Monday, May 31, 2010

Activity 6 - Language in the United States

This activity was really fun to do. I had been shown the vowel power quiz before yet I still had trouble doing it. I think it is really interesting that language in one country can be so different. I think that these quizzes were a really fascinating way to showcase the fact that we do not think about how different language can be. I liked the vowel quiz better that the Where is the Speaker From because I felt it was easier to do for me because the other one had to do slightly with geography and I am horrible at geography.

I started by taking the vowel power quiz because I knew that I had seen it before and so I was sure about how to go about it. The last time I was shown this, it was in class and we were given two times to guess what each speaker was saying. So I decided I was only going to give myself two times this time as well to challenge myself. I could have used more than two times though since I had already taken this quiz in a class. What I would have liked is for the website to list the dialect or accent of the speaker. That is what I found hard when trying to figure out the word. After I and submitted my quiz and the sentences were revealed, I looked at the two I got wrong and could not believe that those were the sentences because they looked nothing like what they had sounded like. Overall, I did not do too bad on this quiz. I got 3 out of 5. I was happy with this because many of them I did not think I had guessed correctly. I was pleasantly surprised though to find out that I had.

The second quiz, Where is the Speaker From, was a lot more challenging for me. I only got two answers right. I have never been a person that knows geography well and this proves that. I do not know where people come from based upon the sound of their voice. It was very hard for me to do this quiz, I think I changed my answers around three times before deciding that I should just get it over with and submit my quiz. I took this quiz twice, once yesterday (Sunday) and once today (Monday). I thought it would be interesting to find out if my answers improved the second time around. My answers did improve but only slightly. The second time I took the quiz, my result was 6 out of 12 - half way there!

I thought that this was a really good activity for this chapter. It makes students look at language in a different way. With these quizzes, we begin to understand the idiosyncrasies of our language - especially with the vowel power quiz. I really appreciated the Where is the Speaker From quiz. I wrote the answers down and then went back and replayed each letter to allow me to hear the dialect/accent again.

Activity 5 - Avowed and Ascribed Identities

Avowed Identity ------ Ascribed Identity
Religious ------- Familial
Individualized ------ Age
Familial ------- Gender

I think that a person's identities say a lot about them. The identities that I have are important to me because they have shaped who I am and who I am going to become. Family has always been an important thing to me and I think that it is because of my family. I think that because I have an Italian family, we tend to be even more close than some people would consider families to be. I like to compare my family to the family on My Big Fat Greek Wedding because they are a large, loud family but they are also very interested in what each person does. Everything that Nia did, her family had to put their two cents worth in. My family does this, and I used to really hate this about my family - I just wanted a normal family who stayed out of my business. I think that now that I am a little bit older (and so many of my family members are old and/or passed on) I have come to appreciate this. I think that because I grew up with a family that was so "involved" in my life, they have always had a huge influence on me and who I am. I put familial in the ascribed column because of the fact that my family knows that they are a huge influence on my life. I also put it in this category because there have been times when hanging out with people that I have met possibly once or twice before that they will make a comment to me about my family. Whether this comment is good or bad, they can always tell what my response is going to be - that my family is the most important thing in the world to me and I would do anything for them. Even my friends have noted this before, that I pay extra attention to things that are being said if it anything to do with my family.

I also put age in the ascribed identities column because there have been many times when my age has caused me to be seen differently - especially when I was younger. I think that when you are young people tend to look at you in a way that implies that you are not very knowledgeable. I have most often noticed this with the older generation - they look at my generation and people younger than me as if we are stupid kids. My grandfather did this a lot - especially with my brother. He felt that because my brother is a boy and young he should help my parents out when it came to lifting things and doing things that my parents could not. My brother did not see it the same way. There was definitely age discrimination between the two of them. Another way in which my grandfather used to discriminate the grandchildren was gender.

In our culture, there are certain things that are considered more masculine or more feminine. When I was younger, I used to be really into sports, I played softball, soccer, basketball and ran track. My brother on the other hand - did nothing. This used to drive my grandfather crazy. He used to think that because I was really into sports it made me look like I was a tomboy. He was always trying to get me into the kitchen to help my grandmother cook - which I hated to do. My brother had no interest in sports and while that was fine with my parents - it was not fine with my grandfather.

Ascribed ----- Who Was ----- Actions To
Identity ----- Responsible ----- Resist
Familial ----- Family, Friends ----- Do not allow decisions to be influenced.

Age ----- Media, Peers ----- Do not allow others' feelings about your age to influence what you wish to do.

Gender ----- Family, Media, Society --- Do not allow others to dictate what is right for you. Do not give up something you want because they say it is not masculine/feminine - Just Do It!

Do you think that your identities have been shaped more by your family and friends or by the media?
Why do you think other people can have such a huge impact on our identities and who we become?

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Activity 4 - Thought Provoking Questions????

