Sorry for skipping out on class a little early today, but it was for a good cause!
Kelly and I attended "Making Poverty History" which was given by Scott Lacy, Ph.D. the executive director of African Sky, a non-profit working to end inequality and extreme poverty in Mali, a country in West Africa.
Dr. Lacy did a great job presenting on this topic. He gave a lot of facts and statistics and then backed them up with personal stories of his experiences over the past 16 years helping in Mali.
He started off talking about how fighting poverty is the biggest social movement in the world. The UN also created the Millennium Development Goals which include ending poverty and hunger, universal education, child healthcare, combating HIV/AIDS and many more. There goal is to halve poverty by 2015 and end poverty in our lifetime which is a HUGE goal. Dr. Lacy said that the World Bank estimated that halving poverty in the next 5 years would cost $20 billion. That sounded like a lot until I learned that $1.3 TRILLION is spent a year on global military. Seems like ending poverty could be a little easier than we originally thought huh?
Dr. Lacy told many great stories about what he has done in Mali. He has a "teach them to fish" philosophy, where he will initially front groups a small amount of money when they have an idea to start a project, like making and selling peanut butter or soap, or holding literacy classes for women in their village, and then let them go with their idea and work for themselves. These projects tend to work out incredibly well because people can work for themselves and see their hard work thrive. He also said being grateful and accepting thanks from those he helps builds their self esteem and puts them on a peer level, instead of making them feel like a charity case.
Overall I really enjoyed his presentation and anecdotes about his hard work. People like Dr. Lacy are incredibly inspiring to me. If only I could be as good of a person as people like him are. Its something to strive towards.
Tuesday, March 29
Sunday, March 27
Mad Facilitation Skillz
Hello Hixsons!
This week, before we were so rudely interrupted by inclement weather, we discussed facilitation and what it means to us.
I found a great definition of a facilitator on Wikipedia.
“One who contributes structure and process to interactions so groups are able to function effectively and make high-quality decisions. A helper and enabler whose goal is to support others as they achieve exceptional performance.”
I think this fully describes what we do here with the Hixson program. As a facilitator in your class you need to be able to pose thoughtful questions and ideas to your students and then let them take over and think it through on their own. They need to be able to contribute to class and come to realizations on their own about their education and goals and what it means to be a college student. You are just the spark to start the conversation, they will be the ones to fuel it.
Outside of class, you need to be there for your students when they think they need your help, not when you think they need your help. Being supportive, caring, and present when your students come to you is of the upmost importance. They might be going through things in their life that you are not able or qualified to help them with. And that’s ok! Being able to provide those referrals to your students is your way of helping them. With our guidance, we can help lead them through difficult times during this important adjustment period.
I’ve found through being a Hixson peer mentor that I thoroughly enjoy being a facilitator and that it is something I would like to continue to do well into my future. Student affairs is something that I love being involved with, and I hope all of you are starting to feel the same way. If you aren’t, I’m sure you will change your mind once you are put with a co-leader and given students. It’s a fun and exciting experience and one that has definitely taught me a lot about myself and about working with other people.
See you all Tuesday for an exciting day of movie making!
:) Chels
This week, before we were so rudely interrupted by inclement weather, we discussed facilitation and what it means to us.
I found a great definition of a facilitator on Wikipedia.
“One who contributes structure and process to interactions so groups are able to function effectively and make high-quality decisions. A helper and enabler whose goal is to support others as they achieve exceptional performance.”
I think this fully describes what we do here with the Hixson program. As a facilitator in your class you need to be able to pose thoughtful questions and ideas to your students and then let them take over and think it through on their own. They need to be able to contribute to class and come to realizations on their own about their education and goals and what it means to be a college student. You are just the spark to start the conversation, they will be the ones to fuel it.
Outside of class, you need to be there for your students when they think they need your help, not when you think they need your help. Being supportive, caring, and present when your students come to you is of the upmost importance. They might be going through things in their life that you are not able or qualified to help them with. And that’s ok! Being able to provide those referrals to your students is your way of helping them. With our guidance, we can help lead them through difficult times during this important adjustment period.
