Graduation

This is my personal story. I decide to write about my 4 unforgettable experience at the University of Washington. I remember I got my acceptance letter at the University of Washington on March 2007. I was so excited, I couldnt believe it. Now here I am completing my Bachelor's degree in Early Child Family Study. My time at the University of Washington gave me the opportunity to grow in the early childhood profession and allowed me the opportunity for to work with children for 4 years. Prior to this I volunteered in Head Start program for a year. Head Start is a national program that promotes school readiness by enhancing the social and cognitive development of children through the provision of educational, health, nutritional, social and other services to enrolled children and families. This program gave me opportunities to expand and broaden my leadership skills. I also enjoyed working with a diverse group of people. I am very proud to work in this field and also committed to provide a quality learning environment for children.

observation

This week I am going to write about something which I noticed at my service learning cite last week. I volunteer at Child Haven which is a non profit organization which works with children who come from back grounds of abuse and neglect. Therefor many of these children need more attention and we are encouraged to hug them and hold them so they feel the closeness which they may be lacking with their family. We have a new sub since a employee is on vacation for a few months, and she refused to hold a child. To me it seemed like this child so badly wanted this sub's approval by being held, and the sub was rejecting her by turning her down. The child just got more and more upset crying to the point of coughing and the sub still would not budge. This really bothered me and was hard for me to watch I think it was really harsh for this sub to completely blow off this child's needs. The child is only 2 years old and needs that love from every staff member.

Motivation

Education is an essential part of me. The main reason my parents. My parents with three children, had decided to emigrate from South Korea to the United States was so that my siblings and I would have the best education possible. When I was only ten, I could not understand why she had to bring me to a foreign land where I could not even speak the language. Eleven years later, as a student at University of Washington, I thank her with all of my heart for the wisest decision she has made for me. I understand that I am fortunateto live in a place where education is highly valued. As for me, I embrace the privileges of high education available to me and would like to seize all the opportunities given to me. With the knowledge I have gained, I desire to live an exciting and joyous life with people I love. Then, I want to help many more to have hope and passion for life as I do. With that said, my parents motivate me to study harder in school. It is now my turn to pay them back for all the things they have done to me. I want to study harder in school and get a good job because my parents have sacrificed their life for me to go to school in the U.S.

Motivation

In high school I feel I most motivated when I played basketball. I strived to be the fastest and best on the team. All my time and energy went into running and playing basketball to be the best. I was motivated from within not from someone else, although you could say my peers motivated me because I wanted to be better than everyone else. Working hard payed off and nothing felt better for me then when I truly had a good game, which kept me motivated to keep working harder. I feel motivation is best when it comes from within and you don't do it because someone else wants it for you but because you want it for yourself.

Entry 8-Motivation

There are many things that motivate me in my life.  Throughout my education, my parents were the motivation behind working hard to get good grades.  They required me to be trying my hardest at all times and trying to get all As.  However, they did not punish me for not receiving all A's as long as I was putting forth the effort.  My initial motivation was to not be punished for not doing everything I could and try my hardest.  However, it turned to more of a self motivation. I was motivated to get all As in order to make them proud and get into a good college.  

I have a job outside of school.  When I got my first job, it was because my parents told me I could not get a car unless i could pay for my own gas and insurance.  Getting money and being able to have a car was my initial motivation in getting a keeping a job.  Now the reason I keep a job is because, yes i am still motivated by the money, but now I am also motivated by maintaining a good resume and to be able to network.  

Finally, i am motivated to play basketball.  I played throughout high school and then quit my senior year.  However, I have been motivated to continue to play recreationally by the fact that it  keeps me active and it is something I love doing and want to continue to improve on for my self, even though I don't play on a team anymore.

