Learning Letter

1.     All if the work we have completed I fully enjoyed doing and I actually learned a lot about different countries and the different cultures. When I first joined this class I thought that we would be reading actual children's books with pictures. When I looked at the readings and realized that these were chapter books, I was surprised. I likes that before every book discussion in class we had to do research on the book as a whole. I thought this was very helpful when discussing the book and comparing how real the books were in compared to what happened in real life considering that most of these books we real were fiction. The hardest project for me to do was when we got to be in groups of 2 or 3 and research on two borders. I thought this was hard because it was hard to find information on our countries and we didn't know exactly what we were doing. The end project for this turned out nicely however I thought this was the hardest project. My favorite project was actually the family project. My group did extended family and I thought it was so fun to read stories on extended family and relate to the messages that the stories were saying. The other groups I was surprised on how much information and children books there were on same sex parenting. I had no idea and it was really eye opening. I also really enjoyed the museum display. I thought this was a great way to express who you were as a person and it gave the class a change to get to know everyone on a personal level. I liked seeing everyone's creativity on how they were going to express themselves. The most interesting blog for me was doing research on Nepal/India and human trafficking. I learned about human trafficking when I went to youth group in high school, so I had a little bit of background on that already. I just thought that the topic was interesting and I just kept wanting to add more to my blog the more I researched.

2.     When talking about the readings, we covered a lot of topics but also there were a lot of similarities throughout each book. For example, the age of all the children that we read about really opened my eyes about what children in other countries have to go through for very little or no cash. The age in every book really shocked me. As a class we also talked about how money can influence anyone to do something. If it is for your family, or for yourself money is important to everyone and is needed to survive. Greed is a big factor of these books. Another topic that we talked about in class was regret and acceptance or at least that is what I took out of the last couple books. Especially in a long way gone. You need to be able to accept yourself before you can live through your life. Acceptance of crossing the border and be able to do something greater for your family or accepting killing innocent people or accepting that you were in sex trafficking is hard to do. And each story they did accept what they did and in most cases their families accepted them and what they did as well. That was a good thing. Im glad that most of the stories we read had happy endings. I also thought that when we discussed things in class it helped to understand each book and the reason behind each story. Some stories I would not give younger students until they are in high school because of the content. But I did enjoy all of the readings and discussions.

3.     I participated a good amount I think through out the course. Throughout the course I saw myself as a citizen of the world as sometimes helpless because I'm not doing much for other people. It defiantly opened my eyes when it came to wanting to do more to help people. And I think that as a teacher I can do that. It is just hard because as of right now I feel like I can't do much. I don't have money because I'm a poor college student and I'm busy with school. However I do want to do more for the community. Start small and when I get older do more for the students as a teacher and influence students in a positive light. I want to do more because of this class.

4.     My plan of action im going to start small. I decided that I am going to continue to volunteer as a mentor at Cheney Middle School next year. I loved doing it this last year and it helps local kids in the community stay on the right track and also allows me to be doing something with kids which is what I want to do when I'm older anyway. I also want to study abroad in the next year to be able to see the world and a different country. Im going go take our speaker Sean's advice and travel as much as I can while im young because that gives me a chance to see the world through other people's eyes. Between these two things I think I will continue to carry on with the information I have encountered and learned and use it in my future.

Graffiti Wall

I decided to have my main picture of the borders of the world. I wanted this to be my main picture in the background because throughout the entire quarter we have connected everything with borders and boundaries. I also chose to put an American flag to represent not only freedom from the last book and how he became free but also to represent that the US was always showing freedom. I decided to add the tree that is half blowing up and half peaceful to represent specifically "war and peace". I likes how it looked and how it shows on the bottom half not a tree blowing up but just a huge explosion. And the top shows the tree and how things can be peaceful after war. I placed the peace sign next to the tree representing war and peace because at the end of every story we read, there was usually a happy ending. I liked that it was black and red because it I feel that these colors represent evil and war and the objects making the peace sign is weapons which can represent good or evil. I thought it was another good representation of war and peace, along with good and evil. I decided to put the children at the bottom of the screen holding hands from different parts of the world to show family and that most of the books we read were about children that were younger than they should be to go through the things they did. For example the last book that we read. A 12 year old  boy fighting war and shooting innocent people. I placed a hand print of all the flags of different counties next to the children because I felt that both of these represent culture and children and families which can all be related to the books we have been reading in class.

