Blog Post 6

When I worked at the YMCA, one of my co-workers made an offensive comment that caught me off guard. He said the following “ You speak good English for someone who was born outside the United States... I know some people may not find this statement offensive, but for me it was.  The statement offended me because it was after I said that I was not born in the U.S. After, I said I was not born in the U.S, he was really surprised. I know that he did not mean to offend me because when I pointed it out he was shocked that I was offended. I told my coworker that I am glad he thinks that, but I just do not feel like that statement was appropriate for me at least. What came to mind when he said that is that you are not supposed to speak English fluently if you do not live here. My response was “what if I did not speak English fluently”? Why is this even a conversation” I think that people should think twice before stating how they feel towards a specific situation? Because they do not know if they are to offend the individual they are talking to.

How will I address this situation if it happened again?

I believe that I dealt with the situation appropriately because I did talk to my coworker and told him how I felt. He was able to understand my point of view and the reason I felt offended by the comment. If it were to happen again I will take the same actions to solve the situation.

Another, experience where I experienced injustice was at my job. I did not like to speak up, I felt like people were taking advantage of me because of past experience. In past, people have taken advantage of my kindness. I felt like I was not being heard, and that is one of the reasons that I left that job. I always had strong opinions about things that happened. Although, I had a lot to say that did not mean that I always came out and said it. The reason I did not like to address my concerns was that I was just a lead staff in my supervisor's eyes. I stopped experiencing how I felt, somehow I was not looked the same since I was the youngest lead staff. It made me feel uncomfortable because I always felt like my concerns were not heard nor taken into consideration. If there was something that I did try to do, is better the workplace.

How will I address the situation if it were to happen again?

If this situation happened again I will just express how I feel about at the moment. I feel like I was quiet for too long, and I let a lot slide because I did not want to get fired. As I am getting older I am learning how to take deep breathes and talk things out in a friendly manner.

Blog post 5

All of the teachers in the article show that they care about their students in their own unique way. The first statement that stuck out to me in the beginning of the article is how the teachers view teaching. The article states that teaching is a care based on love and humanity, rather than maternal instincts. I really like this quote because it is warming and applies to the teachers that are caring.

The first story that was shared in the article,  is one of the teachers bought food regularly for her students. The teacher is not required to give her students snack and food throughout the day. She proved that she cared by stating that having food for her kids is a big deal to her.

Additionally, another teacher stated that one of her students often sleeps in class. She shows that she was being caring and understanding for her student because she did not make it a big deal. She stated that the school is a second home for her students. Michelle, view her students as her family because that is where the students spend most of their time. I agree too because students spent most of their time at school during the week. Her statement proves that she is very caring for all her students. Not every teacher would respond the way that Michelle did.