When I was a young child my parents were very much the traditional role models. My father was a policeman and my mom was a school bus driver so she could stay home with me for most of the day. I have one older sister who is four years older than me. Growing up we were never very close (as I was always the annoying younger sister - go figure) but the summer after my sophomore year of high school we developed a great relationship and have been close ever since.
When I turned eight and was entering second grade, my dad decided that our family would buy a dump truck and my mom would drive it. So in second grade I went from my mom dropping me at school in her school bus to mom dropping me off at school in her dump truck. This was a theme in my life through high school as mom would often pick my up from after-school activities in the dump truck. My mom being one of the few women dump truck drivers in the area in 1978 was a good thing for me. As a young girl my mother made me realize that women can be strong and feminine at the same time.
School was very enjoyable for me during my elementary years. I loved going to school and had lots of friends. I was in the TAG program during fifth and sixth grade and although I had a good experience with the program, I have to admit the teaching approach confused and frustrated me at the time. It was very much like the approach of Carl Rogers where I was allowed to explore any topic that I thought was interesting. Although this was a wonderful opportunity for me I was never really comfortable.
In Middle School I was also in the TAG program and was placed in all the excelled course. For some reason being smart was a cool thing in grades first through sixth, but it was not so cool in the seventh and eighth grades. I went from being one of the more popular kids with lots of friends to an unpopular smart kid that had no friends. Basketball was my one social outlet in Middle School that helped me connect with kids outside the twenty kids that were in all my excelled courses with me. High School was a pleasant surprise for me as I realized that being smart put you in classes with older students so I started making friends that were older than I was. Having friends in the upper classes is extremely helpful when you are a nerdy Freshman.
Canby in the early 70's was predominantly a farming community with a few commuter families, like my family. Even though it was a agricultural community there was very little cultural diversity within the town. There were towns to the south and southwest of Canby (Woodburn, Gervais, Mt. Angel, etc.) that had some cultural diversity but we generally never went to those areas. The only time growing up that I had a chance to experience cultural diversity in school was playing sports when we would play teams from Portland or Mt. Angel or in the summers when I worked out in the fields and picked produce.
Diversity found me in college. Arizona State University had 45,000 students the year I arrived. My classes were filled with people from all different diversities. I learned there was a much bigger world outside of small town Canby. A combination of a Sociology major and many history classes gave me a wonderful experience of seeing the world through many different lenses. I returned to college in 1996 to earn my MBA. I was in the two year, part-time, night program and once again was immersed in diversity in my classes; not only ethnic but age and economic as well. It was a wonderful growth experience for me.
I have had the opportunity to work in the corporate world in various positions. More recently I was able to help my parents run their business and be home with my children at the same time. Being able to help out at my oldest son's school and volunteer at a local Middle School helped solidify my desire to become a teacher. I am excited and a little terrified about the upcoming months, but isn't that what life is all about?
I have tried to change the format on this so my paragraphs have more of an indent and for some reason it will not save the change. So I apologize for the odd format of this post.
ReplyDeleteI love that your mom drove a dump truck! What a fascinating experience for you. I know that my mom has been a profound inspiration to me, and she is a fitness instructor/personal trainer/PE teacher - again, not necessarily a job that is traditionally "feminine" and yet she managed to teach me a lot about what I understand it is to be a woman. Sounds like it was a similar situation for you, which I think was probably pretty important, growing up in the 70's.
ReplyDeleteIt also seems like, both from this post and from talking to you, that you really opened yourself up to diversity when you had the opportunities, although it was something that you grew up with. I find that very admirable, and applaud you for it! I want to know a little more, though, about picking produce in the fields. What was that like, as a white woman? You mention it in passing, so maybe it was no big deal, but it seems to me like there could be a lot of room for really valuable reflection there...
Denise,
ReplyDeleteI echo Katie's impressed state regarding your mom...a very different perspective on "feminine" from your mom's example. I wonder about your perspective of men, on the other side of the coin, as your dad was pretty traditional. Perhaps your experience as a smart girl and the social dynamics surrounding that will help you in encouraging all your students to feel that being smart and working hard are positive things. I also would like to know more about your perspectives on race, cultural, and class. What kinds of things did you learn at ASU or feel from afar about Woodburn? What do you believe about different cultures and why is that the case? How does all this influence your thinking about your future students?
Denise,
ReplyDeleteLike Katie and Steve I am amazed at the strength it took your mom to be something other than what was expected of women at the time. I think I would have loved having a mom drive me to school in a dump truck. Like you, I grew up in a town where there wasn't a lot of diversity and I had quite the shock when I hit OSU. For me it was a freeing experience. It sounds like you totally embraced the idea of these new experiences as a new way to see the world. Was there one experience that shaped your views on diversity in college or were there many experiences? I would love to hear some stories.
