effing awesome and inspiring guy. we need to get real about the sad state of our mainstream media and infotainment that we all buy into on a daily basis.
or:
Julian Assange: Why the world needs WikiLeaks | Video on TED.com
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
un lindo poema :)
I was reading through a Spanish lit book last night and came across this. Beautiful, no? Its an awesome description of true friendship. I especially love the last two lines.
La amistad es amor
por Pedro Prado
La amistad es amor en serenos estados;
los amigos se hablan cuando estan mas callados,
Si el silencio interrumpo, el amigo responde,
mi propio pensamiento, que tambien el esconde.
Si el comienza, prosigo el curso de su idea,
ninguno de nosotros la formula ni crea,
Sentimos que hay un algo superior que nos guia,
y logra la unidad de nuestra compañia.
Y nos vemos llevados a pensar con hondura,
y a lograr certidumbre en la vida insegura;
y sabemos que encima de nuestra apariencias,
se adivina un saber, mas alla de las ciencias.
Y por eso yo busco el tener a mi lado
el amigo que entiende cuando digo callado.
La amistad es amor
por Pedro Prado
La amistad es amor en serenos estados;
los amigos se hablan cuando estan mas callados,
Si el silencio interrumpo, el amigo responde,
mi propio pensamiento, que tambien el esconde.
Si el comienza, prosigo el curso de su idea,
ninguno de nosotros la formula ni crea,
Sentimos que hay un algo superior que nos guia,
y logra la unidad de nuestra compañia.
Y nos vemos llevados a pensar con hondura,
y a lograr certidumbre en la vida insegura;
y sabemos que encima de nuestra apariencias,
se adivina un saber, mas alla de las ciencias.
Y por eso yo busco el tener a mi lado
el amigo que entiende cuando digo callado.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
First week of teaching DONE!
I am currently on a bus back to Philadelphia from New York where I spent the weekend for Alicia's bachelorette party extravaganza. 'Twas quite a fun weekend. I was DRAGGING the entire time, but I think' TFA has instilled in me a great mindset which helped me though. They always say "Its all about the kids; How are the children? " During the week we have to remind ourselves this as we wake up at 5 am with 4 or 5 hours of sleep under our belt. So this weekend, despite the fact that I fell asleep during the intermission of "Mamma Mia!" I had to remind myself that "It's all about Alicia; How is my sister?" Thus, we made it til 4 in the morn partying at a place called Pranna and Willow. LOVE MY SIS!
Otherwise the weekend was another great break. I am starting to like NYC more and more. It's interesting how drawn I am to big cities. When I am in Wisconsin for too long, I become complacent. Chicago is near and I am sure there are plenty of other things to do and explore, but I just never have the drive or interest to seek them out. But being on the East Coast I am always looking for new places to go and things to experience. It doesn't hurt that public transportation is so much better here. For example, I paid $7 for this bus ride to Philly. Altogether it was a $18.50 round trip Philly-NYC. That's equivalent to a ONE WAY ticket from Madison to Waukesha. Round trip is $35... absurd. Aforementioned cheap transport is one of the things I love about cities, read on for more:
One of the things I LOVE about bigger cities is the ethnic diversity of the people. Introducing myself to others doesn't include the follow-up question of "What are you?," obviously desiring to elicit the response "Mexican," not caring whether or not that has anything to do with who I am or whether my ancestors also hail from other countries. They're "just curious" since I have such an "exotic look." That conversation doesn't happen too much in bigger cities. I love meeting people, knowing that their intention is not to immediately put me into a box with other people whose hair is as curly as mine and skin as brown.
On that same note, there are TONS of inter-ethnic couples. It's so comforting to see an Indian guy walking hand in hand with a white girl or a black guy with his arm around an Asian girl. I understand that the previous sentence would be rather strange if one were to read it out of context. But seeing inter-ethnic couples means again that there is a general understanding that American IS a culture and that anyone can be just as American as the next kid with blonde hair and blue eyes. In the end what it is, is intelligent people transcending dumb people. It's people understanding that brown does not make the person. It's people realizing that people are scared of the unfamiliar and it's smart people realizing that simple people like to categorize and group so that they can find their limits and stay within them.
