Learning Letter and Plan of Action

I really enjoyed this course of Global View of Children’s Literature. I loved that everything was project-based rather than writing essays or having tests because I learned more out of my peers and myself than I would have putting everything on paper. Another thing that I found insightful was the blog. If I wouldn’t have taken this course I probably would have never created a blog, but now that I have it I would definitely keep it mind and try to post blogs on my future readings and new global issues. It’s a place where I can express myself and my thoughts as well as be creative because my blog background and pictures really illustrate a little bit about myself. 

Each project in this class had a purpose and meaning behind it. There wasn’t a single project we had in which I didn’t learn anything from. These projects opened up my eyes more on the world we live in and the people around us. However despite this, there were projects that I enjoyed the most and were relatable to my life. The museum display was one of my favorites because as far as my culture goes I am very prideful. I love being Mexican and I love how Mexican culture has been a huge part of my life despite being born in the United States and living my whole life here. But I never really thought about it until we had this project. With this museum display I was able to see how my family really does try to keep our culture a part of who I am for example, the dresses I used to wear for our celebrations as a child, the candy, the music, and the artifacts. In the museum display I was also able to learn a little bit about my classmates and it was very eye opening because I was able to see the culture of others, the different families, and traditions. This was very insightful because usually you don’t get to know your classmates in every course the way we were able to here. We are so caught up in our busy schedules, our own bubble, and our lives to take the time to get to know the people we sit next to. It’s actually sad to have noticed how distant we are as a society. 

The other two projects I enjoyed were the book project and the graffiti wall. The book project was very informational. We covered so many issues within the topic of family and due to that I was able to have a well rounded collection of books that can be used with my students in the nearer future. I was surprised that there were books on single parenting and gender roles because they can be quite controversial and different from what is considered “the norm.” My group chose the topic of extended families and the books I presented on were about an aunt and a grandpa. The aunt book was bilingual and to my surprise it didn’t just touch on aunts, but also on how the two children in the book had divorced parents and were trying to cope with that in their own ways. Therefore many of these books touched on multiple issues and not just specific issues. The graffiti wall was also another project I enjoyed because it was an opportunity for me to be creative. I really wanted to incorporate graffiti somehow into my project so I painted some on there. Usually when I think of graffiti I think of a splash of colors and a collage of artwork. So in my project I just threw pictures on there all over the place of what I feel war and peace is. All the topics we discussed in class like human trafficking, revolution, and boy soldiers are things that I would consider war. Perhaps not army against army, but definitely people against people and after I heard Sean say the same thing it really confirmed by belief. Not only did I make a collage of all of these topics to represent the chaos within war, but also to represent how I feel about all of these topics and how it was information all thrown at us in one quarter. It was a lot to take in. 

All the topics and discussions we had in class were very overwhelming. Some of these topics are really hard to talk about. Partially I think that was because it was about children and seeing the world through their lenses. Children were depicted as hopeless human beings that were very easy to manipulate, hurt, and exploit. This stirred a lot of mixed emotions within me because you wish you can fix these problems in an instant, but when you realize that you are just one person and that it might take years to make an huge dramatic changes in the world you are left feeling hopeless as well. It would probably be just as rewarding making a difference in one child’s life, but I wish I can help everyone. Of course the topic I most related to was immigration and the book “Crossing the Border”. It’s difficult because sometimes with all of these issues I always find myself having a hard time understanding the reasoning behind people’s acts. I don’t understand how us humans can be capable of such heinous crimes and I don’t understand how we can’t just get along. Why can’t we share the world, why can’t we be there to help each other out, why is everything based on ownership, power, and money? And, why do we fear people who are different than us?

With all this in mind I would love to make a huge difference on the entire world, but I think I might have to start small and hopefully work my way up. My plan of action after this quarter would be to sponsor a child somewhere in a third world country. After hearing Sean say that the commercials we see about starving children is true and that there are places in the world where children really do look like that, I feel that desire to help out. I know that many people say that we have problems of our own here in the United States and that we should help out our country before we try to help out other countries, but to me that’s a selfish thought. I’m not saying that there aren’t people in need here and its wonderful that we have people who do want to help out locally, but our country compared to other countries is very privileged and we probably have more organizations and resources for people who need that help than other countries. I love helping out my local community, but I feel that I can have a bigger impact on someone who doesn’t have 1/3 of what I have in this country. I think we need to stop thinking about what we can do to benefit ourselves, our country, and help out others who need it even more.

Graffiti Wall Artist Statement

The topics of War and Peace are never easy to talk about, but the images that first come to my mind when I hear those words are destruction, children, and suffering. I think of blood and children being torn apart from their families and being forced to do heinous acts and crimes. I think of innocence being robbed away and what was once pure now being stained with darkness. This topic brings up many mixed emotions especially anger. Partially because its hard for me to be able to wrap my mind around how humans can be capable of such things. I don’t understand how there are people and even nations out there that can exploit children not just physically but psychologically and not feel compassion. These people have become so desensitized to these kinds of things that it is as if they had no heart. 

When I think of War I don’t just think about soldiers and armies fighting against one another. I think about war in terms of conflict or struggle. Such things for me would be immigration, human trafficking, gang violence, drug wars, and poverty. My graffiti wall isn’t something necessarily cohesive it’s more of a splatter of issues, feelings, and a combination of the themes we have touched in class. I have included pictures that illustrate reasons for war, pictures that show who it affects—deaths, families, children, pictures that show destruction, and the need for peace. I drew a picture that spoke out to me, it’s a young boy around the age of nine or ten and he has a shirt on that says “Don’t Deport My Mom.” I drew it because I can relate to it, but instead with my husband. I consider this war because it’s a conflict and many people are suffering because of this. It’s an issue between the United States and other countries, whether or not to let people in and there is tension on both sides. But we forget that this isn’t just a political issue, it’s affecting families and children are being left in foster care.

 I also drew a picture of cage with commodities inside that represents our world and those that are privileged and how we are sheltered from the rest of the world not only because we don’t hear about it, but because we tend to think that war happens to the rest of the world and not to us. If you take time to analyze, many wars today can all be traced back to poverty and the need to survive. People are sometimes seen obligated to sell drugs, their children, and even cross borders “people who don’t have much get ugly about giving up the little they have left”—Andrew Vachss.

There are quotes that sum up my view on war and that describe some of my pictures. The first one is “As long as there is profit in war the world will never know peace”—Guy Fawkes Mask. This quote is perfect for the types of wars we have today. Many of the conflicts that exist today have to with money, profit, and power. It’s the drug wars, human trafficking, politics, resources and so much more. Many wars are no longer for rights or freedom and a lot of money made is on the cost of others and its dirty. This ties in perfectly with another quote I included, “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone; it is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists and the hopes of its children”—Dwight D. Eisenhower.   

 To conclude my graffiti wall I have quote from Mother Theresa that really says what I feel about where war has led us and why we even start them. “If we have no peace it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other” in the end we are all human and we should be there to support each other and share this world. But unfortunately because we are human we make mistakes and sometimes are acts are driven by ambition and the need for power. So to make a difference we would have to start with ourselves and reeducating our children.