1. Over the course of my time spent at Rock Island High School I noticed several themes when I was interacting with the students. First of all was the presence of the uncertainty avoidance that was felt both by me and the students. The first time I went to volunteer I did not know what to expect so I felt nervous and anxious because it was a new experience I was not used to. This was because people are more comfortable interacting with people from their own culture since they have a general idea how they will react to different situations. Going into this experience, I was not sure how people from another culture would react to situations that might arise. There was also some uncertainty avoidance that became apparent as I was talking with students about activities that are common in America. The most prominent example is the girl I was talking with who was scared of driving whereas most American teens cannot wait to get their license. Another theme that was present were underlying assumptions. Before ever stepping foot into the high school I was told all about what kind of place it was by people who had grown up in Davenport, Iowa and had stereotypes about it. I had already made assumptions about the people I would be tutoring before I even met them and that is not fair to them. Like most assumptions, mine were wrong and the kids turned out to be very nice and were pretty well adjusted to American culture to the point where they fit right in. Another theme that was evident was the presence of in-groups and out-groups. When there would be a group of them talking with each other I felt like a part of the out-group because they would start talking in their native language and I would not know what was being said. At other times, however, I felt like part of the in-group. For example, one day when I was playing Scrabble with some of them, there was a nice, easy conversation flowing and it felt like I was talking to people I had known for awhile.
2. This experience will be very helpful for preparing me for future interpersonal interactions. I plan on being a physical therapist when I am older which deals a lot with talking to people one-on-one. The skills I have learned through this short time have taught me how best to effectively interact with people I do not know as well and don't feel as comfortable around. Communication skills are also very important in many other situations as well. For example, when interviewing for a job it is important to be able to make a good first impression and be able to convey knowledge and confidence in what you are doing. I think I was able to learn how to do this when tutoring because I wanted to appear as though I knew what I was talking about in regards to the various subjects without trying to appear like I knew everything. In general, this experience gave me confidence in dealing with people I am not as comfortable with as well an appreciation for other cultures that I do not know as much about.
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Service Blog #4
1. When I went to Rock Island High School the past couple times I did a lot of things that I thought were really cool. One time when I was there in the science class they were working on making water filtration systems in their lab and I thought that was really neat to help with them and they were fun to make. Then in the study skills class they have I helped two different girls with their math homework. One of them was a senior and she was really eager to learn and was excited about doing the assignment. The other one was younger and was more timid. It seemed like she was uncomfortable asking for help and when I started helping her she was very reserved and it seemed like she was self-conscious about getting the answer wrong as we were talking through the problem together. That day we also helped with a class that was mentally disabled. Before we came they had made some fall desserts and we sat with them eating the desserts and talking about what their plans for Halloween were. Another day when I was there I helped a girl with her Driver's Ed homework and talked with her about how she was nervous about driving and was worried about crashing.
2. While I was working with a girl on her Driver's Ed homework and she was talking about how nervous she was the first thing that struck me was that it seemed very similar to the uncertainty avoidance concept. Most teenagers in America cannot wait to start driving and really love getting behind the wheel to drive everywhere. However, this young lady from a different culture was scared by this same act. She said she had never drove anything before and was scared by the thought of doing so. I think this shows a difference in cultures. Teenagers in America have grown up knowing they will drive someday and have driven bicycles, lawn mowers, and other vehicles that have helped them get used to the idea. Teenagers in other cultures may not have grown up with as much exposure to driving and are therefore more nervous about the idea and try to avoid it. I was also able to notice some nonverbal messages during the biology lab I was helping with. In building the water filtration system it was easy to tell if someone was confused because they would wrinkle their brow and just stare at the instructions for awhile without doing anything. This is a pretty universal symbol that someone is unsure of what to do next so then I would know to go over and see if they needed help instead of waiting for them to come to me to ask for help. Lastly, during their study skills class it was a little awkward for me trying to help a girl who did not know how to multiply simple numbers. Her assignment was multiplying double digit numbers and it was clear she did not understand what to do. She said that she had never gone to school on a consistent basis before and I think that shows how gender egalitarianism does not extend to all cultures. Males are often times seen as superior and they are the ones that are sent to school to get educated while the females are left at home because they are not seen as good enough.
