Narrative on Social Diversity and Multiculturalism

     Social diversity is the incorporation of various cultures and subcultures into a specific locale.  Multiculturalism is the purposeful incorporation of same, such as in educational, business or municipal settings.  Social diversity is something that is offensive to some, essential to others and simply unnoticed by many.  At present, our nation is battling with antiquated ideals as to what the American facade should look like.  I am specifically referencing our current struggles with immigration reform and equal rights for the GLBT community.  The decisions we make as a country today regarding these matters are the history lessons future generations will study.  What is it we want to teach them?

     I am a second generation Irish American, having grown up hearing the stories of how and why my grandparents immigrated to America.  There was always a deep-rooted love and a childlike smile accompanying their stories of what they affectionately called "the old country."  The "American Dream" is best defined by the outsiders looking in.  My grandparents came to the US in the 1950s to work, seek happiness and be part of a country that was moving in an exciting, positive direction.  It is this understanding, paired with my passion for Latin American culture, that grant me a very open mind as far as immigration reform is concerned.

     As a gay male I am constantly reminded of and frustrated by my lack of rights as a citizen under the Constitution.  I have experienced harassment, aggression and ignorance by people within my same age group.  I am not one who abides by a victim or "minority" mentality, but these experiences did show me the immense amount of good that multiculturalism and social diversity can do. 

     Incorporating multiple groups into society holds a great deal of power.  By letting Americans see these "threats" to the American aesthetic, we can ease their fears and promote acceptance and understanding.  This is why I believe Social Diversity is essential.  As an educator, I see the impact of our words and actions at this crucial time, and how they will help shape the generations to come.

Exercise 1 & 2

Exercises 1 and 2 are handwritten in my personal notebook.

Class Blog 8-26-10

As an artistic child, I loathed reading.  I graduated from Cliff's Notes High School and never took an interest in reading anything other than play scripts.  It was the interpersonal that interested me in a story, and never the description.  I would have been quoted saying, "I don't care what shade of grayish gray the gray sky was.  Just tell me who the killer is!"  Throughout this period, however, I always found writing to be a therapeutic process.  I wrote poetry, songs, plays, etc., as an outlet for my various adolescent woes.

It wasn't until my adult life that I was able to find pleasure in novels and other forms of reading.  As I grew up I realized that what's happening in the world actually does affect my life, and started keeping abreast on current events.  I also love to read fiction in my spare time, but still love to delve into a new play script whenever possible.  My friends and I regularly joke about our shared love for young adult fiction.  "Why face grown-up problems when I can read Harry Potter instead?" you might hear us say.  I have also developed a great appreciation for the essays of David Sedaris, who regularly keeps me laughing, but still manages to give me something real to relate to throughout his collections.  If I were to choose any type of writing to continue with in my life, it would be more in line with Sedaris and his personal essays.  I feel my views on reading and writing have evolved a great deal, and I have formulated a better understanding of how beneficial both can be for me as an individual.

My anxiety about writing lies in the research.  As I am such a highly introspective and verbal person, I feel I may struggle with a more formal, academic style of writing.  I am confident with my language, grammar and vocabulary skills, but my research and data reporting - less so.  I do believe I will benefit a great deal from my work in this course.

I am unsure at this time what my topic will be for my Social Action Project.  I have many topics about which I am passionate, and need to narrow them down and make a decision.  I can state with certitude that I will use some type of technological media as part of my presentation this fall.  I believe that familiarizing myself with various media options will benefit me as an educator, and ensure that my future classroom is a current, exciting place.

First Blog

I am a returning ISU student, having taken a few years off.  I will be studying Bilingual Education.  During my time away from academia, I worked as a paralegal and translator for a criminal law firm in the suburbs of Chicago.  After that, I switched gears entirely to teach Pre-Kindergarten with Knowledge learning Corporation.  It was there that my passion teaching really came to fruition.  I have since begun teaching and directing children's theatre, and had the opportunity to teach at Northwestern University in the Center for Talent Development.  CTD offers enrichment courses to gifted youth in the Chicagoland area, which provided me with an excellent experience in education.

I am looking forward to furthering my education at ISU!