There Are No Children Here

The book There Are No Children Here is about two boys growing up in what was one of the worst Chicago housing projects of the 1980's. Not only do the two boys have to survive each day of living in the projects they have to avoid the pressures of joining gangs, partaking in the drug trade, and avoiding gang wars, the two boys have to escape to make anything of themselves in the future. The two boys also have many siblings that have failed to escape the projects and still live with them going in and out of jail. There mother, being the only one to raise the family, has to find a way to make money for food when their welfare gets denied. I chose this book because it makes me realize how lucky I am to have the family I have and the home that I grew up in. It makes me more grateful everyday for all the chances that I have been given. I am currently about half way through the book, but once I start reading it, it becomes hard to stop.

MBTI Reflection

When I first started reading my MBTI results I was surpised to see how right it was about my preferences and the way I react and go about my everyday life. My MBTI type came out to be ENFP which is extraversion, intuition, feeling, and percieving.

As previously said I prefer extroversion which I feel for the most part is right. It says I have a clear preference for being extraverted, yet between being enthusiastic or quiet it says I tend to be more calm, enjoy solitude, and seek background. I strongly agree with what it says because I like to be apart of things, but I also enjoy being by myself every once in a while.

Between sensing and intuition I am an N, which is focusing on perceiving patterns and interrelationships reather than focusing on what can be perceived by the five senses. Rather than having exact facts, I believe I'm extremely abstract. I like to see the big picture instead of having 100 little facts about something. It says that I may find it hard to identify the evidence for my ideas which I believe is exactly right about myself. When I have an idea for something or try to explain why I did something the way Idid its sometimes hard for me to give an explanation, I just do it. It also says I am imaginative, which I think is pretty neat because I like to try new things at least once just for the sake of change.

My MBTI told me that I prefer feeling over thinking. I believe this is exactly right because I always try to get everyone's input about a certain issue. For example, if we were working on a group project I like to make sure everyone is happy with what part of the project they are doing and how they feel about doing it. I am a questioner, which is out of preference between thinkin and feeling, but I feel this is right as well. Again, if we were working a a group project and no one else is giving their thoughts about something I start asking questions to see how they feel and what they think should be done about a certain issue.

I am a P, which is percieving rather than judging. This is also right for me because I prefer flexibility and spontaneity instead of having set plans. My results ended up being in the midzone for many of the areas betweein thinking and percieving. I also feel as though this is correct because I like to have a list of things to get done by such a time, but theres no actual set order of how, when, or where I'm going to do it. I am far out of prefernce between being pressure-prompted and early starting. I like to get an early start on things so I can be more flexible in the future instead of having to work on something right before its due. Over the last year though I have seen myself becoming more and more pressure prompted which could explain my preference for percieving rather than judging.

I enjoyed reading the MBTI interpetive report and was surprised at how much information this test can give about a person just by the way they answer questions. Not only does it get your in preference picks, but it also shows when your out of preference. Reading over the communication styles, change management styles and conflict management styles was really cool to see. Reading over those pages can tell a lot about a person and how they manage things in their everyday life. Not only do they give your style, but it tells stuff about yourself that you sometimes don't even know you're doing. Overall it is definitely for the most part right on the dot.

Week 13 Blog-Planning and Problem Solving

Hello there once again everyone. I would like to congratulate Zach and Karen on the nice job they did teaching us about Chapter 10 in the book-Planning and Problem Solving. Before this lesson I never realized there were "smart" goals as well as creating a goal using the four M's. I also enjoyed the activity we did because not only did I get to here what everyone elses goals were, it made me think about what my goals as a hixson peer mentor will be. The activity also made me think about my overall goals during my college education, which is something I haven't deeply thought about as much with the only goal in mind for me during college is graduating. I think one of the most important assets for new students is the ability to plan effectively. Now, as some of us our in our second or third year it seems to be less important since we've gotten use to the busy college life, but I feel it is much more essential to new students as they figure out what being a college student is all about. The book explains that students in transition often do not know how to organize themselves and make the best use of their time, which I think can is a perfect example of a majority of new students who come to college and have to learn responsibility. We as mentors, can model effective planning and give strategies that could work for students next year if we become good planners ourselves. The goal I chose for next year as a hixson peer mentor is to just overall know my students better by the end of the year developing a friendly relationship as well as getting to know there names and majors by the end of the year. This goal is specific because it is clear and I am able to explain it clearly. I believe it is measurable and I will be able to tell how far along I am in getting to know my students better. It is very much attainable and relevant. It is time limited because getting to know my mentee's names will need to be done by the end of the semester, yet I hope to know them all well enough within the first month.

