Power and Ally-ship

Another week done! We had a great session with the students who finally made it! We attended a workshop with them from Scholarship Junkies in order to understand better ways to apply for and receive scholarships to pay for college. A major component of any scholarship application is the essay. Two important questions we have to answer no matter what prompt we are given are: Who am I? and Why do I do what I do? Making sure to answer these questions while incorporating a personal story with your feelings are specific ways to enhance a scholarship application. It gives the readers a better idea of what you have done and your potential in the future. Another way students can enhance their applications is by using their time effectively by participating in organizations, volunteering, or working. This can make them stand out from other applicants and show what they are passionate about and dedicated to working towards. Being mentors, the stars leaders can use this information to help them write better essays and encourage them to be involved in activities they are passionate about. The Empowerment Pipeline can use this to encourage students to be more involved in the community and school and help them find what they are passionate about. Scholarships contribute greatly to my vision of social justice. They give students the opportunity to fulfill what they're passionate about and give them opportunity to go to college which was once only available to people who could afford it. Having the same opportunity to go to college as other people is one part of my definition of social justice.

http://scholarshipjunkies.com/

An interesting article we read this week was "Finding Your Power," a short essay on people's responses and connections to others. Even though the article was brief and to the point, I found that the things he mentions are key elements of being a leader. I have always felt that you can best tell a good leader by their reaction to a situation. Excuse making is one negative trait that leaders must overcome in order to be a compassionate leader. Any time I am confronted about something I did that may have been the wrong way to handle a situation, before I respond I make sure I am clear on their point of view. I then make sure in my response to take responsibility for my actions and try to explain what I was thinking in that moment, without making excuses. Helping others rise above blaming is more difficult than yourself, especially if you are the one they are blaming. You have to realize that they may be defensive for different reasons such as they feel they are being attacked. But in the end everyone has to.....

The second article we read, entitled "The Do's and Don'ts of Being a Good Ally," was about specific ways to be a better ally, and things that allies shouldn't try to do. I think being a better ally means not being afraid to have conversations about topics that make you uncomfortable, and learning about topics relevant to that minority. Using this in STARS LEAD, I can better educate myself on different racial, class, religious, etc. minorities and their struggles, especially as they try to attain a higher education. Some of my strengths as an ally are listening to people's stories and treating others as a person and not a token. Other areas I need to improve on are contributing to uncomfortable discussions and asking questions that can help me understand the situation better in order to see how I can best help them. Being an ally means educating yourself, listening to first hand accounts, and standing up to bigotry.

Waiting for Superman

Hello all, I can't believe the warm weather we are having in March! It used to be the snowiest month of the year, and now it is 60+ degrees. Please accept my sincerest apologies for submitting this blog a little late, I was at the first annual The People's Institute Retreat which focused on leadership and diversity this past weekend. I will blog about that experience in a separate post later this week, but I had a great time and learned quite a lot.

This week we watched the film "Waiting for Superman." It talks about educational struggles and inequalities in public schools. It still made me shocked and infuriated at the injustice of the in-balance of the quality of education at public schools across the nation. It shocked me that no state is even close to having even 50% of proficiency in math or reading at the eighth grade level at the time of this movie, less than two years ago.  The saddest part is that the worst area is Washington D.C., our nation's capital.

Some students are doing poorly in school because of ineffective teachers, no family support, or lack the proper resources needed. By having ineffective teachers, especially at young ages, they are not getting the foundation they need to keep up with the learning. This gap widens as they get older and makes them more likely to drop out. Secondly, without family support it is hard to find the motivation to go to school; thankfully the children in the video had at least one adult in their life who helped them. Finally, many children's learning disabilities are undiagnosed or simply lack the resources and personal attention they need to learn. This became very real to me when I heard a personal story from someone else. Her mother had moved to the suburbs of Chicago to keep her and her younger siblings out of the Chicago Public School system. This was especially important for her younger brother who has a learning disability. They can no longer afford to live there so they now have to move back to Chicago, where her brother will not have the attention he needs.