3. I think the most important thing I will take away from these visits are that not all cultures are comfortable with the same things and how to effectively decipher nonverbal cues. It was really eye-opening for me to listen to a teenager talk about how she is scared to drive and doesn't want to when most other teenagers are counting down the days until they get to drive. I will now be more aware that not all cultures feel the same way about certain activities and to respect the feelings they may have. Also, having to rely on nonverbal cues for a good amount of time during biology showed me how important it is to be able to read them effectively. At one point I went up and asked a group if they needed help because it looked like they might but it turns out they were fine and I didn't want to make them feel like they weren't doing a good enough job on their own. I also didn't want to leave a group who needed help without assistance. It is difficult to read nonverbal cues sometimes but it is an essential part of communicating effectively.
2. While I was working with a girl on her Driver's Ed homework and she was talking about how nervous she was the first thing that struck me was that it seemed very similar to the uncertainty avoidance concept. Most teenagers in America cannot wait to start driving and really love getting behind the wheel to drive everywhere. However, this young lady from a different culture was scared by this same act. She said she had never drove anything before and was scared by the thought of doing so. I think this shows a difference in cultures. Teenagers in America have grown up knowing they will drive someday and have driven bicycles, lawn mowers, and other vehicles that have helped them get used to the idea. Teenagers in other cultures may not have grown up with as much exposure to driving and are therefore more nervous about the idea and try to avoid it. I was also able to notice some nonverbal messages during the biology lab I was helping with. In building the water filtration system it was easy to tell if someone was confused because they would wrinkle their brow and just stare at the instructions for awhile without doing anything. This is a pretty universal symbol that someone is unsure of what to do next so then I would know to go over and see if they needed help instead of waiting for them to come to me to ask for help. Lastly, during their study skills class it was a little awkward for me trying to help a girl who did not know how to multiply simple numbers. Her assignment was multiplying double digit numbers and it was clear she did not understand what to do. She said that she had never gone to school on a consistent basis before and I think that shows how gender egalitarianism does not extend to all cultures. Males are often times seen as superior and they are the ones that are sent to school to get educated while the females are left at home because they are not seen as good enough.
3. I think the most important thing I will take away from these visits are that not all cultures are comfortable with the same things and how to effectively decipher nonverbal cues. It was really eye-opening for me to listen to a teenager talk about how she is scared to drive and doesn't want to when most other teenagers are counting down the days until they get to drive. I will now be more aware that not all cultures feel the same way about certain activities and to respect the feelings they may have. Also, having to rely on nonverbal cues for a good amount of time during biology showed me how important it is to be able to read them effectively. At one point I went up and asked a group if they needed help because it looked like they might but it turns out they were fine and I didn't want to make them feel like they weren't doing a good enough job on their own. I also didn't want to leave a group who needed help without assistance. It is difficult to read nonverbal cues sometimes but it is an essential part of communicating effectively.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Service Blog #3
1. This time when I was volunteering there were not many people who needed help with homework. Instead, I played Scrabble with some of the kids. Scrabble has never really been my forte, but I thought it would be fun to sit down and be able to have a conversation with them aside from focusing mostly on their school work. We played for about half an hour before that class was over for them. It was interesting getting to know them better. It seemed like they were very much assimilated to the American culture before but after having an actual conversation with them, it is easy to see that there are still some aspects of their culture they keep with them. This was evident even in the game of Scrabble. They would sometimes use words from their native language and would then explain to me what each of those words meant. I was also able to talk to them about what they thought of our culture and how different it is from what they are used to. From this question I got mixed answers. One boy told me that he is pretty much used to it and it seems normal to him. A different girl told me she thought it was hard to get used to at first but now she's seemed to have adjusted to it. She did say that she misses some of the food they used to eat and mentioned in particular a certain kind of bread that I forgot the name to, but it seemed like it would be comparable to what we call monkey bread. Overall, I had a great time getting to know more about their culture and about them individually.
2. During this visit I felt like I was both a member of the in-group and the out-group. I felt like part of the in-group because sitting there playing a board game with them felt really natural and we were able to talk about things we had in common like how school was going, if they were interested in sports, and that type of thing. I did feel like part of the out-group though when they would talk about their culture because they all had that in common and I was pretty much clueless about what different things meant and had to ask questions about almost everything. I could also tell that they were from a collectivist culture because of how they referred to different things. For example they were not very competitive with the board game we played. In my family growing up if we played a game it usually ended in a fight because someone was mad they didn't win. I also noticed that when they talked about doing things outside of school they were always with other people. It was never, "I went grocery shopping" or "I went to the mall." Instead they would use "we" a lot and mentioned the group instead of just themselves.
