The Idea of a MOOC

       Since I am not very tech savvy and I am not familiar with MOOCs whatsoever, this proposal is a

bit daunting. I think it might be somewhat of a challenge just because it is so out of the box and we

are a big class with a lot of different opinions. However, with that being said, I like out of the box. I

am interested in doing something different that makes us step out of our comfort zone a little. I've

had 16 years of schooling where there is always the same generic and boring conclusion at the end.

This project idea is so different, so innovative, and so interactive that it creates excitement and

intrigue. I will definitely have to brush up on my MOOC facts but I am pretty open to this idea. I still

think that it is something we need to discuss and organize a bit more but I am very interested to see

what we as a class can create.

How Can We Make What We Do Matter?

          It is important to have all these conversations about race because we get to learn more about ourselves and our classmates. So many of us don't understand each other, have misconceptions or questions or are too afraid to speak up to become more knowledgeable. This class creates an open, judgement-free environment where we can be ourselves. Almost all of us have shared these incredibly personal stories that allows us to reflect and bond. I have said on occasion that when we allow others to get a better look at who we are and what we have gone through as individuals, it strikes a chord. These stories allow the emergence of empathy, sympathy, understanding and action. 

Right now, social media is the big connecting factor among the world. In order for us to make what we do matter, I believe that incorporating as much social media and technology as possible will be advantageous.

Group Presentations

What will your part be in your group presentation?  What will you make as a contribution to your group’s final project?

Since I was absent last class, I feel a little out of the loop as to the specifics regarding the class agreements and discussions. Having said that, I do know that I am in the group I requested and am eager to see what we can produce. I am not too sure what my group talked about on Tuesday; therefore, I do not know exactly how to go about answering the questions for this blog.

Within my group, I hope to do a lot of research to find out more about why race in the classroom is an important aspect for teachers to know. I always like conducting studies and completing surveys to find out what other people think, so that could be a possible option.

Having taken a course on race in the classroom, I believe that I still have some of the resources, assignments, and notes to refer to. We could definitely use some of that material if need be. Additionally, I could contact the professor who taught the class to share some of her thoughts. 

Due to the fact that I am a substitute teacher, I witness variety everyday. Just today, I worked with a teacher who received a new Honduran student with limited English vocabulary. I could feel the tension and see the frustration as the two tried to communicate with one another. I tried to use my Spanish experience to assist, but I was very limited......With that being said, I think that sharing personal stories about how race in the classroom has affected individuals could be very advantageous. Research can only go so far. I believe having a deep connection and allowing people to sympathize with a topic can be much more powerful. As a result, I would like for the group to be able to incorporate individual experiences they have had with this subject in order to strengthen its meaning.

Project Proposal

Having discussed everyone's project ideas, I began to gravitate more towards a project related to my major - Education. It was not until it was brought up by my fellow classmates that I remembered a class I took a few semesters ago related to diversity within the classroom. I learned a countless amount of information regarding why teachers should educate themselves on the varying races within their class.

The main thing that I remember about this diversity course was one example. My professor explained that many cultures find it disrespectful to look authoritative figures in the eye. In America, it is a sign of respect to look them in the eye. As a result, many teachers will find it disrespectful if students do not make eye contact with them because they do not understand their culture. It is an incredibly challenging and daunting task to ask every teacher to learn about their students' background when they already have so much on their plate, but there are very easy ways to go about doing this. You could have a day in the class dedicated to sharing about your background or send home an appropriate questionnaire for parents to fill out regarding preferences for their child and information about their child. 

The reason I have such a connection to this topic is not just because I am on the track to becoming a teacher or because I took one class on the subject of diversity, but because during my student teaching I was in a classroom that was a melting pot of students. There was a mix of Caucasians, Asians, African Americans, Indian, and Hispanic students. Majority of the students in this school system are either Caucasian or Hispanic. Many Spanish-speaking families spoke only minimal English and having taken several years of Spanish in school, I was asked by my cooperating teacher to write letters home to those parents. During parent-teacher conferences, the ELL teacher within the school did not make it in. As a result, everyone was scrambling to find qualified Spanish-speakers to translate their conferences with those families of limited English. The Spanish I know is on the more basic end of the spectrum; therefore, I was not experienced enough to serve as a translator. But this situation was what inspired me to continue my education in Spanish. I always wanted to learn Spanish as a second language, but this motivated me even more. 

Now that I have explained why teachers should educate themselves on the races in the classroom and my personal association with the topic, it is time to briefly discuss my project proposal. Unfortunately, many teachers are still very ignorant when it comes to accepting the diversity within the classroom. For that reason, I would like to do something where I interview several teachers, parents, administrators, and professors about why they think teachers should familiarize themselves with their students background.

I am not too sure how I want to put it all together yet or what I want the end result to be but I am hoping after some class discussions, I will be able to come up with something creative and unique.

Who Do You Think I Am?

          After having our introductory class, I began to think more and more about what I want to get out of this class. When I ask myself the question of what I want to make in this course, the same answer keeps popping up in my head. Race, ethnicity, and background remind me of identities and stereotypes. As a result, I think it would be really interesting to conduct a type of experiment or study. 

          I am very curious to see how much you can tell about a person just based on the way they look. This experiment would require participants to go against the old saying "Don't judge a book by its cover". When people look at me, I think they see a white girl, blonde hair, pretty face, and small figure. But that is just the surface impression. Beyond that, I think people will assume that they know things about myself based solely on my physical appearance. I would like to know what they think and how accurate they are compared to the facts.

Some possible questions that could be asked include:

        ~Do you think you can tell a lot about a person just by looking at them?

        ~What are your impressions of the girl in the picture? 

        ~Do you think this girl excelled in school, or struggled? 

        ~Do you think this girl is financially stable or poverty-stricken? 
        ~What ethnicity do you think this girl is?

        ~Do you think this girl would rather go to the gym or the mall? 

        ~Do you think this girl has a nuclear family, single-parent family, or a blended family?

        ~Do you think this girl is confident or insecure? 

        ~Do you think this girl is mean or nice?

        ~Do you think this girl went to college? 

        ~What career path do you think this girl has chosen?

Obviously, I would not be able to conduct the survey myself if the questions were about me because then the results would be biased and inaccurate. This project would require a friend or family member to show participants pictures of myself and have surveyors fill out their answers. Once enough information is collected, I would analyze the data to show whether majority of participants answered based on stereotypes or did not. 

My goal for this project is not to change how everyone views each other, I think that is unrealistic. My goal is to reveal that stereotypes DO EXIST. This study could educate people on how unreliable their judgments are... "There is more than meets the eye".