Entry 7- Intelligence

I work at Oakley, a retail store that sells high end sunglasses and beach and snow outerwear. I am a manager at my store and have been working and gaining knowledge about Oakley products for three and a half years now.  The products have a lot of technology and there are many different styles of sunglasses and lenses for a variety of activities. Over the weekend, I was helping a customer who was joining the military looking for about which sunglasses would be best overseas. I was talking to him, teaching him all about the different technology and which styles would be best and why when he responded with, "wow, how do you know all of this stuff? you're so smart".  In this instance, I believe what he meant by smart was I have a lot of knowledge and information about the products and that I was doing a good job of relaying my knowledge to him.   

I also asked my parents this weekend what they believed being smart or intelligent meant.  My mom responded saying that being smart meant working hard and producing correct answers.  She said it was not being lazy and doing everything possible to show results.  My dad believes intelligence is something you're born with.  Initially he said that smart people are "wired smart" and have the capacity to learn things quickly.

Entry 6

I have been involved in many adult-run learning environments in my life.  All throughout my education in public schools from Kindergarten through 12th grade, every classroom was adult run.  The teachers were always the one's to design lesson plans and activities and had complete control of the kind of learning that went on in the classrooms.  I don't believe this is bad at all, I feel like i had a great upbringing and education.

Although I have never participated in a child-run environment, I am taking a curriculum class that focuses on different approaches to learning and types of curriculum.  Many of these curriculums consider the activities that the children want to be participating in, and they essentially design their own lesson plans, they have a lot more control over their own learning. 

I believe that children run environments are good and beneficial, however, I think their needs to be a balance of adult-run and child-run situations in the classroom.  Without teachers and teacher-run classrooms, children would not learn nearly as much.  On the other hand, it is important for students to have choices and experiences that they can decide on in order to help them grow

inetlligence vs. disability

When I hear someone say so and so is so smart, I automatically think they must be perceived as intelligent because they were able to master or understand a task, and do particular well at it. I feel there is no such thing as one person being smarter than another, and simply that everyone is intelligent in their own way. Everyone is wired differently, therefor especially good at some things. One may be really good with numbers and math, and one may be really good with writing and reading etc. There are all types of intelligence. Whereas when many people think of disabled they think of it as a negative and something which holds someone back, makes things more difficult, and often times makes them not the same or not as "smart" as others. I completely disagree with this generalization and view disability as just being wired differently, like intelligence.

intelligence

I have a friend name Brittney at my work. She told me that she studied Korean
history at her school. She said she is really interested in going to Korea for
a year, so she wanted to learn more about Korean culture and the language. She
started asking me about my homeland, Korea.
My family and I immigrated to U.S. when I was in 3rd grade. Ever since
then, I visited Korea now and then. Moreover, because my parents don’t know how
to speak the English language, I speak Korean at home. This is why I know so
much about Korean culture and the language. Anyway, I started teaching her
basic Korean vocabulary words and talked little bit about Korean history. I still remember her face, the way she looked at me; she was amazed. She said, “Wow, Laura, you’re so smart, how can you be fluently in speaking Korean and English.” To tell the truth, I was little embarrassed.
This is what I told her. “Brittney, of course I know how to speak Korean
because I am Korean.” She said, “I know, but it seems like you really know what you’re talking about”. She also said, “I have a friend who immigrated from Korean, but knows nothing about Korea”.

Different goal for all cultures

Completely different goals for all cultures. For example, children in Kwara’ae of Oceania have grown themselves to the market to sell. Likewise, Fore (New Guinea) infants handle knives and fire safely by the time they are able to walk. In America, higher education (learning literature) would be more important.
My Exmaple:
I immigrated to America from Korea when I was about eight years old. In my culture, ‘respecting elders’ is very important. Instead of waving hands to elders, we bow. I have a friend who was born in U.S. I remember we were both watching TV on my bed, and my mom came into my room. My mom expected her to get up and bow to her, but she didn’t get up. Just by looking at my mom’s face, she was in shock. Even though Sarah and I am both Korean, she’s more aware of American culture than Korea culture.