If superman was going to save these students, he would have to create uniform rules and regulations for schools, recognize and accommodate the different needs of each community, and most importantly make sure all teachers are effective in teaching the required materials. We can help by advocating for different laws or repeals of laws that hinder the basic need of children to learn. Providing role models and examples of what life could be like for younger children if they go to college is also important because it keeps them thinking about what their life could be like and motivates them to follow their dreams. I believe trying to get parents involved is difficult, especially if they have to work. Even something as small as the parents making a sports game or performance or dance can encourage the student to continue to be involved and they would most likely enjoy going to school. I suggest for those of you who have not watched the video yet to do so.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bzFhrkqE8g&feature=youtu.be

After reading the article "12 Lies To Stop Telling Yourself" I definitely read things that I can recall saying to myself. The article reminds me of a main topic that was taught at TPI retreat on Saturday. The main point was that we all have a single-sided story about ourselves which continually runs in our minds as an internal script. These twelve lies in the article are some of the top internal scripts that are our own single stories. What we learned is that there is no data to support these negative thoughts. I hope to improve myself by being mindful if I start these negative sayings, to counter them with a positive one. I can also go back and think of all the reasons my negative thoughts have no basis. I can use this information to teach other people not to judge themselves or others. I believe by being a role model for others I can show them that dreams are attainable, everyone makes mistakes, failure is necessary to succeed, and that your past is not indicative of your future. One quote I would like to share with other students is, "It's better to have a lifetime full of mistakes that you learned from, rather than a heart full of regrets and empty dreams."

A major flaw of the current U.S.  educational system is the way it is set up to distribute resources according to the socioeconomic status of neighborhoods. This creates a greater disparity between the quality of education and resources available to children in different neighborhoods. It is especially unfair because poorer children are often in more need for those resources. I believe I can educate myself and others more about the issue, and vote. Voting is important because elected officials can change legislature pertaining to the issues that are most important to you.

Choose Happiness

On our last meeting before spring break, we had a chance to just unwind from the first half of the semester by learning more about each other through an activity. For this activity we made cards and on the front wrote our names and things that described us. We drew symbols and wrote words about our personalities, clubs we are in, things we like, etc. Afterwards we shared what we wrote with everyone. I thought this was a great way to learn more about people we might not necessarily have met if not for the LEAD program. It was interesting to find things people had in common, or that were unique to them. The second part of the activity we did was writing in everyone else's cards a positive message to them. This made me realize that even though we learned a lot about everyone during this activity, I still don't know as much as I would like about everyone in the group. It was nice to read the messages from everyone as I was riding the bus back home to Minnesota. I like these cards because sometimes comments are unexpectedly perceptive about an individual's personality. They also make you realize that you have a lot more people supporting you than you know.

 After reading the article "10 Ways Happy People Choose Happiness" I can see how it applies to people in their every day lives. Happiness is something you choose by the ways you conduct yourself and your attitude in different situations. I can readily identify with a few of the main points, especially because I see myself as a fairly happy person. I do carry out some of the main points, but there is always room for improvement. I plan to focus on the first point, "be the best you can be" because I sometimes compare myself to others. This is a bad habit that I know will not help me continue to meet my goals. I need to focus on what I can do, rather than what others can. I will also try the 6th step "take care of my body" by eating more fruits and vegetables and going to work out more often. I believe this will help me focus more and become a healthier person both physically and mentally. Finally, I am going to focus on "choosing to embrace the next step in your life" because I have both followed this advice and gone against it. The quote that really resonated with me was
"Never let success get to your head and never let failure get to your heart. [..] And don't forget, a smile doesn't always mean a person is happy right now; sometimes it simply means they are strong enough to face their problems going forward." I have some times taken failure extremely hard and let it discourage me. I plan to persevere when I fail at something and make sure to learn from my mistakes.

There are various things that make me happy in life. Most are the little daily things like a kind act for me or another. I enjoy sun and warm weather, thunderstorms when I don't have to go anywhere, and rainbows. Going on adventures with friends and catching up with old friends is really fun. I enjoy hiking and camping, being in nature. Being with my sister always makes me happy, especially because we don't get to see each other on a regular basis.


To be honest, I haven't thought much about the upcoming projects we have. The e-portfolio, I will admit, I haven't actually started making it. I am really excited to create one though. I have started to think about the style and format of it. I have also decided that I will put on papers from various classes to show my diverse range of writing. I will also put on key experiences that I have had outside of classroom learning. This will show how I learn through experiences too. For the final project we have, I think it is a good idea to have footage of when we interact with the students from the Empowerment Pipeline. I think it might be nice to have each of us talk either about something we learned from the LEAD program or quotes on leadership.

