Dear Native in the DAWG House,
I'm sorry. I have no excuses.
Love, Michael
In other news, I have a meeting with my adviser today. I hope that it is a fruitful one because I really need to turn this corner which will hopefully equate to the "final stretch". The final stretch means 4 things: 1) promotion to candidacy (which means you are qualified to do research; 2) written exam (demonstrating my comprehensive understanding of my discipline); 3) last course requirement in the EDLPS program (!); 4) dissertation! So, there's really that much to do. Hehehe.
I really am chuckling because even though I am being sarcastic, I am also being realistic to what remains for my degree and I'm ready for it.
What I am NOT ready for is the change that will come with the completion of this degree. I (And when I say 'I' I hardly mean me, myself, and I. I really mean I and my mentors and confidantes.) have been contemplating what I will do next after completing this tremendous accomplishment. What would you do? See, it's not that easy to answer, is it?? I think the real quandary for me is the vast ideas of what I could do. Further, it is a challenge when friends and family ask, "What are you going to do when you finish?" I know they mean no harm, but try to think of it this way: Say we were driving together, you're driving (You're a horrible drive, btw). What if I asked you, "Which way are you going to turn?" every time we came to an intersection? I mean, you know where your going, right? You don't, because I didn't set it up in this story. And, that's my point, your driving probably sucks because I'm asking you all these questions at every intersection and the destination is unwritten.
Did I mention that my dissertation will focus on the history of education? Also, did I mention that it will focus on the College of Ethnic Studies that existed at Western Washington State College (Western Washington University) from 1969 to 1978? If you don't know, now you know.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Sunday, April 26, 2009
The ABC's & Purpose of WE!-- SOC Conference, Yakima, WA
Here is the workshop outline & activity descriptions for the last workshop Melchor and I presented in Yakima, WA. If you plan to use this material, if you can, please give us some props. Also, let me know if you can't understand how to do something. Sometimes the descriptions might get confusing as well as the philosophy behind it. Also, the formatting looks a bit weird on blogger. Enjoy!
Northwest Students of Color Conference
Friday, April 17, 2009
Yakima Convention Center, Yakima, Washington
“Uniting Colors, Shaping the Future!”
Presented by:
Michael M. Vendiola
Melchor M. Vendiola
The ABC’s and Purpose of “WE”!
In America now, too many of us treat the choices by which we decide our common future as the territory of others. We feel that we don't know enough to act on issues that concern us, and that our actions will make no difference, our voices will never be heard. This creates a self-fulfilling prophecy. The more we withdraw from civic life, the more we leave immensely consequential decisions to a politics driven by greed, short-sightedness, and expediency. Conversely, the more we take on the difficult problems of our time, the more we can tap common power, creativity, and strength.*
Attention Getters: Use these to get everyone’s attention!
• Yell out, “Did someone lose a $20 bill?”: People’s ears usually perk right up.
• Clap once if you can hear me… Clap twice if you can hear me. Keeping going up until it’s completely silent.
• Quiet Coyote hand signal. You’ll have to be creative with this one. I like to say that Quiet Coyote is quiet because he ROCKED OUT too hard and now he’s deaf.
Introduction of Facilitators/Goal of the workshop
• Measure of Success
o Was it memorable?
o Was it Useful?
o Did you have fun?
Healthy Things for a community: Use this to get the group to focus!
• Affirming Identity: Who are you? What do you stand for?
• Building Unity: What do you have in common with other people?
• Cultivating Leadership: How can you make your community stronger?
Affirming Identity: Who are you? What do you stand for?
True Leadership Points North: Use this to demonstrate the beauty of multiple perspectives!
1. Everyone stand and find a bit of space where you can outstretch your arms without hitting anyone.
2. Close your eyes.
3. Position your whole body so it faces north and reach your hand forward and point exactly north with your pointer finger.
4. Keep your hands in place and open your eyes.
5. Explain that we all come from different places and have different perspectives. Explain the importance of honoring everyone’s perspectives even when you are sure they are wrong! (It’s process on how to work together. Then you’ll find the answers!)
6. Patience goes a long way. Also, sometimes people need a leader to point the way. Direct everyone to point north. It’s that way! We’re all together now!
7. Listening = Silence
Star Wars: Use this as a fun way to get comfortable!
1. Everyone get into a large circle around the room.
2. Close your eyes.
3. When you open your eyes make and keep eye contact with one person across the room (repeat this instruction a few times!).
4. Go to that person. Partner up. Say hello! Give them a hug!
5. Tell the group you are going to remake Star Wars (or you can make up 3 characters of your own).
• Chewbacca: Act out make the sounds of Chewbacca.
