Week 10: Degree Engagement

This week we began by discussing our degrees and career maps. I learned that we can find the career map by simply searching it through Google. It was also good to learn that if our program decides to update its program map while we are in college, we have the opportunity to choose which one we want to follow in order to graduate. This is helpful because it gives us as students some control over the classes in which we choose to and have to take.

Next we discussed our values by looking at a value guide. This activity was very helpful and eye opening because it showed me what the things are that I care about the most. Some of my top values were family, wisdom, self-improvement, honesty, and sincerity. I learned that I can look for ways to use these values in my future and in my career path. This is good because it showed me the things that matter to me and the things which I am passionate about. For example, family was one of my top values, and I want to find a job which allows me to start a family of my own and provides me with plenty of time off where I can spend with my children and wife. I think that is one of the big reasons I am currently majoring in education because it provides weekends and breaks throughout the year.
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In my group with Charlotte and Bry-Anna we discussed our top values and found that we had some that were the same while others were different. Two of the most common values were in family and in love. I think these two are very important in our lives because they give us a sense of belonging and of relationship with others. I think this activity was very good for us because it allowed us to reflect on what matters most to us.
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We also watched a video called Working Backwards to Solve Problems. In this video Maurice Ashley discussed the strategy he uses in chess to . This strategy is called retrograde analysis which means to look ahead, it pays to look backwards. This is helpful because it allows you to steer difficult chess positions into easier situations to play. He also applied this to life by giving a few examples of situations where it pays to work backwards. My favorite was the math problem because it looked like a really difficult problem but all you had to do was work backwards. After the video, we applied this kind of thinking into our future careers, and I learned that instead of just sticking with a set career path, I should look at my values and research careers which use those values.
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Overall, this week was very helpful because of the values activity. I think that it is always good to just look back to what things matter to you the most in order to see if those values are being displayed in your life. Thanks for reading this weeks blog!

Week 9: Discussion on last weeks speech and topics

This week we focused on discussing the controversial speech and topics from Jennine Capó Crucet in order to bring unity and understanding to everyone in the class. At the beginning of the week I was feeling as if the speech was made in order to bring down white people by speaking with negative tones and words. However, through the class discussions I began to see the speech with a different set of eyes which helps me to understand the perspectives of others.

We started class on Monday by answering some questions anonymously. The information given by the class showed that the majority of people in the class had felt uncomfortable at some point throughout the speech. I think this was interesting since the author should have been there in order to encourage growth and unity within our school. Anyways when I see some of the reasons we were uncomfortable I realize why we were so frustrated in the speech. Most of the feelings came from the discussion about race and privilege. Therefore, I want to discuss the things I learned throughout the week in this area.

Prior to this week I never truly understood what the meaning behind the term "white privilege" meant. I just thought it was a term created by others in order to cause controversy between people. However, I have learned that white privilege is real and it is common among our society today. The article 11 Ways White America Avoids Taking Responsibility for its' Racism, explained this in more detail by discussing some of the ways white privilege can be shown and it explained why it is is so hard to recognize the problem. White people often don't recognize the issue because they do not like to be confronted by others when they are wrong. Confrontation can often lead to anger and outrage by people because they don't see themselves as racist. The article showed that racism is rarely intentional but it is usually done unconsciously. Therefore, this confrontation is needed in order to improve the situation and make it better!

I also learned more about white privilege by listening to other's experiences and thoughts. Dra. McGrath shared her story of when she walked into a store holding her friends baby of a different color and was treated differently because of it. Then the class discussed how white males do not have to worry about walking outside late at night but black females especially have to think about it before they go outside. These two stories shed some light onto what white privilege is because its the fact that as white people we are not as generalized with the entire group, but we can be more individual. It was also sad to hear how worried and emotional Ebeni was to talk about her brothers. All three of these conversations touched me and made me want to help others who have a closed mindset on this matter to open up and expand their minds and hearts.

Overall, this week was good because it provided a safe place for us to talk and learn about the ways we can grow closer to each other as a University, nation, and a world!