My upbringing

Growing up my parents placed many high standards on me and my siblings in school as well as sports. The main message they placed on us was to never give up on anything. So when things were difficult in a sport or school we were looked down upon if we gave up. I particularly had a frustrating time in math in school, partially because I'm dyslexic so numbers did not seem to click in my brain. I was constantly frustrated and stressed out in math and almost failing. I thought with my bad math grades there was no way that I could possibly get into UW. But I worked my hardest and never gave up in any math classes getting up to pre-calculus. Now I am proud of myself because I have the determination to never give up on anything no matter how hard, and to always strive for the best. I am proud that I have made it further than many people ever thought I would. From being called stupid in elementary school because it took me longer to get certain concepts, to one of the top Universities and more to come. Determination and perseverance has helped me accomplish many goals and shape me as a person.

culture

Culture: Experiences in life have taught me how imperative social justice can be; it opened my eyes to the world, to the different unspoken laws in each culture’s society. The boundaries, morals and unspoken rules of society are inevitable with our human nature because it is in our natural desire to belong and want to be accepted; with this inevitibility, social justice can only be philosophical. These boundaries, morals and unspoken rules are the key to which provides us acceptance into a certain cultural group and without acceptance, I would be lost amongst the world itself. I immigrated to America when I was about eight years old and upon reaching America’s soil, my uncles’ greeting was warm; however, I soon learned that America was not at all that I had expected. WhenI was placed into public school without the knowledge of the English language, I was terrified. My experience was not at all easy because other students were not willing to accept me for who I was or even dare to help me. Rather than being invited over to play a ball of game, I was always alone in a room and finally I decided it was not fun being shuned away from a group. I needed to figure out this particular group’s social habbits (of course then I did not think this way, but rather I am able to logically rethink my past now that I am older) and their morals, their type of language, and their style. The main point was to be able to comprehend the language in order to be able to figure out the smaller parts, which in turn will lead me into acceptance. Finally, I know English language, can communicate with others fluently without any Korean accent, analyzed and accepted their fashion and social habits, and learned their morals. I know I would not have been the same person as I am today if I had not come to America. With all the hardships I had experienced, I collected a lot of wisdom of decision making, taking care of myself, thinking of others, and various other valuable tools needed to become independent.

Entry 5- Development

My personal and life goals are very much shaped by my upbringing from my parents and my religious and cultural beliefs.  Growing up, it was always expected that I would try my hardest in school. I wasn't expected to get all A's, but I was expected to do all of my work and try my hardest to get the best grade possible.  Because I was raised on these expectations, it became a goal of mine to go to college at the UW.  Initially, the goal started out simply wanting to get good grades in classes by doing well on homework and tests, however, over the course of high school, my goal broadened and I was working toward getting into one of the best colleges in the state.  My parents had a big impact on these goals.  Other goals I have include wanting to help people in as many places as possible. This goal stems from my Christian religious beliefs and the fact that I am told to serve others. This is what interested me in the ECFS major.  I have a passion that I have gained both from my parents and my beliefs that is making me strive toward becoming a teacher.  

To me, goals are greatly impacted by what we know. Our goals and the people who influence them are often part of our upbringing and have guided our beliefs all of our lives.  

ZPD example of my own

An example I have of ZPD from my own life would be learning to do different hair styling techniques. As silly as it sounds, my sister use to always do my hair for me in highschool when I went out to dances etc. Then when I was a senior in highschool she helped me do my hair but I could never get it the way I wanted, but eventually through her help could. I reached the ZPD could do my hair completely on my own, and then through internalization I could then transfer the knowledge to my friends and teach them.

sociocultural theory

I really like sociocultural theory personally. As a learner; we participate in a broad range of activities and internalize the effects of working together. As a learner myself, every day when I’m at school, I gain new knowledge. I think group discussion is a great example. I’m a shy person and I have hard time talking in front of people. I do better with small group of people. Through interacting with my peers in class, I get to learn new information from my peers and gain more knowledge. This leads to collaborative learning. When a peer group cooperates to learn and achieve specific goals. I believe that a person can learn more when you interact with others. Scaffolding is also a great strategy for ZPD. This requires instructor to show children how to solve problem step by step. This helps the children to expand their base of knowledge