Am I taking this too far?
Anyway:
On Friday night, I thought it would be SOOO funny to stop at a street food stand on our way back to the hotel and get a halal wiener to create a great bachelorette party photo-op for Alicia. I was ordering the wiener and heard the vendor talking to his friends behind the stall in what sounded like Arabic. I paused for a moment and asked "Excuse me sir, where are you from?" "I am Egyptian" he answered. So of course I blurb out "Masree?? Ana uhib misr!" which is an awful mix of fosha and 3amiyya masryya, but we ended up having a conversation consisting all the vital and basic phrases that I can remember. And as I was receiving the halal wiener I said to him "shokran jazeelan" at the exact same time as he said "shokran jazeelan" and then he gave me a free water! LOVE THE MASREES! people need to get to the middle east more often. these peeps is awesome.
So on to the main point of why I'm writing-- my first week as a teacher! Let me first start with saying that DAYUM, Teach for America runs a tight ship. For the last 4 years, I have been used to running my own life, doing things when I see fit, but at the same thing staying on top of my shit and getting a 4.0 throughout my senior year. That whole relaxed, do-things-as-you-can feeling doesn't really cut it with TFA. Actually let me say, doesn't cut it at ALL with TFA. Deadlines are strict. No one cares that you're sleep deprived. No one cares that you have a cold. No one cares that you haven't had any physical stimulation in days. Like I said earlier, it's all about the kids. Lesson planning, material creating, worksheet writing, theory learning and the like consumes my time from 5 am until 12 am just about every day. Last week I was able to sneak in 8 hours of sleep on Sunday and Thursday night due to the extra time allowed by the half-day on Monday, July 5.
The only way that I am able to keep waking up every day is because there is a huge team mindset that exists. We are all getting 3-5 hours of sleep on average. We all are loopy and out-of-it all day long. We are all doing it for the same reason (well most of us I assume). While it sucks to struggle through each day, only one other time have I been part of such a positive group of individuals. The people who are in TFA are extremely intelligent, lively and positive young people who are wholly dedicated and are "working relentlessly" to provide just an education for every child in the US just as strong and prestigious as they have received in the last 17 years.
I sometimes think about my participation with TFA in the larger picture as a service to the country. I think its extremely important for everyone to serve their country or community in one way or another. Seeing as how I would rather build up my own nation rather than breaking down that of others, I have chosen this path to public service over the US Military. If Americans are really interested with "spreading democracy" to the world, I believe we should start with our own country. Isn't a democracy a form of government in which the" supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system?" Or am I, and dictionary.com, mistaken? I really don't understand why more people across the country are not outraged at the current state of our own nation. Despite popular belief, we do not live in a true democracy. If anything, it could be called an oligarchy. What's changed since the inception of the United States of America and the rules that our friendly founding fathers put forth? I would argue not much. It is certainly more accurate to describe our nation as one ruled by a group of wealthy men with Judeo-Christian beliefs and Anglo-saxon heritage than a country in which the supreme power is vested in the people. While some of us live a worry-free live filled with vocational and educational opportunities up the wazoo and enough food in our kitchen pantry to feed the population of land-locked Lesotho, another overwhelming number of Americans never make it past high school because they're made to believe that they can't and that they shouldn't, and wind up in line for the community food pantry being judged by the rest of us who drive by in our Priuses and SUVs on our way to work.
Perhaps that is enough political rant for this Sunday afternoon. Until next time, friends.