• Darth Vader: Act out Darth Vader using the force on someone while making a zapping noise.
• Yoda: Act out Yoda by making yourself short and giving yourself ears and saying the line, “Help you I will!”
6. Go through each character again with the partners facing each other.
7. Now get back to back. Without talking try to guess which character your partner will act out when you face each other.
8. On three, jump around, face your partner, and act out the character you think your partner will do. 1, 2, 3!
9. Change partners and repeat steps 7 & 8.
With your partner discuss:
• What makes up your identity?
• What makes you uncomfortable about your identity?
Building Community: What do you have in common with other people?
Musical Hula Hoops: Use this to mix up a large group (and form small groups if you need to)!
1. Everyone spread out in the room. Give yourself some space to move around.
2. We’re going to play some music. Each song will be a different style of music. When you hear the song, dance the style of dance you think is appropriate to that song. Enjoy yourself!
3. Really Important: For each genre of music someone in the room will be an expert on how to dance to that type of music. Quickly find them and emulate what they do.
4. As you can see, we’ve spread out some hoops on the floor. When the music stops you are to go to the nearest hoop and stand inside of it. EVERYONE must be inside a hoop. (It’s important to make sure you have enough hoops for everyone to easily fit into a hoop. Webbing to make hoops is available at REI.)
5. Let’s give it a try. (Play music and once everyone has moved around a bit stop the music.)
6. Okay, here’s the real thing. (Play music.)
7. (You might stop and start the music a few times so that the group gets a hang of the idea.)
8. (Now, begin to remove hoops from different areas of the floor. This will cause the other hoops to become snug when the music stops.)
9. Keep dancing! (Keep removing hoops until you have a nice snug group in each hoop.)
Aristotle once said that a barbaric culture consumes all of its resources for the present, whereas a civilized culture preserves them for later generations. Many of our society's most destructive present actions yield consequences whose gravest implications aren't immediately apparent. That's true of our casual destruction of the planet. It's true of our writing off entire communities of young men and women who will grow into adulthood bereft of hope and skills. It's true when we say, in one of the richest countries in the world, that we can't afford to address our most pressing common problems.*
Amoebas: Use this to get all the small groups to work together and eventually work to form a whole large group!
1. Staying in your small group, reach down and pick up your hoop. Fit as many people as you can on the inside.
2. Everyone who is on the outside of the group must face outward so that both hands are on the hoop.
3. If you have both hands on the hoop close your eyes and keep them shut (Repeat a couple times).
4. The people on the inside are the only ones who can keep their eyes open.
5. Your goal is move as a group and form together with all of the other groups. When you form up with another group yell out, “WOO HAA!” so that the people with their eyes closed know you’ve accomplished something. Keeping joining together until all the groups are joined together.
6. GO!
The most successful attempts to heal our society's ills and promote human dignity are often local grassroots efforts; imagine their impact if we gave them enough resources to do their work as well and as powerfully as possible instead of forcing them to scramble constantly for crumbs.*
Hula Hoop Races: Use these for some friendly competition and to allow groups to get to know each other!
1. Staying in your small group, get on the outside of the hoop and grab on with two hands.
2. Notice how you all connected. You all are like a community. Each person can feel every small ripple.
3. While holding on to the hoop, work as a team to move the knot around the circle.
4. See how fast you can get it around!
5. Let’s have some friendly competition! Let’s see which group is the fastest to get the knot around the circle. (Have someone be a spotter.)
6. (After racing a few more times have everyone calm down and start the next activity.)
7. Keep the knot going. When I yell, “Stop!” stop the knot wherever it is.
8. Who ever has the knot in front of them has a chance to ask a quick question (examples):
a. What’s your favorite color?
b. Where are you from?
c. What’s your name?
9. Everyone responds quickly and then you get the knot going again.
10. Go!
Imagine if we taught how ordinary citizens have changed the world, again and again, even against entrenched resistance. Young women and men just coming of age would learn the stories of citizen efforts like the abolitionist, women's suffrage, populist, union, civil rights, and environmental movements: How ordinary people have learned to act despite their flaws, hesitations, and failings; learned to persevere, even under the most difficult of circumstances; learned to keep on until they prevailed. Historical examples can teach how seemingly impossible efforts can create powerful change. They give a sense of possibility that counters cultural cynicism. They allow those coming of age to think not only about addressing small, immediate issues, but also their deeper roots. They teach the arts and skills of democracy—how to reach out to our fellow citizens, organize them for change, and make our common voice heard.*
Cultivating Leadership: How can you make your community stronger?
