6-Reflection

Since the beginning of the semester I believe that I have prepared myself to be a peer mentor in many ways.  I believe through the course we have all learned about some techniques that will assist us next fall with our mentees. There isn't anything going into next semester that I am really worried about.  I feel as though I am pretty prepared for the semester and anything that I may not be completely prepared for I think I will learn as we go.  I really look forward to the challenges, and I am excited for next semester.  This fall, in training, I would hope to learn a lot about the ins and outs of r mentor position.  Some things I hope are covered in depth are the computer systems we use in the job as well as the scheduling.  I believe that we are prepared for next semester and the course has prepared us for whatever may come our way.

4- Challenges

The biggest challenge I ever encountered was actually a challenge to myself.  After graduating high school, my parents moved from Pennsylvania to Arizona.  I was not ready to leave Pennsylvania just yet, so I decided to stay there.  I had never been away from my parents for more than a few weeks at a time.  This was a huge change and I wasn't sure how it was going to play out.  I had to learn to fend for myself and truly be independent.  This taught me how much I really was capable of, and how I can push myself to do what is needed.  I lived in Pennsylvania away from my parents for three years, and I learned so much about myself in that time.  From this situation, I can pass valuable lessons onto my mentees.  Many times, freshmen are going to be away from their parents for the first times, just as I was for years.  Since I have been through this situation, sharing my story with mentees can help them see that everyone goes through that transition at some point, and it’s possible to overcome the initial shock.

Mentoring Apprentice

(I am so sorry for not blogging earlier. :s )
At the beginning of class, I was really nervous about not being resourceful to my mentees. The blog about the different resources at NAU really helped me calm down. The other day, for example, my roommate was telling me how one of her friends was having trouble in her classes because of her sickness. I remembered Brianna talking about the Disability Resource so I told my roommate about it so her friend could get extra time to finish her stuff. I felt relieved when I learned about the other resources as well because I know that if one of my mentees needs help, I will be able to guide them to the right resource. The workshops were extremely helpful as well. The health and wellness workshop was really informative because I want to fill my mentees in with health facts and help-options for whenever they need it.
I am concerned about my students feeling welcomed in their classroom environment though. How can bring them together and show a sense of community? Also, is there any tips on how to handle classes and mentoring?
I feel pretty confident about the resources NAU offers, the Passform, and other things I can't really remember but I am nervous on how I am going to handle the classes with my mentees. I would also like to know more about how to use appropriate language that won't offend anyone (ex. saying "hey guys" when there's girls or people who don't associate with guys)? Basically, how can I make everyone feel accepted and comfortable?
Other than that, thank you so much for the training, it did relieve much of my anxiety and I do feel much more comfortable!

5 - Banning Bigots

I really enjoyed the article and video! I have seen the video before and feel like it is a great activity to show what privilege looks like. I also like the article because it is a new way to look at how a lack of privilege must feel like. I have felt the brunt of lacking privilege in my life when I was working in a fast food setting and was stuck at one station because working at the stove was too hot for me as a a "sensitive girl" and working cashier was too harmful for me as a "young woman". Other older and male coworkers were able to work in these areas and I was stuck on sandwiches for a while. It was not until months into my job, that I was even allowed to try out these tasks and I ended up doing swell in these positions. This is a pretty mellow example, but I think it shows a small side of privilege.

Article: "I Banned Bigots from My Gym"

(http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/30/crossfit-gym-seattle-sign-banned-bigots-privilege)
A woman who owns a gym was tired of seeing businesses discrminate against people according to their identities, so she put up a sign saying that she refuses to serve people who discriminate period. I am very glad that she did that and spoke up against the array of businesses surrounding her. I have only had family who were not served in a restaurant purely because they were Mexican and Native American. They ended up leaving the establishment and reporting the occurence to the corporate office.

6- The Know-It-All Takes A Step Back

At the beginning of the class, I'll admit I was feeling just a little bit cocky about this new role. I felt pretty confident about my abilities as a peer leader because of my experiences as an RA and campus involvement. This class actually shook me up a bit to see that I should not be as cocky. 

There are parts to this role that I had not really thought about as being challenging when they really can be. While I am still comfortable going into this next year, I am still bracing myself for some of the hard conversations about academics and leading the group meetings. The class presentation I helped lead was a lot more challenging than I thought and there were many parts where I personally messed up. I will definitely prepare quite a bit more next year before my meetings. 