Week 11 Blog- Debunking Myths on Immigration

Hello all. Today's lesson was on Chapter 9, Facilitating Learning. I believe this is a very important chapter because being able to make something happen or making something easier isn't always easy. Carl Rogers's three core conditions include realness, acceptance, and understanding. Learning and adapting well to these three conditions will allow you as well as help you establish credibility and influence your students. This is just one component of many more to start your journey towards achieving the ability to facilitate learning. There is much more to facilitating learning, but today I went to a diversity event about immigration called Debunking Myths on Immigration by the Iowa Immigrant Education Coalition so I would like to talk about that for a bit today.

There are currently around 11.5 million undocumented (a.k.a illegal) immigrants in the United States today. There are many myths out there which are currently very wrong for the most part. Some myths that were discussed today were those like: immigrants don't pay taxes, they take up many jobs, they don't want to learn English, they don't even want to become citizens and they only bring about higher rates of crime are only few of the many myths about immigration. Immigrants and immigrant labor are actually vital towards Iowa's economy. The Iowa Policy Project estimates that undocumented immigrant families pay between 40 and 62 million dollars in state taxes per year. Many small businesses depend on immigrants for intense labor such as farming industries. The sad part is many can be considered better Americans than a lot of people today; we as Americans take for granted our citizenship and the services offered by our great country. America was built on mulitculturalism, yet many immigrations policies defer or make it almost impossible for immigrants to become legal Americans because it takes to much time and money. There are currently five to eight thousand immigrants (born in America automatically U.S. citizens) in accredited high schools and we have to think of them as potential assets to our country, yet we are still trying to deport them when all they know is what is in the U.S. There are millions living in the shadows of our lives today and have to put up with horrible work conditions, but are unable to go to authorities because they have no legal documentation. If you are reading this blog, take it and pass it on or even attend a different lecture on immigration to learn more and pass it on once again to decrease these myths.

Week 9 Blog

Hello again everyone. Hope all are enjoying the rain and snow that we got last night. I sure did. I enjoyed this weeks class on chapter 8 about communicating effectively. Brandon and Chelsee did a great job facilitating the lesson and got everyone involved as well. I especially liked the activity that we got to do. The activity went to show how we all look at things differently and coming from that, how we all communicate differently. I thought Chelsee and Brandon also did a great job on elaborating more after the activity and creating a great discussion afterwards. It really got my attention as well as giving me a chance to learn from previous peer mentors about their last year experiences. Communication is key in today's society and if one cannot communicate effectively, it is hard for that person to let others know how they feel about certain things.
One of my favorite ways to communicate is just straight up talking to someone. I feel as though that is the only way to get to know someone for who they actually are. Texting is another way of communication use that has skyrocketed over the past few years. Texting for me is another way to communicate to people without having to go through email or some other communication tool. Coming to college has changed the way I communicate greatly. I use email much more now (pretty much have to), I am much more open to people that I do not know and have also become a much better listener over the years. I have always treated my family differently than my friends, my boss differently than friends, and since coming to college I treat my professors differently as well. I treat certain people much more professionally while treating my friends and family more on a casual side and this has come to work for me. I know my boundaries as well has having to stay professional when needed.
I did kind of enjoy the twitter activity or I at least thought it was useful. Making students do stuff there not normally comfortable with or I guess getting them to try something new can open them up more to other new things. Twitter for example has some interesting people that you can follow as well as keeping tabs on friends or other important people in your life so it can become beneficial. I feel as though twitter is a way to keep more professional while facebook is more for keeping up with your friends as well as family. For next year I plan on using email mostly and if urgent or unresponsive to that texting or using a social network could also come in handy.