Agree/Disagree: Use this to build a sense of what your whole community is like!
1. Gather in front of the signs. (Point each one out.)
2. A statement will be read out loud and after each statement you are to position yourself next to the sign that makes the most sense for you.
3. For this activity it is REALLY important that you honor everyone’s opinion by respecting it. This is not an opportunity to argue. It is an opportunity to see the makeup your group. (You might emphasize that you’ll be spending the day/week/year working together.)
4. After everyone positions themselves, I will ask some clarifying questions to get your opinion of why you chose the position you’ve chosen.
5. Let’s give it a try.
1. Strawberry ice cream is my favorite ice cream flavor.
6. Get the idea? Try to be as truthful as possible and try not to stick to one sign! (The words in brackets can be used to ask the clarifying questions and are usually related to the theme of the gathering. The statements you use can be made up of ideas that you are trying to accomplish with bringing the group together.)
2. Dogs are better pets than cats.
3. I prefer the color green over the color purple.
4. It irritates me when people talk on their cell phone in a public place where I can fully understand their conversation.
5. I feel comfortable talking on my cell phone publicly and do so often.
6. I’ll be the first in my family to go to college. (Access/opportunity)
7. Growing up I felt like I had “enough”. (Class)
8. I consider myself to be a leader. (Leadership)
9. I know of a really good leader.
10. I have good plan for my future. (Goal setting)
11. I prefer working alone rather than working in a group to get things done. (Working together)
12. I have a strong urge to contribute to the community. (Community building)
13. I’ve been picked on because of my Race. (Race)
14. I’ve picked on someone else That may have been hurtful.
15. I currently practice some part of my cultural heritage. (Native Language & songs)
16. I love to have fun!
17. Michael & Melchor are the bomb.com!
25 Rules for Happiness: Use for some thoughts to ponder on leadership!
P.M. Forni, cofounder of the Johns Hopkins Civility Project identifies twenty-five rules that are most essential in connecting effectively and happily with others. They are:
1. Pay Attention
2. Acknowledge Others
3. Think the Best
4. Listen
5. Be Inclusive
6. Speak Kindly
7. Don’t Speak Ill
8. Accept and Give Praise
9. Respect Even a Subtle “No”
10. Respect Others’ Opinions
11. Mind Your Body
12. Be Agreeable
13. Keep It Down (and Rediscover Silence)
14. Respect Other People’s Time
15. Respect Other People’s Space
16. Apologize Earnestly and Thoughtfully
17. Assert Yourself
18. Avoid Personal Questions
19. Care for Your Guests
20. Be a Considerate Guest
21. Think Twice Before Asking for Favors
22. Refrain from Idle Complaints
23. Give Constructive Criticism
24. Respect the Environment and Be Gentle to Animals
25. Don’t Shift Responsibility and Blame
Closing thoughts: Use this to close up the activity and have the group reflect on what they’ve accomplished!
Measure of Success
• Was it memorable?
• Was it Useful?
• Did you have fun?
In small groups discuss:
• What happened? What was interesting?
• What are the ABC’s of WE?
• What are some things you can take with you from this experience?
Thoughts on leadership:
• Crush your idea of what a leader is and put yourself in the picture as a leader.
• Surround yourself with competent, dedicated, & caring people.
• Find a leader you like, whether it’s someone you know or read about, and study them intensely.
Thoughts on working together:
• We all have a place in the community that leads to a purpose. Find out what is your purpose!
• Community Leadership means: We’re ALL RIGHT! & We’re ALRIGHT!
Thoughts on Community Organizing & YOU:
• A helping hand is always nice… Especially when it’s from you.
• Don’t always look at what’s wrong. Look at what’s right and make it happen more!
*Italicized excerpts from Citizenship by Paul Rogat Loeb
Northwest Students of Color Conference
Friday, April 17, 2009
Yakima Convention Center, Yakima, Washington
“Uniting Colors, Shaping the Future!”
Presented by:
Michael M. Vendiola
Melchor M. Vendiola
The ABC’s and Purpose of “WE”!
In America now, too many of us treat the choices by which we decide our common future as the territory of others. We feel that we don't know enough to act on issues that concern us, and that our actions will make no difference, our voices will never be heard. This creates a self-fulfilling prophecy. The more we withdraw from civic life, the more we leave immensely consequential decisions to a politics driven by greed, short-sightedness, and expediency. Conversely, the more we take on the difficult problems of our time, the more we can tap common power, creativity, and strength.*
Attention Getters: Use these to get everyone’s attention!
• Yell out, “Did someone lose a $20 bill?”: People’s ears usually perk right up.