The academics role-play was rough with my challenging partner current peer mentor, Crystal Escobedo! After our conversation, she explained that sometimes it will be that hard to talk with a mentee and this opened my eyes a bit.

For Fall Training, I would like to see:
1. More role-play for increased practice for individual meetings
2. Peer Mentor bonding activities (like bowling and/or outdoor activities)
3. FOOD FOOD FOOD (Please
4. Go Over Inclusive Language (I'm always forgetting something.)
5. More Cultural Sensitivity Training (You can NEVER have too much of this.)
6. GAMES! Could be in the form of Icebreakers/Team Builders
7. More in-depth look at what EXACTLY we are doing this next year (programs, meetings, bonding events, etc.)
8. Beacon D:
9. Oh and did I say Food? ;)

I have grown quite a bit during training. The Saturday cultural event helped me reflect on my own views, how others are viewed and how to control my reactions to controversy. The class presentation showed me that it is okay that you mess up as long as you improve. The role-play taught me that I do not know everything and can improve with more practice. I have also enjoyed getting to know some of my fellow mentors and look forward to working with all of them in the Fall! 

6-See you next Fall!

Since the beginning of the year I 've learned a lot of skills that will help me become a better peer mentor. I have a better idea of what a peer mentor should or should not do when it comes to giving students advice and guidance. Earlier in the year I expressed that I was worried to cross the line with students but now I feel confident in knowing that if I have questions I can ask my fellow mentors and supervisors what is best! I'm really glad that we had this class so we could learn about the job but also because now we will know our coworkers and supervisors a lot better. Without this class I don't know if I'd really want to get my coworkers input (because I am hella awkward) but now I feel pretty comfortable asking for their help. Though the "Diversity Training didn't go quite as planned I think it made everyone think a lot about how to help students that are different than us which is helpful for any job but especially one like ours which presents a lot of diversity.
In fall training it would be helpful to do more mock meetings with students and to refresh our knowledge of resources. I feel pretty confident about being able to show a student a resource relevant to their situation but in 3 months who knows what information will still be there. Additionally learning more about how to approach group meetings would be great since we did not go over that dynamic much (I know we did the presentations but students won't be as cooperative as all of us).
Overall I'm more excited than ever to peer mentor next semester!

In retrospect...

       I walked into the SSS Peer Mentoring class with clear expectations. I knew that I would be keeping my own schedule and doing my utmost to help the mentees assigned to me. All in all I felt well prepared. However, there were many things that I didn't fully understand, most of which came to light during the Diversity Training.

       For example, my contact with LGBT groups has been very limited, and a great deal of my understanding about their lifestyle and the struggles that they face had come second hand. For the first time, through participating in the Diversity Training, I was able to learn first hand the wide diversity of groups that are classified as LGBTQA+, and gain new understanding about their perspective. What was particularly eye opening was the star exercise that we did near the beginning of the second half of the training. It helped me understand the complexities surrounding the coming-out process, and why it is so important to be sensitive about the issue if I am paired up with a mentee that hasn't come-out yet.

       The second thing I realized, and this came as a side-effect of the dissonance that arose during the Diversity Training, is just how quickly emotions can boil over if we aren't sensitive to the issues we are ignorant to. It is always important to ask questions, listen in an active manner, and to facilitate meaningful dialogue between groups with differing beliefs. These lessons are applicable to more than just the Peer Mentor programs; these are lessons that are applicable to life in general.

Look How Far We've Come... and Have Yet to Go!

I am the kind of person that takes a little bit longer than others to open up and be comfortable with other people and new situations. From the beginning of the class up until now, I have definitely grown more comfortable with my fellow peer mentors and with the idea of what I will be practicing next semester. I still am not so sure what we are supposed to do logistically but I am sure we will continue to learn what we need to in the fall. For fall training I would like to see a mock session with a student. Role play is something I think would be very helpful to us all. An area that I think I am strong in is being sensitive to others thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. An area I know I can improve on is pushing people to do their very best rather than be passive about things. Going into depth more with this topic would be helpful. Other than that, this was a great introduction on what to expect next semester. I am excited!

6-Reflecting

I think I have grown a little bit since the beginning of this class and am a lot more prepared to be a peer mentor. I came in with and will probably always have the fear that I won't be able to help everyone I work with. No one can. I feel somewhat comfortable going into next year. you can try and prepare us and give all of the resources but you can not predict what will happen till it happens. It would be nice if in the fall we got to do a full mock meeting with items like laptops and forms that we will use with mentees. We did do these in class but it's hard to carry a convo on resources if you can't show it, like on a website, and and guide and explain how to navigate and use it, like true blue connects and jobs for jacks.

