How I perceive her culture

The relationship that my student and I have is more based on who she is rather than where she is from. What I observe from her "culture" has far more to do with her family and her interests rather than where she is from. She moved here quite a few years ago, so much of her adolescence has occurred here in the states-- impacting her culture. 

I attached the Myanmar flag as well as a map. The large group of people is because she is always talking about extended family and friends that stay at her house, she says that her house is always full of people that are not just her immediate family. In addition, she really loves wearing bright colored lip stains, and hoped to attend Lyndon State College in the fall. Also included is the alphabet for the language she natively speaks, which is called Burmese.

Development	Age Range	Theorist(s)	Stage Description	Teaching Considerations
Cognitive	Young adolescence	Kellough, Manning, Scales	They exhibit metacognition and independent thought	They prefer active learning rather than lecture-style, and enjoy engaging with their peers while they learn
Social-Emotional	Young adolescence	Brighton, Scales, Wiles, Kellough	Conflict between conforming and individuality. Strong need to be part of a group	Create activities in class that stimulate debate, as well as healthy collaboration
Psychological	10-11	Erikson	Create identity by the things they do well	Role-play activities, and the opportunity for students to make their own choices
Psychological	12-15	Erikson	Experimentation with ways to shape their own identity
Moral	Young adolescence	Scales	They value fairness, and move away from just doing what they are told, to developing their own morality, normally based upon parents and/or key adults in their lives.	“...plan assignments that help students to incorporate their thoughts and feelings in writing”

When I was in early adolescence, I definitely experimented with my identity in the Psychological aspect. I grew up playing the flute, and was very good at it. However, being in band was not part of the social group I was in. I created an identity that was very individual, where I had a strong social group that knew nothing about performing music, as well as part of my identity that focussed on what I was good at. In the end, it allowed me to be myself (whatever that was) alongside have a self-esteem booster whenever I went to band practice. 

11/7 Election Day

Tomorrow is Election Day, and my student was so shocked to hear that I had not registered to vote. I felt guilty, because I wish I had, but I didn’t submit my absentee ballot on time. I asked her who she would vote for, and she didn’t know, “Probably not Trump”, she said. In class they had to write about what they favored and did not favor with the two lead candidates. She needed a push so I was helping bounce some ideas with her, while she jotted down these ideas so she could choose. Its evident that this method helps her understand, along with better her written English. I said something along the lines of “You said you don’t like Trump, so what are some of the things you think are stupid about him?” in which she started to write “Stupid things about Trump…” and she immediately laughed and hit my arm and said “why would you have me write that!” once she realized what she had written. I am so glad that she finds humor in these translation errors between us.

11/4 Science Class

The first day in the Science class, they were working on building 3D models of atoms. I noticed immediately that my student sat with other ELL students-- which makes sense. I would want to sit with people who are like me, too. Interestingly, the other 3 girls had a different native language than my student, which they spoke throughout class. My student looked at me with an annoyed look and I said “I have no idea what they are saying either, its alright” and she appreciated this I think. Then she said “speak English please” and the other girls said “we are talking about [that boy] over there who won’t stop looking at you” which my students went red in the face and said, “oh him? I don’t care”. I found this so funny, that these girls were speaking in their native language so the boy couldn’t overhear them-- what a superior power to have. It was good to know that they weren’t trying to leave my student left out of their conversation intentionally, either.

10/31 Miscommunication

I told my student that I missed her on Friday, and I asked her if she was feeling alright. She looked at me very confused and said she was fine, and she was here, where was I? I told her that I was in this classroom, and she said “I’m not in this classroom on Fridays!” how could the teacher have thought a student was supposed to be in a class that she wasn’t. I apologized that I misunderstood, and that I would be in class with her on Friday. I can not believe the teacher didn’t realize that this student had never been in his class. It made me realize that when I am a teacher, I won't let my students go under the radar, especially quiet students like my ELL student

10/28 College Essay

Today is Friday, and my student was not here. I checked with the teacher to make sure I was in the correct classroom and he said yes, and that she was absent, but that I could work with another ELL student. They were workshopping their college essays. I was thrilled because this was my area of expertise. The girl I was working with asked if I could read over her essay and give feedback… and oh my gosh was I blown away. She talked about her transition here, and what happened back in her country, and she has faced more struggles than I may ever in my entire life. I learned the importance of sensitivity. I had to think of how I would respond after reading this. I thanked her for sharing all that with me, and how strong of a person she was. She was upset because her English wasn’t all there so it was difficult for her to portray how she felt-- but I reassured her that what really counts, with things like this, is making it personal, which she had done an excellent job at. I hope that this essay helps her in the college application process.

10/24 Back At It

I became very sick after my first time tutoring due to beginning to work at a preschool in Williston. When I came back, I apologized to my student, hoping that I hadn’t let her down. She was really understanding and made a remark along the lines of “you still sound pretty sick” and then laughed in a sweet way. Her humor is remarkable. I asked her if my notes were helpful last time, and she said they were very helpful and that she even looked over them a few times. I found out that she was absent during a day she was supposed to give a presentation, and the teacher gave her an alternative assignment. This is definitely an option that I will give students when I am a teacher, but I will make sure that their absences aren’t because of any detrimental cause-- I’m still figuring out how I will do this. Her and I worked on a paper together. She had difficulty spelling words, and appeared embarrassed. I reassured her that she was much better at spelling in English than I would be in Burma (her native language), so there was no need to feel bad. This decrease of power was super beneficial in our relationship.

10/10 First Day

Today was my first day with my ELL student, from Myanmar. Her english was really remarkable, but she told me that she would really appreciate if I took notes for her because, although she could speak English fairly well, it was difficult for her to keep up with what was being talked about in class. I took notes for her and I hope that this will help her in the future. Her class was American Government, and I can only imagine how much more difficult this class would be for someone who is completely new to the system, as apposed to someone who has grown up with it their entire lives. I myself have a difficult time grasping how our government works. The teacher also handed back progress reports today, and her grades were not great, because very few assignments were submitted. She shared with me that she does not know how to use Canvas, an assignment submission tool we also use at Saint Mike’s. I told her I could help her learn how to use it whenever we had a free chance, and she was thrilled. Hopefully I can help her!

Winooski High School Mascot, Spartan