For spring break I went home to Minnesota. I saw family and only one of my friends because most of them have spring break this week. I got to catch up on my sleep; I slept about twelve hours every night! I also was able to eat good food, my favorite was the ribs I had. The second weekend of spring break I went to Milwaukee where I visited my sister. We went out for food and did some shopping. This was probably the highlight of my break because I love the time I can be with my sister. I was also able to see two friends who attend UW-Milwaukee. The trip was a nice chance to catch up with all of them. When I came back to school on Sunday I went out for food one last time with my friends Cheryl and Karina to a Chinese/ Korean restaurant. The food was fantastic and it was a nice way to end spring break 2012. For the summer I plan on applying for more jobs at home and possibly applying for internships. The money would be very helpful for tuition and the experience would be extremely valuable.

Meditation

After reading the article "Why we Find it Hard to Meditate" I could relate to the reasons why people don't meditate. I definitely understand the reasons as to why people find it difficult to meditate. Life gets so busy that we don't think we have the time. People think it has to be completely quiet or that they have to be still. One stigma of meditation is that you have to clear your mind of all thoughts; it surprised me to know that you don't have to do that. Its also surprising to know that we might have more than 300 thoughts during a 30 minute meditation session. I think I have a bit more personal experience with meditation than the average person. I have inconsistently practiced meditation since I was little, so I feel as though its something that is more natural to me. The first time I remember meditating was when I was little girl, probably around eight years old. I don't think I knew exactly why a person should meditate, but there I was on the floor in the middle of my room with my eyes closed. My mom asked me what I was doing, to which I replied "I'm meditating." As I grew older I have tried different types of meditation: guided meditation, labyrinths, and yoga. These were mainly one-time activities in my religion classes. My favorite type is going for walks by myself and just sitting watching the lake. The sound of the water is relaxing and calming.

The second article, "What Can the Rhythm and Flow of a Pendulum Teach Us About Balance and Personal Growth?" Draws comparison between the rhythm of a pendulum, with its highs and lows, to life. This is a fairly accurate description of life, and one I can relate to easily. A pendulum is a rod suspended that moves by gravity and momentum. This is a good analogy to my life for many reasons. I feel like there are certain high and low points in my life similar to its movement. For example, I had a good time at the dance Friday, but I was sad to find out that I did not receive a Residence Assistant position for next year. Despite the highs and lows, a pendulum usually rocks in a rhythm. My life has a rhythm, but is a bit quicker than I would like. At school I am involved in many activities and clubs on top of my classwork, which all can be a bit overwhelming. I try to maintain a balance by making sure I have time for the things I want to do as well as have to do. I sometimes take a walk by the lake by myself or read a book. I can definitely improve on things though. I plan on not procrastinating as much so I won't rush to finish things. I hope to find a way to schedule things without rushing from one activity right to another. I am trying to keep things in perspective and make sure to enjoy small "victories", such as today when my writing class was let out early so I had time to eat lunch and found that my favorite cereal was back. A pendulum is an accurate description of life.

“Now is the accepted time, not tomorrow, not some more convenient season. It is today that our best work can be done and not some future day or future year. It is today that we fit ourselves for the greater usefulness of tomorrow. Today is the seed time, now are the hours of work, and tomorrow comes the harvest and the playtime.”~W.E.B. DuBois

I think this quote is quite fitting in many ways. In general, someone has to take initiative to do a job in order to see any benefit of it. Applying this to school, we have to work hard to attain good grades in order to receive a degree. This analogy can go even further. Leaders have to work hard to make their or others' visions a reality. Not until they are done with their work will they be able to see the work pay off. I generally abide by this idea, trying to get homework done and fulfill my commitments before I do things for fun. I sometimes forget this though, especially on the weekends when I really would rather be hanging out with friends than doing schoolwork. I am trying to work on this throughout the semester.

