Always Running

This blog is to update on my progress about how I am currently doing on my book right now. I'm a little bit over half way done with the book and I really enjoy reading it. Once I start reading, I can't even take my eyes off of it. This book is by Luis Rodriguez who grew up living in East L.A. in the 60's and 70's. It's about Luis growing up in the primarily Latino area in L.A. getting involved in gang life and just trying to make it through the times. He doesn't always make the right decisions which hurts himself and unintentionally the others around him. I chose this book to see what it was really like to be apart of the crazy life as they called it in East L.A. known as the Barrios.

MBTI

This week we went through the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator in recitation and in large lecture. I learned quite a bit more about myself while going through this report. It helped me become more aware of my personality preferences along with my different learning styles.

My first letter E was a preference for extraversion which is known as directing energy toward the outer world of people and objects. I am more outgoing in particular social situations and tend to seem a little bit energetic. Most people don't usually see this in me in class or around campus because it usually depends on the context of the certain situation. I just don't seem to get very enthusiastic about school work. I feel like I need a sense of belonging, always needing to be around somebody or part of a group. Being an extravert showed me that I learn better by doing, hearing, and asking questions than by reading and writing.

My second letter S is for sensing. The report wasn't really clear on whether or not I had more of a preference for sensing or intuition. I believe though that my preference leans toward sensing partly for the reason that I am more of an experiential learner. I more of a hands-on kind of guy who trusts experience rather than reading or writing as I said above. I realized also that I like to figure out new ideas of doing things. This is pretty true for me because whether I'm at work or school I seem to find a different way of going about my day to change things up. The one thing I cannot stand is repetition.

My third letter F is for feeling. I base most of my decisions or just my life on my own personal values. I learned that I am more empathetic. I make my decisions based on the effect it will have on others around me. I am also more of an optimistic kind of person. The glass is never half empty, to me it's usually half full. I try to focus on the good in situations.

My final letter P is for perceiving. I prefer flexibility and spontaneity. As I said above I hate repetition. I like to be surprised by things and take them as they come. I would just rather have things unfold instead of trying to take control of the situation. I am a really pressure prompted type of person. I seem to do better in particular situations when time is restricted for example studying for a test the night before not the week before.

Doing this MBTI really made me aware of my personality and the different ways I display it. No one person is the same, we are all different in our own way and this report made me aware of not just myself but the others around me that have different preferences or different ways of doing things. This is important for me so that I take time to figure out how each of us learn, think, and say in situations in everyday life.

Goal Setting

I'd like to thank Karen and Zach, they did an exceptional job running the class this week. I thought the activity they used was great. The goal that I set for next year as a peer mentor was basically like Zach and Karen's. I want to get to know all of my students very well by name, county, major, and just some other facts such as what kind of background they've come from by at least halfway through the semester. I feel if I can accomplish this goal I can develop a relationship with my students so that they feel I really care that they succeed in their first year here at Iowa State. I feel this goal is fairly specific because it seems quite clear for me. Being able to remember my student's names seems very precise to me. This goal also seems very measurable. I can track my progress very easily throughout the semester to see how I am doing remembering names, counties, and majors by asking in class. This goal also seems very attainable because I feel that I am actually pretty good with remembering facts about certain people that are a part of my life. This goal is very relevant to what I am doing. Being able to remember my students will be very important to being a mentor. If a can't even remember their names, how can I help my students to succeed in their first year. This goal is also very time-limited. I put a realistic time limit to where I think I should be able to remember my students name, county, and major. Another goal that I set for myself was to be on Dean's list for my remaining semesters. For this goal I used the four M's method to help set specific and effective steps so that accomplish this for the remainder of my college education. For motivation, I said this would make me a better person altogether along with helping me with my career. Their are many commitments that I would need to make to obtain this goal. Going to class, studying hard, and completing my homework to the best of my ability seems like some very good commitments to make. For modifying my environment I could make sure I limit my time from my social life and find a place suitable where I can study without to many distractions. I can easily monitor my actions by checking my grades regularly during the semesters to make sure I can actually achieve this goal. I realized when using the SMART and Four M's methods in class that they are great ways to help you achieve your goals. Using these methods help to remember specific steps to follow when accomplishing your goals. Even using each type of method, you could develop different strategies for particular long or short term goals.