3. I think what I learned here is going to be very beneficial to my future visits. Being able to learn more about their culture and some of what they're going through will help me interact better with them in the future. I will know how to better relate to them and I think it helped to break some of the remaining ice that may have been there. Once again I felt myself self-monitoring a little at the beginning but once we started playing and talking I was able to relax more interacting with each other felt natural. This will definitely help me because I don't think I will need that time to get used to being there and helping out for awhile before feeling comfortable, I will be able to jump right in and have things feel natural.
2. During this visit I felt like I was both a member of the in-group and the out-group. I felt like part of the in-group because sitting there playing a board game with them felt really natural and we were able to talk about things we had in common like how school was going, if they were interested in sports, and that type of thing. I did feel like part of the out-group though when they would talk about their culture because they all had that in common and I was pretty much clueless about what different things meant and had to ask questions about almost everything. I could also tell that they were from a collectivist culture because of how they referred to different things. For example they were not very competitive with the board game we played. In my family growing up if we played a game it usually ended in a fight because someone was mad they didn't win. I also noticed that when they talked about doing things outside of school they were always with other people. It was never, "I went grocery shopping" or "I went to the mall." Instead they would use "we" a lot and mentioned the group instead of just themselves.
3. I think what I learned here is going to be very beneficial to my future visits. Being able to learn more about their culture and some of what they're going through will help me interact better with them in the future. I will know how to better relate to them and I think it helped to break some of the remaining ice that may have been there. Once again I felt myself self-monitoring a little at the beginning but once we started playing and talking I was able to relax more interacting with each other felt natural. This will definitely help me because I don't think I will need that time to get used to being there and helping out for awhile before feeling comfortable, I will be able to jump right in and have things feel natural.
Monday, October 7, 2013
Service Blog #2
1. When I was first going in to the high school on the first day of volunteering, I was very nervous about what was going to happen. I didn't know much about the people I would be helping or if I would even be able to help them. I didn't really have much reason to be worried though because everything went really smoothly. On the first time I helped a girl with her math homework and then we played hangman together with the time we had left. The next time I went in I helped a different girl with her math and I was actually surprised at how good it felt to see her understand it and be able to finish some of the problems on her own. That day I also stayed for a longer time and helped a boy draw and diagram a picture of a cell and also read to a younger girl for a little while. I was a little surprised at how well they were able to pick up what I was saying and apply it to the work they were doing. I guess I had this idea going in that they weren't going to be able to understand what I was saying and everything would be a huge challenge.
2. I think there are a few terms and concepts that are relevant to what I experienced. The first is the Uncertainty-Reduction Theory. Before actually interacting with people from a different culture I felt very nervous because I was not sure what to expect. This is because different cultures do things in different ways and we all feel most comfortable when we know how the other person might react, this does not always happen when dealing with different cultures. The second is how I was surprised at how well the people I were tutoring were understanding what I was saying and what was going on. First, this is an example of the assumptions I made going in. I didn't think they would be able to understand me and would act totally different because they were from another part of the world. I made the mistake of mixing race and ethnicity with culture. While the two are closely related, they are not the same thing. These kids were from different areas of the world but they were accustomed to American culture and they really seemed just like any other kid. Another aspect of this is that we were able to understand each other well because we are about the same age. There are many different influences on perception and age is one of them. We are able to see the world similarly because we have had about equal time and seen similar things. Of course not everything we have seen is the same, they have experienced a different culture, as well as having to leave that culture. Their views of the world are definitely different, and probably more advanced then mine but we were still able to connect to each other because we are close in age. The last thing I noticed is that when dealing with the kids is that I was self-monitoring. I was trying to be careful to be very clear in what I was saying and not use words that were too big. I also wanted to make myself seem smart in the subject matter so they would trust me and I also tried not to seem too ignorant of their culture, even though I was.
3. What I learned can be applied to future interactions because I will know better what to expect. I know that these kids are very easy to talk to and relate to so my feelings of nervousness will not nearly be as high. I will also know more about how to communicate with them. It really isn't any different than I communicate with anyone else. I can explain the concepts they need help with in the same ways that I would think of them as and they will understand them. I will also know how to present myself. While I don't think my self-monitoring will completely stop, I know I will feel more comfortable and as a result will probably do less of it.
