Blog 5

Phillip Massa

February 27, 2012

Uy

Blog 5

                It’s important to understand that our students are going through many crises when entering classrooms every day. One crisis that author Mary Water’s addresses is the crisis of identity. Walter addresses that, “[immigrant students] process [of] choosing a "desired  self " or reference group orientation, notes that minority adolescents can choose a "desired self that is closely identified with the mainstream, one that is strongly ethnically identified, or one that is bicultural.” What Walter’s brings forward is that minority students struggle with not only the everyday struggle of a teenager, but with and an internal struggle with personal identity also.  I haven’t even of thought about the issue of personal identity with minority students. These students don’t grow up isolated; they in fact grow up in environments. Each of these environments holds a different identity to the minority student. This issue is truly overshadowed by language acquisition and trying to assimilate the student into the culture. However, as educators we have to take into consideration the student’s original heritage and background. This becomes especially problematic because these students parents are pressuring their students to maintain their heritage, while we as educators are pushing so assimilation. Students are going to see their parents far more than their teachers and if their parents are shunning mainstream culture, the student’s motivation will be drastically altered. In addition if the parents refuse to use the English language the student’s exposure will be limited to just the classroom. Their choice of identity may be forced because of parental influence. We as educators have to be aware of the identity crisis that our minority students are going through and support both assimilation and respect for their culture. The student has to be assured that neither one is better than the other, but rather there both rich in various ways. This is just another example of why we as teachers need to build relationships with our students. Establishing a relationship and identifying this crisis could aide us as educators guide these students through a tough time in their lives.

                We also have to remember that parents play a crucial role in the crisis of identity for minority students. Interfering with the wishes of a student’s parents could be extremely problematic. This could also lead to tension at home were classing of ideologies affects the students morale and sense of self. This is because the student feels loyal to their parents, but also wants to assimilate into the American culture. What Wilder also points out is boys struggle choosing an identity because they live in two worlds concurrently, while girls tend to be able to be bicultural. In simpler terms, girls have an easier time forming an identity while boys struggle to choose one or the other. As educators we should be aware of such a struggle and aide in any way possible to help the student maintain their heritage, and assimilate into American culture. Walter’s article gives direct insight to another challenge that minority students deal with. Two distinct issues arise from this struggle and both involve the student’s academic performance.  It’s always important to know what’s going on in our student’s lives. Any insight to student problems helps us perform better as teachers and build stronger students. If anything its good for the student to know that we care. 

Blog 4

Phillip Massa

February 20, 2012

Uy

Blog 4

                When I was an undergraduate, I read this article in my sociology of gender course. After reading it from the prospective of an educator my concerns regarding the sanctity of manhood have drastically increased. Masculinity , in its essence, tends to be misunderstood as a naturally inherited trait that all boys have. As Kimmel mentions, “the structure at the bottom of the male psyche is still as firm as it was twenty thousand years ago.” Twenty thousand years ago?! How frightening is it that some mainstream authors think that masculinity is as it was more aggressive times. What about homosexuals, transgender, or a simple boy who doesn’t fit those masculine characteristics? This leads these boys to be persecuted by their peers who view masculinity so one dimensionally. On the flip side there is no cemented conception of masculinity that is forever changing in society. For a young boy it is challenging to understand where you fit our how you meet the label of a male. What makes masculinity even more confusing is what each individual values differently in masculinity. As an educator it’s important to understand what each boys go through and why they act the way they do in the classroom. For example it’s not all uncommon to hear boys boasting about their accomplishments in sports, games, and girls. This is to impress their male peers an avoid any conception of femininity. What tends to happen is men see anything a feminine as homosexual. Boys tend to lay their identity alongside other boys, but they can’t be with other boys. Kimmel’s article teaches us a valuable lesson in understanding the complex male identity and why some bullying may exist. In fact when I was a high school student I can remember so many of my male friends presenting a successful male front. Some of them were so homophobic that it was somewhat unbearable. Ironically one of them today is actually as homosexual; this gives Kimmel’s argument merit. What important to point out is the boys who don’t necessarily meet the criteria for a masculine male. As educators we have to identify bullying and try to understand why bullying occurs. A recent statistic shows that 7% of young males in America die by suicide. Why are these boys pushed to such a decision that ends their youthful lives? Could it be that the feel persecution from their peers for not obtaining the ideal or socially acceptable masculinity? As teachers we have to power to prevent these tragedies from occurring, or at least reporting such activity to administration. We can’t make assumptions though, because we could create a rift between our students. However, the beauty of getting to know our students is earning their trust and knowing what they’re going through. We can’t prevent everything in our classroom and we certainly should become so heavily involved personally. However, being knowledgeable of masculinity and its complexity can help us understand the dynamics of the classroom. 

