I'll be honest. I've never been one to be very culturally sensitive. Tonight changed that quite a bit. We had a seminar on how to be a culturally aware teacher because studies have shown for a couple decades now that when lessons are geared towards the students' cultural background, they learn more and are higher achievers. Tonight we heard from a nun who is originally from New Jersey but who has been in Mississippi for quite a while in predominantly African-American schools. She talked about her experiences, the culture shock she experienced, and told us how to approach the new experience. I am looking forward to the added challenge with even more excitement and anticipation now. I really hope all this enthusiasm is sustained beyond my first few weeks of school!!
Nothing very earth-shattering in classes today. We had our first community dinner tonight in the dining hall. We have a pretty good community - we all seem to get along (for now - we'll see what happens when we're co-existing in even closer proximity for a longer time). It sounds like last year the community was not very strong. They didn't seem to fight much, but it was from a result of apathy to the rest of the community, not from a genuine love for each other. So, the ACE 16ers in the house have the task over the coming days and weeks of coaxing the stories out of our ACE 15 housemates. I will keep you posted.
Classroom Countdown: 68 days until my first day of school
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