2. I think there are a few terms and concepts that are relevant to what I experienced. The first is the Uncertainty-Reduction Theory. Before actually interacting with people from a different culture I felt very nervous because I was not sure what to expect. This is because different cultures do things in different ways and we all feel most comfortable when we know how the other person might react, this does not always happen when dealing with different cultures. The second is how I was surprised at how well the people I were tutoring were understanding what I was saying and what was going on. First, this is an example of the assumptions I made going in. I didn't think they would be able to understand me and would act totally different because they were from another part of the world. I made the mistake of mixing race and ethnicity with culture. While the two are closely related, they are not the same thing. These kids were from different areas of the world but they were accustomed to American culture and they really seemed just like any other kid. Another aspect of this is that we were able to understand each other well because we are about the same age. There are many different influences on perception and age is one of them. We are able to see the world similarly because we have had about equal time and seen similar things. Of course not everything we have seen is the same, they have experienced a different culture, as well as having to leave that culture. Their views of the world are definitely different, and probably more advanced then mine but we were still able to connect to each other because we are close in age. The last thing I noticed is that when dealing with the kids is that I was self-monitoring. I was trying to be careful to be very clear in what I was saying and not use words that were too big. I also wanted to make myself seem smart in the subject matter so they would trust me and I also tried not to seem too ignorant of their culture, even though I was.
3. What I learned can be applied to future interactions because I will know better what to expect. I know that these kids are very easy to talk to and relate to so my feelings of nervousness will not nearly be as high. I will also know more about how to communicate with them. It really isn't any different than I communicate with anyone else. I can explain the concepts they need help with in the same ways that I would think of them as and they will understand them. I will also know how to present myself. While I don't think my self-monitoring will completely stop, I know I will feel more comfortable and as a result will probably do less of it.
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Pre-Service Blog
1. My hopes for this service project are to be able to interact with people in a way that will help them and make a difference in their lives. I know that what I'm doing isn't much, but I hope that even just a smile and offering to help them with their homework may be enough to start their day off well. I am also hoping to be able to learn from them. I know that many of them will be from different cultures and backgrounds and I hope that I can learn about them so I can understand different cultures better and how to better communicate with them.
2. My assumptions about my service learning site are that it is in an area that may not be the best and that the school will reflect that. I have friends here at St. Ambrose that are from Davenport and they have told me that Rock Island High School is "ghetto". However, I don't want to judge it too much upfront and have that impact my thoughts and overall experience.
3. From the presentation Liz gave in class, I know that she teaches a variety of subjects. Personally, I will be helping out in the mornings with their Enrichment course. This was described to me as a time where people who need it can come in for help with difficult homework problems. Based on this, I am assuming that I will be there as a resource if someone needs help and maybe just to talk to once they finish what they need to have done.
4. Solely based on what I have heard from people who live in Davenport, I am assuming that the population at the high school is multicultural. As Liz did mention in class, they have a number of refugees who go there so I know that I will most likely be working closely with them. I do not know if those will be the only people I work with or not however.
5. I am very interested in seeing the high school for the first time. A friend I was talking to said they have a very good basketball team and I love basketball so that is just something that appeals to me. I am really looking forward to meeting the people I will be working with and getting to know them better as well. I do not know for sure what subjects I will be helping with but I really enjoyed some of my math and science classes when I was in high school so I think it will be fun to help other people out with those areas.
2. My assumptions about my service learning site are that it is in an area that may not be the best and that the school will reflect that. I have friends here at St. Ambrose that are from Davenport and they have told me that Rock Island High School is "ghetto". However, I don't want to judge it too much upfront and have that impact my thoughts and overall experience.
3. From the presentation Liz gave in class, I know that she teaches a variety of subjects. Personally, I will be helping out in the mornings with their Enrichment course. This was described to me as a time where people who need it can come in for help with difficult homework problems. Based on this, I am assuming that I will be there as a resource if someone needs help and maybe just to talk to once they finish what they need to have done.
4. Solely based on what I have heard from people who live in Davenport, I am assuming that the population at the high school is multicultural. As Liz did mention in class, they have a number of refugees who go there so I know that I will most likely be working closely with them. I do not know if those will be the only people I work with or not however.
5. I am very interested in seeing the high school for the first time. A friend I was talking to said they have a very good basketball team and I love basketball so that is just something that appeals to me. I am really looking forward to meeting the people I will be working with and getting to know them better as well. I do not know for sure what subjects I will be helping with but I really enjoyed some of my math and science classes when I was in high school so I think it will be fun to help other people out with those areas.
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