The words that I have placed throughout my collage are chosen because in the end if you want freedom from your challenges then you need to take risks and the boy in the last story showed that by taking a risk to leave and never go back. He took control of his life so I put the word control there and he accepted what he had done and was able to live with himself. Therefore I placed the word acceptance in the shape of a heart because you need to be able to love and accept yourself in order to move on with decision that you have made or been forced into.

I believe that because of the pictures that I chose in their own way each one represents a piece of war peace and the different books that we have read in one way or another. 

A Long Way Gone Response

I could not put this book down when I started reading it and realized that it was a true story as well blew my mind. When I did my research I looked into more of the culture of Sierra Leone but not the awful details of what they would do to the soldiers to make sure that they would work and fight for their country. As a twelve year old boy as well it would be so hard to fight for something that you don’t even really believe in. To have everything that you know and love including family and friends and have it taken away from you like that in the blink of an eye. To think that a boy was just playing with his friends minding his own business and the next thing you know he is a soldier in the army, living in fear.

The fact that a twelve year old boy fears that he will be a killing machine at that age breaks my heart. I think about when I was twelve and what I was doing is a different story. And I realize that my childhood and Ishmael’s childhood were in totally different time periods but still the way he was treated. He was forced to do hard drugs such as cocaine or marijuana so that these boys pretty much would fight for something that they didn’t want to fight for nor should they be fighting for at that age. As I was reading this I kept thinking about how I would be feeling if this happened to me. The worst thing in my life so far is when I had my grandpa die and that is nothing compared to this story. Going through something even similar to that is hard to do and the fact that Ishmael survived and was able to tell his story shows what a strong person he is and what he can do to have a better life for himself.

I believe there is always an angel for you in heaven and on earth and Ishmael’s angel on earth was the nurse Esther who helped him to understand that what he has done is not his fault and that he needs to find it in himself to forgive before he can move on in his life. Without Esther I don’t believe that Ishmael would be the same person in the end. Also the fact that Ishmael’s actual family supported and welcomed him back surprised me because in other books we have read there is usually no family that is willing to accept the things that these children are forced to do and I thought it was a great change that his family was so accepting. When reading the end of the book I got so happy that he was being saved and able to tell his story. If I were him and I found out that there were other children like me that went through the same thing I would be happy because I have people to relate to who understand what Ishmael went through.

Overall I really enjoyed reading this book and loved that it was a true story. The detail of the story and the way that it was written was easy to read and full of life. I have a lot of respect for Ishmael and his story.

Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone is a country in West Africa that is bordered by Guinea to the northeast, Liberia to the southeast and the Atlantic Ocean to the southwest. There are about six million people that live in Sierra Leone. The capital is Freetown which is also the largest city in Sierra Leone. Their main language is English which I was surprised about but it is only really used in the government. However the Kiro language is usually the language that the people communicate with. This country is mainly a Muslim country with a little bit of Christian minority and is also one of the most religiously tolerant countries in the world. The word Sierra Leoa means Lioness Mountains and in 1462 a Portuguese explorer Pedro de Sintra visited the area naming it for the landscape around Freetown. It gained independence in 1961 and became a republic country in 1971.

