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My Story
This narrative is an opportunity for you to reflect upon your identity and the socializing agents that shaped it. You will examine some of the experiences in which some of your most prominent identity descriptors were involved and unravel the messages that were explicitly or implicitly sent through the socializing institutions played a role (i.e. family, school, community, etc.)
Minimum length: 1450 words (Approximately 5 double-spaced pages New Roman Font size 12)
After submitting your assignment to the assignment tool before the due date and time, also upload the assignment to the UAS before uploads are checked (see May calendar). A link to the UAS has been provided in the course menu.
The Culture Learning Process
Preparation for “My Story”
First, read through the directions for completing the assignment and email me with questions. Then review the assignment performance objectives and notice the format and headings in bold. In addition to the assigned readings throughout the semester, additional resources and guidance will be provided to assist you in this assignment. See web sites below.
Other forms of preparation can include:
Informal interviews with family, friends and other individuals about your experiences. For example, if your parents or caretakers had certain beliefs, ask them where they acquired those beliefs? You can ask them about their own experiences regarding their identity descriptors and socializing agents.
Research: Find out the sociohistorical, political and economic backdrop of your life. What types of events were happening when you were growing up? Who was benefitting from the current structure of society? Who was graduating from school by ethnicity and gender? What were the employment trends? Were there differences in wages by race/ethnicity/gender, for example? Who were the most prevalent victims of hate crimes? Explore the following websites as well as others that you may come across to gather more information about the context in which your identity was developed.
The National Center for Education Statistics http://nces.ed.gov
Bureau of Labor Statistics http://www.bls.gov/home.htm
Federal Bureau of Investigation https://www.fbi.gov
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime https://www.unodc.org
The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) https://www.oecd.org/pisa/home/
Human Rights Watch https://www.hrw.org
Human Rights Campaign https://www.hrc.org
Gay, Lesbian, Straight, Education Network (GLSEN) https://www.glsen.org
European Region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) http://www.ilga-europe.org
United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization http://en.unesco.org
The Hunger Project http://www.thp.org
The Civil Rights Project https://www.civilrightsproject.ucla.edu
Anti-Defamation League http://www.adl.org
Performance Objectives:
Use the phrases in bold as your subheading for each section of the paper.
1. Quote: Start with a quote from the readings that connects to your goals and aspirations as a teacher. Explain why this quote stands out to you. Minimum length requirement: 100 words
2. Identity Descriptors and Socializing Agents: Take a look at the identity descriptors on the outer circles of the The Culture-Learning Process (see image on attached assignment document).
a. What 2 or more identity descriptors do you feel are the most privileged and least privileged in your life (4 total)? Explain your choices by describing experiences that have led you to come to your way of thinking as well as the socializing agents, in the middle of the circle that played a primary role in delivering the messages that make you feel that way. For each identity experience described in part (a) provide and cite a fact related to that experience (this means you will have at least 4 citations and references).
b. Based on the identity descriptors you selected, investigate the socializing agents behind the privilege and oppression you discuss. You can explore schooling patterns, employment statistics, violence statistics, income rates and other structural indicators on the suggested sites above or information from your text/readings/videos. Explore other sites and news related to your identity descriptors that can provide information on sociohistorical, economic and political events that have shaped the way you and others might view your identity. For example, if you felt that at times you were oppressed because of your gender and ethnicity, search for historical patterns that may have contributed to your personal experiences. If you cant identify any way that you were oppressed, explore why this might be so. (Minimum length requirement for a and b is 800 words)
Example
Identity Descriptors and Socializing Agents
As an upper middle class Christian 3rd generation Latina woman, Ive had the benefit of living in a nice neighborhood, not worrying about where my food is coming from or going to the university (even though I am paying for some loans). My family and I always go to Florida every year for a beach vacation. Ive also always had health insurance and my parents bought me a used car when I graduated high school. In addition, I was able to wear the latest fashion clothes. When my grandmother passed away, she left my mother her house, which was fully paid. Mom sold it and with the money my parents were able to start their own business. I dont think I was ever stereotyped in school because of my class. Some of the most common stereotypes that are made about people who are poor are that they dont work hard, they are substance abusers, or dont care about education (Gorski, 2013). In fact, the opposite is true: on average adult in poverty work the equivalent of 1.5 jobs, middle and upper middle class people are more likely to be substance abusers and because of work schedules, parents in poverty are less likely to attend parent conference meetings or PTO meetings usually because they are scheduled at a time they can come and often this is interpreted as not caring (Gorski, 2013). I am a Christian and realize that I have the benefit of having most school holidays revolve around the Christian calendar. If I say Im Christian I never get a surprised reaction or questions about what I believe in or what my holidays are like. I never really even have to think about my religion. For example, I can wear my cross without getting strange looks unlike a friend of mine who is Jewish and always wears a kippah (a small head covering) and a tallit with tzitzit (a special garment worn under his shirt that has 4 hanging fringes). He says anytime he goes somewhere he feels like he always gets strange looks. He also told me that he gets harassed or experiences some form of microaggression at least once a month. The last incident he told me about was that he was in a store and he overheard a lady telling a story about how she jewed someone down. I never have to worry about things like this. According to (Cushner, McClelland & Safford, 2015) the religious right have had a strong influence on the curriculum and in the past censored books like Huckleberry Finn or Of Mice and Men. Here in Texas, the board of education, currently Republican controlled has been criticized for approving books that have a religious slant where they exaggerate the role biblical figures have play in the U.S. (Herskovitz & Forsyth, 2014. However, my race/ethnicity and gender have often placed me in a less privileged position. Because I am a brown Latina or look Latina to people (even though Latinas come in all colors!!), sometimes people assume I cant speak English or that I do speak Spanish. On several occasions, Ive had people ask me to translate something and I dont speak Spanish and when I tell them, I always get strange looks. Other Latinos that do speak Spanish always seem to react in a way that tries to shame me- as if its a requirement that I speak Spanish. Im constantly asked where Im from and when I say Chicago, many times they answer no, really, where are you from? I get tired of people assuming that Im not an American just because of the way I look. In fact, as of 2015 there are 17.6% of Latinos in the U.S. and over half (54.5%) of the Latino population lives in Texas, California and Florida! This makes it very difficult to understand why people keep asking me where Im from. When I was in school, I was always good at science and math but I cant remember a single time when I was encouraged to be something other than a math and science teacher. This is what I want to do but now I wonder why my teachers didnt encourage me or tell me about other fields? Cushner, McClelland & Safford (2015) state that gender role socialization plays an important part in gender differences and that from birth the way we are socialized, including the way we are held, the kinds of toys that we are given and the media all contribute to the idea that some things are suitable just for girls or just for boys. According to a report by the American Association for University Women(AAUW), some of the reasons there are so few women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields are: few role models, stereotype threat, and there is a need to encourage girls to take advanced STEM classes and make information available about the types of careers in which they can engage (Hill, Corbett, St. Rose, & AAUW. I wish someone had done this for me.
