Looping Sketch#7: A Person's Name

Who likes someone misspelling or mispronouncing their name? If counted the number of times that people spelled my name "kelly" instead of "kellie", then I would be a millionaire. I know that "Kelly" is the normal way to spend the name but the difference of two letters is not so hard to understand. I never understood why teachers kept misspelling my name and I never will. This semester a professor misspelled my name on the comments he wrote for my essay, even though my name was in the front page of my essay and on the header. Likewise, when has the name "kellie" ever been pronounced like "kel-lie"? A high school teacher kept pronouncing the end of my name like the word "lie" and no matter how many times I corrected it, she never pronounced it right. She tried calling me by my last name, Rovira, but her pronunciation was nothing close to my name. According to the podcast, "Cult of Pedagogy",  even if students stop correcting the teacher, that does not mean the students do not care. Therefore, as a future bilingual teacher I will make sure to try my best to pronounce everyone's name correctly. I might make each student present themselves on the first day, so that way I can hear the pronunciation of their name. I will not always get it correct, but I will apologize and keep trying, because every name out there is important and matters.




Image: from article-  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3805142/Is-mispronouncing-student-s-micro-aggression-Campaign-urges-teachers-country-make-effort-right.html

Cult of Pedagogy Podcast Episode #23: https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/gift-of-pronunciation/

Looping Sketch#6 What has history shaped?

History has influenced a variety of aspects from the devices that we used today to our own thoughts. Why do some people say that the past is unimportant and that there is no use talking about it? History affects our dreams and our values. What would have happened if cars were not made and technology was not invented in the last couple of decades? History helped people, grow and try to embrace their values and their dreams. According to the article, "A Brief History of Lawns", as human knowledge increased, politics and economics also changed. Our current life is not perfect, but now some of us can be seen as more blessed compared to people in the past. History influences our way of life, since things do not stay the same, and people have to accommodate to change. History shapes our whole life, so we need to be informed and accept what happened in the past. Therefore, I will try my best to teach the truth and tell my students that history has power over who we are. Do you know the name of some of your ancestors? Do you know how much your ancestors fought for rights or how much they suffered? Knowledge of history makes us a better person, so everyone should study it and be open to accepting how history shapes your life.



Image: https://wisdomquotes.com/history-quotes/

Article:

Harari, Y. N. (2016). Homo deus: A brief history of tomorrow. 

Looping Sketch #5 Why do some people not want to face history?

Who are you? How can someone answer that question completely when they do not know the history of their families's past. In the article, "Teaching What Really Happened", we are informed of the misconceptions that people are taught. Why do people want us to be passive? Everyone should be taught the truth even if it is uncomfortable. Teaching the truth about history is important, because that is how we get knowledge of what happened in the past and about how we are a little bit more privileged than people in the past. We need to face the fact that so many people died and fought until the end for human rights, voting rights, inclusion, immigration, and overall justice for every single person. Facing history and caring about the past will help us understand ourselves better and the people around us. Do you want to go back to the way the United States was in the early 1900's or do you want to learn about the past and make a change to the future of this world?

Loewen, J. W. (2010). Teaching what really happened: How to avoid the tyranny of textbooks and get students excited about doing history. New York: Teachers College Press, Columbia University

Looping Sketch #4 Language Discrimination

I live in a city that is really diverse, but what about other cities in this country? This country has a lot of multilingual communities, so it is only fair that there are people employed who speak different languages within these communities. If the U.S. House of Representative has representatives based on population, will there ever be a day were representation will depend on language? Yes, we are in the year 2020, but it is still sad to see that people are being discriminated and treated poorly because of their language. A post office in the state of Chicago was accused of discrimination against non-English customers, and after one person posted about this, a lot people agreed and voiced their opinion of the discrimination in this post office. Likewise, in the article Black Ants and Buddhists we see that workers are trying to learn the language so they can defend themselves and live in the community. Our classroom will have students that are not English proficient and we have the power to educate them and embrace their native language. I do not want any of my students to feel discriminated and will do my best for them to succeed in this country.

Ballesteros, Carlos. “Post Office in Pilsen Accused of Discriminating against Non-English Speaking Customers.” Times, Chicago Sun-Times, 8 Feb. 2020, chicago.suntimes.com/2020/2/7/21128343/pilsen-post-office-spanish-speakers-byron-sigcho-lopez-jesus-chuy-garcia. 

          https://chicago.suntimes.com/2020/2/7/21128343/pilsen-post-office-spanish-speakers-     byron-sigcho-lopez-jesus-chuy-garcia

Cowhey, M. (2006). Black ants and buddhists: thinking critically and teaching differently in the primary grades. Portland: Stenhouse.

Looping Sketch #3 Culture

Culture becomes blended when a person from another country comes to the United States and learns the customs, norms, and ways of the country they currently live in. For example, in the article Black Ants and Buddhists, the Central American workers want to learn English so they can defend themselves and can live in the American society. In our school system we have students that recently arrived to this country and have to learn the culture of this country, but that does not mean they have to give up their culture. Students should be able to embrace their own culture and be who they are. Therefore, teachers need to understand students' stories, so once in a while teachers can do the activity we did in class where we said what one item would we send someone that represents our culture.

Cowhey, M. (2006). Black ants and buddhists: thinking critically and teaching differently in the primary grades. Portland: Stenhouse.

Image: https://www.google.com/search?q=culture&safe=strict&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS809US809&sxsrf=ACYBGNSf1KwP7UO5Nr6uIH7VjpVqO4ib_g:1580751289776&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiIreu49bXnAhXRG80KHbumBEsQ_AUoAXoECBMQAw&biw=1440&bih=789#imgrc=YDKucTDgzyMwgM

Looping Sketch #2 The Importance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did a lot for this country and students should understand what he did. Dr. King supported nonviolence, but students should not confuse that with not fighting back, because students should speak up for what they believe in and fight for ways to make this country a better place. Therefore, the part "Now let us rededicate ourselves to the long and bitter- but beautiful- struggle for a new world", makes me feel a little bit uncomfortable, because have we achieved the new world Dr. King was hoping for or not yet? There is still a lot of racism and unfairness in this world even though we are not asked to be segregated. Now days, we still have to challenge some of the regulations set by the government, since there are a lot of problems in our current society whether it be due to immigration, racism, or poverty.

Article: A Revolution of Values by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.