?
I believe my learning style is visual. I get easily overwhelmed because I think about too many things at once, but seeing it written out makes me realize it's not as difficult as I think it is. The majority of my education has taken place in the panic zone.
without proper support, students can end up in the “Panic Zone,” where learning becomes overwhelming.
This happens to me and I'm sure many other students more often than it should. For me, this usually happens in classes where the teacher gives out a ton of homework while simultaneously going through new material in class. It's stressful and discourages me from even trying anymore.
students will be motivated to learn based on genuine curiosity, problem solving, and a curriculum that revolves around their lives.
I agree with this because curiosity and problem solving is what requires us to engage. But the cherry on top is the curriculum catering to us. Learning about things we can relate to makes it easier to comprehend. Also, it feels like school is actually apart of our lives and not a place where we want to detach ourselves from reality because we don't want to be there. (or is that just me?)
the teacher can learn from the multiple literacies of the students’ worlds even as they teach them more traditional literacies in school.
This is another reason why I admire the "student-centered" teaching style. Even though it's focused on the students, the teacher is also benefiting from learning about different perspectives brought upon by students. There's always something new to learn from each other and I think that's the beauty in this teaching and learning style.
why do you think your experience has been like that? What were pros and cons? What ideas from this chapter might have improved your experience?
My learning experience has been average with a few exceptional teachers. Most of the teachers I had stuck to a curriculum they probably last updated 20+ years ago. I found myself losing motivation to engage because there was no learning incentive. The teachers either lacked effort or didn't know how to execute their lessons in a way that worked for us. There was an overload amount of homework and not enough support. The best teachers I had were those who genuinely cared about their students and made learning something we actually looked forward to. What I like about this class's teaching style is that it takes two (students and teacher) to make it work. It's a unique learning experience because it doesn't rely solely on a set of rules.
Sometimes perhaps you don't want to be a part of me. Nor do I often want to be a part of you.
I like this line because it shows that Hughes is okay with being in his own skin. Sometimes POC neglect their cultural identity because of racism and western standards, but Hughes seems to do the opposite.
We will practice “mindfulness” and meditation at various points in the semester
This quote shows that you genuinely value the mental health and well-being of your students. In exchange for time you could've been lecturing, you use it to make sure we clear our minds so we don't burn out instead. I believe that already says a lot about you.
In addition to contract grading, another change I’ve recently made is to make our course textsavailable for free online, through our iLearn site
This quote shows that you value inclusivity. You want your students to be able to access course materials no matter what their financial situation is. It also shows how understanding you are with the difficulty and misfortune of this pandemic. It makes it easier on us not having to worry about purchasing books.
to help you connect your reading and writing to whatever you think is important in the world,starting with your personal experience and who you are as a person.
This quote shows that you value and respect your students as a person and their ideas. You don't limit us to writing things that only matter to you, but us as well. We get to use our individuality to connect to the material.