Motivation

After last week's discussion, I have been thinking more critically about how the school to prison pipeline effects not only the youth, but the whole community in the future. Watching the "Explaining the Inequalities in Education in Chicago" video clip stated some facts I already knew about education, but others I found very surprising. For example, the fact that only 17% of 8th graders in Chicago public schools (CPS) can read proficiently and only 15% do math proficiently is surprising. Those two subjects are used in various ways throughout a person's life and are imperative for success. The single most astounding fact in the video was that law makers can determine the number of prison beds they will need based on 3rd grade literacy rates. This completely shocked me when I first heard it, but after watching it a second time it made me angry and start to question law makers. The main question is, if they can determine this by 3rd grade literacy rates, why do they not do anything to change the education system instead of ordering more prison beds? Are they that blind to the cycle of poverty and the school to prison pipeline?

I thought the video/poem "Louder Than a Bomb: High School Training Ground" was deep and powerful, especially because it comes from a student rather than an observer. His description of the school, the halls, and the lack of respect for janitors paints the picture of what it is like to be there in his position. He parallels high school to Chicago "diverse and segregated on purpose." He argues that the failing schools are just preparing young people for a future that mimics the problems and contradictions of society as a whole. I believe that this may be the case, and that it is more of a cycle, similar to the funding of schools based on their attendance rates. The more the school mimics the problems of society, the more youth are just going to accept and continue the problems or contradictions, rather than try to change them.

Here is the clip:

I think that the public education system is failing the students by not taking into account either the students or the teachers' points of view. These are imperative for the system to understand both sides. I also think the system is failing them by looking at statistics and worrying about improving individual schools rather than the system as a whole. Going back to what was mentioned in our discussion on Friday, if a CPS teacher is performing poorly they are just transferred to another CPS school and a teacher in a similar situation is moved into their position. This challenge was one that surprised me, especially because I am not from Chicago. The teachers themselves are underpaid and have numerous outside pressures to have high grade scores.

After watching the video "How Bad Do You Want It?" I realized how much determination it takes to be successful. I never thought that much about how much dedication it takes to attain something, especially a degree. My source of motivation would have to be my family and friends. Neither my parents or grandparents ever went to college, and only a few of my aunts or uncles ever did. They all want an even better life for me than they had. They make sure to congratulate me if I make the honor roll and support me in any activity I am in; my grandparents would try to come watch as many of my tennis matches as they could. My friends are another source of motivation. We push each other to be the best we can. We study together and edit each others' papers. I am also motivated by my desire to travel and learn about other cultures, especially in order to do humanitarian work. Ever since I was little I have wanted to travel and work with the environment or people. My motivators and motivation keeps me working hard towards my goals.


 I am excited and nervous to meet the students from Amundsen High School. I am hoping that we help them see what college is like and how the experience will prepare them for the real world. I want them to understand that the college experience is fun but important. I hope this experience is fun for them.

Educational Injustices

After reading the article, "Locating the School-To-Prison Pipeline", I have learned in greater detail the educational injustices in schools. I had the privilege to be able to attend private schools, so I had limited knowledge on this subject before reading this article. I knew some about the zero-tolerance policies and Acts such as No Child Left Behind, but while reading, I was shocked at the number of ways schools marginalized already at risk youth. Zero tolerance policy is when schools will give strict punishments without regards on individual circumstances. Some of the circumstances for children being expelled under the zero tolerance policy are reddiculous; bringing scissors for an art project and giving Midol to a classmate are just a few of these examples. The amount of arrests at schools are now even more numerous, especially with the increase in police as enforcers of school policies. The biggest problem, which is the one I know the most about, is the "high-stakes" testing. This is where teachers and schools are pressured to reach cirtain scores on standardized tests, so they have "an incentive to push out low-performing students" in order to keep up or improve their overall test scores. This is the most abbhorent to me because these are laws coming from the government to condone such acts. Another statistic that I found suprising and upsetting was the amount of children with disabilities in jail are four times as many than ones in school. After I was finished reading I felt very angry at the lack of justice in our education system. America should have one of the best education systems in the world, not one where children have to struggle, even against the government, to stay in school.


The video we watched, entitled "Black Males, Black Dreams", was a personal and serious, but positive video on the specific struggles of African American males to finish school. It told the story of one black male who struggled to finish school, at one point was homeless, but finished school and became a teacher. Some people interviewed were the key adults in his life who pushed him to try his best academically; his last foster parents, and a high school teacher were the three most important people that kept him on track. Like one person said in the video, "it is not the depth of your condition that determines your destiny, it is your desire and willingness to be successful." I believe this accurately sums up the video. The man should be a positive example for black male students struggling to finish school. As for public figures, I think Obama could be considered one of the biggest modern day role models for African American males trying to complete higher education.

