#9 - Geography

I liked the activity at the beginning of class.  The presenting group had the students move around the room and write on "graffiti boards" about the various thoughts and stereotypes we hold of different regions in the US.  It was interesting to see how my views were similar or different than those of my classmates.  I also realized how my views are my opinions, not necessarily facts of those regions.  When I was writing, I tried to think of people I know who are from those regions and how I view them...but I realized that my friends do not always fit my previously held views of that area.

I grew up in northeastern Oklahoma, then went to college in south Texas in San Antonio.  I had quite a culture change when I moved 520 miles south of my hometown.  Oklahoma was "small town", and I moved to a "big city" with over a million people...most of whom spoke Spanish as their first language.  It was my second.  I moved from a place with four distinct seasons to a place with one-and-a-half: summer and not-as-hot-summer.  I moved from beautiful colors of leaves in the fall to green all year.  I moved from having to wear winter coats for two months to having to wear jeans and a long-sleeve shirt for two weeks.  I moved from rivers, fields, and green rolling hills to creeks, rocky landscapes, and dry hill country.  But, I loved it and wouldn't change a thing.

My upbringing in Oklahoma instilled certain values:  always work hard, be honest, obey the law, be above reproach, be courteous, be respectful, honor older people, marry a boy from the South, love Jesus, learn to make good cinnamon rolls, and so on.  I feel that most of those values carried over to my move to Texas - and then they increased.  I then learned to value diversity, other languages, and other ways of thinking.  All I knew before was just that -- what I knew.  I didn't realize that other people might think differently, dress differently, and behave differently than I did.  Small thinking from a small town girl.

As I get ready to commence my career in education, I need to realize that people from various geographical locations come with various values, backgrounds, expectations, beliefs, and so much more. I have the choice to accept how they come and integrate their coming into the classroom, or I can choose to make it a harder transition for them and for me.  However, the latter would not be in the best interest of the students or the teacher.  Accepting all people - no matter where they came from - will be the best decision I can make.  That doesn't mean that I don't enforce rules and discipline, but it means that I love all my students equally.  After all, I'm not from here either!