Category Archives: School

About being a student or a teacher

Social Consciousness

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So, I haven’t posted in ten days.  What a slacker!  I will make up for it by posting a thousand times this week*.  It’s been a busy few days.  I’m waste-deep in schoolwork, trying to figure out the logistics of getting myself to Uganda, and trying to move forward in wedding planning.  I think a few blog posts will be forthcoming to address all of the recent events.  The first of which will be a post which I am very proud to write.

In September of 2007, I started a student organization to help end a war.  Lofty ambitions, I know – but it all began with raising money to rebuild a school.  Each spring, Arizona State’s Student Organization Resource Center (SORC) holds a Hall of Fame awards event honoring some of the clubs on campus.  I’ve thrown our name in the mix every year, mentioning camp-out events and national conferences, fund raisers and educational screenings.  Each year, I’ve nominated us for the Social Consciousness Award, and each year we haven’t even been mentioned.  But this year?

This year our bullet points looked pretty damn good: we contributed to the Rescue, How it Ends, Schools For Schools, the Hometown Shakedown, the Legacy Tour, and our own lobby days.  I had high hopes at the award ceremony.  I was talking to the guys at my table – part of a society for business majors – and they wished me luck.  I was listening to what the other groups had done and, albeit great work, I was convinced that we were going to win this year.

WE WON!  I was so ecstatic to be recognized!  I marched on up there, probably with a goofy smile, and accepted a fancy framed certificate.  It was a good feeling to hear my club’s name at the awards ceremony.  Thinking back, the past year’s work has included the help of soooo many people and I appreciate it so much.  Looking forward, I hope that we can keep it going and run again next year.  Talking with club members and supporters from the community, I think we’ll be able to keep up the work.  I guess the work starts now?  Let’s go!

*1000 = 2 or 3, probably.

A Month Out

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I have one month left before school is out.  It’ll be nice to have some free time once classes are done, but the countdown to Reading Day only makes me say “yikes!”

I have ignored my online class like none other, so I really, really can’t slip up over the next month or else I’ll be close to a really bad grade. Not good.  Hopefully the essay I did on E.B. Sledge’s book (With the Old Breed, you all should read it!) on WWII was alright, and I hope the final paper isn’t too difficult to pull off. Beyond that, I have to keep on my discussions and hope for the best.

In my Inclusion class there aren’t any due dates for assignments, so long as everything’s done by semester’s end. That’s bad. Of the ten discussions and four clinicals that I should have done in the semester, I had done one discussion and no clinicals as of yesterday. Cranked through a couple discussions last night, and I’m going to try to catch up tomorrow. Then the clinicals, staying on task, and hoping for the best.

All of my other classes are going pretty well.  It’s just the two that I’ve slacked off on. If all goes well, I’ll be caught up on these two and moving forwards in everything.  This past Monday I went in and talked to Tom, an academic advisor for the history department and the Rotaract advisor. I’ll need to petition CTEL, but pending approval I’ll have three majors lined up in a row. Should get everything lined up with the summer internship, fall semester, and spring student teaching.  Needless to say, I’m hoping for the best.

Live from Kampala

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Thursday morning I rolled out of bed to Skype a friend in Uganda. His name is Morris, he’s the head of exchange for his AIESEC group, and hes been amazing. We talked for a bit and he explained the prospects of my internship. If I go with them, I’d probably spent a couple of days in Kampala getting used to life in Uganda, then head upstate to Gulu district. There, I’ll find myself a youth hostel to stay in and work with an NGO.

The group is called the National Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS (NACWOLA), and they have been doing work for women affected by AIDS and their families by providing support, empowerment and treatment.  According to Morris, my work would include: ensuring a healthy and empowered community, improve the health status of women and children living with HIV/AIDS by providing health services, improve quality of life, help people build skills to benefit their community.

I’m trying to meet with Dr. Peskin to figure out his research trip’s main objective and see if there is any way that I can help.  Otherwise, it’s pretty much a go-ahead with this group.  Once I decide that I will be going with them, I will need to talk to them about dates and then be on my way. It looks like another step forwards in the internship process! Hopefully my decision will be made soon and I can move on with all of this.

Uganda Calling

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So, another update on the internship search.

For the passed two weeks or so, I’ve been in touch with an AIESECER in Kampala who is being very, very helpful about getting me an internship.  In the beginning, his internship offers included AIDS education, community development, etc.  Things I liked but wasn’t juzzed about.  After getting my CV and a cover letter, he contacted some NGOs in northern Uganda and he thinks he’s got some bites.  It sounds like, as long as I can swing housing, I might have an internship up north.  Not completely sure what the tasks would be yet, but it would be relevant to the crisis caused by the LRA, so that’s a one up.

