Sunday, March 1, 2009

Journal Question #6

There are multiple reasons to always remember the CESL program. For me it was awesome to share my points of view about different topics in a multicultural class. “Estrangers” from different countries in the world also taught me interesting things that are not included in the geography books. And of course, the nice contrast and genuine methodology of my instructors taught me that, in this world everything is possible if we just help our students to go beyond their expectancies.

This is my first experience in multicultural class so, to be understood I had to always speak in English. In other words, I was forced to speak in English to transmit my ideas and definitely, I had to speak and pronounce, my English, as best as possible to be understood by everybody in the class. Talking or writing about controversial topics were some of the things that cause controversy to myself. First, because I had to be polite with my classmates, and second because sometimes I disagree their points of view but I have learned that if we want a peaceful atmosphere, you need to respect people’s points of view and try to understand them.

“Estrangers” helped me to learn a little bit more about geography! It was funny for me to ask “where are you from?” without having a single idea about the exact location of Haiti, Korea or Saudi Arabia! I felt so guilty and ignorant, but now I know where those places are located  and of course, some of my classmates were interested in the location of my tiny country, too. So, it was kind of comfortable to know that I was not the only one who was disoriented in the world. Moreover, this interaction was more than knowing the location of a particular place. In here, all my classmates showed me the amazing complexity of our nations and at the same time, the wonderful desire to succeed in life in order to help in the progress of our countries.

The last but not least reason of this unforgettable experience is focused on my instructors. For me, it was nice to see the teachers dressing very comfy! With sandas, tennis, ties as a belt (original, by the way) and T-shirts were just some of the things that I just had seem them in the movies. In my country and in most of the countries in Latin America, a neat appearance is the “most important example that we need to teach to our students”. It would be a complete shock, funny or ridiculous for my students to see me dressing informal clothing. I have done it, but it is uncomfortable to know that everybody is keeping an eye on you as if you are an alien! Anyway, I have always said that what matters is not your dressing, but your professionalism while teaching. Unfortunately, my society cannot conceive this idea, yet. So, in here, professionalism is very well combined with eclectic methods that forced us to use our brains to be critical thinkers.

If I liked CESL you asked? Without any doubt, every single day was completely great!

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