Learning Record Interview

 You will interview someone close to you (friend, roommate, parent, partner, etc.) about your strengths and challenges for this class.

After explaining the nature of a service learning class and the purpose of our class, you can ask your interviewee questions that deal with the following topics: (you can also add/edit questions):

a. What do you think my strengths/challenges are for this class?

I have a good relationship with people, so I can do a group work well with other group members. I am a responsible person and don’t give up easily, so I do my best what I have to do, even though it is hard for me. Sometimes I hesitate to act and behave get out of rules and worry too much, so I think I need to try to be more creative and originative while doing the project. If I have some tasks that I have to do by myself, I usually try to do it by myself and don’t ask others, but I think sometimes I need to ask others to get help for not to be stressed out and to get a better result.

b. Am I a good collaborator? 

My friend told me that I am social person. I was a class president several times during my school years, so I think I have several experience about collaborating people’s opinion and ideas.

c. Am I a good communicator (written, verbal, visual)? 

I am a good communicator, especially a good listener. Friends said my friends or people who first meet me feel comfortable to talk with me.

d. How well do you think I work with groups of people I don't know or who have different experiences and perspectives than I do? 

I can understand that each person have a different values and opinions as they are having different experiences. I always try my best to understand others and not to judge or hurt others by my standard or values.

e. How well do I synthesize theory and practice? Do you see me more invested in theory or practical applications? 

I think I learn a lot from both theory and practical applications, and both are important. Sometimes knowing theory first helps me to learn more and makes me to try new things while I am experiencing something. If I experience something before I know the theory, I can think more creative and originative. 

f. Did you ever think of me as an agent of change [Activist, Advocate, Invested in community empowerment] Yes or no? Explain. 

I think I’m not a person of change the community usually in daily lives, but I thought like this during the missionary trip to Mongolia or during other volunteer works. I am happy and excited to be a participant for changing the community of East Austin through this class.

g. What do you think I need to work on to be a better student/person/global citizen?

I think I need to look around more carefully to know what is happening and how people are living. I need to be more concerned about social issues and problems, and think about how I can contribute to help those issues.

Next:

Reflect in writing on the answers you received and write a short reflection (one paragraph) on the extent to which you agree or not with the responses you received and, in general, what you learned about yourself through this interview process. 

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Interview

Criteria

·         Interview is complete, includes student reflection

·         Timely completion

·         Provides a good sense of the student’s strengths/challenges coming into the class

·         DUE DATE: September 22, 2014

I asked to my friends and my sister about how they think I am and my strengths and weakness. One friend describes me with the Korean idiom, Wae Yu Nae Gang, which means being gentle to others and in appearance, but sturdy in spirit. People said I have a kind mind, and know how precious the people around me are. I am social and have a good relationship with people. I am a good listener, and I am confident and I have a high esteem. I’m strong and don’t give up easily. I am passionate about what I want to do and learn, and I am independent so that I could come to US alone, and go school. I am sincere and responsible. I’m good at self care and treatment, and do exercise regularly and take vitamins. I’m good at music and playing the instruments. I do a proper invest in myself and buy good things for me sometimes. I am mature than other people in my age. People also told me about my weakness. I am delicate and hesitate to act and behave get out of rules. I think too much to make a decision, and worry about something before it happens. I try to do everything by myself, so I need to ask to others to get help. I need to be more punctual, and I’m not good at dancing.

Interviewing about myself was really great opportunity to know about who I am. After I could hear my strengths and weakness from close people, I could find my strengths and weakness which I didn’t aware of by myself. I feel like I became a better person after I heard my strengths, I became more confident and I feel happy that people acknowledge my strengths. I also thought I should keep try hard to keep my strengths with me. Also, I thought I should be careful to not people feel uncomfortable because of my weakness. I should try to correct my weakness.

BLOG PROMPT #7

We visited the Robert Weaver neighborhood again, and met the families for an interview. We could get useful information and stories about the neighbor through the interview, and we also got several pictures and videos. The interviewee told us about the history of east Austin, what is happening now and showed inside of their house. Mrs.Ross gave us the housing plan of Robert Weaver houses. We are going to gather the information together, and start to edit the video. We could get a lot of information more than we expected, and we really enjoyed visiting and interviewing the Robert Weaver neighborhood.

