Learning Letter/Plan of Action

During the course of this class, I have altered my idea about the reality of what life can be like for kids growing up in war torn or underdeveloped countries.  It was a subject that I have never really put any thought into because it simply did not affect me.  I have the "out of sight, out of mind" mentality.  While I do not have issue with this way of thinking, it can turn into ignorance or just "looking the other way".  After this course, I feel that I fall into the "looking the other way" category.  I know that a lot of this is happening around the world but it doesn't directly affect me, so I don't really pay attention to it.  While reading about all of these kids growing up in different circumstances, I realized that every kid grows up and all of these stories were coming of age stories, but from different and horrible perspectives.  It is odd to see that with their situations, they still had to deal with some of the same issues of growing up.  I feel that this connection between all the books was the most important aspect in my opinion.

While doing the projects, my favorite aspect was seeing others projects and how they did them.  With the Museum display, it was interesting to see what others did.  I noticed that a lot of people had family and religion as the main aspect of their displays.  This is something that I find interesting because I am detached from my family and non-religious.  Seeing how different people portray their family is something that is always of interest to me.  The part that I most remember is reading about a girl's father who was adopted and went on an expedition to find his birth parents.  Being adopted, I hear this all the time and get asked if I am ever going to find my birth parents.  To me, it makes no sense as i have no want to even think about it, they aren't my parents.  That is not how others feel, as I saw with this father looking for his birth parents.  I wanted to know why he wanted to do it, just to get insight into what drives someone who is adopted to do this.

I enjoyed the Book Talks project more than I expected.  When I have to work with five or more people, I cringe.  I am generally a solo worker, yet I had a great group who came up with great ideas and books to use.  I never thought of single parenting as issues with children's books.  I knew that single parent families are a huge issue in the US and the statistics that I found were quite depressing.  The ones who suffer are the children.  Seeing how many books there are on single parenting, I realized that I had seen these books before and didn't even notice that they were about the topic.  I think it is because single parenting is a normality in today's society and I don't even recognize it as being anything but normal.  While the amount of books was overwhelming, the ideas behind each was interesting.  I was really surprised by the topic of sibling abuse and the lack of content that the group could find.  While they were able to find material about it, it was surprising because it is an issue that we all know but maybe don't recognize as an issue that needs real attention.  The most important concept that I pulled from this activity was that there is a children's book for almost any situation.

While doing the Graffiti Wall, I enjoyed looking through all of the different types of graffiti.  There is so much out there and was very hard to choose from.  Like art, each piece that I found was meant to be thought provoking and something that went against the grain.  Seeing different types of resistance art showed that there is a commonality in all of these wars; the resistance and some people want the same thing, peace.

I feel that the main point of all the texts that we read was to get perspectives of growing children in very different settings.  Each kid had his or her own horror to deal with as they were growing up.  I imagine that students could read these novels to get an idea of what it is like for others around the world to grow up when they don't have certain amenities that we do.  War and strife is going to continue in the world, providing us with more of these horror stories of what children have to go through.  It was hard for me to believe that Sierra Leone's government was also using child soldiers.  I was under the impression that the rebels and the RUF were the ones that used them, but it was both sides.  I've always known that there is war and it destroys societies and peoples, but I never looked into or thought about what it actually does to the children.  These books have created a much more focus about people in these large scale situations.  Thinking about war in terms makes it much more personal as it isn't about the resources or land but individual's experiences with life and death every day.

As a person, I don't ever really think about myself as part of a bigger picture or responsible for something that happens half way across the world.  I do things for myself.  I am not selfish, just choose to live in my own world.  Is that good or bad? I don't know.  How much could I change if I got involved anyway?  I don't vote or get involved in politics.  I feel as if I am a bystander.  When looking through pictures of graffiti, I saw one that said "no one is an innocent bystander".  I found this to be really interesting.  I know about all of these things happening around the world but don't do anything about it.  Does that make me part of the problem if I just ignore it?  I could answer both ways.  I also ask myself what I could do that would even matter.  This class has lowered my ignorance level to some of the situations around the world and it makes it difficult to ignore them.  Not that I want to ignore them, but knowing more about what is happening makes me feel bad for doing so, which is a good thing and means I have empathy, so I am not a serial killer.

For my plan of action, I have thought and thought about what I would like to do for this portion of the assignment.  Figuring out a step to take from here is not easy and I won't settle with just increasing my own knowledge of the subject as I feel it is a bit of a cop out.  I chose a point to focus on in the course and go from there, which is parenting and issues that revolve around it from book talks.  In my student teaching, I have built great relationships with students yet neglected to do anything with parents.  It is easy to forget them as they are "out of sight and out of mind" for me as a teacher.  With my school placement, there is a very high amount of poverty and students that have to work to support their families.  As I resume student teaching in the fall, I am going to be involved more with parents from the start.  I want to create relationships with them too.  This is something that teachers must do anyway and I want to do it to better the relationships that I have with the students.  I am an advocate that better relationships promote better learning, so it should be a no brainier that involving parents is something I should be doing.  I never had to deal with personal parenting issues with my family, so I tend to forget that they can be issues.  Involving parents and getting to know them and strengthening the relationship because of it is my goal of what I would like to accomplish next as I progress towards teaching.

Graffiti Wall

The pieces of art that I have chosen are from an artist named Bansky, who is well known for his graffiti art in Europe.  While Bansky has many different types of art, I chose three that I believe have powerful and ambiguous messages.  When I think of the definition of graffiti, I think of illegal wall art first and secondly that it is the opposition to propaganda.  I see it as resistance to propaganda and propaganda in itself for that reason.  The pieces of artwork that I chose are ones that caught my attention.  All but the last are making fun of something in popular culture.  While the last one may not be making fun of anything, the addition of people’s hand prints alter the original meaning of the photo to make it into something very different than the intended purpose.

