Connection to Ouside Reading-Three Cups of Tea

Chapter 12-Haji Ali’s Lesson
Education was the most important thing in my family. My Grandmother would always say, “If you don’t go to college you will work for half price for the rest of your life.” I could never understand how people didn’t know how to read and write, especially as adults.
When I first walked into the Cohen Adult Literacy Center, the stereotypes were already there. I just knew that the people who could not read or write were either stupid, lazy or a combination of both. I never dreamed how far each of the students would be from this stereotype. I was stunned and floored by how smart each of my students were, how much they would teach me and how they would change the way I thought about the illiterate. There was the husband and wife team from China who were biomedical researchers at Vanderbilt University. There was the Vietnamise mother who had sacrificed her life and family to give her children an incredible opportunity. There was the man who was an Iraqi refugee. They were there because they were motivated. They were there because they wanted to learn. They were there because they recognized that people like me would judge them because they were not as fluent in English as I was. I was ashamed of the beliefs that I previously held and committed to changing my mind and helping to educate people about the struggles of non-English speakers in our country.
The idea of stereotypes brought me back to Chapter 12 in the book Three Cups of Tea. In this section, Haji Ali is telling Greg about the importance of learning from people who are different. He says, “We may be uneducated. But we are not stupid.” Mortensen follows up by saying, “We Americans think you have to accomplish everything quickly. We’re the country of thirty-minute power lunches and two-minute football drills. Our leaders thought their ‘shock and awe’ campaign could end the war in Iraq before it even started. Haji Ali taught me to share three cups of tea, to slow down and make building relationships as important as building projects. He taught me that I had more to learn from the people I work with than I could ever hope to teach them.”
We are never going to be able to move forward and change our world if we are unwilling or unable to change the way we think about people. By sitting down and just talking to my pupils, I was able to embrace a new way of thinking. They changed my perception about the state of literacy in our world. They allowed me to understand that education is not just how much you can read in an English book. It is about the mutual respect and growth that can come through meaningful conversation. For me, it was about changing my misguided views on the people who just needed someone to sit and talk to them so that they could change their own lives.

Service Learning Reflections, Part 3

Connection to Outside Reading- What’s in a List? By Jack Goody

During one of my tutoring sessions, I had the honor of talking to “A.” A’s story inspired me and challenged me to think about a world that is outside of my pampered, “America is always right” paradigm of thinking. He was a Christian refugee from Iraq. I was surprised to learn that Saddam Hussein and his regime had protected his family, because as A said, “We didn’t cause any trouble and ultimately Saddam didn’t want to have any rebellions.” After the fall of Hussein, his family was forced to flee to Syria to escape the persecution he faced from his own people. He and his brother and their families were sent to the United States, his sister headed to Australia, while the rest of his family crossed back into Iraq. He had not seen any of them in several years and the lines of worry crossed his face. He was polite, courteous and eager to learn, not at all the image of the angry violent Arabic men and women that are splattered all over our media outlets.

He spoke proudly of the language he, and his family spoke. He said it was the oldest language still in use today and it was very similar to Aramaic. Aszure (my spelling is incredibly incorrect) is the language used by the Christian people in the Islamic world. They see it as a way that distinguishes them from the rest of that world. He was quick to say he was not Arabic, he was Aszury. I was so embarrassed to sit and not know anything about this beautiful history. I thought back on the words on Jack Goody in his piece What’s in a List. He writes, “We tended to underemphasize the achievements of societies that employed earlier forms of writing and the part these played in social life and in cognitive processes.” Many Americans view themselves as so culturally superior that they can’t see the value that other languages and histories play. This language is one of the oldest languages in the world. It has so many stories and beautiful lessons. Literacy is not just valuing one’s own opinions, but seeing the importance of other cultures, ideas and languages. This experience opened my eyes and encouraged me to see a world that is outside of my own little bubble.

Service Learning Reflection, Part 2

Consideration of Material

Albert Einstein once wisely said, “I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.” The adult literacy center was constantly striving to provide an environment and conditions that were best suited to their student’s learning. They take the short amount of resources that they have and try to utilize them to the best of their ability. At the adult literacy center there was no shortage of material that could be used to help these students better grasp the concepts being presented. Books, dictionaries, thesauruses, maps and bookmarks lined the walls. However, the greatest tools in that old school building were those that inspired and evoked conversation, not those tools that taught phonetics. While those were important aspects to the learning process, they were not tools that inspired the, “Eureka!” moments.