Otherwise the weekend was another great break. I am starting to like NYC more and more. It's interesting how drawn I am to big cities. When I am in Wisconsin for too long, I become complacent. Chicago is near and I am sure there are plenty of other things to do and explore, but I just never have the drive or interest to seek them out. But being on the East Coast I am always looking for new places to go and things to experience. It doesn't hurt that public transportation is so much better here. For example, I paid $7 for this bus ride to Philly. Altogether it was a $18.50 round trip Philly-NYC. That's equivalent to a ONE WAY ticket from Madison to Waukesha. Round trip is $35... absurd. Aforementioned cheap transport is one of the things I love about cities, read on for more:
One of the things I LOVE about bigger cities is the ethnic diversity of the people. Introducing myself to others doesn't include the follow-up question of "What are you?," obviously desiring to elicit the response "Mexican," not caring whether or not that has anything to do with who I am or whether my ancestors also hail from other countries. They're "just curious" since I have such an "exotic look." That conversation doesn't happen too much in bigger cities. I love meeting people, knowing that their intention is not to immediately put me into a box with other people whose hair is as curly as mine and skin as brown.
On that same note, there are TONS of inter-ethnic couples. It's so comforting to see an Indian guy walking hand in hand with a white girl or a black guy with his arm around an Asian girl. I understand that the previous sentence would be rather strange if one were to read it out of context. But seeing inter-ethnic couples means again that there is a general understanding that American IS a culture and that anyone can be just as American as the next kid with blonde hair and blue eyes. In the end what it is, is intelligent people transcending dumb people. It's people understanding that brown does not make the person. It's people realizing that people are scared of the unfamiliar and it's smart people realizing that simple people like to categorize and group so that they can find their limits and stay within them.
Am I taking this too far?
Anyway:
On Friday night, I thought it would be SOOO funny to stop at a street food stand on our way back to the hotel and get a halal wiener to create a great bachelorette party photo-op for Alicia. I was ordering the wiener and heard the vendor talking to his friends behind the stall in what sounded like Arabic. I paused for a moment and asked "Excuse me sir, where are you from?" "I am Egyptian" he answered. So of course I blurb out "Masree?? Ana uhib misr!" which is an awful mix of fosha and 3amiyya masryya, but we ended up having a conversation consisting all the vital and basic phrases that I can remember. And as I was receiving the halal wiener I said to him "shokran jazeelan" at the exact same time as he said "shokran jazeelan" and then he gave me a free water! LOVE THE MASREES! people need to get to the middle east more often. these peeps is awesome.
So on to the main point of why I'm writing-- my first week as a teacher! Let me first start with saying that DAYUM, Teach for America runs a tight ship. For the last 4 years, I have been used to running my own life, doing things when I see fit, but at the same thing staying on top of my shit and getting a 4.0 throughout my senior year. That whole relaxed, do-things-as-you-can feeling doesn't really cut it with TFA. Actually let me say, doesn't cut it at ALL with TFA. Deadlines are strict. No one cares that you're sleep deprived. No one cares that you have a cold. No one cares that you haven't had any physical stimulation in days. Like I said earlier, it's all about the kids. Lesson planning, material creating, worksheet writing, theory learning and the like consumes my time from 5 am until 12 am just about every day. Last week I was able to sneak in 8 hours of sleep on Sunday and Thursday night due to the extra time allowed by the half-day on Monday, July 5.
The only way that I am able to keep waking up every day is because there is a huge team mindset that exists. We are all getting 3-5 hours of sleep on average. We all are loopy and out-of-it all day long. We are all doing it for the same reason (well most of us I assume). While it sucks to struggle through each day, only one other time have I been part of such a positive group of individuals. The people who are in TFA are extremely intelligent, lively and positive young people who are wholly dedicated and are "working relentlessly" to provide just an education for every child in the US just as strong and prestigious as they have received in the last 17 years.
