Course Reflection (final course post)

This final reflection is meant to be personal; the soundtrack is important, so turn it up!

Thank you all for a great class.

Shannon :)

In the short essay Basketball, by Andrea Busch, the author relates a story of watching men playing pick-up basketball at a public court, and the unusual circumstance of observing a woman trying to play with the men.  Basically, even though the female player was good at the game, she wasn't allowed to participate fully, fairly, or for very long, even though she proved her ability.  The author doesn't say where or when the events took place, but sadly the story could likely have taken place anywhere.

I was struck by the author's admission that after the new player sank her first shot, "...a huge feeling of relief and satisfaction came over me." Busch (2012).  This reminded me of a passage from another article, Real Indians: Identity and the Survival of Native America, by Eva Marie Garroutte, which described the idea that it was preferable to have someone who "looked" more Indian to represent all Native Americans for a college scholarship; this basketball player, who is a woman, not only was representing herself, but was representing all women.  The author and observer, also a woman, was counting on the player to demonstrate some prowess and represent women with distinction.  In other words, the female player had to be a hero, not just a player.

As teachers, I think that we all can contribute greatly to improving equity, at least in our immediate environment, by simply providing a framework, space, and expectation of equity and respect.  Girls should grow up knowing that they can be scientists, artists, leaders, athletes, or whatever they want to be; boys should grow up knowing the same, about boys, girls, or anyone. 

In the last lines of the essay, the author remarks that she was both surprised that the girl had not been more accepted, and that she never saw her again at the court; one common truth is that tenacity, or showing up, is half of the battle.  However, when a person in a minority feels unaccepted, and maybe even threatened, perseverance becomes heroic.  Even though, as is often said, "difference shouldn't matter", I sincerely hope that the next U.S. President is a woman.  It's about time.

References:

Busch, A. (2012). Basketball. The Meaning of Difference, McGraw-Hill, NY, NY, p. 122. 

Garroutte, E. (2003). Real Indians: Identity and the Survival of Native America. University of California Press.

In the article Cause of Death: Inequality, by Alejandro Reuss, the author discusses how disparity in income, opportunity, and class relate directly to life expectancy and likely causes of death.  Basically, the wealthier and higher up on a social hierarchy ladder a person is, the more likely they will live a long life; the lower income and status a person is, the more likely their life will be comparatively short and have a tragic, avoidable end. 

While of course there are individual exceptions to the above generalizations, the overwhelming statistics and trends should shock and/or disturb everyone.  How is it possible that disparity and the results of disparity are basically accepted as givens?  This is nearly impossible to explain.

I have seen health care from a variety of angles here in the U.S., from free clinics, to state-sponsored care, to high-priced insurance (Kaiser-Permanente) and government employess health care; a common thread in all of these has not been quality of care, which has generally been good, but in the need for self-advocacy.  Regardless of whether a person is paying nothing, a little, or alot for health care, they MUST be able to speak up for themselves and their loved ones.  I can only imagine that it is only the truly wealthy who automatically receive the type of preventative care that we all should.  It is simply not likely to be a very personal experience in the average, super busy doctors office.  Adequate, but rarely "great".

It requires knowledge, experience, skill and will to self advocate effectively. The societal factors and personal choices (many of which are influenced by societal factors) that contribute to lower qualities of life and life expectancies need to be brought to light and discussed openly.

Reference:

Reuss, A. (2001, June). Cause of Death: Inequality. Dollars and Sense. 

In the article Ethnicity, Ethics, and the Deaf-World by Harlan Lane, the author makes a strong case for the Deaf-World to be considered an ethnic rather than a disability group.  Lane provides a framework, and some historic, cultural and anecdotal supports for the argument. Harlan Lane is a prominent spokesperson for the idea of recognizing deaf ethnicity, and writes and lectures on the subject: http://www.rochester.edu/news/show.php?id=7102 

Overall, I agree with Lane.  In my own experience, deaf people very much have a culture that few hearing people ever connect with, much less are a part of.  I worked for a time as the dinner cook at a historic residential school for the Deaf, which was a great experience for me, and really a privilege to be even a small part of the community.  It only takes a brief time to realize that there is as much diversity within any demographic group as there is between demographic groups.