All of the students I was responsible for tutoring were very good readers. It actually said in their introductory packet, not to let them read because that wasn’t enough of a challenge. They had great vocabulary, they were the ones that taught me things. Two of my students, a husband and wife pair, were biomedical researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. They did not need me to teach them vocabulary. They needed me to talk to them, to converse, to teach basic social skills that are so under appreciated. The husband told me that he wanted to learn to be a better speaker of English because he wanted to be able to present his papers at conferences and to be taken seriously. He blew through the assignments that were given in less than 15 minutes and we spent much of the rest of the time talking. He was fascinated that I was majoring in political science (I guess they do not get a lot of say in the way government is conducted in China). However, the most fascinating conversation was about the map that was posted at our station. I got to point out where I was from and he was telling me about the places he loved to visit and vacation in China. Even though we had such a slight language barrier, we were able to unite and communicate by pointing out places we had visited. This map built bridges that united two very different cultures. This is why teaching materials are so necessary to the tutoring process. They open the doors to conversation, mutual respect and appreciation.

Service Learning Reflection, Part 1

Connection to your own literacy experience

I was an only child for five and a half years, before my goober brother decided to come along and mess up my perfect little world. I had a lot of attention from my elementary school teacher mother and my engineering father. They were, and still are, to of the most opposite people who have every lived. My Mother creative and bubbly, my father, serious and analytic. Their choices for bedtime stories always mirrored their differing personalities. My dad would advocate for the book where I might possibly learn something. My Mom would choose the book that rhymed or had beautiful literature. However, there was one book that they would fight to read to me (not kidding, it was a battle over whoever was the one lucky enough to read it to me). Matlida brought my family together in such a beautiful way. One of my fondest memories is curled up in my white iron bed, smushed between both of my parents because neither of them had been willing to back down from the fight. These kind of experiences are what made me fall in love with reading. My parents sacrificed time for themselves to sit and read with their child.

I began to think about the sacrifices that parents made after my session with a mother from Thailand. She had been in the United States for over 20 years, however, she still struggled with English. However, she had somehow raised two children who were incredibly successful in this country. One child was studying business at New York University and the other was getting ready to go to the University of Tennessee to study biomedical engineering. She had sacrificed so much of herself, giving up her family and friends to come to a country where she knew no one just for the opportunity for her children to have a better life. Her struggle with literacy came because of her sacrifice for her children; my literacy and love of reading came because of the sacrifices of my parents. Literacy is not something that is just given or received. It is something that must be worked to obtain and many times we must make tough choices, give up precious time and energy in order to obtain it.

Weekly Wrap Ups

I recently discovered the Weekly Review up that is produced by the Tennessee Republican caucus. Every week they produce a newsletter type thing that outlines all of the recent bills being introduced and the status of already existing bills. It not only tells you about what is happening in the Tennessee legislature, but it also tells you a little bit about the different people who are representing our state. After reading through many of these posts, I can see some of the personalities of the legislators. You can also tell a lot about their upbringing, back ground and the area they represent. A senator who introduces a bill about agricultural issues is likely to be from a rural farming community. I thought these wrap ups were an interesting way to see what is happening in the legislature. However it does condense big issues into a form where they lose much of their substance and integrity.

http://www.tnsenate.com/

Counting my Blessings

This book has made me incredibly thankful for the many gifts I have in my life. I seem to catch myself complaining a lot about the amount of work I do, but I have nothing I can complain about. I have a family who loves me and supports me, financially and emotionally, I have been give access to a phenomenal education, and I have never had to worry about from where my next meal is coming. These sentiments were never more present than when I read chapter 12 "Haji Ali's Lessons."

This chapter allowed me the opportunity to reflect on a lot of my selfish tendencies. This society is very caught up in the here and now. What can I do right now, to help me and how quickly can I do it. I admire the attitude that Mortenson describes in Haji Ali when he hands over half of the male goat population of the town. Ali says, "Haji Mehdi has food today. Now our children have education forever." I began to wonder how different our society would be if everyone thought about other people before their own wealth and comfort. How much more would we be able to accomplish. Then as you continue reading, you see the motivation Haji Ali has in trying to get this school off the ground. "I can't read anything. This is is the greatest sadness in my life. I'll do anything so the children of my village never have to know this feeling. I'll pay any price so they have the education they deserve."

