It's in the Name!

I have been busy the past few weeks not only adjusting to a new culture but most importantly focusing on my classes. Besides getting to know the students in the classroom, we went to a café and spent the entire evening laughing and of course answering “is it true that in America (fill in the blank)” questions!  We also went to go see the Wall Street film. My hope is to use the “field trip” as a cultural experience and as a way to facilitate conversation on media vs. true American culture. To be honest, going to the movies here was also a cultural experience for me! Movies in Romania are quite the treat! J

In the classroom I’ve been integrating mass media and analysis through various avenues. We evaluated the biases in journalism, food and the consumer in America, and we will be learning and debating the issues debated in America today! So far it has been great seeing my students learn, analyze, and slowly develop their own opinions on different topics. I look forward to seeing them grow as students in the up and coming months!  

With all of that said, I would like to finish with a description on their first assignment.

Their first assignment was to research their names and write an “I Am” poem about themselves. The purpose was to give me the opportunity to know them better, touch on multiculturalism in the United States, and it was a good way to assess their writing.  In order to avoid the “but we are all Romanian” response, I explained to them the meaning behind the task. Since this is an American Studies course taught by an American teacher, it will have American cultural ideas intertwined. I had taken the idea from a professor at North Park who assigned his students a similar assignment. But why would a professor in America care to have his students research their names? What do names signify? I wanted to touch on America's various ethnic communities with immigrants from around the world and a name is a cultural representation. I then told them about how North Park is located in a multi-cultural neighborhood called Albany Park. I described it to them and explained how one can hear may languages, eat various foods, and interact with people from around the world. I then talked about how one can drive on streets like Devon Avenue and is able to “visit” three different countries!  Given their reactions, I think they were very intrigued! J

I really enjoyed grading this assignment. Some of the students were very creative and others had interesting stories. Something I learned was that those of the Orthodox religion would give their children, usually as the middle name, the name of a saint celebrated around the time they were born. I did not know that!