The End :(

This course has done so much for my personal learning this year, right from the first class it was made very clear what kind of learning we would be getting from the beggining. Everything was layed out in a way that was easy to look back on and know what you needed to do and how it was expected to be done. the text book and the handouts were also very helpful throughout the course, I looked back on the handouts very often and found a lot of the text book to be really interesting. There were times where I was reading not because there was a reading that needed to be done it was because I was really interested in going further with my learning. It isn't too often that a course affects me the way that this course has. Througout the course I found the evaluation process to be very fair it honestly didn't feel like the marks were relying on a paper or an assignment. The outcome of how we were evaluated depended on how we as students opend up our minds to learning something different and taking in the expereince.I thought that how I was evaluated in this course really depended on me and how much I showed that I wanted to learn, and that is very fair to me. For me doing the elements of my culture, beyond my cultural comfort zone projects, and the guest speakers played such a huge part in my learning. The elements of my culture assignment was a really big deal for me because I really did not have a lot of knowledge about where my family stemmed from. After doing this assignment I was amazed to learn great things about my anscestors, and was really able to put who I am into perspective when I broke down how and where I was raised as a child. beyond my cultural comfort zone was also a huge assignment for me because I would have never have done anything like that before this assignment. After it was all over I was so thankful for this assignment and what kind of new things and ways of thinking that it opened me up to. Finally and possibly the most affective to me were the guest speakers that we had the privilege of meeting and listening to. They had so much knowledge and tons of stuff to teach us it was very overwhelming in a good way, I really loved listenign to their stories of what they have had to overcome and what they have learned over the years. listening to all of them really made me feel like I cannot wait to get out there and start my own story that I can share with peopel some day, they all really inspired me.Along with the course being great Sarah made sure that her door was always open for whatever we might have needed. my emails were always answered really quickly and if there were any miss communications she was always willing to meet with me to figure things out. It was also always a joy to come to class because Sarah was really excited to see us all the time ans teach us something new each day. But she was also always really excited and open to learning things from us as well. to me this course was one of my favourites and I would not want anything to be different if I had to do it over again. I completed all of the assignments and was able to had them in and present them very proudly. As for how I feel like I did in this course out of 1 to 10 I would give myslef a 10. I was really open to the learning, I was appropriate in class, and did not miss many classes and if I did I always let Sarah know. This course to me was a really amazing way to finish off my first semster 3rd year before I go off to placement and start my life. I have such an open mind and am so excited to start learning new things from different people I am going to come across in the future and I know that I have this class to thank.

In today's class we had an amazing guest speaker; Erin from Sir James Whitney and he came to talk to us about the deaf community. It was amazing to see him talk to us because he was so enthusiastic about everything he was saying and had such a great sence of humor, I was engaged from beggingin to end. I loved hearing all of the accomplishments that he has made in his life and certain things that he has had to overcome over the years. The whole time I was listening to him talk abou the recourcces for people today who are deaf i couldn't help but wish it had been like this much longer ago. My mom is deaf and when she was younger it was so uncommon that the teachers and parents said she was stupid and didn't listen, they didn't take her seriously when she was telling them that she could not hear. My mother does not know any sign language, she had to learn to lip read her entire life because there was nothing available to her. She does have some hearing today because she has had titanium ear drums put in, so it is a lot easier for her to do everyday things now. I just really connected to this topic and thought the entire time how much my mom would have benefited from having a resources, a school like Sir James Whitney and someone like Erin. After todays class I am seriously thinking about looking into learning sign because it will only better prepare myself for the future; if I want to possibly work at a place like Sir James Whitney, or if I have clients who are deaf themselves who have parents/siblings who are. Having Erin as a guest speaker has made  avery strong impact on my learning in the best way and has really made me want to better myself so I can reach out to different communities.

DSW Guest Speaker

In class on Monday we had a really great guest speaker Colleen from the DSW program, and she was talking to us about being pollitically correct, and people using offensive launguage without really understand how hurtful the words can be. I personally did not realize how often these words were used in every day conversation until I started to really pay attention to it. When I was younger I went to school with a boy named Joey and he was born with Down's Syndrome. Joey is such a great person and is a huge part of the community, he works at Soybe's, and has a lot to do with the triple A hockey community as well. I have known Joey my entire life and find myself greatful to know a person like him. While I was listening to Colleen speak and the stories she toled I was shocked at how people can be so rude and careless, because for mr growing up nothing like that was ever an issue. After this presentation I was feeling a little down about how careless and rude people are and then we were able to watch those amazing videos. I cried while watching the videos that were shown in class because I just could not have imagined a better way for others to see that although a person has a disability there are still people with feelings, hopes, and dreams..