My mother is a great example of drive and strength for me. When I feel like I can do something I look at what she used to do and still does at the age of 67 and I suck it up. She used to drive 10 or 11 hours a day and then come home and make dinner. Then some nights she would stay up until after midnight to bake cupcakes that I told her I needed for the next day at school....at bedtime.
ReplyDeleteI have also learned that there are things I want to improve from my parents. If there is one thing I could change about my parents it would be there intolerance to ethnic diversity. Please don't get me wrong, my parents are caring and wonderful people - a bit controlling at times, but wonderful parents just the same. They just grew up in an era where racism was prevalent and they have trouble letting it completely go. They are hugely ahead of my grandparents (my mom's family is from Alabama and I have witnessed racism that has made my skin crawl) but there are still little things that happen that make my resolve to make sure my children to not see people only by their color even stronger.
Working in the fields was a great experience for me. When I was in middle school and high school many of the kids in town worked out in the fields because it was a job that was easy to get. Back then if you showed up and could pick the produce they let you work. You didn't need a work permit and got paid in cash. Woo Hoo! Of course I made like $15 a day - on a good day. But when you are 13 that was good money. This was in about 1984 and there was not a large Hispanic population in the area at all. Mostly there was a large Russian population. I remember my eighth grade year working in the pea pod/broccoli fields and I was the only person who wasn't Russian. I didn't really talk with the women in the field. One, they were older than me, most at least in their late 20's or older, and two, I didn't speak Russian and if they could speak English they weren't speaking it to me. Even so we were all nice to each other. There was also a Vietnamese family that picked with me. The oldest woman of the group tried to help me learn how to pick broccoli - you actually cut broccoli, you don't pick it - but I could never catch on and I finally just stuck with the pea pods.
Anyway - I digress. The most important thing I took away from that experience was that even though you can't communicate verbally you can still communicate. I remember having a feeling of belonging with that group and that we liked each other even if we didn't talk so much. (see part II)
Part II -
ReplyDeleteI had a very disturbing experience at ASU once. It was actually in a cultural diversity class, one of my Sociology classes, and we were having a discussion about racism. This was the only class I ever took where the minorities completely outnumbered Anglos - I would say 70% of the class was African American, 15% white, and the rest a mix of Asian and Latino decent. One of the African Americans started getting into a heated discussion about race wars and warned the class that there would some day be a "black revolution" (his words) and that the white people better watch out. I was floored and offended. I asked him about the white people that were innocent and weren't racist - what happens to them? He tole me in every war innocent people die (which is true). In my youth, stupidity, and anger I answered his statement with, "I hate to say this, but there are a lot of white people that own guns, my father being one of them, and they would definitely shoot you before letting you take their land." (He had been quite radical and talked about seizing land and other scary and horrible things.) The professor let the class continue...even though it was heated...but it was good for me because I saw a lot of the rage that African Americans felt. That was definitely the first time in my life that I had felt like the minority, and it was an extremely life-changing event. I can still vividly remember it and that is a good thing.
One last thing about race. I think that if we would stop labeling people children would have much less of a struggle in the future. Not ignore differences, but just doing a simple thing like saying, "I met a nice man today" instead of "I met a nice black man today". I HATE labeling people by their skin tone. They are people, not colors. Sorry for the tangent.
So, how does this all shape the way I feel about my future students? My deepest desire is to have my students realize that you don't have to be friends with everyone, but you need to respect everyone. Hating someone because of their skin color, religion, sexual orientation - it is just wrong and it resonates an emptiness in my body cavity when I think about it. I know that is over dramatic, but I don't know how else to describe it. I am not stupid - I cannot achieve love and complete piece in my classroom - but I can foster respect and tolerance and maybe out of that a new friendship or two will occur. That is what I hope to bring to my students.
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ReplyDeleteI cannot believe I typed piece instead of peace...ARG!
ReplyDeleteThanks for adding to your blog some history about your perspectives. It sounds like you have had a number of memorable experiences that have shaped how you view race and ethnicity in particular. My grandparents weren't outwardly racist as I was growing up, but they definitely made comments that made me feel that they separated themselves. We are making progress as a society. How do you think these experiences might ultimately effect what you do in your classroom?
ReplyDeleteIn my classroom - one thing for sure there will be no labeling in my classroom, and I will not label students when discussing them with other educators. My past has also taught me that my students initially might have stereotypical opinions of me at the beginning of the year. This is something that I can work through by showing them equality and respect in the classroom. Showing interest in their lives, activities, etc. will also break down this misconception. Hopefully I'll be able to teach my children by example what tolerance and appreciation of people's differences really means.
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