References
(Your references should be on the last page of your paper and double spaced)
Cushner, K., McClelland, A. & Safford, P. (2015) Human diversity in education: An intercultural approach (8th edition). New York, NY: McGraw- Hill.
Gorski, P. (2013). Reaching and teaching students in poverty: Strategies for erasing the opportunity gap. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Herskovitz, J. & Forsyth, J. (Friday, November 21, 2014). Texas school board approves textbooks criticized for religious bent.Reuters. Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-texas-textbooks-idUSKCN0J51NU20141121
Hill, C., Corbett, C., St, Rose. A., & American Association of University Women. (2010). Why so few?: Women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Washington, D.C: AAUW.
U.S. Census Bureau (2016). Annual estimates of the resident population by sex, age, race, and Hispanic origin for the united states and states: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015. Retrieved from:http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=bkmk
Please use APA 6th Edition Style Manual for citation and references. The Purdue Online Writing Lab has a great outline of the APA 6th Edition Style Manual at https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ You may also find the style manual in the library (Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, (6th ed., 2nd printing)).
3. Identity Privilege and Oppression: Think about one of the most privileged aspects of your identity (and replace it with an identity characteristic that is not as privileged (for example if you subscribe to a religion that is privileged as is Christianity in the U.S., replace it with one that is less privileged like Islam or Judaism; if you are White, replace your race/ethnicity with another): How would your life change? How do you think you would have been treated in school, represented in the news or in the school curriculum? What would be the most challenging aspects of your life with this different identity descriptor? If you dont feel that you have aspects of your identity that are privileged, explain why and do the opposite of this guiding question (change the identity descriptor in which you feel oppressed to one of privilege).Minimum length requirement: 200 words
4. Conclusion: Conclude your story by sharing three commitments related to social justice that you will make as a teacher candidate now that will help you be better prepared to develop relationships with your future students that make them feel valued, safe, and motivated in the classroom. Think about the issues of social justice that you have explored in My Story. What do you need to know more about or what are the skills that you need to learn or expand upon so that you match the descriptions of a well-prepared beginning teacher?
Your commitments must be tangible; that is, they must be explicit enough that should other people want to follow your lead, they would know how to do it. Examples include:
Expanding your friendship circle to include people who have different backgrounds from yourself. For example, you could volunteer for the Strictly Speaking Program at UHCL and commit to regular interaction with a Foreign Exchange Student.
You might also attend a religious service or take a guided tour of the worship center of a group that is unfamiliar to you.
You could spend a half-day volunteering at an event provided for individuals of lower income groups (Examples: serving Thanksgiving Dinner at the George R. Brown Center, spending an afternoon working with the children at a homeless shelter or working at a food bank distribution center.
You could attend one of the workshops on Cultural Competency for Leaders (CCL) offered by UHCL Intercultural Student Services (ISS). CCL trainings promotes an understanding and appreciation of all diversity including “nationality , race, class, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, physical ability and job or life circumstance.”
You could become an active member of a student organization that has as part of its mission providing equal educational opportunity for all students and participate in activities that relate directly to your personal commitments to social justice.
You could visit a museum or exhibit hall dedicated to understanding a particular group that would contribute to your personal understanding of the contributions of that groups and/or the challenges they have faced. Examples include the Holocaust Museum, the Buffalo Soldiers Museum, Houston Museum of African American Culture, Asia Society Texas Center and others.
You may interview a person who first arrived in the United States speaking limited of no English. This person may be an international student on this campus, or any student or parent who came to the United States speaking minimal English. If you choose this option, complete the Interview Protocol (found under the course menu) as evidence of the interview.
Evidence of an activity related to one of your commitments must be completed before the due date of this final assignment, and validated by a description (Minimum length requirement 300 words) of what you did and how your participation in that activity/event contributed to your preparation to become a successful teacher candidate. You should include an artifact related to your participation along with your description. Students should upload and/or attach a scan or photo of an artifact. Artifacts include a ticket to an event, brochure, certificate of participation, picture of engagement in activity, etc., or the completed interview protocol if you interview a Non-native English speaker.
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