Internalization

I found what we talked about in class today very interesting, that people internalize different songs from different memories they had when hearing a certain song. I am very musically inclined and constantly listening to music so I can really relate. I have certain songs which bring me back to the first time I met a boyfriend, songs that bring me back to getting ready to go out with my friends in highschool, and songs I used to listen to before basketball games. It is so interesting to me how every time I hear songs connected to significant memories, even years later when I hear the song it takes me right back to that time in my life, or that experience with that person. I think music is a real key aspect of internalization, and a place where you can see it most obviously and frequently.

Entry 4- Sociocultural Theory

I believe that people are always adapting and learning from all of the people around them.  Especially in classroom situations, at all ages, we are constantly learning from one another through communication, discussions and class participation.  Through discussion and communication we are able to enlighten and learn about other people's ideas and look at them in a new way.  By looking at problems differently, it may help us to understand them more clearly or in different ways, which brings them into our ZPD, if they hadn't been before.

I took a physics class in high school that I struggled with greatly.  I was never able to completely grasp the concepts and relate them to one another and apply them to different types of problems. I understood the concepts individually, however could not apply them to real life situations.  Certain lessons and concepts in my physics class, I struggled with more.  We were placed in groups to do a project on one of the concepts I didn't understand, and through working with that group I was able to look at the problem differently.   Physics was outside of my ZPD until I was offered assistance form a peer.  I was told to apply the concepts I was learning in my calculus class to help me with my physics, we were simply doing math problems but applying them to real life examples.  After the assistance from my classmates, and some practice, I was able to complete problems on my own and physics was brought into my ZPD.

Cognitive Theory

I believe that the importance of transfer is most clearly seen in a foreign language classroom. In high school, I took Spanish for four years, but it was not until the last year that students were asked to use the language in an active way. For example, to be able to participate in a debate or write a speech and then share with the class. I remember that earlier on in my learning, I was assigned an occasional small project, such as writing a script with a conversation partner, however most of the learning was transmission and memorization. I also recently had an exchange student from Japan live with my family for a week, and while I noticed that he was able to write and read English very well, he was hardly able to converse in English. His abilities were a reflection of a culture and class environment that values mastery of grammatical skills and rules over conversational skills and active learning.

Behaviorism

In 7th grade, I was placed in a math class that relied entirely on an electronic bubble-answer system, very similar to the learning system in Benny's classroom. There was very little teacher instruction as each student worked at their own level. Some excelled with the method while I did not as I was already a poor math student and failed miserably in this system based on results and answers. I needed a foundation and to be taught concepts and strategies, which was not achievable during quick one to one conferences with the teacher. Unfortunately, this experience negatively affected my views on my ability to do math and I believed that I was simply not smart enough. When I entered high school, my math class was more traditional, in that the structure consisted of an instructor at the front of the classroom with an overhead projector. What stood out to me was that instruction was not rushed, but many problems were done on the board in careful detail. The instructor was also very patient and approachable and encouraged students to come before and after class. Opportunities that I took advantage of and in the end, received an A - in the class. I later found out that my 7th grade math teacher, the Skinner enthusiast, eventually gave up teaching and became an accountant.

Constructivism

I believe that it is very difficult for a teacher with between 30-40 students to give each student the individualized attention that allows the teacher to truly know a student's strengths and weaknesses. Usually a class's ability level is a generalization of the abilities of most of the student's, while those on the periphery slip through the cracks. While I tutored in a ninth-grade classroom at Garfield, there were five volunteers that were able to float around the room and engage students in conversation about the assignment given. This particular teacher also had an assistant teacher. There were many resources immediately available to the students and I believe that many classes should mimic this format. However, most do not and the responsibility of the education of so many students lies on only one teacher.