The first piece of art that I chose was one that has two beloved American characters yet is deeply disturbing once we see what is happening with the person who Ronald McDonald and Mickey Mouse are holding hands with.  The piece shows what looks like Ronald and Mickey holding hands with a small child as they walk.  Ronald and Mickey look happy but the boy looks completely horrified.  At first, I did not notice the horrified look on the boy, which I think is supposed to be the point of the piece of art.  To me, this photo represents the age of Disney and fast food carrying kids into a whole different world than what they lived in before these institutions were around.  These kids also have no choice if they want to follow along or not, Disney and Ronald are ushering them into their future whether they like it or not.  The message that I derived from this is that the future will carry us forward, whether or not we want and even if we kick and scream in protest.  What looks like fun and happiness on the outside or at first glance can be horror to those involved, like the child in the middle. 

The next piece that I chose depicts the Jungle Book characters bounded and blindfolded in a deforested area waiting for an axe man to do something.  When I first looked at this, I saw two different stories.  The first was that the axe man was just finished cutting down all of the trees, and all that was left was to kill the inhabitants.  This message seems even more powerful as the artist uses beloved Disney characters and not real forest animals that have to deal with extinction due to habitat loss.  Using Disney characters makes it much more of a sensitive subject because we all know and love Mowgli and his band of forest friends, so seeing him face the butcher creates more emotions that just seeing real animals that we have no connection with.  The other scenario that I saw was that the Disney characters were about to be executed for what they did to the forest.  While I have not read the Jungle Book in a long time, I remember the jungle being burnt down at the end.  I may be completely wrong, but it was all the fighting that caused its destruction.  Now the characters are facing the music as they must answer for what they have done.  With either viewing, there is a message in both that points out what deforestation does.  Either innocent bystanders are felled along with the forest or they are the cause.  In both scenarios they have to meet the same fate as the forest.  I found this piece to be depressing as it shows deforestation involving something so innocent with something so devastating.

The last piece is one that I chose because I think that it started as one idea and turned into something completely different as it was altered by time and peoples hand prints.  The piece depicts a girl or boy reaching for a balloon that is out of his or her grasp.  The wall that this is painted on has become deteriorated and the face, part of the legs and the feet are missing.  The art could very well be drawn this way, but it really looks like the wall has deteriorated after the art was applied.  The missing pieces of wall make the child an ambiguous sex and a child without a face.  The part that really caught my eye was the mud hand prints on the wall in between the child’s reaching arm and the floating balloon.  All of the hand prints (and a few footprints) that are on it are in between.  I do not know what the significance of all of these hand prints means to whoever did it.  I imagine that the floating balloon is the loss of innocence in children and the hand prints are done by people who recognize the plight of trying to hold on to something that is unreachable.  

Response to "A Long Way Gone"

Of all of the novels we have read for this class, A long Way Gone is the one that really kept me reading.  I knew the book was about child soldiers and was surprised that he did not become one until about halfway through the book.  The whole first half where he and he refugee companions were trying to survive as he made his way back to his parents really humanized him and I could feel him lose all hope once he found the 2nd camp where he believed his parents to be was destroyed.  After having spent all that time looking for them just to find out what he already knew deep down, but he was just a kid and how could anyone want to believe that.  The part that struck me as most interesting was how he says at one point that he was just a kid who liked rap music and now his only goal was to survive.  I don’t know why it struck me as so interesting, but it shows how this could be a story about any normal kid.  Beah was just a normal kid.

I figured that he would be indoctrinated into the RUF yet it was the government that picked him up to be a child soldier.  I found this interesting that it was not the rebels that used him, even though there is a fine line between rebels in this conflict.  From my research on Sierra Leone I noticed that the rebels outnumbered the opposition by 5 to 1, explaining why the government was taking child soldiers.  While the methods used to make these kids soldiers was horrible, I could not help but wonder if it was a last resort that the country was willing to take in order to win.  This takes winning at all costs to a new extreme and the government was willing to go through with it.  If I had to venture a guess, I would assume that many of the child soldiers if not all have serious PTSD problems and no real way to get treatment.  Even in America, PTSD is something that until only recently has been recognized as a problem and treating military members who have it and not leaving them to deal with it themselves.  Beah didn’t exhibit any signs after he got out, but I think that it was way too early to see any real damage or it hadn’t really set in for him.  Once he returned to a destroyed Freetown, you could feel the dread of being involved in another war.  Being adopted and being brought to America is the best thing that could have happened to him.  I really don’t think he could have emotionally survived living through the conflict again.  As for the drugs and War movies that were given to him, I see some good that they did.  The drug induced haze and war desensitization may have helped him keep his sanity in the end.  Because he was so desensitized to what he was doing, I feel that it may not have affected him as much after he came out of the situation.  Not that I condone what they did in any way, I just feel that in the long run it kept him from truly understanding what he really did.

Outside Enemy

What is Outside Enemy?

While at SVHS, I was able to do a little experiment with the other teachers that they have always wanted to try but couldn't because the students already knew them and knew that if they changed, it would be obvious.  Once I came, they thought it the perfect opportunity to try it out and see if it really affects how kids work.  outside enemy, or mutual enemy, is an idea that anyone will bond together in order to combat a mutual enemy.  While the class is not a warzone, this can be done with teachers and students, preferably without them knowing.  The goal is to have a teacher become a "mutual enemy" for students to bond and work together in their "hatred" of this mutual enemy.  I use pretty strong words here, but it does not boil down to hate in the classroom.  It boils down to differing opinions.  Whatever stance the students take on a subject, the outside enemy must take the opposite stance.  Taking the opposite stance will make the student then vocalize why they are right and why the teacher is wrong.  Getting them to think and vocalize their thoughts and think deeper is the goal of this exercise. While the teacher plays the role of the outside enemy, this gives kids an oppertunity to work together with a common goal of being against the outside enemy.  Also, the teacher does not necessarily have to disagree with everything, they just need to take an opposite stance.  We don't want the kids to actually hate us, we just want them to think critically about subjects!

Here is an article that describes how mutual hatred can lead to banding together of people against a common cause.

Hating the Same Things

Why shared dislikes make faster friends.