Blog 3

Phillip Massa

February 12, 2012

 Uy

Blog 3

                In our most recent meeting our class discussed the distinct differences of each multicultural student in the classroom. It was established that not only culture, but personal stories make each individual different in their own way. We as educators must be aware of the issues that our students are dealing with. It is most vital to do this because if we don’t, there won’t be a strong learning environment for that student. Weekly we discuss topics of culture, diversity, immigration, etc.  and I truly feel like I understand the theories and ideas fully. I was in fact so confident that I thought going to the Teen Coalition would be a piece of cake. Honestly I couldn’t have been any further from the truth. As soon as I entered the Lowell Community Health Center I completely froze. The first activity I was involved in was called AfroNation. The students were learning about African American culture and heritage. I can teach African history, but I honestly felt lost and couldn’t relate to the students. From the beginning I felt slightly awkward and thrown off. After the meeting of AfroNation I met with a Cambodian senior named Peter. He was intelligent, outgoing, and ambitious. However, he had a very common issue among second generation immigrants. We were going through his scholarship packet and it dawned on me that this bright individual was in a tough situation. As I asked him how his FASFA was going too turned on looked at me and said, “okay…my parents are having trouble getting their paper work.” He went on about how they didn’t understand the concept of a tax form and why the state needed to now their financial record to pay for their sons schooling. We study constantly the difference of students and all the hardships they go through, yet this was the closet I’ve ever been to a real experience. It was at that moment I realized how important we as educators are in the lives of our students. We can build them up or let them fall. We are as much invested in their education as they are. However, Peter’s educational career relied not on his smarts, grades, or extra circular activities. It all came down to his parents understanding of a form. A government issued form was going to prevent a student of the upmost intelligence from entering a four year college. It was disheartening to come upon a real situation were a student’s diverse background stood in their way as an obstacle. Although, this was a sad situation, it was a valuable learning experience. Each student truly has their own diverse story that makes them so special. This experience emphasized to me that it’s so vital that we connect with our students and understand who they are. I truly can’t wait to teach! I have to thank Peter for such a moving experience and can’t wait to return to the teen coalition. 

Blog 2

Phillip Massa

February 5, 2012

Phitsamay Uy

Blog 2

                What became apparent to me while reading “Children of Immigration” was the various reasons individuals move to another country. The authors empathize that not every immigrant travels to a country by choice. In fact there are various pathways that lead immigrants to their new countries. Carola and Marcelo Suarez-Orozco do a magnificent job identifying each of these pathways and explaining their importance to that specific immigrant. The authors specifically talk about what is called a “refugee pathway”. More often than not individuals leave a country for reason of safety, health, war, or a corrupted government. The authors point out that, “the most fundamental difference between an immigrant and an asylum seeker (individuals looking for a safe place to live) is the motivation for migration. Whereas migrants more or less voluntarily choose to move, asylum seekers are by definition involuntary newcomers” (27). Now what needs to be distinctly addresses is how this affects the immigrant children of refugee pathways.

                Unlike immigrants refugees can’t carefully plan their move, there life changes overnight. The quick unplanned move generates tension between family members. Sadly refugee children tend to drop out of school, join gangs, because of a lack of cohesion in their communities, or in certain circumstances contradict expectations and succeed attending college advancing careers. As a teacher I think it’s important that we understand what some children in our multicultural classrooms may be dealing with.

                As an educator I hope to value the cultural differences of my students and be more understanding of their backgrounds. The more we can learn from each other the richer both of our experiences can be. I have to be understanding and most importantly patient. A personal experience from when I was a student came to mind when I was reading this book. When I was a sophomore in high school there was a student who was from Afghanistan. He was in America to escape the war that was raging in his country. As students we thought nothing about him other than he was different. He looked different, acted different, dressed different, and learned differently. Did he even speak English? What distinctly stood out about this experience was how he wasn’t engaged in the classroom. Rarely was he ever involved in classroom discussion, but most importantly it seemed as if our teacher went out of way to make the Afghani student different from us. He was singled out and I never heard him ever speak in class. Looking back on his experience now I can only think that this refugee immigrant wasn’t living under the best circumstances and had little to no one to turn to. In addition he wasn’t embedded into our classroom culture, but was rather pushed away from it. Unfortunately, our differences were expressed more than our similarities.

                Although this experience wasn’t positive it truly stuck with me during my educational career. After reading the section regarding refugee pathways I can’t help but think of the alternative actions that could have been taken to make him feel more comfortable. I will take this experience as a lesson learned however, because a multicultural classroom can’t grow on differences. It can, however, grow from a common goal of education success, and expressed similarities. I want my students to be open and understanding to diverse cultures. This is a tough task, but it starts from identifying the scenarios a culturally different student may come from and building a positive atmosphere around them.