• Clap once if you can hear me… Clap twice if you can hear me. Keeping going up until it’s completely silent.
• Quiet Coyote hand signal. You’ll have to be creative with this one. I like to say that Quiet Coyote is quiet because he ROCKED OUT too hard and now he’s deaf.
Introduction of Facilitators/Goal of the workshop
• Measure of Success
o Was it memorable?
o Was it Useful?
o Did you have fun?
Healthy Things for a community: Use this to get the group to focus!
• Affirming Identity: Who are you? What do you stand for?
• Building Unity: What do you have in common with other people?
• Cultivating Leadership: How can you make your community stronger?
Affirming Identity: Who are you? What do you stand for?
True Leadership Points North: Use this to demonstrate the beauty of multiple perspectives!
1. Everyone stand and find a bit of space where you can outstretch your arms without hitting anyone.
2. Close your eyes.
3. Position your whole body so it faces north and reach your hand forward and point exactly north with your pointer finger.
4. Keep your hands in place and open your eyes.
5. Explain that we all come from different places and have different perspectives. Explain the importance of honoring everyone’s perspectives even when you are sure they are wrong! (It’s process on how to work together. Then you’ll find the answers!)
6. Patience goes a long way. Also, sometimes people need a leader to point the way. Direct everyone to point north. It’s that way! We’re all together now!
7. Listening = Silence
Star Wars: Use this as a fun way to get comfortable!
1. Everyone get into a large circle around the room.
2. Close your eyes.
3. When you open your eyes make and keep eye contact with one person across the room (repeat this instruction a few times!).
4. Go to that person. Partner up. Say hello! Give them a hug!
5. Tell the group you are going to remake Star Wars (or you can make up 3 characters of your own).
• Chewbacca: Act out make the sounds of Chewbacca.
• Darth Vader: Act out Darth Vader using the force on someone while making a zapping noise.
• Yoda: Act out Yoda by making yourself short and giving yourself ears and saying the line, “Help you I will!”
6. Go through each character again with the partners facing each other.
7. Now get back to back. Without talking try to guess which character your partner will act out when you face each other.
8. On three, jump around, face your partner, and act out the character you think your partner will do. 1, 2, 3!
9. Change partners and repeat steps 7 & 8.
With your partner discuss:
• What makes up your identity?
• What makes you uncomfortable about your identity?
Building Community: What do you have in common with other people?
Musical Hula Hoops: Use this to mix up a large group (and form small groups if you need to)!
1. Everyone spread out in the room. Give yourself some space to move around.
2. We’re going to play some music. Each song will be a different style of music. When you hear the song, dance the style of dance you think is appropriate to that song. Enjoy yourself!
3. Really Important: For each genre of music someone in the room will be an expert on how to dance to that type of music. Quickly find them and emulate what they do.
4. As you can see, we’ve spread out some hoops on the floor. When the music stops you are to go to the nearest hoop and stand inside of it. EVERYONE must be inside a hoop. (It’s important to make sure you have enough hoops for everyone to easily fit into a hoop. Webbing to make hoops is available at REI.)
5. Let’s give it a try. (Play music and once everyone has moved around a bit stop the music.)
6. Okay, here’s the real thing. (Play music.)
7. (You might stop and start the music a few times so that the group gets a hang of the idea.)
8. (Now, begin to remove hoops from different areas of the floor. This will cause the other hoops to become snug when the music stops.)
9. Keep dancing! (Keep removing hoops until you have a nice snug group in each hoop.)
Aristotle once said that a barbaric culture consumes all of its resources for the present, whereas a civilized culture preserves them for later generations. Many of our society's most destructive present actions yield consequences whose gravest implications aren't immediately apparent. That's true of our casual destruction of the planet. It's true of our writing off entire communities of young men and women who will grow into adulthood bereft of hope and skills. It's true when we say, in one of the richest countries in the world, that we can't afford to address our most pressing common problems.*
Amoebas: Use this to get all the small groups to work together and eventually work to form a whole large group!
1. Staying in your small group, reach down and pick up your hoop. Fit as many people as you can on the inside.
2. Everyone who is on the outside of the group must face outward so that both hands are on the hoop.
3. If you have both hands on the hoop close your eyes and keep them shut (Repeat a couple times).
4. The people on the inside are the only ones who can keep their eyes open.
5. Your goal is move as a group and form together with all of the other groups. When you form up with another group yell out, “WOO HAA!” so that the people with their eyes closed know you’ve accomplished something. Keeping joining together until all the groups are joined together.
