Week 2: Dynamic Interactions

I must admit, coming up with three items to choose from was no easy task.  Here are the three items that I would choose to take with me.

1.  Family photo album:  This family photo album depicts the lives of grandparents, my parents, myself, and my husband.  This family photo album tells a story.  It allows me to glimpse at what was happening on a specific day, and each photo has a story that is attached to it. talk

2.  Family Bible:  Our family Bible documents births and deaths within our family.  It is also my guide for my religion. It brings me hope and helps me to keep my faith.

3.  My personal journal:  Since I was young I have documented my life in a personal journal.  This allows me to talk about my day-to-day life and how different things within my life have had positive and negative impacts on me.

If I was told upon arrival that I would only be able to keep one of these items my heart would shatter.  I could not imagine having to give any of these items up because although they do not make me who I am, they do tell the story of who I am, and who my family was/is.

I can see how this type of thing could very easily happen.  Many of my students are immigrants or are first-generation Americans.  I know some of their families came here with nothing, but do all that they can to keep their culture alive.  They tell their children stories, which they then, in turn, share with me in class.  I have family members who traveled here to America at one point with very little.  However, we have the stories and the memories that help us to keep our family culture alive.  As an educator it is important to try and learn as much as you can about the cultures of your students so that they feel as though they belong without having to change a single thing about themselves.