6-Reflecting......

6-Reflecting…

            At the beginning of class I had no idea what to expect.  I did do some research online about the SSS program and what kind of services were provided, but it’s nothing like actually being trained and taught to be a mentor for SSS.  I came in nervous and scared and at this point I’m a little less nervous and scared.  I feel that those feelings should never go away, just be little less and less.  It’s what is going to help me be a good peer mentor.  It’s when we get complacent and comfortable that we tend to not do our best.   

            For the fall training I would definitely like to be trained for more 1 on 1 with my mentees.  I would like to become more familiar with our resources here on campus.  I don’t feel like an expert in anything.  This is going to be an ongoing learning process I hope I don’t become an expert in anything I will keep on learning new things from my co-peer mentors and mentees.  I love the idea helping others and serving as a resource, but not an expert.  

            This training has helped me not to go in with my blinders on.  I will look at each individual a little differently now.  Everyone has their own story, it’s just up to them if they want to tell it will we should always be ready to listen. 

Reflection

Throughout the 8 weeks of training, I went in not knowing what to expect but was very excited to start. When I got the job I was very thankful for it and even more excited since going through my freshman year as a men-tee in SSS and getting this job I was able to see what it likes in this position and get a better understanding of what to expect now as a Peer Mentor. This training has helped me in so many ways in not only to prepare me to succeed as a Peer Mentor but to also give me a better understanding of what to expect. I was scared going in not knowing if we were going to jump right into it and practice one on one's or even group meetings to get us to practice what its like but I was relieved when we came into training one day and did this. I absolutely loved this activity where we got to practice having a one on one meeting playing the different roles of a Mentor and a Mentee and using the pass forms. I thought that this was very beneficial and more realistic to what we will be doing in the fall. Being able to do this and manage our time during our one on one meetings in a certain amount of time was one thing that was definitely challenging for me. After this and our 8 weeks going over different topics and what to expect as a Peer Mentor i couldn't feel more prepared and more excited to began this journey.

For the fall training some things that I would like to go over and discuss is how to use the calender that we document all of our meetings in. I would also like to know if we are able to get a list of who our students are ahead of time and some background information on them so we can get a feel for who they are before we meet with them and have even more things to talk about on our first meeting . I would also like to learn more about the resources by going around and exploring some of them that I may of never heard of or know enough about them. Last, I would really like to go over the pass forms in more depth and to also connect with our coworkers more!

Buy Reflection on iTunes!

     First of all, yes Reflection is a real album and you should buy it on iTunes. Secondly, I couldn't come up with a more clever post title. I digress.
     In the beginning of this class, I had no idea what to expect. This is my first time going through a real job process, and it was a little intimidating at first. Before this class, or even this job, I had no idea how SSS worked since I am not a member myself and don't really recall hearing about it my freshman year- the main reason I applied was because I knew I wanted to help students like me: first year, first gen, confused students. After going through this class (which, honestly it went by so quickly!), I now understand more about my role and responsibilities as a peer mentor, as well as the program in general. At the start, I was concerned about the fine line of acting as a parent or counselor to the students, but now I know where the line is and to make boundaries right from the start. I am definitely more confident in my abilities to be a peer mentor after having learned all we have in these last 8 weeks.
     For fall training, I would just like to know more specifics about how it is all going to work. Like I said, this is my first real job, and considering it isn't like most, I am unsure about when everything is going to happen. As far as topics go, I feel comfortable in building raport and mostly comfortable being a resource to the students. Something I would like to go more in depth about is the structure of the one-on-one meetings, because I know we went through a couple of mock ones, but would like more of a sense of how they go.
     Although I was not a fan of how late the class was held, I learned a lot in the past 8 weeks that will no doubt be carried with me to the real thing. I am nervous about being a good enough role model and peer mentor, but know that once the times comes I can only do the best I can and offer all I can to help the students have a successful future at NAU and in life.

We got this!

Through this class I have learned what an emotionally challenging job this is going to be because we will all be working with struggling students that rely on us for guidance and encouragement. As an SSS participant myself I can personally attest to the benefits of this program and feel that as a peer mentor I will be contributing to the success of a small chunk of students that are willing to fight so they don't just become another statistic. Over these past 8 weeks I have become more knowledgeable about communication and encouraging students to open up about problems they may be experiencing. As a very personal person I can understand the struggle that some of my students may go through as they try to open up about their problems or issues. However, I feel that these past 8 weeks I have become a more open person myself and I find myself more comfortable with interactions between myself and others. I have left this class feeling more confident and open which will allow me to enter the upcoming semester with a strong head on my shoulders.

