Dear ACR 150 Students,
Thank you for taking the time to conduct your interviews and to share them with me. I have learned a lot from your reflections, and from the transcripts. Many of your interviewees grew up in different countries, so this, in turn, became a global oral history project. I took notes from everyone’s interviews so that I can now share bits and pieces of the project with you:
Let’s start with some of the positive highlights. “It helped that the Korean language is very simple compared to say the Chinese language which has over 3000 characters. I also lived in a traditional household with your grandma staying home and teaching me those fundamental skills before going to school,” Sung’s Dad recalls. Nina’s father, growing up in Siberia, remembers that “At school I was presented with a sharpener in the shape of a bird, an unprecedented luxury at that time.” Abdulkadir’s sister would pick up a book in kinderdarten, look at the pictures and make up her own story. Debanie’s interviewee learned how to read in kindergarten, by first learning the sounds of each letter in the alphabet. Maya’s former high school teacher recalls encouraging teachers, adding “by the time I reached third grade I was very comfortable reading in front of the class.” Farangiz’ mom shares that “My experience learning literacy in school was a positive experience because it was fun to learn how to read and write.” And Cherry remembers transforming “from a B average to a straight A student” when her father said “he would pay for me to go to any college in the world that I wanted to attend.” Sabina, whose grandmother was born in the former USSR, reminds us that “The teaching profession was one of the most respected in the USSR.”
Of course, there were some negative highlights as well. In fact, several of your interviewees spoke about corporal punishment at school, and other practices that discouraged learning. Valons’ father who went to school in former Yugoslavia recalls “If we students couldn’t pronounce the words correctly our teacher would hit ourfingernails with a wooden ruler.” Elecia’s unkle says “My first day grade teacher beat me with a ruler and she hit me because I couldn’t provide the answer to aquestion.” Silvia’s mother, in Ecuador, also recalls “Some of the teachers wouldhit us when we would get distracted during class.” Ardit’s parents in Albania said “if you did not learn them there would be disciplinary actions taken by the professor towards the students.” Marryam’s interviewee spoke about struggles with learning English as an immigrant. Aylin’s interviewee spoke about having to leave school in 9th grade in Mexico because the parents couldn’t support them financially,
Finally, and I wasn’t sure if this belonged in the positive or the negative category, Joseph’s aunt, gworing up in Virgina, says “you were kinda’ expected to know how to read something when you showed up for school.” This meant that if your parents were able to provide you with those fundamental literacy skills, you were off to a great start, but if there weren’t, school would probably be a struggle.
Many of you said in your reflections that the contrast between your interviewee’s schooling and your own was enormous. Is this a better time to be a student? In some ways, we’ve made progress: corporal punishment is, for the most part, no longer practiced. More educational resources are widely available, although there is a gap, minorities have less access to education, and the wealthier you are, the greater chance you have of attending a top level school. Educators are no longer seen as “gods,” and some will say this is a positive development, others might disagree. In my own pedagogical practices, you, my students, are my partners in learning, because I ackowledge that every one of you comes to class with some expertise you can share. The oral history project exemplifies this belief at its best.
In gratitude,
Prof. Barnes