6. GO!
The most successful attempts to heal our society's ills and promote human dignity are often local grassroots efforts; imagine their impact if we gave them enough resources to do their work as well and as powerfully as possible instead of forcing them to scramble constantly for crumbs.*
Hula Hoop Races: Use these for some friendly competition and to allow groups to get to know each other!
1. Staying in your small group, get on the outside of the hoop and grab on with two hands.
2. Notice how you all connected. You all are like a community. Each person can feel every small ripple.
3. While holding on to the hoop, work as a team to move the knot around the circle.
4. See how fast you can get it around!
5. Let’s have some friendly competition! Let’s see which group is the fastest to get the knot around the circle. (Have someone be a spotter.)
6. (After racing a few more times have everyone calm down and start the next activity.)
7. Keep the knot going. When I yell, “Stop!” stop the knot wherever it is.
8. Who ever has the knot in front of them has a chance to ask a quick question (examples):
a. What’s your favorite color?
b. Where are you from?
c. What’s your name?
9. Everyone responds quickly and then you get the knot going again.
10. Go!
Imagine if we taught how ordinary citizens have changed the world, again and again, even against entrenched resistance. Young women and men just coming of age would learn the stories of citizen efforts like the abolitionist, women's suffrage, populist, union, civil rights, and environmental movements: How ordinary people have learned to act despite their flaws, hesitations, and failings; learned to persevere, even under the most difficult of circumstances; learned to keep on until they prevailed. Historical examples can teach how seemingly impossible efforts can create powerful change. They give a sense of possibility that counters cultural cynicism. They allow those coming of age to think not only about addressing small, immediate issues, but also their deeper roots. They teach the arts and skills of democracy—how to reach out to our fellow citizens, organize them for change, and make our common voice heard.*
Cultivating Leadership: How can you make your community stronger?
Agree/Disagree: Use this to build a sense of what your whole community is like!
1. Gather in front of the signs. (Point each one out.)
2. A statement will be read out loud and after each statement you are to position yourself next to the sign that makes the most sense for you.
3. For this activity it is REALLY important that you honor everyone’s opinion by respecting it. This is not an opportunity to argue. It is an opportunity to see the makeup your group. (You might emphasize that you’ll be spending the day/week/year working together.)
4. After everyone positions themselves, I will ask some clarifying questions to get your opinion of why you chose the position you’ve chosen.
5. Let’s give it a try.
1. Strawberry ice cream is my favorite ice cream flavor.
6. Get the idea? Try to be as truthful as possible and try not to stick to one sign! (The words in brackets can be used to ask the clarifying questions and are usually related to the theme of the gathering. The statements you use can be made up of ideas that you are trying to accomplish with bringing the group together.)
2. Dogs are better pets than cats.
3. I prefer the color green over the color purple.
4. It irritates me when people talk on their cell phone in a public place where I can fully understand their conversation.
5. I feel comfortable talking on my cell phone publicly and do so often.
6. I’ll be the first in my family to go to college. (Access/opportunity)
7. Growing up I felt like I had “enough”. (Class)
8. I consider myself to be a leader. (Leadership)
9. I know of a really good leader.
10. I have good plan for my future. (Goal setting)
11. I prefer working alone rather than working in a group to get things done. (Working together)
12. I have a strong urge to contribute to the community. (Community building)
13. I’ve been picked on because of my Race. (Race)
14. I’ve picked on someone else That may have been hurtful.
15. I currently practice some part of my cultural heritage. (Native Language & songs)
16. I love to have fun!
17. Michael & Melchor are the bomb.com!
25 Rules for Happiness: Use for some thoughts to ponder on leadership!
P.M. Forni, cofounder of the Johns Hopkins Civility Project identifies twenty-five rules that are most essential in connecting effectively and happily with others. They are:
1. Pay Attention
2. Acknowledge Others
3. Think the Best
4. Listen
5. Be Inclusive
6. Speak Kindly
7. Don’t Speak Ill
8. Accept and Give Praise
9. Respect Even a Subtle “No”
10. Respect Others’ Opinions
11. Mind Your Body
12. Be Agreeable
13. Keep It Down (and Rediscover Silence)
14. Respect Other People’s Time
15. Respect Other People’s Space
16. Apologize Earnestly and Thoughtfully
17. Assert Yourself
18. Avoid Personal Questions
19. Care for Your Guests
20. Be a Considerate Guest
21. Think Twice Before Asking for Favors
22. Refrain from Idle Complaints
23. Give Constructive Criticism
24. Respect the Environment and Be Gentle to Animals
25. Don’t Shift Responsibility and Blame
Closing thoughts: Use this to close up the activity and have the group reflect on what they’ve accomplished!
