Princess Finlay Blog #3

My mom found out I was a girl when I was still in her womb.  My dad chose not to know the gender for either of his kids and when I was born I was a surprise to him.  I would be the second daughter for my parents.  My dad may have secretly wanted a son, but he never said that out loud.  Growing up, he gave us opportunities to learn from.  I learned different things that might be considered boyish in today's society.  We learned to snowmobile, fourwheel, change a tire, or change the oil. 

My dad is a firefighter and I can remember the other firefighters saying things to me when I was younger like, "where's your Barbie?"  And I would respond with "I hate Barbie!"  I was never a Barbie collector or doll collector.  I did not fancy myself as a Disney Princess when I was younger, however I am currently joking with my boyfriend that my biological clock is ticking and I have baby fever.  This led us to an interesting conversation about whether or not it was nature or nurture.  Do women actually have a biological clock because that is how we sustain as a species, or is it a myth to keep us entranced in the princess realm?    

Thinking about my nieces who are 4 and 5 years, and were obsessed with the Frozen movie when it first came out has left me feeling like a bad aunt.  They were Anna and Elsa for Halloween that year and I had to stop myself from lecturing my sister about the implications.  This past Halloween one was a bad witch and one was a character from a movie called the Descendants.  They both have implications and stereotypes supporting the female representation. 

I think about the shows I watch with them.  There is Doc McStuffins and Octonauts, which each come with their own laundry list of stereotypes they are fulfilling and rebelling against.

Day 2 A Dream Deferred

Practice makes Practice:
A Dream Deferred
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Digital Native versus Digital Immigrant

When I first heard Dr. Bogad say the terms "digital native" and "digital immigrant"  I felt that they are politically incorrect.  I feel as though because of the times we currently live in that the word immigrant and native should not be used in a light hearted context.  It opens a can of worms to create more metaphorical terminology that could potentially degrade someone who is trying to learn a new language and culture.     In the article It’s Complicated I am glad to see how they recognized the view, “From an ethnic studies perspective, the language of “natives” and “immigrants” is particularly fraught.”  (I am currently working towards my master’s in Teaching English as a Second Language.)  The implications of people being labeled as immigrant or native perpetuates a stereotype that immigrants cannot bring their own literacy skills to the new culture when they can and should.

Also, why not make new terminology for the new concepts.  For example, I love the idea of calling people either computer noobs or computer gurus.  Here are two terms that will not offend our emigrating world.  Plus, at least when I was in middle school and high school, students were given keyboarding classes to properly train us on a qwerty keyboard.  Nowadays, students are not taught how to type at their fastest rate so what does that do to how their brain is wired to the computer and future endeavors?    

Lastly, I think the implications of saying because students are brought up in a digital age does not mean they are digital natives.  For instance, this is another stereotype because it is making assumptions that all students are using computers in their free time.  This could be incredibly troublesome for someone who is actually an immigrant and has never worked with a computer in his or her life before.  For someone who is a noob to computers we could show them real world examples of propaganda or false news compared to what we see in today’s world.  For digitally literate students we could do the reverse lesson, in order for them to see how propaganda has evolved.  This is one way we can connect what we see in the real world to what we see in the computer screen.

Digital Native or Digital Immigrant? Blog #2

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What Is It Like Being An Immigrant In The U.S.?  

YouTube Video

 My Niece Mila at her Graduation from Pre-School when she wouldn't take a nice picture with her mom.  I think it's funny.

Video from my Phone

     I thought I was a digital native, but I am still a digital immigrant.  I can remember the first computer in our house and the dial up sound it made.  I remember going on AOL and sending a chain mail to my sister, my mom, and my dad.  The person who sent me the chain mail was my sister's best friend.  Thankfully, back then, email was only on computers and not sent to smartphones.  My sister had to hack into my parents' emails to delete the chain mail because it was inappropriate, but I forget why.  Speaking of my parents, they make me feel like I am digital savant because the questions they ask me I always know how to answer.  However, from trying to create this blog, I realize I am a digital immigrant. 
     

Introduction to Tara Finlay Blog #1

Hello everyone!  I have just completed my first year at Providence Career and Technical Academy as an English as a Second Language and English teacher.  Before that I taught English Language Arts to sixth graders at Woonsocket Middle School.  I have also completed a year as an AmeriCorps CityYear member where I worked with eighth graders at Gilbert Stuart Middle School.  This summer I am taking four summer courses and working at the PTech (Pathways in Technology Early College High School) Summer Academy for ninth and tenth graders.  I graduated from Rhode Island College in 2014 with a degree in Secondary Education with a concentration in English and Middle Level Education Endorsement.  I am currently working towards my master’s in Teaching English as a Second Language.