Portfolio Part 5

        For my portfolio part 5 I chose to attend a court session. It was a really uncomfortable setting for me and I felt very much out of my element. Because of this, it was very intimidating and I felt very shy and anxious as to what would happen next. It was also nothing like it is on the television shows. Everything that I thought I knew about being in a court room was completely opposite of how I felt once I really was in it. We wore business casual clothing and had to keep very quiet during the session. The environment felt very strict and I was nervous that I was going to do something wrong so I made sure I did not do anything until I saw someone else who was watching do it and knew that it would be acceptable. It was stressful to be there because I was so concerned about what was going on, what would happen next and if someone was going to get upset or how they would react to what the others were saying. It was teenagers that were on the line, fighting and accusing each other for all sorts of things. It made me feel sad for the adolescence because a misunderstanding had gone out of control and gotten out of hand. As the lawyers, judge and adolescents were talking I found myself very confused at times not knowing what all of the language and big words meant. At the end I had to clarify with my mom, who attended with me, what had just happened and what the consequences had ended up being.
        As a teacher, I hope I do not have students that will have to go to court and be in a situation like that. However, I do think the other circumstances were very applicable to students, especially multicultural ones. The fact that I felt like I did not belong can apply to students on so many different levels. Whether it is because they are struggling with homosexuality, poverty, learning the language, fitting in or dealing with a disability. Everyone strives to feel like they belong. Thankfully I had my mom that was interesting in coming with me so she was able to help me understand more of what was going on and also inform me of the dress code. Many students do not have that luxury of a friend there to tell them what they should do or what they should be wearing so they will fit in. Students may watch videos about what jr high or high school will be like but it never portrays what it will really be like for you, especially if you are coming from another country. The students are probably also nervous about the classroom and what could happen to their social status if they do something wrong or out of the norm, maybe they won't fit in anymore. As far as the language goes, I know English but it was still hard to understand what was going on. ESL students would absolutely feel like this. They may know a lot of the language but when they get into our classrooms they might not have a perfect understanding of cooking or financial terms and feel even more lost than before. They may not even know the language very well period and as teachers we have to figure out how we can teach them English and the different types of words for our own content area.
        Having this experience really made me think more about what it would be like to be a student from a different culture. I have always grown up being the majority and never the minority. I want my students to feel comfortable in my classroom and not have to stress about every little thing that will happen. I want them to feel like in my classroom they can be themselves and they don't have to worry about their social status or fitting in with their other peers after class. Being in such an uncomfortable environment would also make it harder to be able to focus on learning when you have so many other things to focus on like social status and the culture. My goal as a teacher is to make each student feel like their own culture has a place in my classroom and they are free to express themselves. 

Portfolio Part 4

Personal Values

1. Respect

2. Optimism

3. Ambition

4. Perseverance

5. Self-Control


This assignment to only pick five values was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Especially when it comes to teaching because I have so many different things I want each child to be able to learn. I think that everyone in the class will have their own opinions and we will each have our own list of values as well. For me as a teacher respect would definitely be the first one on my list because it encompasses a lot of things. I would want to make it known to my students that it is very important to respect their fellow students in every way. I chose optimism as the second one because I believe that it is vital to have a positive outlook on life and being optimistic helps us to see the good and always hope for the best. I also want my students to have ambition that they can do anything and that they are all capable of so many things. Along with the ambition I want them to value perseverance so that they will be motivated to keep trying even if they fail because that is the real definition of success. Lastly I chose self-control because when people lose self-control is when they say or do things that they may regret. If they learn self-control and value that as well it ties back in perfectly with having respect for others.

Portfolio Part 3

Being the "Other"

For my portfolio 3 I chose to participate in a deaf ward for a Sunday. The artifacts that I gathered were:

They were very friendly, especially to visitors and wanted to meet everyone and get to know them.

Loud noises didn't bother the majority of the people

Everyone used American Sign Language

There were interpreters available in all 3 meetings. 

Everything they said and did was about the facial expressions.

Their personal space was different than ours. They just had to be able to see each others hands. There were conversations going on across rooms and also sitting right next to each other.

Being the other was a really scary experience for me because when I usually go places that I feel uncomfortable I'll have someone else come with me. Even though I know ASL really well I couldn't understand everything they were saying and many people signed too fast for me to understand. Along with that, I don't know very many church words so that made it more difficult as well. I felt really out of place. I didn't necessarily feel like I was being judged all of the time because everyone was so friendly and excited that I was learning ASL and attending their ward but I definitely felt like I was an outcast because I had to have an interpreter and I signed really slow and kept asking people to repeat things slower. I think this experience helped me to understand what someone from another culture might feel like in a classroom. Even if it is the same language if it is a new and uncomfortable situation they probably feel left out or like they don't belong. That is the last thing I want students to feel in my classroom. I want to make sure I have all the accommodations available for them so they don't think I am discriminating their culture but I also want to make sure that they don't feel like they stick out and are so different from everyone else.