Week 8 Blog

Hello once again everyone. Nice weather we are having today. I enjoyed this weeks class on developing cultural sensitivity. I would like to congratulate Cory and Jenna on the great job they did getting the class involved in the activity. I thought the activity did a great job showing us how society along with we ourselves unconciously stereotype and label people without knowing how we affect certain people. I figured out for myself anyway that I do it a lot more than I know. What I learned Tuesday night in class will make me think about how I can become a better person by just getting out there and meeting people with differnt backgrounds and cultures that don't relate as well to mine. If a person can begin to familiarize themselves with the general characteristics of different diversities and cultures then they can more successful establish and maintian relationships with different people.

The dimensions for me that I chose as being important was being country raised growing up on a farm. I believe this is important because it is what shaped me to become the person that I am today. It also showed me that in order to get what I want and who I want to become as a person it takes hard work and a persistant effort as well. The dimensions you choose as well as the ones other's choose affect how they judge people due to the different backgrounds and cultures that they are grown up on. The one dimension that I shared the most with the group was being farm raised. I saw a lot of similarities with this and not so much differences. We all grew up with a farm background and a good number of the group explained how this has shaped the way we are today. One good example of stereotyping that I believe Amy brought up was a student in her class who was hispanic, yet lived in Iowa his whole life and could speak perfect English, but still many labeled him as unable to speak English. This goes to show that even people that have grown up in America all their lives still get stereotyped by their race or the color of their skin.

Week 7 Blog

Hello once again. For this weeks class I thought Rachel and Amy did a great job with the exercise and getting everyone invovled as well. I really enjoyed the activity because it made me think about my strengths and weaknesses as well as making me think about how I can better myself by capitalizing on those strengths and trying to improve those weaknesses. It also allowed me to become more self-aware as I listened to other's strengths and weaknesses. One of my weaknesses that made me think a lot about was the value of gratitude. I do take some things for granted, but that is not why I chose this as a weakness. I chose gratitude as one of my weaknesses because I feel I sometimes have trouble expressing gratitude towards the people who have changed my life for the better and while thinking more about I came up with ways to more effectively show my gratitude towards others. This class activity helped show me my strengths and weaknesses as well as allowing me to listen to others how they use their own strengths and weaknesses to get through their everyday life.

The book describes a positive role model as someone who exemplifies values and behavior that others want to imitate or follow. As we strive to become mentors and role models to students in the fall we have the power to inspire others to follow and use the attributes or attitudes that make them exceptional and unique people. As we are mentors we do not automatically become role models for students but over time we can become good role models as we earn student's respect by demonstrating the attributes that they value as well.

As I was a freshman, I began to look up to my peer mentors, Kris and Nikki, as time went by I hoped that some day I could be as successful as they have become through college. I plan to treat my students the same as they did me and I hope to gain the respect of my students as I did for Kris and Nikki. I also plan to use my strengths to my advantages and work on my weaknesses to become a better and more respectable person not just for next fall, but for the rest of my life.

Week 6 Blog

Hello everyone. The weather is great, the sun is staying out longer, and spring is on it's way. Its a good feeling, but somehow I think old man winter is done with the cold yet. I thought tonights class was a really insightful one and I really enjoyed getting to know people a lot more. Hearing everyone's stories made me think about my life and how I take a lot of things for granted and I'm glad this class really made me think about that and opened it up for me. It also made me think more about what certain people and events in my life has influenced me to become the person that I am today. Tonights class activities helped me become more self aware and I would like to thank Anthony and Beth for helping me think more about myself and also congratulate them on the great job they did leading the lesson tonight.