I sometimes think about my participation with TFA in the larger picture as a service to the country. I think its extremely important for everyone to serve their country or community in one way or another. Seeing as how I would rather build up my own nation rather than breaking down that of others, I have chosen this path to public service over the US Military. If Americans are really interested with "spreading democracy" to the world, I believe we should start with our own country. Isn't a democracy a form of government in which the" supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system?" Or am I, and dictionary.com, mistaken? I really don't understand why more people across the country are not outraged at the current state of our own nation. Despite popular belief, we do not live in a true democracy. If anything, it could be called an oligarchy. What's changed since the inception of the United States of America and the rules that our friendly founding fathers put forth? I would argue not much. It is certainly more accurate to describe our nation as one ruled by a group of wealthy men with Judeo-Christian beliefs and Anglo-saxon heritage than a country in which the supreme power is vested in the people. While some of us live a worry-free live filled with vocational and educational opportunities up the wazoo and enough food in our kitchen pantry to feed the population of land-locked Lesotho, another overwhelming number of Americans never make it past high school because they're made to believe that they can't and that they shouldn't, and wind up in line for the community food pantry being judged by the rest of us who drive by in our Priuses and SUVs on our way to work.
Perhaps that is enough political rant for this Sunday afternoon. Until next time, friends.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
Personal Statement for TFA and American University
Yo! I just applied for a masters program at American University in Masters of Arts in Teaching for the upcoming year. I thought it might be relevant to post my letter of intent. Its something I realized that I should probably look back on from time to time if I am ever feeling overwhelmed.
July 6, 2010
Dear Selection Committee:
The United States is a country that in theory believes in liberty and justice for all. While many Americans do enjoy a great degree of freedom and opportunity, these ideals do not hold true for all citizens. It is all too common that education standards especially vary not only from city to city, but also from classroom to classroom; arbitrary divisions between socioeconomic classes and in the minds of lawmakers limit too many children to a low-quality learning experience. This resulting achievement gap demonstrated by students across the United States simply does not reflect the ideas on which our country was founded, and the perpetuation of this geographically unequal education will only limit the success and development of our nation. The only way that this dilemma can be solved is by fostering a new generation of positive, critical-thinking minds and creating opportunities for them to take advantage of. I would like to be a part in making this dream a reality, but I understand that the skills and knowledge that I currently possess in the field of education is limited. Thus, I have become a D.C Region Teach for America Corps Member and thus, I would like to obtain my Masters of Arts in Teaching from American University.
As a student of American University, I hope to gain expertise which will allow me to help my students achieve success on many levels. Primarily, I hope to be able to establish a safe learning environment in which all my students feel comfortable expressing their own identities. Each student comes from a different home with different structure and values. Thus, it is imperative to understand the educational and emotional needs as well as the developmental abilities of each student. I also believe it is important to build a personal, yet professional relationship with each student. Because it is not realistic to expect all students to learn and grow in the same ways, personal relationships will allow me to measure each student’s learning styles and successes independently.
That said, I will hold my students to high, yet attainable standards which push them to achieve real personal goals within the year. By establishing these principles, the students will have a reference point in working towards achieving measurable results in subjects like reading and math that are so important to their academic futures.
Success within the classroom should be measured holistically, with the aforementioned goals in mind. While standardized tests are essential in measuring a child’s educational achievement, they are only one way to assess the student’s abilities. Another sigh of success in a classroom is the level of mutual trust and respect shared by the students and teacher. Only when this level of communal confidence is achieved can the students be expected to learn and grow together.
Thank you for taking the time to consider my application. I hope to be able to work with the professors at American University to realize the goals and aspirations that I hold important to myself, to my students and to our nation.
Sincerely,
Maria Ramirez
July 6, 2010
Dear Selection Committee:
The United States is a country that in theory believes in liberty and justice for all. While many Americans do enjoy a great degree of freedom and opportunity, these ideals do not hold true for all citizens. It is all too common that education standards especially vary not only from city to city, but also from classroom to classroom; arbitrary divisions between socioeconomic classes and in the minds of lawmakers limit too many children to a low-quality learning experience. This resulting achievement gap demonstrated by students across the United States simply does not reflect the ideas on which our country was founded, and the perpetuation of this geographically unequal education will only limit the success and development of our nation. The only way that this dilemma can be solved is by fostering a new generation of positive, critical-thinking minds and creating opportunities for them to take advantage of. I would like to be a part in making this dream a reality, but I understand that the skills and knowledge that I currently possess in the field of education is limited. Thus, I have become a D.C Region Teach for America Corps Member and thus, I would like to obtain my Masters of Arts in Teaching from American University.