Facilitating Learning/Debunking Myths on Immigration

So this week in class we talked about facilitating learning and what facilitation meant to us. I thought of facilitation as helping others to achieve learning in new or necessarily different environments. We also went over how each of us had different ways of learning and understanding different aspects of knowledge. My strong point was the visual/spatial method that included the ability to create mental pictures and comprehend different images. When considering this, I realized I had a very active imagination and I have been applying that to everyday situations. I like to visualize what I am really learning and paint a picture in my head to really get a handle on things. I am more of a hands on person so experiencing things first hand
is the most crucial way for me to learn an attain ideas.

For most of this blog I wanted to talk about the diversity even I attended on March 22 about debunking some of the myths about immigration. Before attending this event, I realized how very stereotypical I am about immigration believing the myths that are out there. One myth was based around how illegal immigrants really don't want to be citizens of this country and are just here for the jobs. In actuality they would love to become legal citizens of our country but the process that they must go through is an incredibly long, hard, and painstaking process. It is nearly impossible for them to become legal immigrants. Geof Fischer, who was leading this discussion gave an example of one man which took him nine years to finely legalize his papers along with thousands of dollars. Our culture is very opposed to immigration, people believe that immigrants take our jobs but in reality they are usually taking the jobs that pay very small amounts that no one else is willing to do. They are essentially stimulating the economy in some ways. Another myth that came about was that these immigrants bring more crime into our country. Once again in actuality, illegal immigrants have lower crime rates than that of native born citizens. The last thing illegal immigrants want around is police, they are more likely to stay in the shadows than gain attention toward themselves. You may watch on the news how near the border their are more decapitations and murder than ever but crime rates have actually dropped at the border. It's just the difference between more coverage now than their has been in the past.

Geof also gave us a number of students here in Iowa high schools that are illegal aliens. Could you guess that that number is somewhere between five thousand and eight thousand students attending school in the shadows. Some people see these children as assets for our country in the future. These children end up hitting a barrier once they grow up and are unable to expand their education beyond high school. Believe it or not their are some programs out their helping these students get into universities on visas to keep them in the country. These students can be an asset to the future of our country just as we are. These are just a few myths and facts about immigration today in our country. I could go on for a much longer time but it would never end.

To conclude my blog their are around twelve million illegal or undocumented immigrants living in this country to date. These people live in the shadows of our everyday lives trying to make a living for their family and themselves. It's interesting how one single document can define the life you live.

Communicating Effectively

This week in class we discussed communicating effectively. I think Brandon and Chelsee did a great job leading the class. I thought the activity that they had chosen was very good. It was interesting to see how components changed as each person had their own perspective at looking at things. We each perceive some things a little bit more different than others. We all have our own point of view so it is important to understand the way one person communicates with others.
My favorite way to communicate is usually with smaller groups. When I'm interacting with large groups, it seems a little bit harder for me to focus and listen well. I become a lot more engaged in a discussion if it is with a smaller group because I feel as if people will listen more to what I have to say. I just feel like I am more of an active listener when in a smaller class per say than in a lecture hall. Since being a freshman here at Iowa State, I know I have increased my communication skills. From meeting new people and friends to discussing some topics in class, I have been able to become a better speaker and listener than I was in high school. Being a student at college basically requires one to become a more effective communicator.
I communicate with different people in many different ways. When I'm around my friends or family I feel very relaxed and calm. I can talk about anything and seem to listen very well and pay attention usually because it seems more important to me. When I'm in class or with a professor, it usually depends on the professor. In some of my classes, I feel like the professor is trying hard to get our attention and keep us focused by keeping us engaged in the class, but for other professors it seems like they don't even try. The most effective way for communication with me and with other people is usually face to face. Depending on the person, I can be very good at communicating. If I feel that person doesn't seem interested, I honestly probably won't even try to actively pursue a conversation if that person isn't even remotely interested.
I was pretty apprehensive about using Twitter. I thought it might be a waste of time for me but after a while I now realize that it can be a very important way of staying in touch with others and communicating with other students and friends. I think it's a very friendly way of saying whats on our minds. We could use Twitter with our students as a way of becoming closer as a mentor and student. It is a useful way to get used to some of this new technology in our society. One way I think we could get them excited about Twitter is just to let them see how much we use Twitter and how much we enjoy it. If they see how much we enjoy it, it might rub off on them. To keep tabs on my students and communication between us, I plan to use email, texts, and facebook. If that doesn't work, I might have to use some drastic measures. Have an awesome spring break everybody.