This fall I hope to gain more experience through the August training in a few areas including a more refined idea of what we should be accomplishing with each meeting. For example, are we supposed to just be there for support or is there some sort of idea or message we should be conveying within each meeting? Also, I'd like to become more comfortable interacting in front of a group because that will be something we do every two weeks with our group of students and while I know I will become more comfortable with them over time, I just want to feel more confidence in my own presentations.

Lastly, I am so excited to get to experience this new endeavor with the great people I have met in this class! I think we have a strong set of mentors that will really be able to work together to improve the SSS program even more than imagined!

6-Reflection

I can't believe how fast the semester was...even smaller for our class! Through this training class I have learned so many new skills. They will be great for me to use as a mentor, but also in everyday life. The skills I have developed over the semester have made me confident that I will be a good mentor and friend to my mentees. I have learned to listen to understand, instead of respond. I've learned great presentation skills. The most interesting part was learning of all the resources NAU has to offer students. Without this course, I wouldn't have known about most of these resources.

For fall training, I would really like to revisit how to conduct a meeting. What does it look like? Maybe examples instead of practicing? We may have practiced in groups, but it will be a completely different atmosphere when you're conducting a meeting alone. I feel like I would be an "expert" in communication. I feel very comfortable speaking with others, so one on one meetings will (hopefully) come easy to me. I would really love to see the SSS Peer Mentors to become closer as a group. I feel as though it would make us closer as a community.

I suppose as a conclusion, I took a lot away from this training course. I've met some of the most incredible people, and I cant wait to call them my coworkers! I also am thrilled to see how far I will develop in the continuing semesters. If just the training course has taught me this much, I cant wait to see how much I can learn from my mentees.

6- Here's to a new beginning!!!

When I first went into job training, I was nervous and scared out of my mind about what we were going to do and cover. I didn't think I would be a good Peer Mentor and doubted myself a lot because I was not that confident in myself as a leader. I feel a lot better now that training is almost over and we have covered a lot over the course of this semester. The activity that helped reassure me the most about this job was when we got into pairs and set up a fake one on one meeting and took turns being the mentor or mentee. If we hadn't done that activity a lot in that class , then I wouldn't have felt prepared and more confident in myself. I have learned a lot through this training and learned a lot about patience and working in a group effectively. I am still nervous about when I actually lead a group meeting with my actual students but I feel more prepared than before. I would like to do more practice one on one meetings and discuss what we will be teaching the students more. I would also like to go over the Pass form more and get to know the other Peer Mentors better.

6- I came in like a wrecking ball

Celena Wallace

      Coming into this class, I didn't really know what to expect. Thus far, I've learned a lot from previous peer mentors and activities done in class. One activity we did that stood out to me was where we were involved in a case with a wife being sick and being put in the police officer's point of view and the husbands. I thought that was really effective. It taught me to be open minded.
     I also learned about setting boundaries and how important that is. As a peer mentor, I do not want to be a parent, a best friend, or a teacher. I want to be a resource, role model and listener. This class has helped me learn more about the role as a peer mentor and myself as an individual and my style of assisting future students. I definitely feel more comfortable going into next year.
    For our fall training, I think it would be cool to get to know each other more so we know who to go to among our peers when we have questions. I'd like to go more in depth about the pass form and completing it.

Me, Myself, and How I've Grown

These past several weeks have been extremely hectic. It is really hard to attend this class for two different mentoring groups. However, I wouldn't have it any other way. I know hoe rewarding this job is and how much we can help students in sticking to the goal of obtaining a college degree, and hopefully obtaining that college degree here at NAU.

I would say I am more comfortable going into peer mentoring. I am definitely at a better place than this time last year. I remember getting to know my students names for the first time and unnerving it was to meet them. Then having to adjust to another school year and helping these students and get acquainted with all your coworkers, it was scary. That's how I felt at this time last year. Now, going into year two of mentoring, I am excited! I am ready for all those things I once found scary and unnerving. I now know how I can improve my meetings and better the whole process.

On the topic for our fall training, I want to see some team building. That is what I think I want to see the most. I cannot think of any topics that I want to know more about or that we didn't cover. I cannot even think of what I would consider myself an expert in. I am probably not thinking too much about. I just want our training to be useful and informative. That is what I look for in a training, and if we can make it entertaining that would be good too.