BLOG PROMPT #6

 Last Monday, my group and I went to Robert Weaver Neighborhood for documentary project. Our group divided into two groups and followed other groups which are doing survey to take pictures and videos. The other group asked the neighbor’s about their need for house or garden, and our group took several pictures of them and their houses. It was exciting to meet the residents and do the survey to know what they need. Some residents seem happy to tell us about their needs and welcomed us, but some residents seem they didn’t want to be bothered. Some residents were suspicious and asked us if they have to pay for the repairs. I thought we need to inform more about our project to the residents and let them know what our project is and make them feel more comfortable with the project. We asked them for the interview on next week.

BLOG PROMPT #5

The book: Austin's Rosewood Neighborhood

It was really interesting to read the book about East Austin. From several pictures in the book, I could see how the East Austin looks like in the past and how it has changed. The book shows how the East Austin was developed and how the old things were renewal. I could know the community’s history, how people in the East Austin lived and what events were held. During the van tour, the wall painting and ceramic mosaic wall was impressive, and I was curious about those. It was really good that the book also had pictures and explanations of those wall arts in the East Austin. I could know that those wall paintings were related to restaurant business and music in the East Austin Community. It was also interesting that music is a large part of East Austin’s history and culture. It was interesting that the famous musicians whom I learned at the Jazz music class visited East Austin. I felt more comfortable and familiar about East Austin after I read the book. 

BLOG PROMPT #4

I am from Seoul, South Korea. I research about gentrification in my hometown, and I read several articles and studies. There are investigations and neighborhood changes as a gentrification process in Seoul. Gentrification is the restoration and upgrading of deteriorated urban property by the middle class and commercial developers, often causing displacement of low income people. Seoul had a potential for gentrification in that the residential and commercial land values in the inner cities. Seoul has experienced the shift from an industrial city to a post-industrial city. Seoul still had a high dependence on a manufacturing instead of producer services. In the statistical analyses of gentrification in Seoul between 1990 and 2000, the strongest correlations existed between the gentrification index and independent variables representing post-industrial city status, rent gap, and institutional dimensions. Factor analysis revealed that post-industrial city status and rent gap factors were significant in explaining the changing regional structure of Seoul. Gentrification in Seoul has the same pattern as Western cities in that the rent gap and post-industrial city status theses are applicable to explain gentrification in Seoul, but there are differences of urban policy between Korea's local governments and Western countries' local governments in inducing gentrification to raise tax revenues. I think gentrification of East Austin is similar to other region’s gentrification. As many restaurants and amenities are built and people became interested in East Austin, the rent price rises. During the van tour, I could see what is happening in East Austin. I could see and understand what gentrification is and how it is ongoing, and how neighbors in the East Austin are living.

BLOG PROMPT #3

 The most surprising thing was East Austin city is growing and has their unique history and background. When I interviewed people about how they think of east Austin, people only said that east Austin is a dangerous city where low income people and family live. However, after I read the articles, I learned that east Austin is the fastest growing cities in the US and the area is now undergoing the rapid gentrification and economic changes. House market increases and people do investments. People who live in the east Austin and having a financial difficulty are suffering from the economic changes and the rise of poverty tax in the city. They are also worrying about their health because the growing industry pollutes the community. I could also learn that how east Austin people lived in the past days, and economic, education issues in east Austin.

ASSIGNMENTS DUE on SEPT 22nd

Interview

Criteria

·         Interview is complete, includes student reflection

·         Timely completion

·         Provides a good sense of the student’s strengths/challenges coming into the class

·         DUE DATE: September 22, 2014

I asked to my friends and my sister about how they think I am and my strengths and weakness. One friend describes me with the Korean idiom, Wae Yu Nae Gang, which means being gentle to others and in appearance, but sturdy in spirit. People said I have a kind mind, and know how precious the people around me are. I am social and have a good relationship with people. I am a good listener, and I am confident and I have a high esteem. I’m strong and don’t give up easily. I am passionate about what I want to do and learn, and I am independent so that I could come to US alone, and go school. I am sincere and responsible. I’m good at self care and treatment, and do exercise regularly and take vitamins. I’m good at music and playing the instruments. I do a proper invest in myself and buy good things for me sometimes. I am mature than other people in my age. People also told me about my weakness. I am delicate and hesitate to act and behave get out of rules. I think too much to make a decision, and worry about something before it happens. I try to do everything by myself, so I need to ask to others to get help. I need to be more punctual, and I’m not good at dancing.