By Paul Kix Published Mar 27, 2011 ShareThis

Alice Roosevelt Longworth, the firstborn daughter of Theodore Roosevelt, cheated on her husband, the speaker of the House, with a senator from Idaho, an affair that produced her only child. She supported Nixon in 1960 and the Kennedys and LBJ after that and then Nixon again in 1968. And she did it all without losing the approval of polite Washington society, presidents included; so many people paid visits to her house in Dupont Circle that she became known as “the other Washington Monument.” The secret to her long tenure as the capital’s grandest dame was her life’s motto, which she had embroidered on a sofa pillow: “If you can’t say something good about someone, sit right here by me.”

This epigram also sits atop a fascinating new study in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin that is part of a larger body of work by the University of South Florida’s Jennifer Bosson. What she’s found is that Mrs. L., as she was called, was onto something: Trashing the same person often helps people bond. “There’s something really powerful about the discovery of shared negative attitudes,” Bosson says.

Bosson’s first paper on the phenomenon, which she co-­authored in 2006, argued that people readily connect when they have a third entity to jointly demean. This could be someone they both know or a random celebrity; even if the hatred isn’t strong, the kinship could be deep. But the inquiry was empirically squishy—some of Bosson’s experiments relied on friends recounting how they became chummy—so last year, she and a grad student, Jonathan Weaver, developed a more rigorous methodology. They had undergrads partake in a study for class credit, the true goal of which was not divulged. First, the students filled out forms and placed an X next to the name of the professor they liked or disliked the most, then completed a biographical questionnaire. After that, a mediator handed them the questionnaire of another student, casually mentioning that this other student liked or disliked the same faculty member. A pattern emerged: The students with negative impressions of the same professor felt as if they knew each other better.

The power of this initial spark of shared antipathy, it seems, comes from what negativity implies. Everyone, after all, can say kind things. And everyone does. This is how we supposedly make friends: by being nice. But by going negative—thereby breaking a general rule of first impressions—you signal that you instinctively trust this new person, because you suspect he or she might feel the same way.

Bosson, in her own life, offers unvarnished appraisals easily. (Note that she grew up just outside New York.) Her Florida friends find her occasional grumpiness refreshing. Decades ago, in a different setting, that may also have accounted for why Mrs. L.—herself a Manhattan native—got on so well in her new town.

My Experience with "Outside Enemy" 

When I was first told about this idea, it made sense.  It is something that naturally happens in job atmospheres, school, even the military.  I have certainly been apart of a bigger group coming together so that we can hate on someone or something.  Next, the teachers at SVHS said that I was going to be the outside enemy.  I wasn't really sure what that meant.  How could I, so friendly, be an enemy to the school.  They explained how it worked, and that the goal wasn't about getting them to hate me.  They also said that it takes someone who is already outgoing and willing to interject and disagree with preteens all day long.  My job was to take different stances when I could on any subject just to get students to have to speak up about why they are right or why I am wrong.  At first I saw it as disagreeing with everything the students said.  It was kind of like that, but more of getting them to divulge more information about what they think.

The first time that I really noticed its effects were when I decided to read Modest Proposal with a class.  I did not tell them that it was satire and they really thought it was a true story.  I got into it and was an advocate for eating babies.  I wouldn't budge at all, using quotes from the text to back myself up.  I came into class one day with a  toy baby leg covered in red marker, pretending i was eating it.  It infuriated the students.  They went out of their way to convince me it was wrong.  The main idea was that this got the students to critically think about what they were reading rather than just saying a 2 word answer about if they liked it.  The students most certainly banded against me because I was in the wrong for eating babies.  

I think that this method is great and really does work, but needs to be in the right atmosphere.  I do not see this working with large groups or kids that you do not have relationships with prior to doing it.  This also would be impossible to keep up at all times.  It just is not possible to disagree and challenge students in this way all the time.  One might be able to, but they would certainly become really hated and kids may lose interest if they know that the teacher is just going to disagree with everything they say.  

Applicability to Teachers

I feel that this could be  a great strategy to use to simply get kids to open up about what they think.  As with most people, when you disagree with them they feel compelled to voice their opinion.  Kids are the same way if not worse.  They always want to voice the opinion they have.  This gives them a chance to do so.  This could also be seen as student voice as the students are able to reflect on what they have learned.  Teachers probably don't want kids to actually hate them and not talk.   This will have to be done in such a way to not alienate students' ideas.

Applicability to Students

The idea of outside enemy is something that people deal with and experience their whole lives.  This can be an excellent tool or one that just festers into hatred for the mutual enemy.  Giving students the tools to practice banding together against a common enemy show them how to work together and provides a good reason for working together.  Getting them to band together with fellow students/coworkers is a skill that they are going to need when they enter the work force and must be able to work with teams.  

http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/shared-dislikes-2011-4/

Research on the Sierra Leone Civil War

Before now, I have never heard of the Sierra Leone Civil War or even knew what it may have been about.  I have heard of Sierra Leone and I know that it is in Africa and has a large diamond export.  Before reading any research on the civil war itself, I am willing to venture a guess that the civil war is about diamonds since so many conflict in Africa revolve around diamond mining.  After searching for about five minutes for articles about the civil war, I came across a few that mentioned that there were “large swathes of territory in eastern and southern Sierra Leone, which were rich in alluvial diamonds”.  After doing some more reading, I realized that I have heard about this conflict, mainly through movies.  Saying that, I take most of what I see in movies with a grain of salt.  The movie I saw was Blood Diamond with Leo Dicaprio.  If anything else, the movie had a very surreal view of how wars were fought in these 3rd world countries.

One aspect that really stood out to me is that this war lasted 11 years.  I think about how long the American war in the Middle East has lasted, and it is over 10 years also.  The American War is being fought halfway around the world, which makes it easy to forget once you come back.  It is another world when you go and when you come back.  I cannot imagine what it would be like to be in the actual war zone for the entirety of the war.  Especially the residence of Freetown.  From my readings, it seemed like this town took a brunt of the fighting and never got a break from the war.  After each attack and new governments, Freetown would get plundered and its residents would be raped.  It must have been a huge relief when the British finally came and took control of Freetown, ending the civil war for good.  I found it interesting that Sierra Leone was once part of the British Commonwealth but was eventually given back to the people as many of Britain’s satellite states did over time.  I wanted to know why Britain decided to intervene in its former colonies war.  At first I thought that they may have felt responsible in some way and they were the only ones willing to move in and stop the violence.  I could not find much on this subject, but I think that it is mainly because the British felt that they had a part to play in Sierra Leone’s growth as a country since they recently released it from the Commonwealth.  It definitely took them along time to get involved, 11 years is a long time.