As a STARS leader I hope to talk to students about these inequalities. I wish to listen to their points of view on the topic, to hear a different perspective. I will support them in their struggles against educational inequalities. I will practice servant leadership by encouraging their personal growth, listening to them, and being aware of the current struggles in the education system.

By working with the students throught the empowerment pipeline, I will learn to develop my servent leadership skills. I will develop my listening, healing, and commitment to the growth of people on an even deeper level through my interactions with the students. I can show them what it means to be a college student, encourage them to persue their passions, and challenge them to do their best work.

I am excited and a little nervous to meet the students from Tilden on Friday. I am excited to share my experiences and what college is like with them. I believe the student panel will be beneficial to the students to better understand college life. I am interested to see what questions they will ask and how they will respond to our responses. One-on-ones may be more beneficial if they have specific questions pertaining more to one of us, or if they are quieter. I am looking forward to meeting the students on Friday!

Servant Leader

"I wish to do something great and wonderful, but I must start by doing the little things like they are great and wonderful"~ Albert Einstein

I think this quote is very profound and best describes the way I view my leadership. I am extremely ambitious; I feel like I want to take on the world, to seek out every injustice and correct it. However, I know that I must do small things that will eventually add up to a greater action. Small everyday actions, such as saying hi to people I met through various clubs, holding the door for someone a few steps behind me, supporting friends in their various cultural clubs, and standing up for someone being bullied all are small but important actions I take be a leader on campus or the community in general.

Social justice is a term used so regularly by religious groups and politicians that it sometimes looses its meaning. It may get stretched and skewed so as to spread their beliefs and further their agendas. Meanwhile nameless humanitarians live out the term through their actions. I was taught the meaning of social justice since the beginning of  middle school through my various religion classes. Social justice to me means the equal treatment of ALL people in society. It means solidarity with others and fighting for basic human rights within a society. My class last semester, Service and Social Justice, showed how service is pertinent to taking action towards social justice. Even if it is focusing on an immediate need, it leads people to question why the need is there and what can be done to combat that in the community. Here is a clip of one musician that comes to mind when I think of social justice. 

I really liked the servant leadership workshop put on by Dr. Green of the Center for Experiential Learning. I thought the exercises he had us do were enlightening; it showed us that a leader has developed qualities and does not have to be a famous figure. The activity where we had to answer questions about ourselves really surprised me. I had seven out of ten characteristics of a servant leader! When we turned the page and read the description by Robert Greenleaf, the person who first coined the term servant leader, the first two sentences resonated with me. "Servant-leadership begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. The conscience choice brings one to aspire to lead." This is how I feel on a daily basis, and how many others would describe my personality, putting others before myself.

I believe I have traits of a servant leader. I have good listening skills; I always make sure I listen and take into account everyone's opinions. I believe I strive to help people when they need it and make sure they are alright. For example, just the other night I saw a friend doing homework in the laundry room and she was crying. I stopped in; even though she said she didn't want to talk I sat there with her and eventually she told me what was wrong. I believe this also showed empathy in a way because I told her of a similar circumstance that happened to me. I believe I have awareness; I can tell when people are feeling judging on their actions. Even though I feel I have many important traits of a servant leader, there are many that I still wish to develop.

A few traits I would like to develop are conceptualization, persuasion, and foresight. I would like to be able to find a balance of being a dreamer and being realistic about goals; I feel like I either shoot too high or low. I would also like to develop an ability to persuade people rather than using authority to make them do something. A third trait I would like to develop is my foresight of major events and the possible consequences. By knowing the consequences, both negative and positive, I could then make a decision if the positive would be worth the risk of the negative consequences.

Finally, my dream job has changed already from what I originally came into college wanting to do. I originally wanted to be a marine biologist and move to a Spanish speaking country to do research. Now, I would like to either be a research scientist helping to find solutions to pollution, or a math teacher. Either job, I believe, directly serves others. By researching pollution I would be able to make the world a cleaner place for people to live healthier lives. If I were a teacher, I would be able to help shape future generations by teaching them and sparking their interest math.