Introductions: Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi everyone, I am writing to introduce myself. I am excited to be your instructor this summer. I have been an educator for over 18 years now. I did my teacher education training at Boston College as a Masters student just like yourself. I was a business major undergrad at the Carrol School of Management and decided to switch tracks in my junior year after my internship at State Street Bank national headquarters in North Quincy. I didn't feel passionate enough about my job in Human Resources. Ironically enough, I wanted more people interaction than the paperwork of HR.  Thus from the advice of my soccer coach and mentor Gary Blodgett and my friends, I decided to graduate early and start my Masters in Education my senior year.

 I student taught in Boston Public School in a bilingual Lao program before moving to California to teach at the International Elementary School where there were 67 different languages spoken in Long Beach. When I moved back to Boston in 2000 I became a literacy specialist at the Devotion Elementary School in Brookline. I also began teaching college in the Asian American Studies program at Umass Boston (i.e., Southeast Asians in America) and BC (i.e., Self Ethnic Identity and the Asian American Experience). In between I worked as a youth organizer for the Coalition of Asian Pacific American Youth, diversity trainer for Anti-defamation League, and education consultant for various non-profits.

This is my third year as a faculty member at UML and I have really been enjoying teaching this class. It is one of my favorite classes to teach! I am excited to learn with and from you this summer. I can't wait to read your introductions as well.

Let the summer learning begin!!
Phitsamay

Blog Instructions!

Welcome to the first posting of my Summer 2013 Teaching Diverse Populations' blog. Each of you will create blogs to post your reflections for this class. 
 

You are responsible for writing journal entries that respond to course readings, classroom activities, and other learning experiences related to the class such as the service learning project with Lowell Community Health Center's Teen Block or the International Institute.  You should view the text as a starting point of conversation and reflective practice. You can make connections to the text by asking yourselves:

1.  How is the text that I am reading connected to what I experienced personally as a student (i.e., in K-12 system and/or college)?

2.  How is the text related to my work as an educator?

3.  Are my experiences similar or different from what I have read?

4.  Does the text remind me of any other literature that I have read in the past?

5.  Is the information challenging or reaffirming my background knowledge?

6.  How is the topic that we are reading and discussing in class connected to the larger community (e.g., in my hometown, U. S. or global community)?

7.  What questions does the text provoke?

Journal entries should not just be a summation of what the text already has stated but an engagement of intellectual exploration. Questions, reflections, and/or points of departure are encouraged. Reflective practice is an integral part of the profession of teaching. I also expect you to read and comment on 2 of your classmates blogs.

I look forward to reading your blogs!  

Cheers, Phitsamay