Interviewing about myself was really great opportunity to know about who I am. After I could hear my strengths and weakness from close people, I could find my strengths and weakness which I didn’t aware of by myself. I feel like I became a better person after I heard my strengths, I became more confident and I feel happy that people acknowledge my strengths. I also thought I should keep try hard to keep my strengths with me. Also, I thought I should be careful to not people feel uncomfortable because of my weakness. I should try to correct my weakness.

Cultural Assessment

The purpose of this assignment is to identify your “collective me” that has shaped your social identity. Choose 5 items that represent your social identities (e.g., race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, ability, religion, social class, nationality, age, size) that have influenced your worldview or behavior. These items might include photographs, pieces of art, jewelry, piece of clothing, or anything you believe has significant influence on how you perceive and behave in the world.  

- Bible: Bible shows my religion. I am a Christian, and grown up with Christian family.

- Korean ornament: shows my nationality

- Folding fan with traditional pattern: This shows my race and ethnicity because several Asian countries have a similar pattern.

- Jewelry: I like jewelry, and it shows my gender and age.

- Piano, guitar: I like music and I like to play the instruments.

Criteria for evaluation

·    Write brief paragraph to explain your cultural self-assessment

·    Share with the class (based on your personal comfort level) items and aspects of your cultural self-assessment

·    Thoughtful reflection and sharing

·    Completion of reflective blog post on activity

·    DUE DATE: September 22, 2014

I was born and raised in Korea which is one of the countries in Asia. Politeness is really important in my culture, so I try to be polite to strangers and elders. In Korea, I use the honorific word to elders and bow instead of waving hands. Making a direct eye contact considered impolite behavior, which is opposite from US. When I am about to having a dinner together with my grandparents or my parents, I wait for them to start eating because it is impolite to start eating before the elder starts to eat. Also, my culture values the community like family, company, school and so on. I consider my family first in my life. There is a MT culture in my countries college. MT is short for membership training. When I was a freshman in Korea, every grade in the same major gathered together and went on a trip before the semester started. Students eat BBQ, drink a lot and play the games together to know each other and tighten the bonds. There are also several MT’s during the semester.

BLOG PROMPT #2

1. What are some of the similarities and differences in experiences of racism globally? In general, describe the “exploiter and exploited” relationship.  Discuss specific parallels between U.S., France, Brazil and South Africa. 

There are similarities among the racism in global. Racism has begun with capitalism. As the capitalism pursues the wealth, it needed the human labor. As the worker’s labor was the source of capitalists and elites’ wealth, the exploitation and oppression has begun.  These two groups usually divided as colonizers group and colonized group. The exploiter oppresses the colonized people by their system officially in the name of civilization. White equated their culture with civilization. They generated stereotype and ideologies and used the violence to maintain their superior status. White considered themselves as superior, intelligent, modernized and gifted people, and colonized people as inferior, uncivilized, lazy and wild people. Whites destroyed colored people’s lives and communities to maintain the discrimination, and those people treated unequally in education, housing, business, health care, employment and etc. Colonized people have been demanded their rights in these fields. Nowadays, society tries to compensate for their unfair treatment, but the society still needs to reflect and understand deeply of the unequal reality.

There are also differences between the racism shown in each country. In the US, the white people, who were a colonizer, will become a minority in the future. Colored people in America are increasing their power and strength in the economic and political status gradually. In France, there are a lot of violent crime which target for attack foreign born immigrants and their children. Racist right political parties are resurging. The population of immigrants has not increased, but there are parliaments. In Brazil, more than 60 million people are African-origin, and mixed ancestry. Institutionalize racial discrimination still impact on Afro Brazilians. Black Brazilians are mostly poor, and only 1% of the students are in the universities. Racial inequality is maintaining by whites. In South Africa, the racial discrimination appeared with apartheid. The country was built as a country by European imperialists, and they justified the colonization and killing. As Nelson Mandela was elected to the president of South Africa, the political power has shifted to the colonized people.

The content describes the exploiter and exploited relationship. Exploiter has a power and wealth. They oppress people to generate wealth by exploited people’s human labor in capitalistic system. They call themselves as civilized people, and discriminate other racial officially. To maintain their wealth and power, they use the ideologies and stereotypes. Exploiters say they are intelligent, but exploited people are lazy and cruel. Exploited people are a people who create valuable things, but the profits from their labor taken by the exploiter, which are also capitalists. Their labor is the foundation of capitalists’ wealth, but they treated unequally. They could not have enough right in housing, education, health care, and so on.