As a student of American University, I hope to gain expertise which will allow me to help my students achieve success on many levels. Primarily, I hope to be able to establish a safe learning environment in which all my students feel comfortable expressing their own identities. Each student comes from a different home with different structure and values. Thus, it is imperative to understand the educational and emotional needs as well as the developmental abilities of each student. I also believe it is important to build a personal, yet professional relationship with each student. Because it is not realistic to expect all students to learn and grow in the same ways, personal relationships will allow me to measure each student’s learning styles and successes independently.
That said, I will hold my students to high, yet attainable standards which push them to achieve real personal goals within the year. By establishing these principles, the students will have a reference point in working towards achieving measurable results in subjects like reading and math that are so important to their academic futures.
Success within the classroom should be measured holistically, with the aforementioned goals in mind. While standardized tests are essential in measuring a child’s educational achievement, they are only one way to assess the student’s abilities. Another sigh of success in a classroom is the level of mutual trust and respect shared by the students and teacher. Only when this level of communal confidence is achieved can the students be expected to learn and grow together.
Thank you for taking the time to consider my application. I hope to be able to work with the professors at American University to realize the goals and aspirations that I hold important to myself, to my students and to our nation.
Sincerely,
Maria Ramirez
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Todo me parece ¡BONITO!
WARNING--WARNING-- cheesy, warm, mushy feelings alert!!
The title of this blog says it all. From the song Bonito by Jarabe de Palo, the title means everything is beautiful to me. Tomorrow I will be beginning my second week of Institute in Philadelphia. (I start teaching real live kids on Tuesday!) And while I have no idea how things will go in the upcoming four weeks, right now I am on a HIGH. A high that I have not felt since I was in Costa Rica last winter or since I was in Ireland last summer. It’s the kind of high that you feel when you look around and see the beauty in so many things.
Last Friday I took the bus to New York City to visit my friend and her boyfriend who was visiting. I was feeling very blah about the whole trip, as I had gotten about 20-25 hours of sleep throughout the week. I was thinking that I probably should have stayed in Philly to get some rest and recuperate for the week to come. But as my $25.50 roundtrip MegaBus was arriving into the city, I no longer felt any of that. The New York City skyscape shone in the distance as the sun went down over the Manhattan and I couldn’t stop the smile that spread across my face. I’ve been there before, but for some reason, it gets me every time.
As I jumped off the bus and started walking to the subway, I ran into some AIESECers that I met last summer at the AIESEC Summer Conference in Madison. (Small world? I think so.) I continued onto my friend’s apartment on the upper west side to set my bags there then walked to meet her and her boyfriend at a restaurant. It was especially great to see familiar faces after two weeks of non-stop introductions and interactions with 660 Ivy League type-A personalities.
On Saturday, I managed to meet up with a friend I hadn’t seen since January to watch Spain versus Paraguay over a $35 lunch (love them New York prices,) head to Union Square for the Farmer’s market and Trader Joe’s wine shop, walk through central park back to my friends apartment and finally see the Broadway musical “In the Heights” at 8pm. But our night was not yet over. We then walked up to Lincoln Center to see another friend sing with a rag tag group of New Yorkers while a short Filipino man played a colorfully painted community-maintained piano.
Just as the New York skyline made me marvel at man’s ability to build and create, this impromptu performance made me marvel at man’s ability to sing, feel, dance, relate and enjoy. The singers and the piano man in front entertained a crowd of about 100 constantly changing passersby, everyone joining in to sing a show tune or popular ‘60s hit at one point or another. A group of 5 people danced in a row the front, audience members rotating in and out of the line.
