Teaching ESL
-Becca here!
Since July, I've been volunteering at Neighborhood House in St. Paul
teaching English. The students are adults and most of the them, though not
all are Latino immigrants. Tuesdays are long days for me, and my weeks this
semester seem filled to the brim. As tired as I am going to volunteer, I'm
always happy I go. Why? Because my students are really great people. I
really wish people that fear immigrants or group them into negative
stereotypes would come sit in on my class. Each one of the twenty some
students that show up on a given tuesday evening have something to share.
They are good parents and spouses, they have great senses of humor and
attitudes, and many, from what they write in their journals, just want
better lives for their children and grandchildren. Isn't this the so called
American dream? In the few months I've been teaching, my students have
taught me so much about humans and compassion. Have any of you learned
something new etc from the community you are serving?
Thoughts on the Immigration and Economics In Minnesota Lecture:
-Becca here!
I attended a lecture and discussion panel on the state of immigration
and the economy in Minnesota last thursday. I wasn't sure what to expect
when I sat down, but I came away with a lot of new perspectives and a few
cold hard facts.
There were a number of speakers, a couple professors and experts on
ecomonics, and a couple of Mexican educators and officials. Many of the
points that they brought up were things I was already familiar with, such
as some of the economic benefits and truths about who pays taxes. One thing
that I found very eye opening was the information about the state of the
economy after most of the baby boomer generation retires. The population
working will decrease dramatically. Who is going to be able to fill those
jobs, who will be filling the ever increasing need for health care
positions? The answer, according to the lecture would have to include
immigrants. There is no way only native u.s. citizens could step into the
huge space that the large baby boomer generation would leave. When you
think about this, it makes sense....our economy would come to a standstill
if those spots were not filled. They also addressed many of the stereotypes
that people use with immigrants, such as they are trouble makers, taking
jobs from americans, and not paying taxes. What are your thoughts? What
stereotypes have you heard? Have you ever had a discussion with someone
outside of an academic setting about immigration?
This posting was submitted by Liqiong:
Hi everyone, Liqiong here.
This is my first time in the US and I've now been in Minnesota for four months. I've been enjoying everything here sooooo far.
There is a question that I would like to ask all of you guys. After I came here, I found volunteering in the US to be very common and popular, not only among students but also some adults.
What a different situation compared with China! We don't do much volunteer work, everyone doesn't have the awareness to volunteer. I also heard from you guys that you started to do volunteer work since you were very young.
I would like to ask why people think volunteering is so popular in the US. Or what sort of things did you consider whenever you decide to do volunteer work?
Welcome to our class blog! For the first post I have provided two videos from the website of an international nonprofit organization called TED. TED serves as a forum for spreading ideas around the world. Both of these videos are lectures, but both speakers are very entertaining and I promise they will be worth your time. Sir Ken Robinson's talk is about radically altering the education system to serve creativity, not only in America but worldwide. The second link is for Dan Pink's talk about motivation. Perhaps some of the ideas that come from this blog will prove his argument. Once unleashed from academic 'carrots', like we are in this blog, will your own creativity respond in new ways to the same academic material?
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/dan_pink_on_motivation.html#
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html
Feel free to discuss one of the talks, both, or none at all. Also feel free to share other articles, videos, or other things you find interesting that relate to the discussion. If the links don't work for you just go to www.ted.com. In the search bar type 'ken robinson says schools kill creativity' and 'dan pink on the surprising science of motivation.'
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