Another aspect of this civil war that I found interesting is something that I have noticed as a reoccurring theme throughout a few wars or conflicts in the recent past.  With Ukraine, Sierra Leone, and Sudan, the UN has completely failed at trying to make peace.  I feel that there is a trend growing.  Once the UN fails, the wars just seem to keep on going without any outside help.  I don’t know if it is anything new, but it seems that when the UN fails, it totally backs out like their only plan was peace talks.  Sierra Leone is the exception because Britain finally got involved and forcefully resolved the conflict.  Go Britain!

Pedagogy: Teaching Philosophies

"The rational investigation of the truths and principles of being, knowledge, or conduct."

Why are teaching philosophies important?
A teaching philosophy is very similar to a personal philosophy.  When someone has their own teaching philosophy, it means that they have a rationale for how and why they teach.  A personal philosophy is very similar to a teaching philosophy except that it does not necessarily deal with the aspect of education.  Hiving a personal philosophy for what we do is necessary for us to be successful as teachers because we must know why we are even teaching.  Without a strong and sound reason; we may lose the point of teaching and forget why we became teachers in the first place.

Types of Philosophies

• Teacher-centered philosophies tend to be more authoritarian and conservative, and emphasize the values and knowledge that have survived through time. The major teacher-centered philosophies of education are essentialism and perennialism.

• Student-centered philosophies are more focused on individual needs, contemporary relevance, and preparing students for a changing future. School is seen as an institution that works with youth to improve society or help students realize their individuality. Progressivism, social reconstructionism, and existentialism place the learner at the center of the educational process: Students and teachers work together on determining what should be learned and how best to learn it.

How are these reflected in schools?

• Essentialism and perennialism give teachers the power to choose the curriculum, organize the school day, and construct classroom activities. The curriculum reinforces a predominantly Western heritage while viewing the students as vessels to be filled and disciplined in the proven strategies of the past. Essentialists focus on cultural literacy, while perennialists work from the Great Books.

• Progressivism, social reconstructionism, and existentialism view the learner as the central focus of classroom activities. Working with student interests and needs, teachers serve as guides and facilitators in assisting students to reach their goals. The emphasis is on the future, and on preparing students to be independent-thinking adults. Progressivists strive for relevant, hands-on learning. Social reconstructionists want students to actively work to improve society. Existentialists give students complete freedom, and complete responsibility, with regard to their education.

How far back do these philosophies go?

• Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle are the three most legendary ancient Greek philosophers. Socrates is hailed today as the personification of wisdom and the philosophical life. He gave rise to what is now called the Socratic method, in which the teacher repeatedly questions students to help them clarify their own deepest thoughts.

Some questions you should be able to answer about yourself:

1. What do you get up each and every morning wanting to do? 
2. What directs your actions and decisions, especially the impulsive ones? 
3. What gives you a sense of satisfaction at the end of the day? 
4. What feeling is in the core of your soul that you know to be self-evident? Sounds constitutional, and maybe that is good. 
5. Why are your beliefs important to you? 
6. How does your philosophy measure up to higher standards or ideals?

My experience:

In my past, I have a had more than a few jobs, some I loved and some I hated.  There was even one that I hated but loved some of the aspects involved in it.  At the time of each job I never thought about why I hated or loved it, because I did not have a philosophy for myself of what I wanted out of life.  This happened again when I decided to re-attend school and get a degree.  I didn't know what I wanted to do, but I knew that I wanted to help and work with people.  That was the first step of my philosophy that I found for myself.  From there I decided that teaching was right up my alley, it lets me work with people and have fun doing it.Fast forward to now and I have my own personal /teaching philosophy.  "I want to work with and help people and if I cannot have fun doing it, then it is not something I want to do".

What I agree and disagree with:

I think all this research on teaching philosophies is pretty accurate.  They are good and sound reasons for why education is the way it is.  I don't think that these are meant to be a cookie cutter philosophy for anyone to take and use as their own.  Sure, someone can believe in it but just agreeing with a teaching philosophy that is already made shows that they have not yet found their own.  I also like how these ways of thinking have been traced back all they way the Greek philosophers.  They created the basis of what we know and understand today.  I thank them mostly for the power of inquiry.

As for what I disagree with, I think that the definitions and statements are too easy.  When I say too easy, I mean that they make it sound easier to create and have a personal teaching philosophy than it really is.  Reading a book to figure out how to create one is good, but we really need to know ourselves and what we want out of life in order to create an effective philosophy.

Applicability as a teacher:

This may be one of the most important aspects to being a teacher, as it can also be the most important aspect of any job.  Knowing who we are and what we want out of life does not just set goals;it drives us in a determined direction.  Having direction in a job is important and even more important as a teacher because we are responsible for helping kids learn.  With kids' learning involved, we need to have our ideals and philosophies set in stone because if they aren't, they will surely crack when it comes time to perform the job.

Applicability to students:

This is something that I feel is taught to students, but they may not be ready to understand the importance of a personal or teaching philosophy.  Most kids have to create 5-year plans in which the catalog what they want to achieve for their high school years and the year after high school.  This forces them to look into the future, to see what they want and where they might be in 5 years.  Like everyone else, students will have to figure out for themselves what they want to be when they grow up and start thinking about careers.


Works Cited
http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072877723/student_view0/chapter9/
http://www.acthompson.net/PhilEd.htm
http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/journals/ed_lead/el_196604_walcott.pdf
http://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/masters-resources/what-is-a-teaching-philosophy-statement-and-why-do-i-need-it/

Learning when to Conform

Learning to Conform as a Teacher

There are many reasons why individuals would conform to the job that they hold.  During a recession, job security is a highly valued aspect of the work place.  Being able to conform shows that you are willing to be a team player and adapt to the rules and regulations of a company.