Measure of Success
• Was it memorable?
• Was it Useful?
• Did you have fun?
In small groups discuss:
• What happened? What was interesting?
• What are the ABC’s of WE?
• What are some things you can take with you from this experience?
Thoughts on leadership:
• Crush your idea of what a leader is and put yourself in the picture as a leader.
• Surround yourself with competent, dedicated, & caring people.
• Find a leader you like, whether it’s someone you know or read about, and study them intensely.
Thoughts on working together:
• We all have a place in the community that leads to a purpose. Find out what is your purpose!
• Community Leadership means: We’re ALL RIGHT! & We’re ALRIGHT!
Thoughts on Community Organizing & YOU:
• A helping hand is always nice… Especially when it’s from you.
• Don’t always look at what’s wrong. Look at what’s right and make it happen more!
*Italicized excerpts from Citizenship by Paul Rogat Loeb
The Youth and Adult Partnership
Hey! Some of you may not know that I present workshops at various venues across the country. In more recent times (in the last year or so), I've entered into an agreement with my son Melchor to present together at every gathering that I am asked to present. This idea comes out of the Kellogg Leadership for Community Change project that focused on Youth & Adult Partnerships. We came to a number of understandings revolving around this idea:
~If we are trying to inspire Youth & Adult Partnerships, at the very least we should model it.
~As an adult, I have many experiences that may be useful to young people.
~As a youth, Melchor has the viewpoint of a young person THAT IS OFTEN OVERLOOKED.
~We are committed to presenting empowering information that is understandable & engaging to people of all ages.
~We are committed to presenting something that is memorable.
~We are committed to presenting something that is useful.
~We are committed to having fun with each other and with the participants.
At any rate, we are growing as a team and I believe that it is something that is healthy and empowering for our relationship.
The reason I am explaining the above is for two reasons:
1) If you have an interest for this type of work, let me know-- We'd love to come out and work with you!
2) We follow a philosophy of liberating our workshop material out into the community. With that, my next post will be the actual outline and description of the activities from our last workshop at the Students of Color Conference in Yakima, WA. I hope it might be helpful for you.
~If we are trying to inspire Youth & Adult Partnerships, at the very least we should model it.
~As an adult, I have many experiences that may be useful to young people.
~As a youth, Melchor has the viewpoint of a young person THAT IS OFTEN OVERLOOKED.
~We are committed to presenting empowering information that is understandable & engaging to people of all ages.
~We are committed to presenting something that is memorable.
~We are committed to presenting something that is useful.
~We are committed to having fun with each other and with the participants.
At any rate, we are growing as a team and I believe that it is something that is healthy and empowering for our relationship.
The reason I am explaining the above is for two reasons:
1) If you have an interest for this type of work, let me know-- We'd love to come out and work with you!
2) We follow a philosophy of liberating our workshop material out into the community. With that, my next post will be the actual outline and description of the activities from our last workshop at the Students of Color Conference in Yakima, WA. I hope it might be helpful for you.
Monday, March 16, 2009
The 10 Year Anniversary
[Editor note: This is my submission to the Ethnic Student Center (ESC) Newsletter. The ESC is another part of my life.]
In August of 1998 I started as the Ethnic Student Center Coordinator/Activities Adviser. It is hard to believe that 10 years have gone by. In that time I have been truly fortunate to work with amazing people, one after the other, in the form of students. These people now reside all over the world and I am so pleased that we have a common strand and ethic that was cultivated in the Ethnic Student Center.
The following is a reprint of my first Spring Quarter essay in the Ethnic Student Center Newsletter written March 1989. After rereading this essay I am inspired by two things:
1. We have been consistent in trying to build community at Western Washington University.
2. The development of Culture & Identity of underrepresented populations is still a strong priority for the Ethnic Student Center.
Enjoy a great spring and, as I said 10 years ago, “Let us come together even more[!]”
“We have come together… not because we are perfect, but in order that we may know our shortcomings and overcome them. We should not feel unhappy if on some occasion we commit an error. We should feel unhappy only if in committing it we had willingly yielded to a weakness in us or had not been vigilant enough, if we had not struggled, or not sincerely enough, to overcome it. You should never lose heart.
-Mahatma Gandhi, 1931
Spring in many cultures represents rebirth. It marks the beginnings of new life. For the ESC it is the beginning of a new life. This quarter we look forward to a high level of programming. We have annual events like Native Cultural Heritage Month, the return of the pow wow, Cinco de Mayo Celebration, Hui O’ Hawaii Luau, and Asian- Pacific Islander Month. We see many added special events and activities by all of the ESC constituents. With the success of winter quarter events we can expect the enjoyment of more successful events during spring.