As peer mentors, I believe we have a huge role in helping freshmen students become self aware. Before tonight's class I didn't realize the importance of being self aware and the impacts of one's own self-awareness. In order to successfully deal with the challenges and opportunities that come with being a college student, a person must consider who they want to be and how they will end up becoming that person. If we as mentors understand how increasing our self-awareness affects our success as students, we can help other students understand the same thing. We can achieve this by helping students understand themselves well enough for them to recognize what they need to change and to take the right steps in order to improve their situations along with their chances of succeeding in college. Some questions or thoughts that can help students become self aware are one that can include their strengths and weaknesses, what motivates them and makes them happy, what they can do to improve as a person, what are their most important beliefs or values in life, and just simply what has brought them to being the person that they are today.

I think one of the bigger things that I can do to help myself become more self aware is just thinking more about life in itself and how I came to be the person that I am today. Along with that, listening to the values that people have that are different than mine as well as attending more events that make you recognize the little things in your life that you don't notice.

Week 5 Blog

Hello everyone. Hope everyone's doing alright and making it through school ok. First off I would like to give a congratulations to those who led the class tonight (Nick, Kelly, Joe and Deb). I thought they did a good job and portrayed many of the major concepts in both chapter 3 and chapter 4 that needed to be covered. I thought Kelly and Nick did a good job in portraying the five different roles if a peer mentor and also advancing more on them after the small groups talked about what they thought of each role. Joey and Deb also did a good job in getting everyone involved with their skits they created. One of the main concepts that stuck with me after tonights class towards the end, was the part about boundaries. I believe that establishing these boundaries early in the relationship between peer mentors and mentees will further prevent major problems from happening that may develop in the future.

I believe the the stages of a mentoring relationship were a huge part of this chapter. These stages of a mentoring relationship are more or less brought about by questions and these questions remind us not only if we are creating relationships, but establishing our role as peer mentors as well. These questions include: who are you, why are we here, where are we going, how are you doing, what is working and not working, and are we there yet. As time goes by and as we progress through each stage of the mentoring relationship the trust level between a peer mentor and the mentee increase. The question "Why are you?" helps you to remember to get to know your students and give them a chance to know you. The question "Why are we here?" reminds you to be upfront about your responsibilities as a mentor and the ground rules for the relationship. The question "Where are we going?" will make sure to remind you to work with your mentees and set goals and objectives. And last, but not least the question "Are we there yet?" will give you an opportunity to think about what you have accomplished together as mentors and mentees and if you have reached your goals and objectives. I believe that each of these stages are important in the mentoring relationship. If we all follow these stages we can almost ensure good relationships between us and our mentees.

Week 4 Blog

Hello again everyone. We are into week 4 and suprisingly enough it's snowing in February and sad enough, this week's class got cancelled. Chapter three is about defining roles and what are the mentors roles in the mentoring relationship. They give five big roles of a peer mentor which include a trusted friend, peer leader, student advocate, learning coach, and connecting link. I beleive students are more likely to respect you if they can trust you first and become friends. Without building trust and friendship it is hard to communicate effectively. As a connecting link you can open up to students the plethora of opportunites available on campus here at Iowa State. I beleive having the ability to connect with others, create freindships, and know the people around you can become a huge asset in the future. As a student advocate you want the best for your students and hope that they succeed and I believe that could be one the most important parts of this program is watching new freshman students become more independent and transtition to college. As a peer leader you are no longer just focused on your own success, but the success of your students and as you show your success they will want to do the same.210

I really enjoyed the keynote speaker this Saturday. I especially liked the list of questions he had asked us and as we all sat down is was neat to see everyone's own reactions to the questions. It made me think about all the little things that I was doing wrong in my everyday life that I could easily change if I had thought enough about it. He encouraged us to start our own list of wrong doings and I believe I'm going to do that. I thought it was cool how he was nominated for entertainer of the year compared to Chris Rock and the others that have been previous entertainers of the year.

One of the sessions that I went to was the one on interviewing. The speaker was very good and I learned a lot and was very glad that I attended. Interviewing these days is one of the key factors in obtaining the job that you want. Without good communication skills it is hard to sit down with a stranger and answer questions that you maybe are not prepared to answer. That it is where preparation is key and in the future I planned on being much more prepared for any interviews that I have lined up.