Umpqua Bank vs. Sterling Bank

6.3. Food/Drink in Work Area

Food and drink for associates in the retail customer areas are not allowed. Drinks are permitted in non-customer contact areas as long as they are in coffee type mugs where the contents cannot be seen. Soft drink cups with straws are not allowed. Food should be kept (and eaten) in an area reserved for associate breaks or where there is no customer contact. No gum chewing is allowed. Absolutely no drinks or food around computer equipment, printers, CRT's, etc.

6.4. Personal Phone Calls 

Personal phone calls during working hours distract associates from their job responsibilities and may be disruptive to co-workers. Associates should therefore limit the placing or receiving of personal calls during working hours to those required only in urgent situations.

This policy applies to the use of bank phone equipment as well as cell phones. Associates are allowed to bring cell phones to work with them. During working hours, however, associates are not permitted to use their cell phones for personal use except in an emergency or during a rest or meal period. Associates who use personal or Bank-provided cell phones to communicate with another Bank associate for any reason may not violate the Bank’s policies against harassment. Associates who use a cell phone to send a text or instant message to another associate (or to a customer or vendor) that is harassing or otherwise violates the Bank’s anti-harassment policies will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.

Associates are expected to inform friends and family members of this policy and will be held accountable for their actions under the bank’s disciplinary procedure.

To protect customer confidentiality, cameras of any type, including cell phones with built-in cameras and video photography devices,

Walk slowly and cautiously up and down stairs. Use hand rail whenever possible.

• The gummed strips on envelopes should be moistened with devises made for that purpose, not with the tongue. Similarly, use letter opener for unsealing envelopes.

Sit squarely on office chairs, not on the edge of them. Do not sit in straight chairs that are tilted back toward or against a wall.

What happens to employees that are merged into another company with a totally different atmosphere?

Teaching Tenure

Teacher tenure is a policy that restricts the ability to fire teachers, requiring a "just cause" rationale for firing. The individual states each have established their own tenure systems. Tenure provides teachers with protections by making it difficult to fire teachers who earn tenure. Many states are focusing on tenure reform. Revisions would be made so that the tenure system no longer functions the same way as the existing tenure system functions.

Pro tenure reform

Many states are looking into reforming and even eliminating their teacher tenure system. Some of the states leading the movement include Florida, New Jersey, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania. Many argue that by granting teachers tenure, the education system is flooded with teachers who are no longer effective. Some argue that tenure grants teachers permanent positions regardless of whether or not they deserve a job. Many say because our education system is flooded with these ineffective teachers, students are suffering. Those who are pro reforming/eliminating tenure say having bad teachers in the education system is shortchanging too many children in American schools. Supporters of reforming/eliminating tenure feel that tenure does nothing but protect "bad" teachers and hurt students. They believe that tenure is given out too readily in America. Teachers should receive tenure based on their effectiveness rather than how long they have been teaching. Many feel that the process to fire a teacher takes too much time and money. This side of the debate feels it should be easier to fire tenured teachers. Many would also like to see teachers being evaluated based on their performance and their students' academic achievement. In eight states in America, tenure is given to teachers after just two years of teaching during the probation period. In two states, tenure is awarded after only one year of teaching during the probation period. Washington DC, our nation's capital, requires no set time for awarding tenure. Supporters of this motion feel that one or two years is too short a time to tell if a teacher is having a positive effect on their students. Before these teachers are granted lifetime job protection, they would like to see them perform on probation for a longer period of time. Reforms have been created in all forms. Some reforms call for longer probation periods while others call for stricter teacher evaluations. Other reforms wish to rid the tenure system completely and replace this system with renewable contracts.

Deadlines Without Dates

Roughly four years into the game, I’m still bad at making rigid goals. And why shouldn’t I be? I’m a laid back, flexible person. I dislike putting anything into concrete categories, so why should my work method be any different? Which is why, instead, I look to goal ideals. And then I find a way to make them work. I want to love my job, I want to grow as a writer, and of course, I want to make more money. Every day I work to make it happen. Through calendars, schedules, projects, or whatever other way, I continue to grow professionally. But the growth isn’t linear, like the grade school charts, they’re impractical, misshapen, and jut out in all types of directions.

Do my goals make sense to anyone else? No probably not. But at the end of the day (or at the end of the month or year), I’m professionally in a better place. No matter how often I check my “goals”. And while it may be unconventional, it’s also working.

Find the method that best captures your ethics and workflow to tap into this hidden potential.

Observations

In my observations being able to conform is an ability that one needs to have in order to succeed in the job market.  Everyone must be a follower before they can become a leader. Conforming is not the same for everyone.  Life is referred to as a “game” sometimes and as jovial as it may sound, it has truth to it.  If we play the “game” correctly, it opens up time for our own extra-curricular activities.  I believe that job security plays a huge role in people’s ability to conform. 

Conforming also has to do with the salary involved.  It may be beneficial to conform to a high paying job simply because t is high paying.  We may have to ask ourselves if it is worth the pay to conform otherwise.

How does this affect teachers?

Job conformity is essential in a teacher’s first 3 probationary years of teaching.  During those 3 years, teachers have to display that they can be a team player yet bring something to the table that keeps them aboard for a 4^th year.  Knowing when to conform and when to be an individual is a mix that everyone will have to find on his own.  After receiving tenure, teachers can become more and more of the individual that they want to be with less fear of being terminated.  A few years of conformity leads to many years of independence.

How does this affect students?

This is even more important to students that it is to teachers in my opinion.  Students are in a setting that requires them to conform to educational and societal standards until they graduate.  This experience provides them with a safe place to learn how to conform and how not to conform without serious detriment when they fail.  Once students graduate, many will be going into the workforce and must have and understand the necessity of the ability to conform. 

Citations

Merrow, John (2011-02-23). "It's Time to Debate Teacher Tenure". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2011-05-05.

Rotherham, Andrew J. (2011-01-27). "Teacher Tenure Debate: How to Modify Due-Process Rules". Time. Retrieved 2011-05-05.

Stewart E Brekke (2001). "Why Teachers Need Tenure". Teachers.Net. Retrieved 2011-05-05. http://www.job.com/career-advice/career-development/professional-goals-%E2%80%93-why-you-dont-need-to-conform.html

Response to "Revolution is not a Dinner Party".