I thought that the quiz was really interesting. I liked the fact that we were able to take the quiz twice because in between it gave me time to think about my answers a little bit more. What I thought was interesting about my answers to the quiz, is the fact that I was very racially discriminate.

The ethnic group that was easiest for me to come up with answers to was the white category - and mainly the white males. I find this really interesting because our country has become so accustomed to people of different ethnicity's. I think that because we are so familiar with these people we may possibly take them for granted and do not acknowledge their ethnicity. As I said before, the white category was easiest for me. I think that because I am Caucasian that helps me identify more with people of my own skin color. As sad as it is to say this, I think that our country is still divided by skin color. I think that it makes many people acknowledge their own skin color and stereotype those of other races. The thing that I found the hardest to do in these categories was to name someone of the ethnicity in question who had lived before the 1600's. I do not know why but this was a very difficult thing for me, many of them I could not think of. However, if it were not timed, I think that I would have (maybe) been able to come up with a name or two.

I found the men to be more easy to come up with. Especially for the white men in the earlier years. I think that men were easier to come up with because our country in the past was "programmed" to think that men were (somewhat) better than women. Luckily today that has changed, however I do believe that that is the reason why I found it easier to come up with names of men for each category rather than women. What is interesting is that though I found it easier to come up with the names of men, there was one category that I could only think of the names of women and no men.

I think that in the United States we are taught history about white people and black people. History about Asians, Latino's or Middle Eastern people are really not included in our text books until you get to your junior or senior year of high school - and possibly not even then. I do not remember learning anything about Asians, Latino's or Middle Eastern people until 9/11. Then of course we talked about Middle Eastern people because that was a big deal at the time. The things that I remember being taught in school were about the white men finding a new territory that was inhabited by the Indians and also about the topic of slavery - though that topic did not come until middle school.

I feel that the United States tries to teach history that it feels it knows something about. I think that has a great influence on what we are taught in our schools. If 9/11 had not happened, I do not feel that we would have been taught about the Middle East. However, once that happened everyone talked about the Middle East because we wanted more information about the people that performed this horrible tragedy.

Do you think that the schools you attended properly prepared you with the knowledge to answer the questions on the quiz. Do you think that there is any specific one of these categories that teachers would shy away from teaching about? if so why? Is there one that you would not want to teach about? why?

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Activity 3 - Ethnicity and Communication

There are many things that make a person and their communication unique. One of those things has to do with your ethnicity. I think that your ethnicity has a profound influence on the person you become and the style of communication that you have.

I am primarily Swedish and Italian with some Irish. My maternal grandmother was a full blood Italian and my maternal grandfather was Swedish. My grandmother grew up speaking Italian while she was at home with her parents and siblings. She learned English in school. My grandfather was raised knowing English. What was always interesting to me about my grandfather is that he learned many different languages. He was in the army so he traveled to many different countries and was given the chance to learn those languages. My paternal grandparents were Irish. They only spoke English. Occasionally they would swear in Irish but that was the extent of it. I loved my grandparents accents.

I think that my ethnicity influenced me and my communication very much. My maternal grandmother spoke Italian whenever she was feeling nostalgic and I'm sure that is why I personally think that Italian is a very beautiful language. Today whenever I hear the Italian accent it makes me miss my grandmother. I think that my ethnicity has influenced me because Italian's are a people that hold their family very close to them. I would definitely say that I am a person who values my family more than anything. I also think that the Italian language has had an influence on me. The language is beautiful and whenever I hear someone singing Italian I feel that it should be a love song. I wonder why that is? I think that my Italian ethnicity has probably had the biggest influence on me. Italy has always been this lovely dream in my head that if I were to go there, everything would be perfect. I think that realistically, that is not the case. I think that my Swedish and Irish ethnicity have a smaller influence on me. I consider myself a Swede only because I am like my grandpa. I share qualities that are similar to his. However, at the same time I do not have the fair skin and blond hair and blue eyes that so many Swedish people have. I am my grandmother's granddaughter in that area. The only thing that I feel is Irish about me is my name. My last name is considered to be very Irish so my parents gave me and Irish first name to go with it. I do not feel as though I talk similar to anyone of my grandparents. I am purely American. My vocalic's are American made.

I think that some people may be able to guess that I am Italian based on my looks. I do have the dark hair and eyes. However, I do not think that this influences the way in which they talk to me in anyway. Do people talk to you differently based on this? I have not experienced it, but maybe I was not paying attention to it. I think that the only time that people talk to me differently based upon my ethnicity is when I am with extended family members, usually my Italian extended family. Usually at family reunions, there will be aunts and uncles that come and talk to me and say things in Italian that they feel I should know. However, I actually have no idea what they are saying to me. I just smile and nod and everything is fine.

In your experience, do you think people treat you differently within your own family based upon your ethnicity? Do you think that there is a reason why?