Meanwhile, everyone and their mother is motivating me to convince Dr. Peskin to take me along.  I’ve bugged him a little bit in the past, but I’m going to send him an e-mail requesting a full-on meeting to discuss what is ideal and what is for-real.  Hopefully I can figure something out.  The AIESEC job just might pan out, but either way I don’t think it would be better than working with Victor Peskin and Eric Stover researching Uganda and the International Criminal Court.  I just need to use persistence and persuasion and hope for the best.

“It pierces your heart”

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Tuesday night, the ASU campus hosted the Invisible Children roadies. I met up with them and helped set up in the Memorial Union, and we just kinda hung out for a while. I met the new roadies and the two Ugandans with them, and I also got to catch up with some familiar faces.

I talked to Richard, a Ugandan from IC’s Mentor Program, a bit before the screening and he seemed like a really interesting fellow.  Easy to talk to.  Then I greeted some familiar faces before starting the film.  I’ve probably seen this movie over twenty times. The crane shot still just floors me. And Jacob crying is still one of the most  heart-wrenching things to behold.  If you haven’t seen this film, I feel that you need to.

After the screening, a former night-commuter from the film spoke to us a little. After he spoke, his mentor spoke for a while. Richard is very well-versed.  He reminds me of my maternal grandparents with all the proverbs and deep thinking. Hell, he invented proverbs as he spoke – comparing people to light bulbs and turning life into a highway.  And while I didn’t record the Q & A, I got most of their addresses beforehand.  I hope you enjoy:

 

Student Teacher

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So, yesterday I was e-mailing my advisor and was made aware of some sudden changes to my plan for the next year or so.  For the passed year, I’ve been planning on doing my Global Studies internship this summer and coming back to student teach in the fall.  After that, I figured I’d bulldoze a busy semester in the spring with whatever I had left.  But, apparently, student teaching has to be done in the absolute last semester.

So, I will be coming back from my internship to take classes and then student teach in the spring.  I’ve got mixed feelings right now, but I’m hoping that it will turn out to be a good change.  This fall, I’ll be swamped with homework which may stress me out with the whole wedding-planning thing, but maybe I’ll have a more flexible schedule than bell-to-bell work. I might be able to work some in the fall (maybe), which would be nice for sustainability. Oh, and I know more about spring semester standards so I’d probably be better at thinking up lessons.

I guess I should get back to the class I’m in, but that’s the skinny on student teaching.

Alphabet Internship

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So, another internship update.  As far as the Uganda-search goes, I’ve found two viable options barring unique chances, but I’ll get to that part later.  For the passed month or so I’ve looked at two organizations to go with, and I talked to some people about them recently.

On Tuesday night, my friend Kevin gave my class a talk about AIESEC and how they help students go abroad. I talked to him about some registration details, and they’ve got a lot of programs at Makarere University. They’re all HIV/AIDS advocacy and awareness programs as far as I can see. AIESEC’s cost is $500, and I’d have to cover my flight and visa.  It’d be an inexpensive way to get me to Uganda and do some rewarding work. It would be in Kampala instead of in the north, but I think I’d be okay with it.

On Thursday, I had a long chat with my friend Heidi, who spent 6 months (about) in Uganda doing AIDS work and agricultural something-or-rather. She went through FSD, a group that partners organizations with potential interns. The group seems pretty good, and they have a human rights wing that would put me in an even better field that the aforementioned AIDS work (still admirable!).  According to the site, human rights work could include: lobbying for children’s rights, represent marginalized groups in community development, help communities protect themselves from exploitation, and rehabilitate and reunify youth with their families. The program is quite a bit more, and the price goes up per week that I’m there.  Estimates would put me down $4000, which is quite the whammy when I would still have to cover tuition and such other costs. According to the website, the fee is 100% tax deductible, which I’d have to look into. The internships would be in Masaka or in Jinja, still not in the north but I could deal.

So, it’s AIESEC v. FSD.  While I think of the two, I’ll be following more routes to put me in Gulu or Pader. I have a few last contacts that I could at least try, and Cameroon is in my back pocket.

Ugandafricameroon

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So, the internship search is still very, very on.  But, I’ve got some decisions to make I guess.  My parents are trying to help me out by talking to friends from/in other countries while I continue pestering NGOs and think tanks.  My idea has always been to try to go to Uganda (or somewhere else in the Great Lakes region) as a priority. If not, West Africa, Eastern Europe, and Southeast Asia would all be great as well.

My parents have some small possibilities in Taiwan and Thailand, which would be cool.  However, they have a friend from Cameroon that has some pretty high-and-mighty connections.  By that, I mean my dad said she called one of the Supreme Court justices to see if there was anything they could do to help me.

I have sent countless letters to groups in Uganda. My friends at Resolve Uganda apologized and said they would if they could, but passed me along to another group that might help.  There’s also a placement group that will help me get around in Uganda if I research something there.  But, I’m facing an impasse: should I struggle to find a mediocre internship in fields like AIDS awareness, soldier rehabilitation, or displacement aid, or should I go to Cameroon and get a sweet   government placement?

