The idea to begin this blog was simple and two-folded. One, I needed an easy and painless way to keep track of the progress I’ve made for my advocacy project. And two, I had just learned how to create and maintain a blog from my teaching with technology class, and I thought it would be brilliant to incorporate what I learned from one class into another.
So, now that I have provided the reason for why I created this blog, I must give you, my readers, the explanation for what this blog is and what it will entail. First and foremost, this blog is about my advocacy project idea. Therefore, it will involve all of the work I have done for this project, i.e., the letters I have written, the literature I have read, and the research I have studied.
But what is this advocacy project? Here is the assignment description from my class syllabus:
Advocacy Activities
This is an exciting time in education! There are reforms going on all over the place and people from the grassroots level to the federal level are involved. Of course we are not all in agreement when it comes to what we think should be done to improve education in the US. It is likely that some of our actions will be in opposition to the actions of others in the class. This is to be expected. No matter what your position, a couple of question you might ask are: Who might be advantaged by this effort/action? and Who might be harmed by this effort/action? No matter what your views are, you do not have to wait to be a teacher to have a voice in the policies that are likely to have an impact on your professional life as a future educator. The purpose of this assignment is to encourage you to take action to address a reform issue that matters to you. Actions you might take are: a) initiating new policies, b) working on passage of legislation, c) writing in support of or in opposition to legislation, d) working as a volunteer with an advocacy group, e) engaging in a grassroots effort, f) doing a formal presentation to a group involved in some aspect of educational reform, g) creating your own group focused on one or more reform issues, etc. You may want to do something that is not listed here, and I am open to other actions as long as they link up with the assignment expectations. Be sure to let me know what you plan to do as soon as you know. I do not want you to invest time on an activity that will not fulfill the expectations for this assignment.
So, during the month of August, I was expected to come up with an educational idea, get it approved by my teacher, and begin! Thankfully, I already knew the issue I wanted to advocate for, had already thought about it since the syllabus was handed out in June. I graduated from the University of Michigan with a bachelors degree in Social Anthropology (a more thorough description of myself provided later), and, therefore, I was interested in finding some way to incorporate anthropology into the classroom.
With my idea formulated, I just had to get it approved by my professor, Shari. Since classes had ended and we were officially on break (and I was on the beach in East Hampton, NY), I sent Shari an email about my project idea. Here is the email:
Hi Shari,
I wanted to run my advocacy project idea by you before I get started on it!
In the beginning, I wanted to do the project on incorporating cultural and social anthropology into the classroom. This is because, when I begin teaching, I want to include culture into my classes. However, when I was thinking about how to go about doing this project, I started to get a little overwhelmed about the idea of making a country-wide curriculum.
But, I started to think about why I wanted to include anthropology into my classes. It is because I think high school teenagers are at a period in their lives, one that includes a major transition from adolescent to young adult. They are about to enter the world, whether they go off to college, military (or any type of service), or work.
When I thought about the different paths students are about to embark on, I focused more on military, etc. services. Young adults are signing up to fight for a country they don't know much about, in a country they know nothing about. I think it would be a great idea if any person who signs up for service through the school (recruiting officers at high schools, etc) they must take a mandatory cultural anthropology class that teaches them about other cultures and about the dangers of being ethnocentric while fighting a war overseas.
What do you think about this idea? I was thinking about beginning a blog that chronicles my idea and keeps a record of all the letters, emails, and documents I send out and receive. It would be a great way to organize my project.
Thank you,
Molly Berwanger
I received Shari's response later that day:
What a really cool idea!!! This would be much more manageable.
You might want to get in contact with some military folks and see the kind of training is currently offered in this area. They may do something like this for specialized service folks but they may have nothing at the basic training level.
The blog sounds like a good way to do this as it is something you want to be widely read. Make an exciting blog name (I'm terrible with titles so I hope you aren't) so that people may be drawn to it.
Keep me posted.
Ss
The first step was completed! My idea had been approved and I was given the green-light to begin researching!
It will be a slow process and one that takes patience. But in the end, I hope I have provided educators, administrators, and anyone who cares, with enough information to begin teaching Anthropology to any high school student who plans to enlist in the armed services!
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