BEHAVIOR

I find it really interesting how your behavior towards something or someone else can be highly influence by one which you are close with. For example, I was hanging out with some of my friends this last weekend and one of them was telling me how a mutual aquantence did her wrong and hurt her. In tern, I now have a problem with that person as well and will not hang out with them either. Because this is my best friend and I have her back so when someones behavior is rude towards her, or any of my family members I take it personally as well.

Cognitive constructivism

When people are talking to me, I feel as though I think and picture things sort of similarly to Fish.  For example, if someone is talking about their hometown or their house, I tend to associate their descriptions with my hometown or house, the things I know.  Although there are slight variations, when people are talking to me, I generally start off with an image of something I know and adjust it to their description.  I'm sure what I am picturing is not exactly what the speaker is intending, however, it is what I know and is a basis used for what they are talking about.  I feel that, in general, we have the same concept or idea in our minds, just variations of the same overall idea.  For the most part, I don't think what I am picturing or thinking in my head when talking to other people is so different or incorrect that it conflicts with the overall message or idea. It is just simply a variation or adaptation based on my knowledge and what I know. 

I think this is a great example of Cobb's idea of knowledge construction.  People build off of what they know and apply new concepts to these ideas concrete ideas to help them learn and apply new ideas and meanings.

Ashley-
"I knew the boys intentions and the fact that the two had come to an understanding. However, the teacher only observed the behavior and assumed the worst". I agree with this. This happens all the time at my preschool. Especially when I work with toddlers. Working with toddlers, it's always hard to ask them what's on their mind. Moreover, because they can't speak that well at that age. As a teacher, I always have to talk to the child what happen and see what the problem is.

Behavior

In replying to Ashley's post on behavior I agree that we can't just see a behavior and automatically make an assumption. We need to talk to the child about their actions, and what is in their head instead of just seeing the tale end of a problem and automatically seeing the negative without really talking the action out and then being able to identify what the root cause was of the behavior.

Behavior

In the preschool classroom I volunteer in, a little boy was asked to share his toy, and although he was initially irritated with the situation and did not want to share, he realized that he and his friend could trade toys and was willing to do it.  I observed this interaction and understood that they were both willing to share, however, one of the boys tossed his toy to his friend to catch but it hit him in the head instead and caused him to cry.  The teacher only witnessed the boy getting hit by the toy and assumed he was bullying and being aggressive, when that was not his intention at all.  I knew the boys intentions and the fact that the two had come to an understanding.  However, the teacher only observed the behavior and assumed the worst. 

I believe that external, observable behavior is only a starting point.  Although a person's behavior and their actions are the only things we can see, it is not everything.  It is true we cannot always know what is going on in someone's mind, in my opinion, it is still very important because that is what their true intentions are.  Intentions and understandings are what motivate behavior and cause us to act in a certain way.  Although they may be misperceived by someone else or not acted out in the most effective way, I still believe that what is guiding our actions is the most important thing. 

behavior

Yes, I think behavior plays important role in our everyday life. This is because how can we know what’s going on in someone else’s mind? For instance, if you want to know if a student knows what “dog” means. She can just tell you that she knows what “dog” means, but she can be lying. How can you find out that she’s not lying? You can have her explain what “dog” means. (And I think this come from people’s behavior). I don’t think behavior is enough because behavior is temporary thing that is determined by circumstances. However, it’s hard to measure something without a behavior. I believe that you should also consider “intentions” or “understanding.” This matter as well.

my own personal experience

For this weeks blog I would like to talk about my own personal experience with learning. When I was a freshman in high school I was having a horrible time in math class. I did not understand any of the material and was failing every test. Then one day someone suggested that I see a math teacher that tutors during lunch. I started to see him everyday at lunch for a few weeks and had him go over concepts from my homework that I did not understand. He did a great job of explaining concepts to me by drawing pictures, graphs, and relating them to real life. The next test I got the second highest grade in the class, and my first A on a math test that year. It felt great, and reassured me that I was not bad at math I was just being taught the wrong way.