The problem is that my heart is in Uganda. I have spent several years following the conflicts in northern Uganda, criticizing the President, and watching scores of friends go and come back hoping that I could one day join them.  I have the prior knowledge, I love the place (from afar), and I want to go there.  But Cameroon might be a better fit and the work there might get me further as far as future paths go.

Maybe I’ll end up in Canada or something.

School’s In for Spring

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Every semester, I end the first week by breaking down the first impressions of each class/professor. And take a glimpse at my workload.  Despite a very rainy week and a few lapses in timing (including a full parking structure at the light rail station, which made me walk a half-mile in the rain instead on Thursday) I made it to all of my classes.  Here’s to Spring 2010.

Global Career Development is going to be my most relaxing class.  We have a string of guest speakers from the university, NGOs, and international businesses.  The professor is an adorable little excitable Japanese lady and she seems like she’ll keep it from getting too boring.  On Thursday we took a survey on what abilities we had to offer. I also have a string of friends sitting at the same table, so I’ll have some company in our career development!

Contemporary U.S. History has been kind of a love/hate class so far. The professor likes to use media a lot which is cool, and he knows his stuff.  But he’s been trying to treat the course more like a seminar, but it’s a bit too big for that.  That doesn’t mean I won’t try to chime in though!

Principles of Global Economics is taught by the same excited Japanese professor. The course, as its title might suggest, concentrates on economics (not my point of interest) but it has actually been interesting so far. Lots of talk about global issues and country examples, and I’ve got a whole row of friends, including Alli, to keep me company for the first three hour class of each week.

German is a little daunting.  It’s accelerated, which is why we’ve learned 287+ words and phrases in two days, and it promises to keep up the pace.  We have two essays, two oral exams, a final, and a lot of vocab throughout.  The professor is pretty laid back, but speaks German about 85% of the time.  Utilizing my old German from high school has been a lot of help, but I find myself filling wholes with a mix of English and Mandarin, making for a very bizarre vernacular.

Special Education Integration promises to be pretty boring. The professor was clearly a junior high teacher, but hopefully that won’t bother me too much.  Thankfully, it doesn’t look like it will be too much work to keep up with the course.  But, we will have some cases to play out in our placements which will be interesting.  I also find myself very alone in my education classes now. Every single one of my College of Education friends is student teaching this semester, which means I’m the only one taking classes and I’m amid crowds of strangers who have taken a half dozen classes with each other. It’s a long three hours to say the least.

History Methods is kinda the same. I don’t know many people, except Clay who petitioned to take the class while he is student teaching. It’s the same professor as my other history class, which is why we watched John Adams excerpts and will be doing some similar assignments.  Hopefully I’ll learn something to augment my giant binder from my other methods class.

Modern U.S. History is my dreaded online class.  Lots of reading, lots of discussions, and very little break time.  Online history courses are simply a nightmare sometimes.  But, it’s a time period I know less about so perhaps it will help out.  I would have taken colonial history instead (one I have even more to learn from) but that professor is really annoying, so I’ve chosen this one! We’ll see how it goes.

As for my classroom placement, no word yet! I’m officially a week behind, so I’ll be calling up the PFE office soon enough.  In the mean time, I’ll try to get through everything else.

All in all, my actual assignments have been meager.  Write a poem, fill out a survey, yada yada.  However, in one week I have been assigned a whopping 469 pages of reading about history, countries, economics, education, and languages.  I guess I should wrap up this post and crack open a book or two.

Adventuring Abroad

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So, a specter that has been looming over me recently has been my obligation to go abroad as a part of my studies. I’ve been scouring circles of friendship, professional networks, and the ever-expanding internet. I’ve talked with Kim about what I can afford to do – both for financial and physical/emotional (my/her) safety.  I’ve sectioned off parts of the world and am following up with all sorts of potential groups.

I’m getting close to being six months out now, and have run into a lot of disheartening dead ends.  I will continue to wheedle my way through the channels of Invisible Children and Resolve Uganda to get my way there. But in the mean time, I’ve found a plethora of internships that are no-gos. The high courts in The Netherlands, Sierra Leone and Tanzania have all turned me down. Cambodia is still a possibility.  The Australian Human Rights Commission has turned me down. I’m still waiting to hear back from a few others. State Department decisions go out in December. And I’ll be hitting up some research groups in East Africa asking them to shorten their internship requirements. I need to work with Gisela to figure out what I can do. Maybe I can just go work at Huruma in Nairobi.

I just want to find something that I’m interested in that will actually work out with everything going on here at home. Africa would be nice. Research or aid would be nice. But who knows? Maybe I’ll end up teaching English to a bunch of Austrians or something. I’ll probably end up talking to my friend Kevin about getting help from AISEC. Hopefully they can put me in touch with a development group. Here’s to a decisive next month or so in figuring all of this out!