This book was great. I really love that I could connect with people through short little anecdotes. I love that it was personal. In this country we have a hard time relating to other cultures. We are such a self-centered place that it is hard to focus our attention on someone else for a few minutes. This book made these people part of my family. I hurt for them and hoped for them. I rejoiced at their triumphs and mourned their losses. I know that any book, especially a book that is ultimately a call to action, needs to have this personal touch. It needs to be a book that connects people and builds bridges. Mortenson writes, "Who knew that something as simple as a bridge could empower women?" Who knew that a simple book could challenge the perception of illiteracy and poverty and help empower people around the world to embrace peace?

Letter to my Momma

Momma,

I am so excited to get to spend this next week with you. I have missed you so much!

However, while we are home it can't be all manicures and facials :). I am going to have to get some work done. I am working on an ethnographic study, a report that focuses on the underlying culture of a idea or place. I have chosen to look at the Tennessee State Legislature, especially at the role that women play in politics (It's shocking that I picked something in the political arena, huh?). I am really going to need this break to get caught up on the things that I haven't had time to do in the past couple of weeks. You know that I have been running at about a thousand miles an hour. Because of that, this project has been pushed to the back seat. I have done an interview with Vaughn. I have a couple of other interview leads, but I really need to hammer out some details, especially meeting times. I have emailed a lot of women in Tennessee, but I also want to email a woman in another state, maybe Colorado (they have the highest percentage of women in the legislature), to get an outsider perspective as well. I am sure Bonnie would be happy to help with my computer work. When I get back from break, I will need to go and spend some time just observing a meeting or two. I am hoping that I can kill two birds with one stone and possibly just observe after one of my interviews. I am a little nervous that people won't give me the information I need. I am also hoping that can get a lot of differing perspectives so that my project will have some legitimacy.

I can't wait to see you in less than 24 hours!

I love you,

Abby

Interview Paragraph Part 2

When we think about the role that women play in the legislature, it is almost always based in the world of emotion and feminism/anti-feminism rhetoric. Rarely do we think about the academic ramifications of women in the legislature. I was given this privilege when I spoke to Dr. Vladamir Lenin*, a professor of political science. He said that while women bring a unique perspective to the table, there are things that are more important than gender. He states, “I personally think that women do play a special role in the legislature, however we should not elevate gender about partisanship. Democrat women and republican women will behave differently because of their political ideologies.” While gender is maybe not the most important factor to consider when selecting a candidate, he also acknowledges the distinctive ways in which separate themselves: policy output, leadership style and symbolic role model effect. Women will have different policy agendas, different ideas about leadership and the ability to encourage others to run merely by their presence in legislative roles.

Dr. Lenin adds that research may suggests regional culture tells a lot about the legislative demographic. “A lot of southern states are at, or near, the bottom of the rankings for women in the legislature. There may be some cultural aspects that discourage women from running or there may be fewer women in the political pipeline who are prepared to run.” However, there is no state that has a majority of women. The state with the highest percentage is Colorado, and their legislature is 40% female.

*names have been changed to protect the identities of the interviewees.

Running List of Vocabulary

Lieutenant Governor- State Senator. Is a ranking official in the state senate who serves as the “second in command” to the governor. Much like the Vice President’s role in the Senate.

House- The House of Representatives. Used to refer to the collective group of representatives.

Interview Revision

Original:

During my interview, I hoped to learn a little about the experiences people had in the classroom at Belmont. I specifically wanted to see the impact that professors had on learning.

Everyone has that one professor that has made a profound influence on their life. That is one of the defining characteristics of the Belmont University experience. This school has some of the best professors. They are available, dedicated to the student (not just academically but also spiritually, professionally, and personally), and they challenge the students to do better work and to reach higher aspirations. "I love the faculty and staff. One of my favorite classes was Integrated Accounting. I like the material, but the professor (Beverly Alleyne) pushed it over the top," said Peter Smith, a junior at Belmont. Students at Belmont can also expect to have a relationship with their professors. "They relate to students really well and invest some time in them," adds Smith.

Revision:

During my interview, I hoped to learn a little about the classroom experiences at Belmont University; specifically the impact that professors had on learning.

Everyone has that one professor that has profoundly influenced his or her life. That effect is a quintessential part of the Belmont University Experience. This school has some of the best professors. Belmont has made the commitment to provide students with professors who are not only academics but they are mentors. They are available, dedicated to the student academically, spiritually and personally (not just academically but also spiritually, professionally, and personally), and they challenge the students to do better work and to reach higher aspirations. "I love the faculty and staff. One of my favorite classes was Integrated Accounting. I like the material, but the professor (Beverly Alleyne) pushed it over the top," said Peter Smith, a junior at Belmont. Belmont students should expect a relationship with their professors. "They relate to students really well and invest some time in them," adds Smith.

