Blog # 11 The Last Blog!

Hmm...I'm a little disappointed that this going to be our last blog. Anyways moving along my favorite genre I have used this semester would be the Journals. Not because it was a simple class assignment but rather because I could write about anything that may be on topic and it still would be correct. The same could be said about our blogs, however, unlike in the blogs my journals are handwriting and though my handwriting may be super illegible to the point it looks like old cursive that's the way I feel most comfortable writing. 

As for my least favorite genre that position would go to the ethnography. This is due to the fact that is a research paper. From my experience on writing research papers I have learned that most of the writing will not be my own. Although, seeing how we been writing in genres not typical of my own past experience from community college maybe it won't be same.

Just like the professor mentioned not all resumes are written the same. My first resume that I ever wrote was for a high school assignment. Not much was on it no job experience or enough skills to fill a full page. Later on during my days at community college I decided to update my resume and I got to say, it looks very professional compared to my old one. I spent two days in the writing center learning the ins and outs of resume in order to apply for the job I have today.

Well that's it for now. I'm going to the optional conference on Friday to see if my resume needs anymore revision which will be useful in the future.   

blog# 10 Ethongraphy

Okay time to write. Now what to write about? Although I feel like I been using my job as an example for other blogs in the past I'll most likely write my ethnography on the YMCA Peninsula branch where I work. The reason I am interested in researching about this discourse community is not just because I work there and it makes it easier to write about. But also since I barely started little over a year ago I want to further research why this community continues to be great for it does and how it can benefit me in my career in becoming a teacher.

So far I know that my job takes a lot of creativity apart from the specific lexis, procedures that have to followed, and methods of communications we use with one another. Also, the YMCA in general has been for a very long time. I am positive that everyone has heard the song YMCA at one point  in their lives which makes that much more recognize by its surrounding culture.

Moving along. I'll probably want to research further as to why the YMCA has existed since the mid 1800s. What does it do to keep it being the helpful, enjoyable, and caring non-profit organisations that its recognized to be?

In terms of communicative practices that are acquired, the Y trains their employees with training sessions once a month on the in and outs of what happening, what we should be doing and how can we make it better besides that there is also paperwork/manuals that they gives us to keep as reference.

I hope I answered that question correctly. Now moving on!

What does it cost to be a member of this community? For the most part it takes a lot of patience to work in this job. I am not saying that everyday is a bad day but one has to be flexible and creative if they wish to continue on further in this type of work. But once you get the hand of it becomes a lot easier members/employees really get into the feel that its fun to stay at the YMCA. 

And finally I'll most likely interview the person I consider is my boss. I'm not talking about my supervisor but instead the Camp & Youth Development Director at my YMCA and ask questions like why have they worked at the Y for so long.

All in all, I feel like I'll gonna write this paper more like a brochure on what makes up the YMCA than an actually ethnography. Hope everything goes well I'm sure we'll take further clarification on what we need to write about. 

Blog post #9

What an interesting read. In the article "Identity, Authority, and Learning to Write in New Workplaces" by  Elizabeth Wardle's describes the about person's identity, authority, and the ways they learned how to adapt when entering a new unfamiliar workplace. She gives the example of a computer support specialist named Alan and his experience when he started his job right after grad school all the way leading up to his resignation. 

In the case of Alan, he refused to adopt or change his way of thinking to suit the needs of his new workplace. People have to be flexible and become adjusted to new conditions if they wish to move ahead in life. As the old saying goes "life isn't fair", maybe that because they haven't to tried to change to their benefit. 

Moving along, I currently major in Social Studies emphasis on teaching meaning that one day I wish to become a teacher specifically for high school. So my job that I have now which is working for the YMCA serve as experience for when I actually have to give homework instead of helping solve it. However, when I first started out I realized that I had to change my way thinking when helping kids in general. When helping kids with their homework you can't expect them to know what it means from what their teachers taught them and that's where I struggled. Although it may seemed to me to their homework to them it was like starting on a test with no knowledge on the subject. So in that sense not only did I had to change my thinking on how to teach but also better adapt to the mentality a child has at their age because I expect a third grader to understand algebra while their still learning their multiplications. 

