The "Founder of this Country"

Who was Christopher Columbus to me? He was the founder of this country, he was a hero, a nice man that made this country possible for all of us. This is all a lie. I don't understand why schools continue to teach student's lies and if they don't want to say the truth because it can be inappropriate for student's to know, then don't teach anything about it at all. During class we discussed Christopher Columbus and I found out he was actually racist and cruel because he would cut off children's hands. If it was up to me as a future teacher I wouldn't even teach this topic but it isn't. What I can do is teach around it and what that means is finding other reliable resources that can make this topic more meaningful for my student's, teach what really is important about Christopher Columbus. I can change this process for my student's such as  I can ask who's story is missing from these traditional perspectives, we can read books and give them the chance to investigate and become detectives. Then let the students tell the story from their own perspective. 

Healthy Identities

Creating healthy identities is one of my main goals as a teacher. This can be a hard task just because at the beginning I will not know what my student's are raised to believe in, what their parents beliefs are, etc. but as long as I can develop strong and healthy identities in my classroom and the student's carry it with them throughout life, believe in it, then that will be good enough for me. How can I develop strong and healthy identities in my classroom? First I can model to my students what a healthy identity looks like such as coming to school looking clean, with a good outfit, and my hair brushed. Basically be someone they can look up to. Second I can represent my students in my classroom such as having posters, pictures, objects, etc. that represent diversity, their culture, families, identity. Third I can be diverse in my teaching such as reading books about the different cultures, languages. Tell stories about the different cultures from my personal experiences or other's point of view and experiences. Lastly show and tell my students about my own family stories, my own culture, show them family photos and give them the opportunity to do the same as well. I have always believed in equality and equity and would love to incorporate that into my classroom as well.

A Student's Name Matters

In class we discussed Cult of Pedagogy and it was an important topic for me because my whole life teachers and substitutes struggled with my name. They didn't know how to pronounce it and at first I didn't mind it and would just correct them but when I had arrogant manglers, nicknamers, and ***holes not think it was important to pronounce my name, it became a problem. It was a problem because I felt like my name was not important to this world, I felt as if my value was less than others, and after so long I eventually got tired. They even mispronounced my name at graduation and I didn't say anything about it. Now looking back I would of stopped walking across that stage and go correct the lady who said it but now it's too late. All I can do is be different for my own student's and show them that their names matter and I will not put them through what other teachers put them through. A student should never feel any less than others, like we discussed in class, pronouncing a name right matters, it won't be easy to say each name but as long as you try and don't give up that will good enough. An important tip our professor mentioned for this situation was to: Pull them aside and ask them to help you pronounce their name. It's the little things like this that matter.

A Brief History of Lawns

I did not think having a nice lawn was associated with political power, social status, and wealth. It makes sense though, you often see the prettiest and groomed lawns in the big houses. If I was to drive around River Oaks in Houston, all I would see is big, neat lawns that just sit there.  Those lawns probably haven't had a kid kick a soccer ball on it, kids running around, or someone walk on it because of how pretty it is and must stay that way. After reading this article I was in shock because I didn't know lawns were this important around the world. I always saw myself wanting a nice front and back lawn not because I want people to know I have money but because they are beautiful. Lawns are what make your house come together and that's the reason I wanted a nice/big lawn but what if none of my thoughts are true and I really have been shaped by the past? What if I am just part of the European and American craze and all I care about is money and power? I don't want to repeat history, I can still have my lawn but can shake off the cultural cargo. I can be creative and shape my own yard in a different way. I want to imagine alternative destinies, free myself from the past, and have some kind of freedom when it comes to my home.

I love this.

A Brief History of Lawns Reading 

Social Studies Content Exam

In class we talked about the social studies content exam and studied some questions that could possibly be on the test. The professor showed each question and told us to choose our answer in our head, and then she would tell us the right answer and explain why the other answers were wrong. The first question was about demonstrating to the students how the price of gasoline had increased as the uses of gasoline had also increased and what was the best graph to help visualize the concept. The best answer was a bar graph because it showed change over time and in my head that was my answer. The second question was to choose the three main physical processes of the water cycle and the right answer was evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. During this question someone had asked why this wasn't a science question and it was because water is a big part of geography. The third question was about the PRIMARY purpose for the settlement of the first Europeans in the San Francisco Bay Area and a lot of people thought it was because rich oil deposits or gold deposits but the right answer was that the Bay was a natural harbor that protected ships from turbulent weather. This was the right answer because back then their first priority was to be in a natural and safe harbor where goods could be shipped in and out of the region easily and safely. These questions were easy to answer but were tricky, I just think you have to pay close attention to what is asked so that you choose the best answer.

Is teaching a political act?

If someone was to ask me this question, I would of probably said no. I would of said no because when I think about the word 'Political' I think government, laws, democracy, etc. but in reality teaching is very political and I learned that from the discussion we had in class. There is a picture that really stood out to me during this discussion and here it is

it is a mural with the quote "Ser profe y no luchar es una contradiction pedagogica.", which in english means 'To be a professor and not fight is a pedagogical contradiction. This means so much to me because being a teacher means you fight for your students, and which means you can also fight for DACA students without making them feel any less or criminalizing anyone. As a future bilingual teacher I know I will have students with different situations, stories and I will make sure to fight for their rights because at the end of the day we all have to support each other.

Black Ants and Buddhists

Chapter 1
Reading the first chapter allowed me to reflect a lot on the reasons I wanted to become a teacher. Growing up I thought I wanted to become a teacher because of my love for kids, the thought of being able to be the person these kids learn from, the thought of being someone special for these kids fascinated me but in reality it's so much more than that. As a future bilingual teacher I am going to have students from different backgrounds, different stories, not being able to speak English and although teachers aren't supposed to be the ONLY person to deposit these children with all of the knowledge and to help them succeed in school, most of the time we are the only ones they have. I am willing to be there for these kids, do my job and teach them what they need to know. I guess what I am trying to say is that from hearing different experiences from teachers and from my experience learning and studying to be a bilingual teacher, multicultural education will be a hard process but it's not impossible. Once I get to form those relationships with my students, I will then know everything I was studying hard to be was worth it.