Interview Paragraph

During my interview, I hoped to learn a little about the experiences people had in the classroom at Belmont. I specifically wanted to see the impact that professors had on learning.

Everyone has that one professor that has made a profound influence on their life. That is one of the defining characteristics of the Belmont University experience. This school has some of the best professors. They are available, dedicated to the student (not just academically but also spiritually, professionally, and personally), and they challenge the students to do better work and to reach higher aspirations. "I love the faculty and staff. One of my favorite classes was Integrated Accounting. I like the material, but the professor (Beverly Alleyne) pushed it over the top," said Peter Smith, a junior at Belmont. Students at Belmont can also expect to have a relationship with their professors. "They relate to students really well and invest some time in them," adds Smith.

Women in the Legislature

My project revolves specifically about the role of women in the state legislature. As I began to think about possible maps that I could show, I couldn't think of a way that the physical space of the capital building would impact how women are treated. So I started to look for a map of the trends of female representation in the legislature. This map illustrate the percentage of the legislature that consist of women. I fully expected to the south to be a place where the percentage was low, mainly because of the stereotypical roles that women in the south have historically played. However I quickly noticed that the demographics aren't specific to region and, for the most part, it seems to be pretty evenly scattered (with the exception of the northeast, there is a variety everywhere). I think it would be interesting to see why authors think that certain states and certain regions have a different percentage of women representing their populations.

Lists and Knowledge at my site

Today's world is overwhelmed with lists. They are part of every day life. At my site, the Tennessee state legislature, there are many lists that organize the law makers purposes and understanding of information. There are lists of constituents. Each representative has a contact list of organizations and businesses in their district. There are lists of legislation and each of those lists has supplemental materials, bills. There are also voting lists and records.
These lists are imperative to legislators ability to do their job. Their job description is to vote on legislation on behalf of the people who live in their districts. They need to use their contact list to stay connected to their constituents. They must be aware of their voting records for their elections. They need to understand the list of bills going through the chamber as well as everything within the bill so that they can make an informed decision.

Walk a Mile in my Shoes: 2nd edition

I scanned my room, searching for an object that would describe my culture. My attention was immediately drawn to the floor of my closet, specifically to my shoes. Shoes can tell a lot about the social, economic, geographic status of an individual. If you were to look at the floor of my closet (please excuse the mess) you would immediately know several things. The heels, riding boots and pink tennis shoes would reveal me to be a girl. You can tell that I don't live in a tropical or arctic climate. There aren't many flip flops or sandals in my floor this time of year and my boots are bairly equiped to handle the snow that we have. If you look a little closer you would see glimpses of my socio-economic sphere. You would see that I am definitely not a laborer, but follow a more academic/professional path. Looking in my closet, you will notice three pairs of practical shoes: my snow boots, my purple and brown plaid rain shoes, and my pink tennis shoes. These sensible shoes are swimming in a sea of sparkled heals, black healed boots and pumps. None of my other shoes would be helpful in an environment outside of an academic or professional setting. I would hate to hike a mountain or pave a road or plow a field in a pair of black pumps. My shoes go the same places I do: class, internship, running, church, out with friends. You can tell a lot about what I do, and a lot about the students at Belmont, by the shoes in our closets.

Walk a Mile in my Shoes: 1st Edition

As I looked around my room looking for an object that would describe my culture, I very quickly honed in on my closet, specifically my shoes. I think that shoes, or the lack there of, tell a person a lot about the social, economic, geographic status of an individual. If you were to look at the floor of the closet (please excuse the mess) you would immediately understand that I am a girl. The heels, riding boots and pink tennis shoes would very quickly reveal me. You can tell that I don't live in a tropical area, there aren't many flip flops or sandals in my floor this time of year, and I don't live in an artic climate, my boots are bairly equiped to romp around in the snow that we have. If you look a little closer you might get an understanding of my socio-economic status. You would see that I am definitely not a laborer. As I reflect on my closet, I notice that I have three pairs of practical shoes, my snow boots (which are pretty and have a fur lining), my galoshes (which aren't really "necessary" but you would have to pay a lot of money to get me to give them up when I am giving a tour of campus on a rainy day), and my tennis shoes. None of my other shoes would be helpful in an environment outside of an academic or professional setting. I would hate to hike a mountain or pave a road or plow a field in a pair of black pumps. I wouldn't consider myself a materialistic person, however my shoes go the same places I do: class, internship, running, church, out with friends. You can tell a lot about what I do, and I would dare say a lot about what the students at Belmont do, by the shoes in our closets.