6- Reflection

Since the beginning of training I have definitely gained confidence about my ability to mentor students. At the beginning, I was worried that I will not be a good mentor and that I will say the wrong things to them. Listening to all the past mentors share their experiences has allowed me to reshape my mindset to realize that I don't know all the answers and I'm not expected to. I can only assist the student by giving them resources and guidance and not by telling them what they need to do. I am still concerned about maintaining a solid relationship with my mentees because school is my first priority and I want to make sure I can balance enough time for my students with a heavy course load.
For the fall training, I would like to know more about the essential resources that are the most helpful to incoming freshmen. I would also like to explore the campus and learn more about where these resources are and just get to know more about all that NAU has to offer. Being a science major, I spend all my time on north campus and I would like to explore the other buildings as well. I'm sure that many of my mentees will be undeclared majors and it would be useful to them if I was familiar with many majors not just my particular major.

6- Hooray we are almost done!!

Throughout the past 8 weeks, it surely has taught me a lot and I have improved on how to expect the unexpected. Also how to be able to talk to my future mentee's and what they will expect from me in return. I do feel more comfortable going in to the next year and excited to meet even more new people and be able to help them out. I feel comfortable because of all the exercises we did throughout the 8 week course. It showed me what I would need to work on and how to really see the others persons point of view.

Some things I would like to see happen in the Fall training is learning how to fill out the papers when meeting with our mentee's and learn what exactly is suppose to be on the paper. Learning how to make a conversation with my mentee's may be challenging or simple depending on the person and how comfortable one individual is willing to share. Another thing is maybe when doing the one on one how to get one individual to open up and allowing me as their mentor to help guide them in the right direction.

Time is flyin' by

Wow, I honestly can't believe we are at the end of the semester and we have our last class this thursday. It feels like we just had our interviews the other day! Looking back on the topics we have discussed during class, I feel like I have a good understanding of the fine line between being a mentor and being a friend, and how we can establish our own boundaries and expectation with our mentee's. I really like how we talked about this topic a lot because I feel like it is really important to understand so we can have a good working environment and relationship with our mentee's. For the fall semester, I would like to see more about how to structure each individual and group meeting. Should we be discussing new topics each meeting? How often should we bring up past topics? What tools or supplies do we need to have in preparation of each individual or group meeting? Also, I would like to know more about how and when mentee's will be assigned to us. Lastly, I know we will be doing online training over the summer but I would like to know more about what that consists of and if we will cover it again over fall training.

I can't wait to officially start the job in the fall and it has been a great time training with everyone :)

6- Reflection

We are almost to the end!

For our last prompt, we want you to reflect on where you were at the beginning of class to where you are now. This includes what things you are most concerned about in your role and if they have changed. Do you feel more comfortable going into next year? If so, why? 

For our Fall training, what would you like to see happen? What topics do you want to go over then that we didn't cover in the class, what do you feel like you are an expert in, and which topic did we already go over that you would like to go more in depth in?

This prompt is meant to be a reflection, so we want to know how you've developed and grown in these past 8 weeks. We'd like you to answer our questions above, but also add whatever else you think would be helpful for us to know.

Privileges You May Not Recognize

First, I want to say that I had a hard time finding an article I could really write about. I could not find something that I really needed to say something about, which I found frustrating because there is a high need for people to recognize different privileges that exist in several facets of life. Then I came across a variety lists, lists that describe different privileges. The idea being if you identify with one of these descriptors you will or might benefit from the listed items. These lists also consist of items that you may not think of, in general, when discussing privilege or basic rights.

You might find some of these lists offensive and some include swear words. Please be warned when reading.

• http://itspronouncedmetrosexual.com/2012/01/29-examples-of-heterosexual-privilege/
• http://everydayfeminism.com/2014/09/examples-western-privilege/
• http://www.buzzfeed.com/michaelblackmon/17-harrowing-examples-of-white-privilege-9hu9#.rpl644rlJ

Now my comments on the article provided in the prompt. I feel like my lists that I found this support that. The way the laws are built for commuters on or in vehicles apply to all, but some laws just benefit one over the other much more. Same with the video, some students benefitted from their seats in the classroom more than other students. I think using these two prove the point that I was making with the above lists. There are different types of privilege and we need to be aware of this as we go into this mentoring job next year.