I’ve found through being a Hixson peer mentor that I thoroughly enjoy being a facilitator and that it is something I would like to continue to do well into my future. Student affairs is something that I love being involved with, and I hope all of you are starting to feel the same way. If you aren’t, I’m sure you will change your mind once you are put with a co-leader and given students. It’s a fun and exciting experience and one that has definitely taught me a lot about myself and about working with other people.
See you all Tuesday for an exciting day of movie making!
:) Chels
Sunday, March 20
Communicating Effectively
Hello everyone!
I hope you all are well rested and had as wonderful of a spring break as I did. Now let the blogging begin!
About 2 weeks ago Brandon and I did our lesson on communicating effectively. I hope everyone enjoyed it, I know we both did. Going off of our quote, there are times when we may think we are communicating effectively when in actuality we are not. Trust me I know I can talk a lot, but that does not always mean I am communicating to others to the best of my abilities or in a way they can fully comprehend it. Its something every person can work on improving.
My favorite way of communicating has to be face to face conversations. I love sitting down and learning about a person and having them learn about me. This unfortunately isn't the way I usually get to communicate though. Written forms like e-mail, texting, Facebook, etc., all seem to be the preferred form of communication for our generation and though it is definitely the most convenient way, it isn't always the most effective. I've always found written language to be easily misconstrued, where as if someone misunderstands you in a face-to-face discussion they can usually reword what they're trying to say to make it more easily understandable.
Since coming to college, the main change in my communication strategies is the role of e-mail in my daily life. When I came to college I rarely used my e-mail account at all and now I'm looking at phones that will receive my e-mail so I can get them instantly. It's obviously the preferred way of communication on campus and that was a big adjustment for me. It tends to be a big adjustment for first year students as well. Most of my students barely checked their e-mail or wouldn't respond to them when they did. Its a crucial part of teaching in the fall to get the point across about the importance of e-mail in our daily lives.
I really hope everyone learned something from our Twitter week as well. Its a really fun tool and though it might not seem very interesting or useful now, the more you use it and the more people and groups you follow, the more worthwhile it will seem. Some of your students in the fall may already have a Twitter or at least have heard about it, but there will be students who won't understand its purpose. Its really important to try and be as enthusiastic as possible with Twitter that way your students will hopefully jump on board. I'm going to be brainstorming some ideas this summer about fun ways to incorporate Twitter into my recitation. Possibly some sort of scavenger hunt or question of the day so students will be more likely to access Twitter other than just saying "I hate studying" or "I'm going to Seasons".
Alright thats it from me. See everyone on Tuesday night!
I hope you all are well rested and had as wonderful of a spring break as I did. Now let the blogging begin!
About 2 weeks ago Brandon and I did our lesson on communicating effectively. I hope everyone enjoyed it, I know we both did. Going off of our quote, there are times when we may think we are communicating effectively when in actuality we are not. Trust me I know I can talk a lot, but that does not always mean I am communicating to others to the best of my abilities or in a way they can fully comprehend it. Its something every person can work on improving.
My favorite way of communicating has to be face to face conversations. I love sitting down and learning about a person and having them learn about me. This unfortunately isn't the way I usually get to communicate though. Written forms like e-mail, texting, Facebook, etc., all seem to be the preferred form of communication for our generation and though it is definitely the most convenient way, it isn't always the most effective. I've always found written language to be easily misconstrued, where as if someone misunderstands you in a face-to-face discussion they can usually reword what they're trying to say to make it more easily understandable.
Since coming to college, the main change in my communication strategies is the role of e-mail in my daily life. When I came to college I rarely used my e-mail account at all and now I'm looking at phones that will receive my e-mail so I can get them instantly. It's obviously the preferred way of communication on campus and that was a big adjustment for me. It tends to be a big adjustment for first year students as well. Most of my students barely checked their e-mail or wouldn't respond to them when they did. Its a crucial part of teaching in the fall to get the point across about the importance of e-mail in our daily lives.
I really hope everyone learned something from our Twitter week as well. Its a really fun tool and though it might not seem very interesting or useful now, the more you use it and the more people and groups you follow, the more worthwhile it will seem. Some of your students in the fall may already have a Twitter or at least have heard about it, but there will be students who won't understand its purpose. Its really important to try and be as enthusiastic as possible with Twitter that way your students will hopefully jump on board. I'm going to be brainstorming some ideas this summer about fun ways to incorporate Twitter into my recitation. Possibly some sort of scavenger hunt or question of the day so students will be more likely to access Twitter other than just saying "I hate studying" or "I'm going to Seasons".