Field Work Notes

First...I am very sorry that these are backwards. I have lost the cord to my camera and my scanner is messed up.

I sat in the Beaman during the lunch hour. I wasn't quite sure what I was going to see but I very quickly honed in on the eating habits of the students who were there.

1) Was I surprised?

I was actually incredibly surprised. We hear all the time about the youth of today being the fattest generation, that we don't eat well and that we are going to be the first generation to have a shorter life expectancy than that of our parents. I was expecting to see a lot of WOW, sugary sodas and fried rice. What I saw were a lot of diet cokes, water bottles, salads and diet green teas. There was the occasional exception, however for the most part I was pretty impressed with the healthy choices that the student made.

2) What intrigued me?

As I noticed the healthy choices, I began to watch for students who were incredibly overweight. I surprisingly didn't find very many. According to a 2007 survey done by NBC, nearly 50% of college males and 30% of college females were overweight. As I watched the people in the Beaman I noticed only about 7-9% of students were overweight. I would like to know if this is something that is present all over campus.

3) What disturbed me?

I recognize several problems with my observations. First I was seated right outside of the gyms. Many of the students who walked by were on there way to work out so that is something to be considered. I also didn't go to several different places around campus to observe other eating habits. Maybe in the caf, where it is all you can eat, it would be a different story. I also didn't observe the Curb, which is where some of the most unhealthy food on campus is served.

Project Proposal

I am leaning toward researching a day in the life of the Tennessee State Legislature for my ethnographic project. I believe that government is an integral portion of our lives regardless of whether you want it to be or not. It shapes so much of our culture, however very little is know about the actual workings of the government. It is my hope to spend a day in the Tennessee Capital Building and hopefully learn a little bit more about it and the people, specifically the women, that walk its halls.

I have thought a lot about focusing on the sub-culture of women in the state legislature. Do they face more problems than the men? Did they have issues getting elected? How are they treated? What is the ratio of men to women? Do they feel ostracized? I could also get a lot of other statistics about this. How does our ratio of men to women compare to that of other southern states? How do we rank nationally? Are there more women in the legislature in northern states?

In order to get this information, I am going to just spend some time in the legislative building, hopefully on a day when they meet in the chamber (I really need to research the security issues I might face gaining access to the building). My sorority has an alumnus who is a representative from Hendersonville. Hopefully I can contact her and maybe just talk to her for 5 minutes. She might also have some suggestions as to other people to whom I could talk. I am also going to see if I can watch a couple of committee meetings and maybe just sit in the halls and watch the interactions of the representatives and senators in the halls.

Ethnographic Study Ideas

I have two thoughts for topics for my ethnographic survey. My first was to go to the Tennessee state legislature to observe the ways that the politicians work. Its a world that not many people can access. I thought I could do a day of observation, maybe sit in on a few voting sessions and then possibly get a few interviews as people left the chamber.

My other thought was to observe a kindergarten class. We have all been in kindergarten but many of us have forgotten that world. It is a very closed off world as well. Because of new security issues its hard to get in. My mother is a teacher and I think I could observe a couple of these classes and talk to some of the kids.

The Discourses of Pretty Woman

This is one of my favorite portions of this movie. You can tell pretty quickly into this segment that Vivian just doesn't belong. I think that it is interesting to see how Discourses go beyond the way that we speak. They are seen in the things we wear, how we walk, what we do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ed7C3gAXQNA

My Writing Goals for the Semester

In my life, I have ridden a roller coaster of different styles of writing. In high school, I was taught to be the analytic writer. Upon entering college, I was challenged to begin to develop my voice as a writer. However, last semester, I was forced to become a journalist. This has changed my writing style in a lot of different ways. However, the most noticeable of those changes is that I have lost many of my, as my mother would call them, "big words." I have gotten into the terrible habit of writing all of my sentences in the same general way, while trying to make the vocabulary as comprehendable possible. During this semester, it is my hope to bring back a little spice to my writing. I also hope to get out of the habit of using passive voice. I tend to use it a crutch to vary my sentence structure. However, I want to become a better writer that doesn't need to change the tense of my sentence in order to gain variety.