TransformativeLearningand the Belief that Teachingis a SpiritualJourney
No Dreams Deferred
(presented at an 8th Annual Diversity Summit on Inclusive Excellence, May 1st, 2009)
More dreams will be deferred and denied. And our nation will sink deeper into a crisis that,
at some point, we may not be able to reverse.
—Obama’s speech on
"American Recovery and Reinvestment"Jan. 2009
What you have just viewed is a snapshot into the history that preceded my decision to pursue education up through the doctoral level. Both born in Mexico, my father’s parents arrived to the US in their youth. They found their way to Pueblo, Colorado following the lure of its railroad and steel mill. As young adults, they met, married, and started a family in Eden, Colorado—a railroad shanty town. My father doesn’t remember much about his first home, describing it only as a “shack.” He, John Steven Berumen, was born May of 1941. By September that same year, his father had passed away from tuberculosis. My grandmother, Phyllis, Olivas-Berumen, an uneducated Mexican national was left to raise two small children on her own. She hitched a ride with her former brother-in-law, Hilbert, to Fresco, California where she and her two small children (ages 5 and 10 at the time) joined the hundreds (possibly thousands) of migrant workers. They slept in make-shift tents on location, suffered both the elements and perpetual poverty—earning $1.00 - $3.00 a day. They were only supposed to stay for one season of harvest, but my grandmother couldn’t turn down a job offered at a local restaurant, given the hope that it brought for a better life. But her children were homesick. With what I can only imagine as a heavy heart, she relented—and sent them back to her mother in Pueblo. She joined them within a year.
My Aunt and father were born in the United States. They are Americana. Chicano. Mexican-American. This makes me only second generation American on my father’s side. I am the first within my immediate family to earn a four-year degree. While a few of my extended cousins have also earned degrees, I have never had the luxury of hearing their narrative struggles of obtaining an education in a country that even today treats us as though we don’t belong. I am happy to say at [this university], people are overwhelmingly inclusive—and well meaning. However, even here, I have experienced awkwardness because of my heritage—one person complimented me on my English. With the best of intentions, this fellow student assumed I was a second language citizen. My father, who was hit with rulers in school when he spoke the language of his home, the only language his grandmother and co-guardian knew, never taught my sister and I, thinking it would give us an advantage he hadn’t had. And when I shared my story about the way in which I sometimes feel as though no one in my family can fully understand or appreciate my choice to pursue a doctoral degree, a second fellow student responded by saying, “I can just see it—a friend of mine is Mexican, and I can just see her mother saying, ‘No-no, hijita, no más’.” My mother, however, is German.
These examples, and my singular history, are meant only as catalysts for dialogue. They are offered in the spirit of what makes [this university] so progressive. They are a place to begin. There is no logical reason for me to be here today. I graduated from high school—just barely. Graduation wasn’t a necessary goal in my life. I didn’t have high school counselors seeking me out to talk about filling out college applications—I didn’t even know what the ACT was. I met my husband my junior year of high school and graduated early to begin work as a legal secretary for a local attorney. Most of my family and my husband’s family thought I had stumbled into the most fortunate job imaginable—and leaving to begin a family and pursue a higher education was seen as a foolish, even a selfish, choice. It was idol daydreaming that would get me no where. After earning my BA in English from the city where my grandmother took root, Pueblo, Colorado, I went on to pursue a Master of Fine Arts from LIU’s Southampton College in New York. And now, I stand before you as doctoral student in this community, showcasing how one small life can be rich with the history of ascension.
President Obama cannot succeed in his hopes for change without the help of America’s intelligentsia. The old way of politics was those who have, have all say. Obama is trying to do more than just clean house; he’s attempting to establish a new set of norms—finding the best minded individuals to serve in appropriate seats. Unfortunately, the state of the country’s economic troubles could close the deal before he even has a chance. Institutions such as [this one] need to recognize how vital their role is in cultivating and supporting the voices of those who can help support the mission of change in the very near future—graduate student voices especially, as they are the ones whose completed degrees will bring with them innate respect and unlock doors that may otherwise be closed because of race, gender, religion or disability.
In his “American Recovery and Reinvestment” speech, President Barack Obama called on us—those educated or diverse enough to recognize the allusion. What he was really asking was: How much longer are we willing to hesitate and watch what we know to be true unfold when a dream is deferred? Pleading with us to join him in putting an end to the festering, dried up fruitlessness of former inaction, Obama is reminding us that he is just one man—but WE are many, y sí se puede.
SoWh a t ?
Abstract
How powerful is narrative, and how often can we change our given story? Are there tools to enhance the story—deliver it more powerfully? Friesen, Alheit, and Usher address the issue of life practices and life courses which are sculpted within the context of an individual’s surroundings. Three key components demand contemplation: cultural diversity, the “quick-change” nature of modern life practices, and the potential of voice. This wiki brings the three components together in a shared place. With the use of modern technology, the intent is to utilize the author’s own biographicity to inspire analyzes of the contextual learning environments she has been influenced by and responded to, and to challenge its viewers/readers to engage in multisensory ways.
Introduction
This wiki was created in response to a graduate course final presentation assignment. The primary texts used in the course were: Back to the Basics of Teaching and Learning: "Thinking the World Together" by David W. Jardine, Patricia Clifford and Sharon Friesen; and Contemporary Theories of Learning: Learning theorists . . . in their own words edited by Knud Illeris. What follows are links to each of the three authors of focus--Sharon Friesen, Peter Alheit, and Robin Usher. While there is much to discuss concerning the work of each author, the purpose of this wiki project is to link these authors' thinking to the central ideas of narrative, multicultural inclusivity, and the rise and nature of information technology (IT).
As I move further along in my graduate studies, it becomes increasingly more difficult for me respond to new theories in isolation, and as doing so would likely defeat the purpose of Curriculum & Instruction's philosophical foundations, I have decided not to pick apart, come at things anew, or compartmentalize the new theorists and ideas I encounter, but rather have decided instead to continue this wiki and add onto it for as long as it appears fitting to do so. I am currently enrolled in a Sociology of Education course as well as an independent study, and will use this space to further reflect upon my own educational/multicultural experiences as they relate to course material. The following links will provide the focus for these thoughts.
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