Activity 2 - Observation

I observed in the snack bar of the public library that is near my house. I noticed that many people did not stop in the snack bar because they were only there for a short time. The people who did stop at the snack bar were mostly there to do homework. Very few people that were there were actually eating, most of them were drinking coffee. The snack bar can seat about 30 people comfortably. The day I observed there were about 25 so there were a couple of tables open.
The thing that I noticed most was people's eye contact behaviors. The space is generally considered a quiet space so whenever someone raised their voice to more than a whisper, people would shoot them a look that was telling them to quiet down. Most people sat by themselves at a table for one. They positioned their bodies so that they were only facing the window, the door, or the cashier. No one faced each other. One man that came in noticed that the only table left was one in which he was going to have to sit close to someone else - even though it would be back to back. He left immediately. This was a perfect example of an unwritten rule within the snack bar. No one was allowed to sit close (like 10 - 15 inches) to each other.
Another thing that I noticed while observing is how people would move. Whenever someone went up to get another cup of coffee, their body movements would become very rigid as though they were uncomfortable. I thought this was strange because the space was not small enough that I felt they should be uncomfortable.
There was very little talking that happened. There was talking between the cashier and customers. The only talking that I observed between people sitting in the snack bar was a man asking a woman if he could borrow a pen. She was polite and gave him a pen.
Since we were asked to "imagine" if someone came into the place we were observing and performed a behavior that was forbidden, I did just that. When I first went into the snack bar, I sat at the same table as a young girl (about my age). I could tell immediately that she was uncomfortable because her whole body shifted. As soon as I sat at the table, she moved all her stuff closer to her as if I had cooties. I had broken the unwritten rule that nobody should sit next to each other.
The conclusion that I came to is that people will close themselves off so people will give them their space. I think that often times we do this without even intending to. In the case of the young girl I sat by, I think that she wanted to close herself off to me because I had made her uncomfortable. The uncomfortable feeling is probably what drives many of the behaviors that we do.
Are there any conclusions that you have noticed from reading this that I may not have caught since I was in a part of it? Do you find any aspect of this observation more interesting than another?

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Activity 1 - Far and Away

There were many obstacles that immigrants face throughout the forming of our country. In school, we are most often taught about these obstacles by using examples of slaves and slave labor. However, these obstacles were faced by more than just African Americans. Similar to African Americans, many other groups who immigrated were not shown kindness or respect in any way. In the movie Far and Away, audiences are shown obstacles that the Irish faced when immigrating to America.
When a person/group immigrates to another country, there is usually a reason as to why they did this. In Far and Away, Shannon and Joseph go to America in search for freedom. Shannon wants freedom from the boring life that she has in her parents' house. Her parents decide everything that she does - she cannot even unbutton the collar on her dress without her mother telling her to button it back up. She decides to run away to America in order to buy land (and freedom) to get away from her parents.
Joseph on the other hand, has led a very different life from Shannon. He came to the Christy house for justice. He wants to kill Daniel Christy (Shannon's father) because Daniel ordered Joseph's house burnt because Joseph's family (the Donnelly's) had not paid the taxes on their property. He is sentenced to a dual with Stephen Chase in order to save his freedom. Shannon rescues him and they leave for America. Joseph decides to go to America only after Shannon tells him about the land they are "giving away". Joseph has always had a dream to own and harvest his own land. When they arrive in America, they are met with new experiences and obstacles that they were not expecting.
When Shannon and Joseph arrive in America, they plan to split up - they had no plans of staying together. Only after Mr. McGuire, who was going to help Shannon, is shot do they stay together. When Mr. McGuire is shot, Shannon loses her silver spoons which were what she was going to get her money from. Their primary challenge after this was that they had no money to live off of. Working at the factory does not help them earn enough money because they are started at such a low wage. Joseph begins to fight in order to earn money. He is the undefeated champion for a long time until an Italian fighter defeats him. Soon Shannon and Joseph find themselves on the street. They have no money so they cannot buy food. This is another obstacle they face - hunger. At this time, Irish immigrants could get very few jobs because no one was interested in hiring an immigrant. They break into a house in order to find food but pay the consequence when Shannon is shot. Though they face consequences, they ultimatley end up with what they want. The have each other and they get their land.
The movie shows many obstacles to the immigration process. However, the movie's immigration form has a very big Hollywood influence to it. The movie shows many things about the immigration process that are true, such as lack of money, poor job wage for immigrants, and lack of food. However, the movie also shows elements of the immigration process that are hard to believe. The part that was hardest to believe for me was at the end when Joseph hesitates to claim his land. I do not think this would have happened had it not been a movie.

What do you think of the immigration process? Do you think this movie shows that process well?

Monday, May 24, 2010

Two Truths and a Lie

1.) I have a pet pig named Piglet.
2.) I had surgery to save the sight in one of my eyes when I was 3 months old.
3.) I have been in 2 car accidents that were not my fault.