Developing Cultural Sensitivity

This week in class we discussed the topic of cultural sensitivity. It was Jenna and Cory's turn to lead the class this week and I think they both did an exceptional job. The question at the beginning of the class asked about what strategies we use to show sensitivity toward culturally diverse people. One main strategy of mine was to show respect. Showing respect can have a great influence on someone the first instant you meet that person. Treat someone the way you would like to be treated. As a person I always try to put myself in that person's footsteps and try to see where they have come from and who they really are. I make sure not to judge someone without really knowing who they are first. As my mom once told me as a little kid, never judge a book by it's cover. Being judgmental can prevent you from learning more about someone without giving that person a chance. I always have an open mind and are always ready to learn more about someone. The activity that we participated in during class was very interactive. It really had me thinking about my personal perspective towards some differences along with some of the other student's perspectives about a particular difference.
That activity that we partook in after Cory and Jenna were finished involved our personal dimensions. Their was more than one dimension that I thought was very important to me. The first dimension involved being a student. In my family, my brother and I were the first to attend an actual college. I was not only proud of that but in my time here I have recieved numerous scholarships through academics that I am also extremely proud of. One other dimension that I am really proud of was being a country boy. Living on a farm my whole life has really given me not only a hard work ethic but to have fun at the same time. Working on a farm with all my three brothers and parents is really fun. We joke around and still get the job done. The relationship we develop as a family only gets better.
I shared many of the same dimensions in the class with other students including that fact that some of us have come from a more rural background that were very proud of. Everyone in the class had their own answers that somewhat centered around the fact that we really respect where we have come from and what it has done to us as a person. In the future, I plan to think about other cultures and the amount of diversity that is out there in the world today. Coming from a small town in northeast Iowa I didn't see much diversity as Cory said in class. When you move to a larger school it really hits you to see how different things really are. I realize now in the past years here at school that their are many differnces in the world and not everyone is the same. I have respected these differences more than ever and will continue to do so.

Becoming a Role Model

So this week in class we looked at becoming a role model. I'd like to thank Rachel and Amy for doing such a great job. The question at the beginning of class got us to think about who was one of our role models and what common values do they have that make us feel that way. I believe that my parents were my role models as I was growing up. They were always very responsible accepting the situations that life threw at them. They never tried to blame something else for something or came up with excuses not to do something, they always took responsibility. My dad was also a man of positive thinking. He could somehow take the worst of a situation and turn it into something positive along the way by using his humor.
The activity that Amy and Rachel came up with was a very good one. They put three of the values on the board in the chapter and first we chose which one was our strength and then later which was our weakness. My strengths that I could remember were adaptability, creativity, and gratitude. When discussing adaptability with the others, we all sort of centered around how we could adapt to different situations during the day. If something came up during the day, we could easily adjust and bounce back. I myself, thought that I can adapt to newer environments along with newer ideas when given time. I think that being creative is also one of my strong points. I feel like I am someone who is trying to discover new ways or ideas of doing something. I try to never do something repetitive time after time. Doing the same thing day after day really bothers me for some reason so trying to come up with new and exiting alternatives is a good way to deal with it. My other strength was also gratitude. I try to take nothing for granite in my life. I'm always given new opportunities that others may not be as fortunate to be given. If you start taking things for granite in your life, you may lose something important to you in the blink of an eye without knowing.
We also discussed some of the values that we see weakness in. The two that I remember were focus and responsibility. I seem to have trouble focusing on one thing at one time. I usually am so focused on many different things at one time it makes it hard for me to pay most of my attention to some of the more important issues. I think I can make this a strong point of mine if I just slow down and really think about one issue instead of my mind racing from point to point. My other weakness was responsibility. I'm not totally irresponsible, it just seems like I make excuses for the small things that are going on. I try to make little excuses for not doing something that I probably should have. I like to thank Amy and Rachel for doing such a great job again, they lead the class very well with their activity. It really had me thinking about all the different values that attribute to a being a good peer mentor.