My capstone theme is, “Searching for Meaning: Unfolding the past in order to grasp my future, and discovering my identity to learn the beauty of being Hmong”. The point of this capstone is for my personal self-discovery and self-growth. I want to learn to value my culture and preserve it. I strongly believe in order to be successful in what I want to do, I need to start with myself. I need to understand what I want and have confidence and respect for myself in order to achieve and chase after what I dream of. It has always been a dream of mine, to learn more about my history, my roots, and know how to read and write in my native language. I can speak Hmong fluently, but I don’t know how to read or write it. I really want to be able to read
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, her American Dreams, and the Collision of Two Cultures by Anne Fadiman
Upon their arrival, Hmong faced “multiple social, cultural, educational, economic, and institutional barriers and challenges” (Hmong National Development, 2004; Lee, Jung, Su, Tran, & Bahrassa, 2009, p. 559). As the Hmong settled down in the United States, they found that education was vital for their children’s future (Lee & Green, 2008). A study conducted by Reder (1982) found that “73% [of Hmong adults]
Living in a city where my culture was widely known helped reassured me that I was normal and accepted by society. I joined my high school’s Asian American club, where it was an open space to talk about cultural issues. Not only was it a place for me to belong, it taught me to embrace the good and the bad. I became curious about every single thing. I learned so much by opening up and accepting my Hmong heritage. My perspectives shifted, from looking at Hmong traditions as outdated and embarrassing to being special and proudly identify myself as one. It makes me want to go back to Iowa and share my discoveries with my friends and old classmates. I want them to know what Hmong is, where did Hmong originate from, and why is it important to my
The initiative focuses on how First Nation, Métis, and Inuit histories, cultures, and perspectives are being incorporated into many areas of the elementary and secondary curriculum. This will help both Aboriginal students and the rest of Ontario’s students. For Aboriginal students, the curriculum helps foster a sense of identity and positive self-image. For the rest of Ontario’s students the new dimension to the curriculum adds rich opportunities to explore, learn about, and appreciate Aboriginal communities and how they add to our province 's culture.
My theme was fear. Fear is constantly involved with everyone everyday.It can be from having a fear of heights or fear of failing a test. Fear impacts in society because everyone fears of something.For example, one of the biggest fears in this world currently is the presidency of Donald Trump. Many people of the United States especially immigrants fear that Donald Trump isn’t going to treat them fairly. The immigrants show how scared they are and how their lives are about to change because of Donald Trump. They show their fears throughout social media, the news, and even in public protest. They fear of the outcome of Donald Trump. Fear has contributed in this world through many occasions and people have learned how to deal with it.
Although, I identify myself as a Hmong woman now, it wasn’t until I was accepted into Fresno State of 2001, when I discover and began to appreciate what Hmong meant to me. Prior to college, I knew little to nothing about my culture and the Hmong history. I also faced many challenges that skew me away from maintaining and accepting my cultural
My Vietnamese is very limited, I do not know how to write or speak it. Whenever I talk to someone in my native tongue, they either receive my knowledge well or poorly. When it comes to speaking with my elders, they ridicule me for not knowing the language from where my ancestors were. It was not my fault in all honesty. I had the materials to learn the language right in front of me, but I never really took the time to go do it. Life just got in the way. Both of my parents were struggling to make ends meat. My father even had to go out of state once, just to find a job while my mother was still in
My journey began as soon as I was put into my first “American” classroom (1st grade). It felt as if I was an alien that somehow got airdropped onto a foreign planet, everyone around me spoke in weird sounds and wrote strange symbols on paper. Days went by very slow as I struggled to keep up with the class, all the while trying to make sense of things and adapt to the new environment. One day the class was asked to copy down the alphabet as instructed by the teacher. This was when I got my first taste of writing in a different language. I found out that drawing letters and numbers that correlated with my native language (in aspects of shape and flow) were much easier to replicate. With the help of my supportive teachers and countless hours of practice and repetition I started to recognize letters for what they were and began to formulate simple sentence. Little did I know the importance of this stage as it was crucial in setting a solid foundation of understanding of grammar and vocabulary.
The villagers view Santiago as an old man who used to be a great fisherman, but is now too aged and unlucky to fish as he used to. The author expresses this on page 11, writing “...many of the fishermen made fun of the old man and he was not angry. Others, of the older fishermen, looked at him and were sad.” The villagers know that Santiago hasn’t caught a fish in ages and make fun of his bad luck, but the older fishermen know of Santiago’s great legacy as a fisherman and feel sympathetic.
Death. A strong topic, frequently but solemnly discussed. However, when I read Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven”, I was immediately captivated by the new angle brought to my attention regarding death. While the topic of death is usually associated with either sympathy or horror, Poe succeeded in portraying a feeling caught between the two; and at the same time bringing forth new feelings I would never thought to consider regarding death. These feelings reflect a sorrow so deep into a psychological madness, a feeling that the pain death brings has ruined one forever. After analyzing this poem I came to the conclusion that Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” demonstrates that the sorrow the death of a loved one brings will stay with you forever. Poe communicated this theme through abstract language , tone, and allusion.
What is gun control? Who is affected by gun control? Why should someone care about gun control? Imagine going to a concert with your friends and family, you guys are laughing and having a good time when all of a sudden someone starts shooting up the place. Are you thinking to yourself if guns were banned this wouldn't have happened? Or are you wishing you had a gun to protect everyone from what is happening? Gun Control has been an issue since the beginning of time, there are some people who think we need it and others who say we have the right to bear arms. With gun control a lot more lives could be saved and people won't have to be scared of a mass shooting happening somewhere. Children can feel safe when going to school and they won’t
The modern American society is best defined by its education. The “American dream” is founded on going to school, getting a good job, and becoming successful. Ironically, the actual native peoples of this country are actually the least likely to attain this dream. The largest obstacle they face is lack of proper education. The standard educational practices being used for the instruction of Native American peoples is not effective. There are many pieces to this road-block, and many solutions. This can be rectified by having more culturally aware teachers and parents, and by teaching the general population more about the Native American cultures.
In the world that is becoming more technology driven on daily bases, literacy skills are growing increasingly important to my future career. I'm as a second language speaker who had to submerge myself and literally learn a new language, new culture and new traditions. My life wasn't easy improving my literacy skills, but my plans for the future, which is high education and my
The three things that have made the biggest impact on and have influenced my life that shaped me into the person I am today are family background, experiences from my school year, and religious beliefs. Our culture provides a lens through which we view the world and interpret our everyday experiences. In order to know who I am today, I must look at who you’ve been. Many educators around the country are interested in developing a multicultural approach in their teaching. They find themselves in classrooms with 25 children of varying racial and cultural backgrounds, and are looking for ways to connect what they do in the classroom to the cultures represented by their students. Before we can begin to understand others, however, we need to understand ourselves and what we bring to our interactions with others.
Reading and writing has always played a vital part in my life. From toddler to adult, pre-elementary to college, I’ve managed to sharpen both skills to my liking. However, even though it significantly helped, schooling was not what influenced me to continue developing those skills into talent. Many different things shaped and influenced my learning, and now reading and writing have become the safety net of my life. I know that even if I have nothing else in the future, I’ll still have my talent and knowledge. To ensure my success, I hope to further develop those skills so that I may fulfill my wishes.