If you work with kids or any age group younger than yourself than you'll know that it takes not only  a great deal patience but also the flexibility to adapt to the ever changing circumstances that younger kids can come up with. For example, for me is having five students asking you the same question while still being polite and patient with each and every one of them. Do I like my job?Yes, everyday there is something new to learn and if I'm incapable to figure out how to handle it then that means I have to change my way of thinking or ask someone else for help in order to solve the problem that is placed in front of me. That's what it means to me to adapt in order to progress in ones workplace.

  

Blog# 8

In the Article Learning to Serve: The Language and Literacy of Food Service Workers by Tony Mirabelli, Economist Peter Drucker argues that “interactive service workers lack the necessity education to beknowledgeable workers". He continues on by saying that interactive services lack the “problem identifying, problem solving, and other high level abilities to work in other occupations.” To some degree I would agree that jobs in the service industry doesn't require much education as would other jobs, however, that does not dismiss the fact that working in such environment requires a set of skills unbeknownst to the rest of the community. 

Although i have never work as waiter I did one time worked at retail store for Guess during a Black Friday weekend. And let me tell you it was not easy. For one it was during  on Black Friday and two it was my first time working in retail. During that time I found out that it takes more than just folding clothing and helping customers find that extra pair of pants their looking for. It takes patience. Staying in control in the face of danger and in this case an angry customer. Being flexible to one's changing environment and adapting to a situation in order to over come it. 

People expect service workers to know what their doing which technically is the same for every other job. If a customer comes up to you and asks you a question and you can't response with a good answer then you are perceived as unknowable. In my case because i was new to the industry, i experienced this frequently. This type of incident only flues the stereotypical notion that servers as Peter Drucker says are "mindless". 

Being a server really challenges a persons memorizing and multitasking skills. And to say that it requires a ninth grade education level is really underestimates the require skill it takes to be a successful server. Servers experience what the everyday person would like to avoid and that is talking/serving people when their either mad or happy while still providing an excellent service.

     

Blog # 7 Mushfaking

I'm sure many of us has had to mushfake at one or another. Mushfaking, in this contexts, basically means to fake it until we make it. We are not born with a set of skills necessary to overcome this ever evolving community. We have to learn and adapt to our surrounding if we wish to survive. This description may seem a bit exaggerated but its true.

If you have read one of by previous blog post before then  you would know that I work for a YMCA in the county of San Diego. But when started working there it wasn't as easy as how my employer made it seem.

Little over a year ago I started working at the YMCA. Me, coming from the south bay I had no idea what to expect from the kids that I was going to take care of. Moving along, I was place a school close to Ocean Beach where the majority of the students spoke English. This was my surprise because I can speak English and Spanish fluently but to come into a community that only speaks only one was unexpected. So the entire time I was there I only spoke English and nothing more which was a big culture chock from my end and also to my coworkers who couldn't speak the language as well. Now that was my first change to my identity the next was a lot harder to overcome.

Before even starting working, my supervisor at the time asked me what grade I wanted to take care of. In my mind, I had no idea what grade was better all I asked is to be not placed with a kindergarten group for I had no experience whats soever in that age group because most my experience came from coaching high school students. But as luck would have it, I ended up in the kindergarten group anyways, and if you know kids of ages 5 and 6 how they can be then this next piece will be refresher of that.

In a total of about 45 kindergartners, three staff members including myself we had to learn and adapt to not only take care of these kids but also getting them to have fun while at the same time teaching them how to act  by respecting, taking responsibility, and being honest toward one another. And me coming from coaching high school students to taking care of kinders was a major game changer. I had to not learn to speak at a tone that a child will but also interact and plan games for the kids that was suitable for their age because I couldn't just ask a kinder to have fun and listen to rules at the same time. Kinders don't know how to act among other people besides their parents. So it was the job of not only the teachers to show them how to act in school but also us, their YMCA, that had the duty to teach these beginners right from wrong when their parents aren't their. Sure I had that one kid that didn't want to cooperate but with enough one on one conversations and at times talking to their parents about their kids' dilemma change was made for the better.

And though I had a hard time adjusting (mushfaking), I eventually got the hang of it to the point kids would call me their favorite staff. That in itself was a great accomplishment in my journey to redefine myself to better the work I was doing.

Getting up to this point in my academic career at San Diego State wasn't just a straight forward process that most students begin right after high school, but instead that of the struggles of having been denied and eventually being accepted to the place I was suppose to be "guaranteed to enter".