Sierra Leone Education has a “6-3-3-4 education system” which was introduced in 1993 that consist of nine years of basic education. At the end of six years of primary education, all students sit for the National Primary School Examination (NPSE). If successful, they proceed to junior secondary education for three years and then sit for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). Successful BECE candidates proceed to three years of senior secondary school, at the end of which they sit for the West African Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). If you fail the BECE the student can either take it again or get a job. If they pass the student may go on to a university to get a four year degree. One thing I thought was interesting was that the government pays the examination fee for all students in government assisted schools who take each exam. The government does this so that all students have a chance to move onto a better or more education and takes the pressure of payment off of the parents or other people that the students live with. This way all students have an equal chance to get a good education in Sierra Leone.

The main reasons put forward by the perpetrators of the civil war were lack of social-economic opportunities overall, lack of access by many citizens to what economic life there was, and tyrannical political rule. Today, Sierra Leone enjoys a liberalized economy and relative peace. The Sierra Leone Civil War was from 1991-2002. It began on March 23 1991 as the Revolutionary United Front attempted to overthrow the government. This war involved multiple ethnic groups and throughout this ten year war over 50,000 people died. More than half a million people fled to nearby countries to get away from this war because it was so unsafe. Because of the war the government stopped paying civil servants and teachers. The war caused the government to slowly disintegrate as a result of the political class. The country had been compromised by the government and people felt that nothing in the society was going to change because of political issues happening in the country.

Revolution is Not a Dinner Party

Revolution is Not a Dinner Party was a really eye opening book that made me realize how different two worlds can be. To think all of these things happened to a nine year old girl. When I was nine I was in third grade, playing with dolls without a worry in the world. While Ling had to deal with so much like losing her hair, being alone, and watching her father be taken away from her.

For me I am such a daddy’s girl. I look up to my dad and any chance I can get I am going to be with my dad to do something or just talk and hang out. I feel like that Ling and I have that in common. She adored her father and spent lots of afternoons and nights with him to learn English and be around to talk to. If my dad was taken away from me at such a young age I would be heart broken and would never be as strong as Ling was in the book. The amount of strength that Ling has that she proves many times throughout the book is unbelievable to me.

All the nights that she spent alone because her mom worked shows how strong she is. I would never be able to do that. I was thinking as I was reading this that what she does to survive and deals with is so cool. She deals with bullying at school and comes home to a pretty much empty house and knowing that her father is gone and her country is being destroyed.

Ling loved her hair and I would too if I had long beautiful hair. Her hair was something that would always be hers and made her who she was. The part in the story that really broke my heart was when she slept in the lice invested room and she had to cut it all off because she had so much lice. If I lost something like my hair that I loved so much I would be devastated. I had lice once when I was a kid and remember my mom cleaning my sheets every night, and doing so much and not being able to sit many places because my lice would spread. My mom said that if I ever got lice again I would have to cut all of my hair off and I never wanted to do that. So I can’t imagine how heartbroken Ling must have been.

I think about what if America had something like the Cultural Revolution in China and how it would be the same and how it would be different. I think that if we had something like that in America it would not be as intense as it was in China. The fact that they couldn’t speak in English or listen to any type of English radio I found that weird. It shows how different our cultures are.

One thing that I really enjoyed about this book was that there was a happy ending in the story. Most of the stories we have read in class have had sad endings or left me wanting to read more and not being able to. This was an actual happily ever after and I was glad. This little girl went through so much and it was a good thing that she got her mother and her father back.

US immigration

US immigration has been going on since the 17^th century. There are always multiple reasons why someone from another country wants to come to the United States. It could be because they have family in the US, they want a better opportunity to work and raise a family or they plan on getting married to a citizen once they cross over. Despite the reason that immigrants come over to the United States, numbers have done nothing but increase over the years of people coming into the United States. In the last 60 years the United States went from 249,187 in 1950 to in 2012 having 1,031,631 people granted legal permanent resident status. While most immigration comes from Mexico and China there are still thousands of people who come from India, Philippines, Dominican Republic, Americas, Asia, Africa, and Europe.