Alright thats it from me. See everyone on Tuesday night!
Sunday, March 6
Diversity
Hey everyone!
So this week we covered diversity and lots of it. Cory and Jenna did a great job on Tuesday in class, and Zach and Allie both did awesome at ISCORE.
I attended both of their sessions Friday. For those of you who didn't attend them, Zach's was about the Martin family, a black couple who lived in Ames and housed black students for free when they could not find housing. They are also the people Martin Hall is named after. I had never heard anything about the Martin family, and this was kind of upsetting to me after I left the presentation. The Martin's did so much for minority students in the early 20th century and most people know nothing about them. They are a very hardworking, honest, and caring family and more people should know about them and admire them for what they have done for our community and university. I wanted to thank Zach for his work on that presentation and for teaching me something I really wish I would have previously known.
I also attended Allie's session where she spoke about her graduate thesis research about Muslim women on our campus. I was pretty surprised when I heard that Allie's research concentration was on Muslim women, and I'm glad I got to hear her story about how she realized that she held stereotypes about Muslims and that they were unfounded and she wanted to change that in herself. That's a very noble quality to have! I see many Muslim women on campus and never really considered how they must feel wearing their headscarfs to class, or finding somewhere to pray during the day.
Some many times we become to self-centered and lose the compassion and empathy we should have for people of diverse backgrounds who might not have the same privileges as we do. Though some people think diversity issues are overdone and a waste of time, I think they serve as a good reminder to students to treat others with respect, and also helps us better understand cultures, religions, sexual orientations, and genders different than our own, among many other things. Hopefully this week taught everyone how important diversity is and that it is central to come people and that needs to be fully respected by us all.
Hopefully everyone is enjoying their week of Twitter! It's a really fun tool, not only for connecting and socializing with others, but also for getting information instantly and finding out about the latest headlines and news stories. Its also a really fun way to communicate with one another, and your students in the fall.
Get excited, I'll be teaching class this week! EEK! Hopefully I don't disappoint. :)
-Chels
So this week we covered diversity and lots of it. Cory and Jenna did a great job on Tuesday in class, and Zach and Allie both did awesome at ISCORE.
I attended both of their sessions Friday. For those of you who didn't attend them, Zach's was about the Martin family, a black couple who lived in Ames and housed black students for free when they could not find housing. They are also the people Martin Hall is named after. I had never heard anything about the Martin family, and this was kind of upsetting to me after I left the presentation. The Martin's did so much for minority students in the early 20th century and most people know nothing about them. They are a very hardworking, honest, and caring family and more people should know about them and admire them for what they have done for our community and university. I wanted to thank Zach for his work on that presentation and for teaching me something I really wish I would have previously known.
I also attended Allie's session where she spoke about her graduate thesis research about Muslim women on our campus. I was pretty surprised when I heard that Allie's research concentration was on Muslim women, and I'm glad I got to hear her story about how she realized that she held stereotypes about Muslims and that they were unfounded and she wanted to change that in herself. That's a very noble quality to have! I see many Muslim women on campus and never really considered how they must feel wearing their headscarfs to class, or finding somewhere to pray during the day.
Some many times we become to self-centered and lose the compassion and empathy we should have for people of diverse backgrounds who might not have the same privileges as we do. Though some people think diversity issues are overdone and a waste of time, I think they serve as a good reminder to students to treat others with respect, and also helps us better understand cultures, religions, sexual orientations, and genders different than our own, among many other things. Hopefully this week taught everyone how important diversity is and that it is central to come people and that needs to be fully respected by us all.
Hopefully everyone is enjoying their week of Twitter! It's a really fun tool, not only for connecting and socializing with others, but also for getting information instantly and finding out about the latest headlines and news stories. Its also a really fun way to communicate with one another, and your students in the fall.
Get excited, I'll be teaching class this week! EEK! Hopefully I don't disappoint. :)
-Chels
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