While having cultural events is special and a great addition to Western’s community, I believe there is a greater treasure. The treasure is that ethnic students and community members, from all races and nationalities, attend ESC club sponsored events. This is the true power of the ESC. We come together. We support each other’s events. We honor and pay respect to all of the cultures we represent. What greater compliment can one give than to share a piece of culture, a viewpoint from your own eyes?
My request is simple. I encourage you to participate. Commit yourself to attend more programs than you attended last quarter. Challenge yourself by attending a program that you would not normally attend. Commit yourself to participate, learn, and enjoy some of the only cultural education occurring on Western’s campus. We’re talking real life education here. I mean, you got your academic cultural education and you got your real life cultural education. Ya dig? We are in the business of real life cultural education. What we got is the cultural education you cannot read in a book. Attend, sit, listen and participate. You might miss out on an opportunity that may profoundly change your life. As I was talking with Jenny Martin of the Peace Resource Center we came to a consensus on this very topic. She said, “Sit and listen because this might be the only time, ever, you will get to hear this perspective.”
Furthermore, if you are feeling really enthusiastic, ORGANIZE. Organize a program, a meeting, a gathering, a walkout, a sit-in, a stand-up-for-your rights rally. Just make sure it is just and honors yourself, family and community. That way you can do no wrong.
Let us take more advantage of the treasure created by the ESC. Let us come together even more.
In August of 1998 I started as the Ethnic Student Center Coordinator/Activities Adviser. It is hard to believe that 10 years have gone by. In that time I have been truly fortunate to work with amazing people, one after the other, in the form of students. These people now reside all over the world and I am so pleased that we have a common strand and ethic that was cultivated in the Ethnic Student Center.
The following is a reprint of my first Spring Quarter essay in the Ethnic Student Center Newsletter written March 1989. After rereading this essay I am inspired by two things:
1. We have been consistent in trying to build community at Western Washington University.
2. The development of Culture & Identity of underrepresented populations is still a strong priority for the Ethnic Student Center.
Enjoy a great spring and, as I said 10 years ago, “Let us come together even more[!]”
“We have come together… not because we are perfect, but in order that we may know our shortcomings and overcome them. We should not feel unhappy if on some occasion we commit an error. We should feel unhappy only if in committing it we had willingly yielded to a weakness in us or had not been vigilant enough, if we had not struggled, or not sincerely enough, to overcome it. You should never lose heart.
-Mahatma Gandhi, 1931
Spring in many cultures represents rebirth. It marks the beginnings of new life. For the ESC it is the beginning of a new life. This quarter we look forward to a high level of programming. We have annual events like Native Cultural Heritage Month, the return of the pow wow, Cinco de Mayo Celebration, Hui O’ Hawaii Luau, and Asian- Pacific Islander Month. We see many added special events and activities by all of the ESC constituents. With the success of winter quarter events we can expect the enjoyment of more successful events during spring.
While having cultural events is special and a great addition to Western’s community, I believe there is a greater treasure. The treasure is that ethnic students and community members, from all races and nationalities, attend ESC club sponsored events. This is the true power of the ESC. We come together. We support each other’s events. We honor and pay respect to all of the cultures we represent. What greater compliment can one give than to share a piece of culture, a viewpoint from your own eyes?
My request is simple. I encourage you to participate. Commit yourself to attend more programs than you attended last quarter. Challenge yourself by attending a program that you would not normally attend. Commit yourself to participate, learn, and enjoy some of the only cultural education occurring on Western’s campus. We’re talking real life education here. I mean, you got your academic cultural education and you got your real life cultural education. Ya dig? We are in the business of real life cultural education. What we got is the cultural education you cannot read in a book. Attend, sit, listen and participate. You might miss out on an opportunity that may profoundly change your life. As I was talking with Jenny Martin of the Peace Resource Center we came to a consensus on this very topic. She said, “Sit and listen because this might be the only time, ever, you will get to hear this perspective.”
Furthermore, if you are feeling really enthusiastic, ORGANIZE. Organize a program, a meeting, a gathering, a walkout, a sit-in, a stand-up-for-your rights rally. Just make sure it is just and honors yourself, family and community. That way you can do no wrong.
Let us take more advantage of the treasure created by the ESC. Let us come together even more.
Monday, March 2, 2009
The Hibernation
Okay, I haven't been as diligent as I could have been. That really sucks because nearly a year has gone by since I've posted. I can't really say what has delayed me and that is makes this situation even more epic lame.