US, France, Brazil and South Africa had racism systemically. The exploiters in these countries built up wealth by exploitation, and stereotyped exploited people that they are violent, prefer welfare or always complaining. There was a barriers and invisible ceiling in the societies such as job or career, and it maintained. Exploiters are more educated and wealthy, but they ignored the racial discrimination and discriminated people’s rights. Today, these countries are trying to compensate for the unequal treatment and reinforce the welfare.

2. How has racism influenced the history of housing and urban development in the United States?

As the whites enslaved a people from Africa and discriminate them, African American was poor because the benefits and profits they made through their labor transferred to whites. However, the government did not guarantee enough the African American’s right for housing before. The Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965 is the movement to take care of the people who had been discriminated by the majority in the US country. The government expands funding for the federal housing. This program helps people who suffer from financial problems such as the elderly, disabled, poor homeowners and veterans. It will be helpful for people to rehabilitate, who does not have enough money. It will also improve their rights in the society.

3. Tatum’s article discusses three barriers to talking about issues of race and racism with students in a classroom setting.  What are these?

Tatum says the barriers to talking about issues of race and racism in class. One barrier is the individual’s concept of identity. Self creation of one’s identity or self definition can be different from their ethnicity, life experience, environments they grown up and etc. For example, students of color usually define themselves with their racial group or ethnic group, while white students are not. Also, dominant group does not conscious about their authorities and privileges. They have a power in the society and do not really aware of the existence of inequality for a subordinate group, because they do not have an experience of the subordinates life.  Finally, many people are both dominant and subordinate. It is hard to tell that one is in one particular category. As one person has several aspects and various experiences, he or she can be in dominant group in one category, but subordinate group in another category.

4. Finally, following Peggy McIntosh’s format, list a few of your privileges and your overall reaction to this article.

After I came to US, I became a minority in US society as I am a foreigner, and I only focused on my status as a foreigner. However, after I read this article, I could realize how I lived comfortable as   Korean in Korea, and dominant group in other categories. I could recognize the privilege that I could have, and I was thankful to live without oppress from religion or race. When I was in Korea, I thought I know and understand how hard to live as a foreigner when I see the foreigners and international students in my college, but I realized that I did not fully understood them until I experienced to live as a foreigner in another country. I should care about the others who suffering from the oppression as a minority such as race or religion in the world.

1. I lived in the Seoul, which is the capital city of Korea. I use a standard language, and enjoy the cultural life, education, foods and etc.

2. I am a Christian, and I don’t need to hesitate to say that I’m Christian, because the people in the country where I live can have a freedom of religion.

3. I am heterosexual, and I didn’t experience the oppression from the society.

4. I was born and raised in the middle-upper class family, so my family and I didn’t suffer from a serious financial problem.

5. I was grown with happy family. Family always loves me and supports me, and I didn’t experience the family trouble or abuse.

BLOG PROMPT #1 Introduce my self & about east Austin

Hello, my name is SeonKyung Lee. I usually go by Seon. I’m 21 year old, and I’m from South Korea. I went to the college in California for one year, and then I transferred to UT for this fall semester as a junior in Youth and Community studies major.  I take this class because I wanted to know the social problems in these days and several community services that can enhance the people’s lives and develop the community. I want to do a counseling or family therapy in the future, and I thought this class might be helpful to learn social problems and understand the communities and people.

I interviewed the person graduate of UT about the personal opinion and knowledge about East Austin. She said she had never been to east Austin, but she thought a lot of families in the East Austin are low income families. She thought usually minority people are living in the east Austin, and mostly Mexican and black people are living in there.

According to the news that I saw online, most of the people considered east Austin as a dangerous place. African Americans or Hispanics were majority in east Austin, but white residents had become the majority in two of the tracts by 2010. While the number of whites living there increased by 40 percent, whites surpassed blacks as the second largest racial group. East Austin ranked no.7 for hippest community. It said East Austin is the newest hipster home base and there are a lot of Mexican eateries, coffee shops, a farmers market and food trucks, and the music venues every night. East Austin seems gaining a new reputation. East Austin is facing the gentrification. The changes in east Austin made people in trouble, who lived there for decades. Their quality of life is endangered as they struggle financially to stay there. Longtime families have to move out because they cannot pay higher property tax bills, since the area became hot property. Most of the people loved to stay but financial pressures are so strong.