Week 8: Make Your Home Among Strangers

This week we read and discussed the book Make Your Home Among Strangers by Jennine Capó Crucet. This book touched on several different topics, and it led to some conflict around the campus this week. Anyways, the book explored a Latina woman's journey to college. One of the topics that the book focused on was the question on what constitutes a home. Is it the place you are born? Is it where you spent the majority of your life? This theme was displayed several times, but the one which affected me the most was of Ariel. He was a six year old bot who made it to America on a raft, but his mother passed away on the journey. Through the class discussions I discovered that this was based on a real story. Elian Gonzalez was brought to America in 2000, but since his mother passed away, there was a huge debate on if he should be able to stay in America with his cousins or if he should be sent back to Cuba to be with his father. America and Cuba both attempted to get the two sides to reach an agreement, but sadly, that never happened and he had to be forcibly removed from the home in Florida. The debate was on the base of what his home should be. Should it have been with his father or with his family in America where his mother had been trying to get to. 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/722917.stm 
While we were discussing Ariel and Elian, we were also told the story of a former Georgia Southern professor who made the journey from Cuba to America. Gaspar Leiva was an English professor in Cuba, but he wanted to escape in order to provide better opportunities for his family. To make his story shorter, he built a boat to sail across to Florida, and it passed the initial inspection so he was able to sail it because he claimed to be a fisherman. Then he encountered a Cuban spy out at sea who reported him to Cuban authorities. He heard them near him, but thankfully they were not able to see him. After three days out at sea, he and his two sons were losing their hope and were beginning to feel the hunger and thirst. Just as they were losing hope, Gaspar saw the signs of a lighthouse, and shortly after this they caught the attention of a fishing boat. They called the Coast Guard who gladly helped Gaspar and his children make it to shore safely. After this he was able to get certification to teach Spanish. Stories like these and Elian's show me just how much some people are willing to go through in order to reach America and to call it their home. Therefore, to me a home is the place which you long to be and the place where you would give anything to be.

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article118282148.html 
Another theme from the book was about privilege. Crucet spoke on this during her speech on campus Wednesday afternoon. She posed this question," How many professors do you have which look like you?" I believe she just wanted to show that there is a gap between different cultures, and I think she wanted to point out that some people are categorized based on their race or traits. She stated how Latino's are often asked how their people feel about things. By this she was pointing out that whites are privileged because they have the ability to be independent but others are known by their race or ethnicity. This message was a difficult one to hear for some of the people in attendance, and the question and answer session got heated. I think that the question regarding why she chose to come speak at a white college was out of line and should have either been stated differently or not said at all. I also think the book burning that happened later that night were way out of line. What do y'all think of the incident? What about the speech from Crucet, did you get anything else from it? 
                                                 


https://firstgen.naspa.org/book/make-your-home-among-strangers

Week 7: Diversity and Inclusion 3

This week we watched the film, Instructions not Included. It was a very good movie after the beginning of the film which was a weird introduction. However, once I made it past that moment it was really good. The movie was about Valentine who was portrayed as a player who slept with a different woman every day, but his life was quickly transformed when one of the ladies, Julie, brought a baby to him and left him alone with her. This event required Valentine to grow up and become a man in order to support his daughter, Maggie. Throughout the film, Valentin focused on overcoming his fears in order to best provide for her. He also decided to take her to America so she would have a better life. When he made it, he performed an amazing jump from the tenth floor in order to save Maggie from drowning in the pool. Because of this he was given a job as a stuntman which he used to provide the very best life for his daughter. Towards the end of the movie, Julie came back into the picture and tried to take Maggie away from her dad. I won't spoil the ending, but you won't want to miss it!

Throughout the movie, there were many themes that came up. Today I want to discuss a few of them. One of the biggest themes was about discrimination. The movie had several references that could be viewed as offensive to some. For instance, the movie suggested that all Americans are tall and white with blonde hair and blue eyes while Mexicans are short and dark. The movie also referenced transgenders and lesbians. This was in order to show these through a different light and bring inclusiveness to them. It was successful in accomplishing this because it showed several different groups. Another theme in the movie was overcoming fear. Valentine accomplished this because he wanted to be brave for his daughter. This was important because Valentine taught his daughter not to fear death because she was struggling with a sickness. Overall, the movie was very successful in getting its points across and it was a very interesting movie!