During my senior of high school much of my attention was set accomplishing my goal of enrolling into San Diego State right after high school. I really believed this achievable considering the fact that I was in Compact For Success. As most of us may remember Compact for Success is said to guarantee admission to SDSU if you are able to fulfill their requirements. Even though I was able to fulfill said requirements when the time came in March the results were unexpected. Denied and sadden of what had happen my academic life would then have to continue on starting at community more specifically SouthWestern College. 

Although not what was expected, I found that going to community college wasn't a waste of time but instead a stepping to further achieve my goal of enrolling into SDSU. During my stay at SouthWestern College I had to give up much of what I was most know for. My main priority was education I made it clear to my family and friends (especially those that did go to a university) that I will not falter or refrain myself for what I have worked so hard for. So say if there was event that everyone was going but it was a school night, I would reluctantly had to decline and stayed home studying. As Ann Johns mentions in a section of her article called "The Cost of Affiliation" students have to make considerable sacrifices if they wish to succeed in school. Many of my colleagues chose a different path to follow as result of not achieving such commitment. As for myself, though it took four years of taking classes, going through some hardships, and being denied by universities three times. I was finally able transfer into San Diego State University. 

Being the first member of my family to enroll into a university and coming from a Hispanic background was a great achievement. However, that still doesn't mean that struggles are far from 

over.  

Managing to go to school, going to work, and being a older brother and now uncle will be my new challenge. So far I seem to be doing a good job of achieving such things like taking my little sister to school every morning, helping kids with school (I work at a YMCA), and learning how to take care a newborn while their parents are not around. My academics are of course my main priority for not only did I wish to be the first in family to go to college but also the first to graduate from it. 

When you gain something your are bound to lose something else in return. And how we decide is dependent on our priorities. 

Though more of a short autobiography than our normal blogs, I hope you enjoyed this reading.

Blog #5 - Discourse Community

It took me a while to start writing this blog. Besides having my laptop fall off my bed and almost breaking. I had to reread a couple paragraphs on Swales lecture and look over the professors' power points to get a clear understanding before starting it.

Anyway back on topic. A discourse community from my understanding is a selective group of people who have adopted their own language which they use to communicate with other members and to better achieve their common goals. The matter in which language is used is dependent on the culture that adopts it. 

John Swales, in his article "The Concept of Discourse Community", characterizes a discourse community as having six unique traits:

1. A discourse community has a broadly agreed set of common public goals.
2. A discourse community has mechanisms of intercommunication among its members.
3. A discourse community uses its participatory mechanisms primarily to provide information and feedback.
4. A discourse community utilizes and hence possesses one or more genres in the communicative furtherance of its aims.
5. In addition to owning genres, a discourse community has acquired some specific lexis.
6. A discourse community has a threshold level of members with a suitable degree of relevant content and discoursal expertise. 

Knowing this, a group that could qualify as a discourse community would be the YMCA which I work for. First, in the case of common goals,  behind every staff members name badge in San Diego the following is written "The YMCA of San Diego County is dedicated to improving the quality of human life and to helping all people realize their fullest potential as children of God through development of the spirit, mind and body". Even though not everyone knows this by heart, we still however, fulfill this goal each and every day. Second, using mechanisms of intercommunication among our members would be staff meetings which we have regularly and the manual. Third, using the internet is one way we provide information  and in terms of feedback having a child leave with them saying that they had a great day at the Y is the best feedback we can get knowing that we did a good job. Forth, in terms of genres, the YMCA uses many from signing songs in order to crave grabbing kids attention to the tone of your voice when speaking to a certain type of member. Fifth, can referred to names of processes we use to manage certain types of people. For example, if we're meeting someone new we use the following process that's called W.E.S.T.I. ; warm smile, eye contact, shake their hand, tell them how you feel, and introduce them to someone else. And finally for the people that fall within the this discourse communities. Our threshold of member is without end from the staff members, to people have memberships, and to kids that visited once but still remember being at the Y. The YMCA was founded more than a hundred years ago and its still moving strong because there is always a Y in every family. 

The YMCA, in general, qualifies as a discourse community from what Swales defines one as. 

Okay then I'm done. Hope I did good job on this. All in all, see you all in class.