Week 3 Blog

Hello everyone. Hope everyone is enjoying the third week of school. I thought this weeks class was really enjoyable. I learned a lot about myself and my personality type which I thought was really neat. When we did the Myer-Briggs Type Indicator as freshmen, I got ENFP. This year I was suprised to get the same thing. I assumed as a year passed and I transitioned to college I might have changed the ways I think and go about situations, but just goes to show changing someones personality is at most, impossible.93 I thought it was hard to believe how much this report goes in to depth of our preferences and choices just from our answers especially since some of our answers consisted of just choosing one word from the two words provided. I thought the type indicator was even precise in the way they broke each category down into even more sub-categories showing whether they were in-preference or out-of-preference. In almost each one I had an out-of-preference or midzone facet that which I believed was almost right each time.187

Before class I was excited to see my results along with everyone else's and the types of personalities that I may possibly be mentoring with next fall. I thought it was cool to see how different the clarity of preferences were for some people especially Debra. It seem like every one of her preferences in the type indicator were very clear or at least clear, unlike mine which all but one were in the slight clear area. I enjoyed the class activities and like hearing everyone's reaction towards the questions. It appeared as though all of the individuals in the same groups had the same outlooks on each question. I also got the notion that all the groups went about each question differently, especially the judging and percieving section with the early starters and the pressure prompted groups. This week was really fun and enjoyed learning about myself and everyone else in the class. See you next week.

Week 2 Blog

Chapter 2 was about helping make students make the transition to college which I feel was one of the chapters that I had most in common with. It contained many of the factors that I had to deal with as a freshman here last year. I could relate to many of the concepts and it brought back how I felt about all the new situations and new things that were happening as I myself transitioned to college. The biggest part of this chapter to me was the section on how college is different from high school. There are so many huge differences between the two. Some may affect certain people, yet those that affect one certain group of people will have no affect on another person. For me it was the different teaching styles and how to better manage my time. In high school I really never did anything, but as all of you know once in college you have to try in order to get the grade you want. Some new freshman students already know this, yet they may have trouble adjusting towards a better way to manage their time.
This week me and Greg started the class and it went much better than I had thought it would. I feel like we had many good discussions about each different section in the book. Leading a class for 25 minutes was a little different for me. I found out many of us had different outlooks on subjects. I also found out through the discussions that every one of us made our own different transition to college and that we will each have to deal with our mentees in different ways in order to be successful peer mentors. As the freshman students next fall develop into college students we to will also develop in our own way.

Week 1 Blog

The first chapter in the book, Becoming a Peer Mentor, created a background as towards the definition and types of roles of what a mentor is and does. I like the start of the chapter where they give a real situation with a real person and it made me think how I would deal with the situation if it was me or someone that needed help that I knew. It also gives synonyms for mentor which can include guide, advisor, counselor, and teacher. Any of these words are what I would be able to use to describe what I thought of my peer mentors when I was a freshman last year.

The chapter also challenges you to quiz yourself on how confident you are with mentoring knowledge and skills. This made me think about how capable I will be of becoming a mentor and the knowledge that I will yet need to gain in order to become an effective teacher and listener. This made me realize the different number of roles that that I will have to fulfill in order to become a good mentor in this program.

Towards the end of the chapter it talks about motivation; whether you are self-focused, other-focused, or both. After reading thet rest of the paragraph I began to think about my motivation and where it came from. Being too much self-focused will cause you to ignore your students, but being to much other-focused will cause you to devote to much time for others and not for yourself. Both of these circumstances will cause a problem in your quest to becoming a good peer mentor. I found that you must create a balance between both to be more successful in the long run.

I'm trying to remember what we did in class, but the one thing that stuck in my head was going over the syllabus which clarified a lot for me and helped me create an idea for myself how much time Iwill need to devote for this program. Learning everyone's else's names will probably be the most time consuming, but I think I can handle it.

I know that in the past with classes and other college activities I will need to manage my time appropriately for school as well as taking care of my responsiblities as a mentor in the fall. I believe I will have to manage time better so I will be able to balance school and being a mentor at the same time.