As I read this book, it reminded me of Big Trouble in Little China the way nothing ever went right and the story got so outrageous with the revolution and everything that happened around it. BTiLC was the same way, the story kept getting crazier and more unbelievable.  The difference is that Dinner Party is close to the truth of what really happened even with how far-fetched it seemed to me.  A few chapters in, I also made a connection to the Salem witch trials and McCarthyism with communists.  I imagine that many students will not know of the Chinese Cultural Revolution (I didn’t until now) and how insane it really was.  I would like to know how much of this is taught in school.  Maybe it is not gone over as extensively because America has a lot going on at the time, and it is similar to McCarthyism.

After reading all these adolescent books, I ask myself if I would teach the book I read.  Usually I have to think about it, but this one was an automatic yes.  I think about how a kid will accept this book.  I think that it is so outrageous and interesting that for the most part they will want to know what happens next.  This book also seems like it could be a great intro into dystopian literature as it is almost one in itself.  This book is definitely a page turner.  This will be staying in my personal book collection and my repertoire of books to use as a teacher.

The most interesting aspect of the book is how the people began to treat the rich or people who were different.  Being rich or well off is everyone’s goal, but the idea created by Zedong made people band together and accept middle and mostly lower class as the better classes.  While the book didn’t go into it much, I think this is a good idea, but not from the perspective of the well-off citizens.  Creating a society that can band its lower classes together could be a great tool in creating a country.  I imagine that this is how communism is really supposed to work; making everyone equal.  Making everyone equal means that the rich are going to get the shaft when it comes to how they may have been accustomed to living.  Saying that, I still don’t think it was right and something this big should’ve been handled with much more care.  Changing anything is going to create opposition.  Zedong thought everyone was going to go along with the plan I guess.

China and China Revolution Response

When I think of China, I think about how many people live there and how they have population control restrictions.  They have about 1.3 billion people, which is about 4 times as much as the US.  I know that most of the population is focused in the big cities while there is still a lot in the rural part of China.  The population control is interesting because I want to know how it has helped or hindered China.  I have read that populations level themselves out once they cannot support more.  I forget what the term is called, but populations eventually find their own sweet spot.  Did China already find its own sweet spot and go way past it?  I don’t think they did, I think that they are just taking this precaution so that they do not have to deal with overpopulation when it becomes a real issue and everyone is starving to death.  Another interesting fact is that China has been militarized for about 4000 years, starting with the Han Dynasty. 

The Chinese Revolution started in 1946, which I found odd because it was at the end of WW2.  I know China was not as involved as others in WW2, but they certainly had their fair share of fighting.  I also remember that they did not far too well against the Japanese when they began to invade.  It must have been very hard on their country and peoples to be involved in a World War and once that ends jump into a civil war.  It also didn’t help that during WW2, the communists were located up in the north while the nationalists were in the south east, where Japan invaded, helping to thin them out and unintentionally make way for the communists to take over.  I can imagine that with Russia already communist, that China becoming communist was the start of the fear that swept the world and eventually led to The US-Vietnam scuffle.  Communism was a pretty popular idea back then.  Even just reading what communism is, it sounds like an awesome idea, but it is something that doesn’t seem to work the way that it is intended to in the long run. 

Now to write about what I was supposed to write about; the Cultural Revolution, not the communist revolution.  This revolution was set up by Zedong, who started the communist revolution.  Revolution always sounds like a good thing, but not in this case.  Mao’s Cultural Revolution caused a lot of problems for China and set them back in terms of party, state, and the people.  A revolution that wasn’t in the people’s best interest.  If anything it caused a rebellion against what needed to be changed.  It seems that China had its own version of communist paranoia with this revolution also.  They were so fearful of Red Guard infiltrating, that they began accusing everyone it seems and it went all the way up into leadership.  Zedong wanted to purge everyone and everything that he thought wasn’t in his best interest.  I can understand how he wanted to unify, but that is a tall order and when you try to change a lot, people will revolt.

US Immigration response

When I started researching this topic, The first text that I found was something that said "U.S. immigration law is very complex, and there is much confusion as to how it works".  This made me laugh because I knew before hand that immigration policies were extensive, but for the organizations website to say that as the first visible sentence, it really must be complex.  When looking through this website more, I noticed that there was a list of all the different types of immigration.  There were also alot of charts that dealt with US citizenship by relationship and visa, but I could not make heads or tails of it, referring back the the first statement on the web page.

The two types that most interested me were the refugee section and the diversity visa program.  I thought the refugee section was interesting because it is a matter that is deeply rooted with Spokane and its culture since it has a very large population of Eastern European population.  I know that not all are refugees, but I do know that some are, and they are not from one single place.  Before living in Spokane, i never knew of any refugees since they were not a part of where I had previously lived.  I am sure they were there, just not in large populations. Refugees are allowed in the US if they cannot return to their home because of well founded fear of being persecuted.  This can be race or politics or any thing else that is persecutable.  I found it interesting that there is a limit to how many refugees are allowed into the US each year and there is a cap set by the president.  I also found it interesting that the number of refugees since 2001 has severely declined.  Must be because of the terrorism.  It surprised me a little that there is a cap on the amount of refugees allowed in the US each year, but I knew it deep down inside.

The other type that I found interesting was the diversity visa program.  This is an immigration program that gives visas to people from countries with low rates of immigration to the US visas to the US.  SO it essentially gives people priority on countries who don't have a large presence in the US.  When i first heard this, the first thing that came to mind was politics and I rolled my eyes.  It seems like a way to make allies and get countries to be involved with the US.  I know it isn't a bad thing, but something bugs me about it and I am not sure what it is. I will have to think about this one.  Since this is a regional visa, most visas from this category come from Africa and Eastern Europe.

There is ALOT to immigration, enough to write a book on.  I'm sure someone has done it, and I will leave that to them.  I also feel sorry for people involved in this because it looks like its an extensive amount of knowledge that is not just black and white.