5- The subject we should avoid

       Privilege is a really sensitive topic. When people talk about privilege there is a lot of focus on race, even in the article and video. Race isn't the only aspect, there is also gender, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, hometown/region etc. The basket video covered the broader aspects of privilege and it did it in a very non biased way. The other one focused a lot on the race part and yes white privilege is really, but it shouldn't be the only aspect that gets talked about. I am a white, wiccan, pansexual, lower middle class, first gen female from a single parent household with the primary care taker my mother (She has been for longer than I can remember). For years I have been belittled and talked down on for my sexual orientation, even by the LGBTQ+ community that doesn't always recognize my existence (I'm the mythical unicorn in the world of sexual orientation). I have been called a devil worshiper (which I don't believe in), treated like I was a bad person and told I was going to hell (I also don't believe in) because of my religion. Yes, I don't believe in some of the things I was told, but it still makes you feel aweful being told that constantly from a younger age. In society in general I get the short end of the stick for being born female. Yes, I have been given good opportunities in life because I'm white but I have had several opportunities taken away because of other aspects about me.

      Recently Indiana proposed a bill called the "Religous freedom Act" which allows businesses to deny service to people based on their religious beliefs. That means if you do not follow the same religion, do not live a heterosexual "lifestyle", have piercings or tattoos or have any other thing that a religion might think is wrong, you can be denied service or a job. You basically need to be a conservative christian male to never be discriminated against with this bill.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/03/26/395583706/indianas-governor-signs-religious-freedom-bill

Privilege in Media-GLAAD SRI 2015

      So what is the GLAAD SRI 2015? I believe their website answers it best.

      http://www.glaad.org/sri/2015

       "The GLAAD Studio Responsibility Index (SRI) maps the quantity, quality and diversity of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in films released by seven major motion picture studios during the 2014 calendar year." (Sarah Kate Ellis)

       The results of this index, are a perfect example of privilege within the media, because the raw data indicates an enormous imbalance in representation of LGBT groups in major motion-picture releases last year. According to the index, of 114 major films in 2014, only 20 of them represent LGBT groups--that's less than one in five. In addition, ten of those 20 films gave LGBT characters less than five minutes of screen time. While the author of the results notes that this is an improvement from 2013, major movie studios are still way behind the times in terms of LGBT representation.

       Being a visual communication major, I've been studying and analyzing a fair amount of communication theory. A theorist by the name of George Gerbner heavily researched the systematic cultivation of perceived social norms by major corporations in the media, culminating in what he calls Cultivation Theory. He states that television has become modern society's storyteller. Now, to understand the significance of this statement, we must first understand the significance of storytellers throughout history.
       
       In an anthropological context, before any given culture develops a writing system, oral tradition and storytelling are often the primary means of preserving history and cultural ideas. These orally transmitted stories would shape the commonly accepted conventions within a specific culture, influencing the world-views of the individuals included within the population. As writing systems emerge and literacy increases, this storytelling responsibility shifts to the scribes and and authors within the culture. Today, according to Gerbner, mainstream media controls peoples' perception of social norms, particularly those individuals that spend a lot of time watching TV.

      As the primary storyteller within our culture, I believe it is the media's responsibility to promote diversity, avioid stereotypes, and portray realistic ideas about minority groups, particularly ideas surrounding LGBT groups. As we see from the 2015 GLAAD report, they have a long way to go.

5- Too Little Too Late

Celena Wallace


First, I apologize for not getting my blog in soon.
Second, my blog comes from the article listed below:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/22/nyregion/at-new-york-private-schools-challenging-white-privilege-from-the-inside.html?_r=0

           I thought both the video and article were interesting. I loved the illustration the teacher used to challenge students on the topic privilege.
           Basically, this article is discussing a workshop that took place in Manhattan Elite schools. The workshop involved identity, diversity, and privilege. One thing that really stood out to me while reading this article was the the word privilege has a negative connotation. I must agree.
            In today's society, I feel like the majority of growing teenagers and young adults have faced some type of adversity or problem at home. They could come from a family that has divorced parents, lack financial stability, along with many other possibilities. Because the majority come from a tougher background, the minority are people whose lives have yet to have influential struggles. However, is this really a bad thing?
            For me, no. Younger adults who have gone through challenging situations had the opportunity to mature and become problem solvers early in the game (not saying privileged people are not mature or have the ability to problem solve). These tough situations give many valuable experience. Anyone who comes from what is termed "a privileged" background should not be looked down upon because they haven't gone through what many others have. They are fortunate. However, just because they are fortunate does not mean people considered "unprivileged" are unfortunate. We all have things to be thankful for whether it be financial stability, a family, or just being alive.