Beauty is architecture and beauty is also interaction. One hundred strangers gathered together on a summer Saturday night at the corner of 65th and Broadway, not for money-making, not for attention-grabbing, yet for no other reason than pure merrymaking.
The title of this blog says it all. From the song Bonito by Jarabe de Palo, the title means everything is beautiful to me. Tomorrow I will be beginning my second week of Institute in Philadelphia. (I start teaching real live kids on Tuesday!) And while I have no idea how things will go in the upcoming four weeks, right now I am on a HIGH. A high that I have not felt since I was in Costa Rica last winter or since I was in Ireland last summer. It’s the kind of high that you feel when you look around and see the beauty in so many things.
Last Friday I took the bus to New York City to visit my friend and her boyfriend who was visiting. I was feeling very blah about the whole trip, as I had gotten about 20-25 hours of sleep throughout the week. I was thinking that I probably should have stayed in Philly to get some rest and recuperate for the week to come. But as my $25.50 roundtrip MegaBus was arriving into the city, I no longer felt any of that. The New York City skyscape shone in the distance as the sun went down over the Manhattan and I couldn’t stop the smile that spread across my face. I’ve been there before, but for some reason, it gets me every time.
As I jumped off the bus and started walking to the subway, I ran into some AIESECers that I met last summer at the AIESEC Summer Conference in Madison. (Small world? I think so.) I continued onto my friend’s apartment on the upper west side to set my bags there then walked to meet her and her boyfriend at a restaurant. It was especially great to see familiar faces after two weeks of non-stop introductions and interactions with 660 Ivy League type-A personalities.
On Saturday, I managed to meet up with a friend I hadn’t seen since January to watch Spain versus Paraguay over a $35 lunch (love them New York prices,) head to Union Square for the Farmer’s market and Trader Joe’s wine shop, walk through central park back to my friends apartment and finally see the Broadway musical “In the Heights” at 8pm. But our night was not yet over. We then walked up to Lincoln Center to see another friend sing with a rag tag group of New Yorkers while a short Filipino man played a colorfully painted community-maintained piano.
Just as the New York skyline made me marvel at man’s ability to build and create, this impromptu performance made me marvel at man’s ability to sing, feel, dance, relate and enjoy. The singers and the piano man in front entertained a crowd of about 100 constantly changing passersby, everyone joining in to sing a show tune or popular ‘60s hit at one point or another. A group of 5 people danced in a row the front, audience members rotating in and out of the line.
Beauty is architecture and beauty is also interaction. One hundred strangers gathered together on a summer Saturday night at the corner of 65th and Broadway, not for money-making, not for attention-grabbing, yet for no other reason than pure merrymaking.
Monday, June 28, 2010
quick updates
I just found out that Ill be teaching summer school starting next week Tuesday at Edison High School, a HS which DOES have air conditioning. ALHAMDULILLAH.
Today, our first day, consisted in 10 hours from 7 am to 4 pm sitting in Edison HS listening to Curriculum Specialists and Corps Member Advisors speak on the important aspects of planning and organization in lesson plans and curriculum.
We also heard the founder of TFA, Wendy Kopp, speak at our opening ceremony. I must say, less than impressive. Jason Kamras, a DC Corps member from the 90s however, GREAT SPEAKER, FUNNY MAN.
pillow- $4.50, mattress pad= $6.99, a full night's sleep at institute= PRICELESS
buenas noches
Today, our first day, consisted in 10 hours from 7 am to 4 pm sitting in Edison HS listening to Curriculum Specialists and Corps Member Advisors speak on the important aspects of planning and organization in lesson plans and curriculum.
We also heard the founder of TFA, Wendy Kopp, speak at our opening ceremony. I must say, less than impressive. Jason Kamras, a DC Corps member from the 90s however, GREAT SPEAKER, FUNNY MAN.
pillow- $4.50, mattress pad= $6.99, a full night's sleep at institute= PRICELESS
buenas noches
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)