Years before I ever worked at a school for the Deaf, I was working in an Italian restaurant when a large party of Deaf people came in to eat.  The regular waitress couldn't serve them, and though I didn't sign at all at the time, I took their order and had a great time serving them.  I was shocked at the tip they left me, which included a note about how much they appreciated having a relaxing meal.  It made sad, at the time, to realize that they usually must have awkward or bad experiences when out in the hearing world.

"Difference and diversity...are a major part of what gives life its richness and meaning..." Lane (2005)

Reference:

Lane, H. (2005). Ethnicity, Ethics, and the Deaf-World. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 10(3).

In the article Asian American Panethnicity: Contemporary National and Transnational Possibilities, by Yen Le Espiritu, the author examines the notion of an "Asian" identity in the United States.  This complex analysis includes some of the history, reasons, inconsistencies, innacuracies, pros and cons of the pan-Asian classification.

Years ago, I worked at a trucking company.  One of my co-workers was a woman who had just moved to the U.S. from the Philippines.  There was one day when someone said something about "Asian people"; I don't remember what was said exactly, but it was (I believe) not meant to be negative.  However, my friend was deeply, deeply offended.  She told me she had never heard that word used to describe people, and didn't see how or why the word "Asian" would describe her, a Filipina who had emigrated to the U.S. I explained that, as far as I knew, the term just referred to the continent of Asia, similar to Europe/European, or Africa/African.  She was skeptical, and said that the Philippines are the Philippines, and not Asia.  From this I learned that even though, for example, the Philippines are a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, at least one wonderful person from the Philippines did not ever want to be referred to as "Asian".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filipino_peoples

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippines

In the article From Friendly Foreigner to Enemy Race, author John Tehranian analyzes the Middle Eastern identity in the United States.  With insight, the author  looks at both group self-identity and the evolving and divergent views of "Middle Eastern" identity by others.  Tehranian provides great history related to the topic.  As an aside, I enjoyed reading this article, in addition to the content, because I could tell it had been written by a lawyer ("on the one hand, on the other hand...). 

As a child in San Antonio, I remember a period of about two years when several families from Saudi Arabia moved into the same block of the apartment complex where I grew up.  This of course meant not too much, except that every evening, men would come to the basketball court where me and my friends played, and would lay down mats, all facing the same direction, and pray together.  This would last about ten or fifteen minutes.  I think that it must have been an extended network of friends, as only some of the guys lived at the apartment complex (which was mostly families).  I always found this to be a peaceful time, and actually would step off the court (we all would) and hang around while they prayed.  There were always guys smiling and thanking us kids after their prayers.  I remember too that my family was the only local family who went to a traditional Saudi wedding party, held at the apartment club house: there was a men's party that my Dad and I went to, and a women's party that my Mom and baby brother went to.  The party was very joyful, with a huge feast, and gifts for everyone.

I have told this story several times, and have gotten many different reactions, although rarely a reaction that I am expecting or share.  I am curious what others reaction to the story are?

Reference:

Tehranian, J. (2009). Whitewashed: America's Invisible Middle Eastern Minority. New York: New York University Press. 

Fasting: Culture, Medicine, and Understanding

I just finished filling out a teaching application, and one of the required questions asked how I would respond to a student recently from Somalia who did not want to participate in sports because she was fasting.   The scenario also asked me to evaluate the negative response of a hypothetical teacher, who had assumed that the student was either anorexic or that her parents were not feeding her.  I thought this was an interesting question, as a link between culture, religion, and education was clearly presented, with the overall point I believe being not just an acceptance of diversity, but a respect for diversity.  Knowledge and understanding, without judgment.  I found a great article on the subject: 


https://ethnomed.org/clinical/nutrition/food-and-fasting-in-somali-culture


This led me to explore the whole website, ethnomed.  It is specifically meant to be relevant to people in the Seattle area, but has a wealth of information that can apply here and anywhere.  Health care workers, teachers, or anyone interested, can browse by health topic or by any culture or ethnicity listed.  The site lists some of the cultures most found in Seattle, but has links to many more, as well as to a variety of articles.  This, I believe, highlights an importance of acknowledging ethnicity, and of gaining knowledge for deeper understanding.   By improving relationships and increasing understanding, resources like this can contribute greatly to best practice, and can also literally save lives.  As medicine, and hopefully education, get more personal and tailored to each individuals' needs, it stands that acknowledging ethnicity and culture as a factor in a persons overall health and identity is important.  There are also some interesting links related to the subject of cultural competency.

https://ethnomed.org/about