"Crossing the Wire" Response

Until reading the back of this book, I didn't realize that it was about Mexican border crossing.  Since we just had a big talk about the homeless and panhandlers in Spokane, I think that this story is fitting.  To come right out and say it, I have no remorse for panhandlers and illegal immigrants.  I am not to the point where i am standing outside or Trader Joe's every Saturday trying to get signatures for a petition, but it is something that I have always hated.  Hate is a strong word and i know that when I use it.  I feel like I have been jaded with bad experiences with illegals and this book is a great perspective from a different angle.  

I know that illegals and homeless are not to be lumped into one category.  There are homeless out there who don't beg for money day and night and there are illegals who aren't working under the table for the rest of their lives.  Victor is interesting because he is so young when he tries to come to America.  He hasn't had the chance to grow up into poverty, but he knows that the grass certainly looks greener on the other side.  While reading this, i felt very bad for Victor, just knowing what his future would look like when he arrived to America.  He would only be able to find under the table work and would constantly be sending money back home or using it to support them, leaving little for himself.  To me, the total ending is the most depressing part.  Victor is picking from the lesser of two evils.  To think that Victor would make this treacherous and illegal journey just to go to a place that could offer just a little better shows how desperate he is and how much he cares for his family.  I was surprised when he was caught and deported back, only to try again.  I would think that for him, it was a scary situation, but that wasn't the thing he was most scared about.  He was scared about not being able to survive and not helping his family survive.  

Like "Sold" this story shows another perspective on a coming of age story.  I guess most adolescent books are coming of age stories in a way.  "Sold' was good because it showed a horrifying coming of age tale that seemed a world away even though it was true.  It is very easy to disconnect from that book and the idea of slavery after reading it.  "Wire" is very different because it is something that is much closer to home.  Maybe not to Spokane, but in general it is a known issue in the US.  Spokane is a bit of an oddball in this case, but there are plenty of seasonal workers that migrate around where the work is in between Spokane and Seattle.  We all have our initial views on illegals, and Victor shows that there is nothing else for some of them to do instead of cross into the US.  This book shows something that isn't to prevalent in the US; people who have to emigrate to provide for themselves or their families.  Even for the impoverished in the US, they don't have to jump ship to another country.  Through Victor, we see why it is so important that he crosses the border.

This book is definitely a look at illegal immigration without the political viewpoints, which is a nice change.  I like that the book isn't about the politics involved, but Vic's struggle to provide.  While he got across and now works at an asparagus factory, I cant help but think that the sadness involved with this tale has yet to come.  Like "Sold", he is paying a debt to his family that will most likely never be completely paid off, much like the prostitution debt that Lakshmi was faced with.  While they are two different debts, that idea really connect the two stories to me.  I think that when reading in a classroom, that connection could be good to emphasize the background idea of money that drives these two books.

Response to "Sold"

I wasn't expecting this to be a light book going in.  I knew what it was going to be about and am glad I knew before hand.  It is always weird to pick up a book and be super shocked by the material.  I say this because after reading, this is going to be a book that i put in my tool belt of good books to use for a classroom.  This book was interesting and hard to put down once picked up.  For me at least it was.  When I go into books now, I ask myself would I care about this when I was a kid, because I hated reading then.  Even with the gritty subject matter, this book will be one that gets students' attention and keep it.

While reading, the only thing that I could think was about how outlandish this book really seemed.  None of what happened was something that i imagined was happening.  Knowing that it was a true story, it was something that I had to keep reminding myself of when reading.  I also think this is good for students because it takes an issue that is current world and exposes it to them without giving them material that is dated or obsolete.  I think that the strong point of the book is that it is a true story and it is happening around the world.  It is a bit of an eye opener because after reading about how this all happened, I can see similar situations happening everywhere.  The way she sets the story up with a  hard working mother and dead beat father is not something new and is probably quite prominent around the world.  It was so easy for him to sell his daughter into slavery.  While he didn't express that he knew exactly what it was, I think that he had an idea or would not admit it to himself.  But that also raises another question about the situation.  What would have happened to the girl if she stayed at home rather than being sold into slavery?  I know that it is a touchy subject and not one with an easy answer.  I think either way, her life would have been bad.  While I don't think that slavery is good, I wonder if it was what made her into the person she is today.  It reminds me of the Johnathan Swift story "A Modest Proposal" where he satirically provides a solution to eliminating poverty by having the poor sell their babies to the rich in order to eat.  He made light of the situation but really hit the nail on the head about the subject.  There is no easy answer to how to eliminate human trafficking or poverty.

One thing that struck me was that this book also doubled as a coming of age tale, but not one that was a generic American one.  I feel like those books are a dime-a-dozen.  Books like this and "Night" are great ones to show the bad side of coming of age tales.  Wiesel's coming of age was surviving in a death camp and watching his father die.  Lakshmi's coming of age was having to have sex with random men at the age of 12.  She didn't get any preparation, just a notification that she owed 30,000(?) rupees for her freedom and she would receive 30 per costumer.  She was going to be in for the long haul and she knew it.  She had to grow up right there because she would not have survived otherwise.

Research on Nepal

The first thing l I did when looking up Nepal is look to find out where it is located.  When I saw that it is in between China and India, I figured that it was going to end up being a little bit of both Chinese and Indian Culture.  Having been over to that area, I remember how harsh the weather was.  It is alot like Spokane with the four seasons, but each season is amplified.  Nepal has some very hot summers, harsh winters, and even a sub tropical summers in the south.  I always found the transition between harsh winters and extremely hot summers very hard to deal with.  I imagine that this makes a very hardened type of people or nomads that are from here.  

When I looked to see what ethnic groups there were in Nepal, I was very surprised that there were many and the highest percentage was no more than 16%.  Nepal really is a melting pot or salad bowl when it comes to ethnicity.  This may be one of the most diverse places that I have ever seen.  When it comes to religion, Hindu makes up a large part at 81%.  I found this to be interesting because Nepal was the birth place of Buddha, so I wonder if Nepal has always been this way or changed over time.  Maybe Buddha was Hindu.  I also know that China has taken Tibet and made it apart of their country and wonder if they are looking to absorb Nepal also.  From what i found in my research they are not.  The Dali Lama calls Nepal his home now, after Tibet was absorbed back into China.  I guess the Chinese aren't after him, it was mostly just about Tibet.