Some short thoughts:
~I'm a lot more interested in the history of higher education mainly because of Professors Williamson, Contreras, & Nerad.
~I'm impressed with my collegues-- the people I take classes with. They are genuinely interested in the progression of education.
~I took a whopper of a statistics class. It is arguably the class that I've learned the most in. Whether I've retained it is completely another question.
~In the spirit of the statistics class-- I just learned how to make this symbol on my Mac: µ
~I am currently taking a 5 credit Qualitative Methods class. I will need to take another Qualitative Methods class for more practice. I am defn hooked.
Some short thoughts:
~I'm a lot more interested in the history of higher education mainly because of Professors Williamson, Contreras, & Nerad.
~I'm impressed with my collegues-- the people I take classes with. They are genuinely interested in the progression of education.
~I took a whopper of a statistics class. It is arguably the class that I've learned the most in. Whether I've retained it is completely another question.
~In the spirit of the statistics class-- I just learned how to make this symbol on my Mac: µ
~I am currently taking a 5 credit Qualitative Methods class. I will need to take another Qualitative Methods class for more practice. I am defn hooked.
Monday, May 12, 2008
The First Year Doctoral Student
I am very fortunate to take a breath! I'm sitting in the middle of Red Square, the center of the University of Washington. I only get to do so because my first class was cancelled. I hope everything is alright.
At any rate, I believe it would be appropriate to take this "free" time to reflect on the near completion of my first year of doctoral studies. (Can you read the excitement in that last sentence? If not, I'm REALLY excited about it!!!) To say the least this first year has been way more than I expected in every positive way possible. I have been fortunate to be in the company of forward thinkers. That is not something you get to say very often, is it? I've been impressed and learned so much in each of the two courses I've taken for the past 3 quarters. It has only fueled my thirst for more knowledge, more wisdom. I really do feel like I am in the right place at the right time. I'm ready to move forward and explore things that I've never even thought about. In fact, that is exactly what I said to Nate Panelo, recent Ethnic Student Center graduate who came up to tell me he's going to graduate school in Vermont, "I'm so glad to be studying things that I never knew people even thought about. I mean, they thought about that? And now, I'm like... I'm really glad they thought about that. Now I'm thinking about it. Now you'll be thinking about it."
Well, the year went by quickly. I didn't even get a chance to talk about meeting Cornel West (who my son knows as "The guy from Matrix II & III." Nor did I get a chance to talk about meeting His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. That will be another day, hopefully soon. My short term plans are to take summer classes and bring the family to Hawaii! Yes, THAT Hawaii! It will be nice, not so much because we'll be flossin' in warm weather, but because I learned so much more about love and family this year and my Dad's family is all there. It will be nice to apply what I learned while we're there.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
The Paper Writing Game
Basically, I have to step my game up in the research paper writing game. And, I don't really feel this way due to responses from professors on my papers. Although, of course, they are influential, I really feel a commitment to reseach appropriately issues relevant to the community. It is a feeling of urgency. A need to address issues in the moment, whether in the historical context or current affairs. One of the hardest issues I dealt with this past quarter was selecting topics to research. The topics seem endless and in dire need of research. I am very grateful for the opportunities to write and learn new methods of looking at issues.
For example, in my educational policy class I actually had the opportunity to write a policy proposal. I'd never seen a policy proposal before so to say I was unfamiliar is an understatement. The class created an interest for me in policy making and what better purpose is there for education than to stimulate more inquiry?
Further, in my Education for Liberation class I was able to further understand the purpose of primary sources. And, did you know that education has a history? I'm being sarcastic but it is only to point out my ignorance. True ignorance. I am a strong proponent of ignorance as a matter of choice rather than opportunity. So, it is difficult for me to swallow the idea of my own ignorance because I like to think of myself as a person who is open to new ideas. Low and behold, all the new ideas lay in the past!
Thank you to my professors winter quarter. They were both gentle and challenging which is a great combination for learning.
For example, in my educational policy class I actually had the opportunity to write a policy proposal. I'd never seen a policy proposal before so to say I was unfamiliar is an understatement. The class created an interest for me in policy making and what better purpose is there for education than to stimulate more inquiry?
Further, in my Education for Liberation class I was able to further understand the purpose of primary sources. And, did you know that education has a history? I'm being sarcastic but it is only to point out my ignorance. True ignorance. I am a strong proponent of ignorance as a matter of choice rather than opportunity. So, it is difficult for me to swallow the idea of my own ignorance because I like to think of myself as a person who is open to new ideas. Low and behold, all the new ideas lay in the past!
Thank you to my professors winter quarter. They were both gentle and challenging which is a great combination for learning.
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