When reading the books that we have in class including “Crossing the Wire” it made me feel sad about people are crossing the border to survive. Also the fact they are only doing this because they can’t survive in the country that they are from. In my opinion the United States looks at all people that are immigrants as “aliens” and we should not be doing that. Especially in someone has been in the US their entire lives because they came over to the states as a baby and don’t know any other country customs. It reminds me of the part in “Crossing the Wire” when the American man who only knew English paid for tacos with a ten dollar bill and the taco truck man didn’t give him change back until the boys told the truck driver not to rip the guy off. It is cases that follow those lines that make me wonder if the US is always doing the right thing when deporting everyone that they can.

I looked up research on the process of US immigration and found out that it is a very complex process that has to be done in order to become a citizen the legally. There is a limit of 675,000 permanent immigrants with exceptions that enter the US every year. The president and congress determine admissions for the United States.

If there is immigration that is family based then there are three ways that they can get into the country. You have to be a spouse of an US citizen, unmarried minor children of U.S. citizen, who are under 21 years old or parents of a US citizen which you have to be at least 21 years old. Another way to get into the US in employment-based immigration which gives non US citizens temporary visas. There are 5 different types of temporary visas that I found which include transfers, athletes, entertainers and skilled performers, religious workers, domestic employees, extraordinary ability or high skilled employment. These all fall under different categories to allow immigrants to get a temporary or permanent visa.

Through the research I have done and the readings we have done in class it has really opened my eyes about the process and information and struggles that immigrants have to go through in order to become a US citizen.

Crossing The Wire Response

When I first started reading this book it broke my heart that he Victor was so use to being hungry and surviving off of so little. I can’t imagine being his age and feeling like he has to take care of his mother and all of his siblings. The priest wasn't kidding when he said he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. I perseverance dedication and something to go on for was so inspiring. He went through so much in what seemed like a lifetime, but was really only a few weeks.

When victor first decided that he was going to go across the border in following his father’s footsteps and how scared he was but by the end he was even braver than Rico, that surprised me because he seemed so scared and had mostly good luck along the way. He also had a happy yet sad ending. He was happy because he was able to send lots of money home to his family but sad because he was saying goodbye to his best friend for who knows how long.

When Victor was making his journey with Rico and they saved that border patrol guy who had hit his head and was passing out because of the heat and injury it made me so sad when the boys asked him questions about how they were going to get deported. The man replied with we aren’t always bad and tried to justify his job. This made me think about how everyone has had a hard job that they have to do but don’t always want to do. Everyone has reason to do something. Like Victor needed to get to America to save his family and this man needed to work to catch thieves not just try and ruin immigrants’ lives.

Crossing the wire to Victor meant more than anything to him, but to the men he ran into at first he was just a boy that didn’t know anything but he quickly proved himself. Whenever you get looked down upon I at least give up because people don’t believe in me but Victor didn’t have that option. He has his father looking down on him and his mother in his heart. When it go and gets tough you try and try again. Victor proved this more than once in the book and I was surprised honestly. Through all negative and the friends that he had lost along the way he kept going and believing.

This book also talked about conquering your fear. Rico would always make fun of him for being scared of rattle snakes and sure enough the trouble that Rico got them into, Victor runs into a rattlesnake that bites him. Overcoming your fears is a big part of not only this book but life in general. I have always been scared of needles and when I got older I had to get a shot for school. I was freaking out and panicking a lot but when the nurse finally gave me the shot I realized it wasn't that bad. I’m still scared of needles but I don’t mind shots as much as I use too.

Crossing the wire showed me not only that you need to be brave but also that everyone is facing challenges that you don’t always know about. Even your best friend might not know about all of the challenges that you are facing in life, just like Rico didn’t know all that was going on in Victor’s home life. I really enjoyed reading this book to the point where I couldn’t put it down. It really opened my eyes about the struggles that people have not only crossing the border but realizing that every day is a challenge that you have to overcome.