Next I looked at the type of government that Nepal has.  The have  "Federal Democratic Republic".  This title seemed very odd to me for some reason that I cant place my finger on.  I feel like it is a translation that does not translate well.  They operate by English common law and Hindu legal concepts.  I found this to be interesting because it reflects a time when British ruled parts of India and how that rubbed off on the whole area.  They were able to take ideas from their old governors and meld them with their nation's belief system.

Since Nepal is so close to Everest, I wanted to look up Sherpas.  They are an ethnic group that is found mostly by the mountainous regions.  They are famous for being guides and porters to people climbing mountains and going on other expeditions.  I thought that it was very interesting that Sherpas do not suffer from the effects of altitude and low oxygen because of their genetics and upbringing.  Hearing how people adapt to environments is something that i have always found to be interesting.  It must be funny for them to see others deal with altitude and low oxygen.  It reminds me of southern Africa, as many of the people have sickle cell anemia because the shape of the blood cells give them an immunity to malaria.  having sickle cell anemia means that their blood does not get as much oxygen, so they would never make it up a mountain before passing out and dying.  The ways in which bodies adapt to their environment shows how different people really are.

NES/WEST Research

When researching about the differences and advantages of taking the NES as opposed to the WEST-E, I found a lot of information that makes the NES look like the easier and better option to take for teacher certification.  All of the research listed below shows the advantages to taking the NES, which are: (1) it is 100% computer based testing, (2) Portable results that can compare students’ scores to those of other stats and provide national customer support, (3) immediate test score results for multiple choice, (4) two Spokane Valley locations and greater testing time availability offered year round, (5) and unlike the WEST-E, the NES is applicable in all states.  The information below is an expansion of the five advantages of taking the NES.

                Before reading about the NES, I didn’t have an opinion about taking either.  Since I have taken the WEST-B and know how the WEST-E will be done, I cringe having to do that again.  As others in this class know, the test took up almost all five hours that were allotted and it was a lot of writing.  It was not a fun experience, and having to sign up months in advance and then drive to Mead High only to wait months for your test results were not fun.  What is worse is that this test only certifies the taker in the state of Washington.  Being so close to Idaho makes it a less desirable option since the test is not accepted there for teacher certification.  The NES fixes all of those problems, bringing all aspects of the test into the present with technology and national usability.  Mass paper testing is outmoded and a waste of money for something that can be done on a computer.  While I have not taken either the WEST or the NES exit tests, I find that the NES just sounds like the better option because of the testing methods and the usability nationwide.

                This is important information because it not only makes testing easier, it makes the test so that we as students can take it whenever we need and can pick our own test date rather than schedule one months in advance.  The NES will allow teachers who take it to be certified in multiple states rather than just in Washington.  With teaching jobs being scarce in Spokane, it makes sense for the students who will be moving away to other places to find jobs.  Lastly, the NES and the WEST-E do have much to do with prospective teachers, but it means nothing for future students and will not affect instruction. 

Here is some of the important information that I pulled from the NES and WEST websites that I thought would be pertinent for those who will have to decide on which test to take. 

NES Testing Information              

100% Computer-Based Testing

A computer-based test design means access to tests in all fields by appointment, year round—no waiting for an assigned date before registering to test in a specific field—and immediate score reporting for most results.  A nationwide network of conveniently located secure, professional testing centers allows both in-state and out-of-state applicants to complete the testing required for certification.

**Can I take the test on computer? WEST-E tests are available only in paper-pencil format. 

Portable Results

The NES is optimized for a mobile educator workforce. This gives both states and candidates a national reach through computer-based testing at test centers throughout the United States, easy access to registration and comprehensive preparation materials on the Internet, and national customer support.  Detailed feedback on candidate performance—and data reports that include national and state benchmark information—aid in simplifying comparability of candidates from state to state and portability in test scores.

When do candidates receive their scores?

The NES offers immediate scores for most tests as a result of the 100% computer-based testing program design. Certification candidates receive more detailed results reports shortly after the test date.

Spokane Testing Locations

2. Select up to four (4) test centers to search for appointment dates and times. Once you choose a test center, its name will be displayed in the Selected Test Center list below. When you have completed your selection(s), click Next.

		Test Center	Information	**Distance	City	State/Province	Country	Map
		Pearson Professional Centers-Spokane WA		6.7	Spokane Valley	Washington	United States
		ITT Technical Institute		9.3	Spokane Valley	Washington	United States
		North Idaho College Workforce Training Center		19.3	Post Falls	Idaho	United States
		Lewis-Clark State College		85.7	Lewiston	Idaho	United States
		Walla Walla Community College		114.5	Walla Walla	Washington	United States

NES Test Information

Format	Computer-based test (CBT); 150 multiple-choice questions
Time	Three hours
Test Dates	By appointment, year round. Test appointments are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Check seat availability.
Test Sites	CBT sites are located nationwide. Locate a test center .
Passing Score	National Benchmark score: 220 Find the passing score in your state: Arizona | Oregon | Wisconsin
Reference Materials Provided for this Test	None.
Test Fee	$95. Review payment information.
Score Reporting	A scaled score is provided immediately after testing; score reports are released within two weeks of testing.
Testing Policies	When you register, you must agree to abide by all testing rules and policies. Read them now.
Prepare	View the preparation materials available for this test.

Tests may include test questions that are being evaluated for future administrations and that do not affect a candidate's score.

Test Results

Test Results. In this section, you will find your total test score for the test and date listed. This score is based on the number of items you answered correctly and is converted to a scale that ranges from 100 to 300. For those tests that include both multiple-choice and constructed-response sections, you can find each section’s contribution to your total test score in the “Diagnostic Information” section of your score report.

National Benchmark. A score of 220 represents the National Benchmark for all NES tests. This score does not determine your passing status. Passing status is determined by the teacher certification agency in the state in which you are seeking certification. State-specific passing standards are available at www.nestest.com.

Score Reporting. In this section of your score report, you will find information about where your scores have been sent. The states and institutions listed on your score report are the selections you made during test registration.

NES--http://www.nestest.com/Home.aspx
West--http://www.west.nesinc.com/