Portfolio Part 2 - redo

My Culture

food

wedding rings

football

sewing

modesty

family dinner

music

General Conference

The boys were not allowed to be in just underwear

My family is more quiet and introverted

We love BYU

Temple Marriage

Cereal, our go to meal

Academics

Utah Accents

women in the kitchen

Family

Friends

LDS Missions

dirt cake

I learned that culture is more than just your race or where you are from. It varies from family to family. I learned this quickly when I got married. Our families have a lot of similarities but the longer we are married, the more I realize that he came from a completely different culture than I did. My culture helped a lot in school because we were expected to do our best in school and get good grades. Because of this, I was motivated to get my associates degree from UVU while I was in high school. I was very social and involved with my friends which was both good and bad because we motivated each other to do well in school and took several classes together so we could study. However, this also caused a lot more distractions in the classroom when we would be talking among ourselves. My major is FACS Ed. I chose this because my family is very traditional and the women did chores like cooking and cleaning and the men did chores like mowing the lawn and taking out the garbage. Growing up in the kitchen gave me a love for it so becoming a teacher of cooking and child care was no question to me. I was very motivated in those classes in high school and still am motivated in similar classes now.

Portfolio Part 2

American Flag

Dove computer on Photoshop to make models and actors look better than they really are and give people a false expectation of what they should look like

Plastic Surgery

Because people feel like they need to look like they are not aging and they do not have any imperfections they try to alter who they really are

Women in the workplace

This is more common now after many movements that men and women are in the same. Women are often the ones in the workplace just as much if not more than men now.

Families eating out more often

Increasing divorce rates

New Family Dynamics

Teen Pregnancy

Drug Use

Technology over family/social situations

Elevator social norms

Commercials about food are becoming sexual

People like their personal space

Social norm to wear shoes in public

separate restrooms

All speaking the same language

Another social norm

More Homeless

Reality TV Shows

Wedding ring is social norms

As I was reviewing the artifacts I collected on our culture I was surprised by all of our symbols, laws and social norms. I would not have thought of symbols and laws especially as something that would be specific to our culture. As I was talking about this assignment with my parents I learned that things are very different now than they were when my parents were growing up. Many things in our culture stay the same but there are a lot of things that slowly change over time such as fashion, social norms, what is considered beautiful and how society views our personal values. I was most troubled with the way that people especially women are led to view themselves today and what they believe is normal. Not only are they told they need to be taller, skinnier and prettier but they are led to believe they have to act like sexual objects for men like the Carl's Junior commercial above displays.
I think that our culture helps in a school setting because we have a lot of pride in our country and with the shift on men and women gender roles there are more people interested in taking the FACS classes that I teach which includes cooking, sewing, and child care. Also because of the FACS program there is a class called Teen Living  and Adult Roles that teaches the students consequences and promotes them to continue their education. It is hindering in a school setting because the students are learning false expectations of what it is like to be in or raise a family or what their role in society is. Another thing that could be both a help and hindrance in our schools is the use of technology. It is good if the teacher knows how to control the uses of it but now there are a lot of students texting in class or surfing the web instead of paying attention to the lessons.

Portfolio Part 1

This image to me implies that deaf people need to change themselves. Being deaf isn't good enough and they won't fit in with other people unless they are like everyone else. 

This is a long but incredible video where the man shares his experiences as a deaf person in a hearing family. Throughout the video he implies that his family will not accept him and learn sign language. Therefore, as a deaf person, he is being forced to conform and try to read lips. This is another great example of deaf having to change who they are to fit everyone else's needs because they are different.

I actually played a video like this in a presentation I gave in a class before. I asked the class (all hearing) what their impressions were as a hearing culture and the responses I received were that she was less intelligent, missing something in her life and that she did not fit in. 

This picture really tugs at my heart strings because it's showing that deaf children are not accepted for who they are. Many people these days are teaching their hearing child sign language before they can speak but when deaf children go to school they do not always get an interpreter and are forced to read lips instead of communicating in their own way. 

Deaf Poetry

My favorite poem from this site that describes how the deaf are often treated is this one:

This poem was written by a deaf person who in their family was forced to communicate in the same way everyone else did

Thoughts of a Deaf Child
My family knew that I was deaf
When I was only three, and since then fifteen years ago
Have never signed to me.
I know when I'm around the house,
I try and use my voice,
It makes them feel more comfortable;
For me, I have no choice.
I try, communicate their way-
Uncomfortable for me.
My parents wouldn't learn sign
Ashamed or apathy?
I never cared about the sound of radios and bands;
What hurts me most is, I never heard
My parents' signing hands.

My favorite poem from this site that describes how the deaf are often treated is this one:

This poem was written by a deaf person who in their family was forced to communicate in the same way everyone else did. The website has several similar poems. This artifact is another experience from a deaf person of when they were forced to be like everyone else and no accommodations were made to help them succeed

Deaf Websites/Information

This website is actually an information place where people can go to learn more about the deaf culture. This website sends a message that their is hope in the future and that the deaf don't have to be the unknown culture because we can educate ourselves.

2. These messages send out to teachers that they are incompetent and that they are difficult to deal with because you have to make special accommodations for them. Because they are being pre-judged they don't have a chance to be themselves in the classroom, they are always looked at as a burden. 

3. It is important for teachers to know they stereotypes that come with each culture so they know how to help their other students better understand how to treat them. I think it would also help the teacher to set aside judgement and treat them with the respect that they deserve as well.