New immigrants/Biracial families

Last week in class there were two presentations that I really enjoyed listening too and learning more about. The presentations on new immigrants and biracial families really stood out for me.. This is because these types of families are becoming more comon and not just within cities but in smaller communities as well. I really enjoyed hearing about all of the struggles they have to overcome; for new immigrants there is a lot of paperwork (test) that has to be done which I would imagine that can be very stressful. Espicailly when they want to move to a new country for a better life or to join their families that may have already immigrated. Biracial families have also have a lot of stuggles that I never actually new about, they have a lot of stigma to deal with and some opinions from people that it's not right.. I was kind of aware of these things but never thought much of it because that was not my personal opinion in my eyes there is nothing wrong with biracial families.. But after the information I recieved from listening to the presentation I realized that they have so much to deal with and it can really effect the family in a negative way.. After hearing these presentations I have a little more confidence wiht knowing that I am eventually going to have to work with these types of families as a CYW.. I am going to be able to understand a little more what kinds of things they will have to face in their every day and I can  now be more of a help to them with what they might need.. I really enjoyed these presentations and really believe that they have prepared me the most for situations i might come across in the future.

Week 2 Presentations

This week in class we had more presentations and we got to learn about African Canadians, Muslim faith, and Jewish faith. All of these presentations were great and I learned things that I never would have known but the one that stuck in my minnd was the presentation on Muslim faith. This presentation was really well done and I couldn't stop listening I just wanted them to keep talking so I could learn more. I really loved hearing about the prayers that Muslims do and how important it is to them, and that unlike us their church days are on Fridays. I also loved how things got turned around so much with the information that we were presented with. A lot of people have opinions and views on Muslim faith and it's mostly because they don't understand, I loved learning that the women of Muslim faith are very empowered. That they only have to be covered head to toe in their Hijabs when they go outside of their homes. Before this presentation I would have never known any of this or the reasons why they pray or why they dress the way they do. This presentation really impacted me in a posotive way and it will stay in my mind for quite sometime and this will be very helpful to me in the future as a CYW. The population of Muuslims in Ontario is quitte large and the chances of me eventually working with families of Muslim faith anre quite large. This presentation has opend my mind towards this faith and expanded my knowledge and so in the future if I do ever work with a family of Muslim faith I will be able to understand their religion and respect it as I should. I am really looking forward to hearing all of the other presentations and hope to be impacted by the others as much as I was with this one.

Freedom Writers

I was really excited when I learned that we were going to be watching Freedom Writers in Class on Monday. It is one of my favourit movies of all time and for me it never gets old. I have probably seen this movie eighteen times and it has a different effect on me every time, but it had a very special effect on me when I watched it in my Culture and Diversity class. We were to watch it and put ourselves in Erin Gruwells shoes, too look at it as if we were working with these kids as a CYW. I have never watched the movie with that mindset before and it seemed like a completely different movie to me, I felt all of her struggle and success as if it were my own.
I can honestly say that Erin Gruwell is one of my heros, even though she wasn't a CYW she did something that I can only dream about right now. I hope that I can eventually make a difference and impact on people I work with the same way she did. I am so amazed by her and what she did I did a little extra research and found out she had written an autobiography:Teach with Your Heart: Lessons I Learned from the Freedom Writers.
I was able to read a preview of it online and was hooked from only a couple paragraphs. There was also a section were people had rated the book and left comments. The response it has gotten was amazing and I plan to find and read this book in the very near future. The movie is great it really looks at the kids and the struggles and things they overcome. But now I am really intersted in finding out the story from Erins perspective and the lessons she was able to learn from the kids she did so much for.

Week Three - Exploring My/Our Heritage

This week in class we got into our groups and shared a little bit about everyones heritage. I thought it was really great that everyone in my group had a pretty good understanding of their heritage and had different stories that represented their cultural background. Leading up to this class I honestly didn't know too much about my background, so I talked with my mom and dad and the filled my in on some of my culture. I was suprised with some of the things the told me. Like on my moms side I am Dutch and on my dads side I am Scottish, and that on both sides we have family crests. I was plesantly surprised with what they told me and am really excited about researching a little bit more for the Elements of my Culture paper. I also enjoyed being able to understand how far my knowledge and comfort goes with being surrounded by different cultures. I thought it was good for me to see comfort levels on a scale and being able to see where I fit helped me realize that I have a long way to go. Just because I know of different cultures out there doesn't mean that I know what I should and would be ready to deal with a family that has a different culture of my own. Which is why I am excited to see how much I grow while going through this course and complete the assignments. Right now my comfort level is being in my own community with the surroundings I am used to and grew up around and I am a little hesitant to step out of my shell. So I have decided to create a personal goal for myslef to experience different areas and push my comfort zones as much as I can before the end of my school year and after.