i.e., An Intercultural Educational Resource Network

Offline Time

2008-04-26T13:04:00.000-07:00

Hello again. Sorry to have disappeared from this online reality, but I hope to refresh myself on new blogging tools and share more information and knowledge about my fields of interest again.

Meanwhile, almost all of the links below should still work, and they'll take you to useful ideas.....feel free to enjoy, and email me with more, if you like......ciao, ~Kathi

Another Higher Ed Site

2006-03-29T17:32:00.000-08:00

This seems in a class by itself in the scope of resources---check it out!

Inside Higher Ed :: Academic AWOL

Blog Search: multicultural diversity

2006-03-28T18:26:00.000-08:00

Blog Search: multicultural diversity

...you can search for anything on blogs in a variety of ways...

Technorati Search: intercultural communication in Kathi Williams's Favorites

2006-03-28T16:38:00.000-08:00

Technorati Search: intercultural communication in Kathi Williams's Favorites

Always interesting, at least to me! Y Usted?

BLOGGING ABOUT BLOGGING

2006-03-25T12:07:00.000-08:00

I THINK THESE CAN BE USED

FOR CRITICAL THINKING DEVELOPMENT....

AND MIGHT BE A GREAT ONLINE TOOL TO MENTOR INTERNATIONAL AND MULTICULTURAL COLLEGE STUDENTS.

WHO'D LIKE TO CHAT ABOUT THAT?

http://blogher.org/node/2653

MORE INTERCULTURAL WEBSITES AND BLOGS

2006-03-23T19:05:00.000-08:00

THE INTERNET IS JUST MARVELOUS....N'EST PAS?

intermundo: intercultural communication

PLEASE SUGGEST SOME OTHERS YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IN MY BLOG....

REREADING YOUR MOST INFLUENTIAL BOOKS

2006-03-22T16:49:00.000-08:00

WELL, NOW I THINK I'LL TRY A BOOK REVIEW, OF SORTS

A book which highly influenced me, back in the otherwise dark ages of teacher training, was Neil Postman and Charles Weingartner's Teaching as a Subversive Activity, 1969. Have you read it? The provocative title belies some important thoughts on how to make education relevant for the real world.

My well-worn Delta paperback notes that was some 37 years ago. For those circa the era, the USA put a man on the moon that July (where were you?), and the summer was full of anti-war protests and riots.

Long before the Internet, and probably introduced to me by a graduate professor, the book would have to be one of my Top Ten Rec's for teaching, training, facilitating intercultural communication principles.

It reminds me of a recent text which I've mentioned earlier in this blog.

Lives On the Boundary:The Struggles and Achievements of America's Underprepared by Mike Rose, published twenty years later in 1889, is also a very relevant text in my opinion, moving from an autobiographical memoir of a second language speaker to a treatisewho at the time of publishing was the Director of the Writing Lab at UCLA.

Have you read them? I'd love to discuss. What do you think of this quotation as an empowering thought for educators and trainers?

From Postman and Weingartner, page 23:

"Here is the point. Once you have learned how to ask questions--relevant and appropriate and substantial questions--you have learned how to learn and no one can keep you from learning whatever you want or need to know."

But they go on to remark how few classrooms or learning experiences actually model this, and truly teach today's students how to think critically.

For those to whom college may be a strange and intimidating culture, those of us using a multiplicity of teaching styles and multicultural approaches will be more inviting....come to the potluck, not just the table I've set, as Ed reminded some of us in a workshop together recently!

MONDAY MUSINGS FOR YOU

2006-03-20T14:28:00.000-08:00

THESE ARE THE WEBSITES OF A FEW OF THE BOOKS

I RECENTLY SHARED WITH SOME COLLEAGUES

http://diversityconsciousness.com/ I'm about to see what's here, too.... the book is very useful!

http://www.allbookstores.com/book/0767407105/Intercultural_Communication_In_Contexts.html

This one I also referenced in our first hour. (just found this ref. via Google, not my particular rec. It's a very useful text for ideas and contexts.)

http://www.studycircles.org/en/index.aspx This looks like a very fruitful idea to build diverse communities!

Cheers, ~Kathi

ANOTHER LINK TO CONSIDER FOR INCLUSIVE APPROACHES

2006-03-19T16:07:00.001-08:00

A VERY USEFUL SITE FOR INTERCULTURAL SELF-REFLECTION

http://depts.washington.edu/cidrweb/inclusive/

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF AN IDEA IN HERE?

INTERCULTURAL AND MULTICULTURAL

2006-03-19T16:07:00.000-08:00

THESE MAY BE USEFUL FOR SOME MORE THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL IDEAS ON INTERCULTURAL LEARNING

http://www.diversityweb.org/digest/

http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/papers.html

http://jwilson.coe.uga.edu/DEPT/Multicultural/MEBib94.html (This is the one on multicultural math topics!)

http://dir.yahoo.com/Society_and_Culture/issues_and_causes/multiculturalism Lots to consider here!

Let us know what you think! ~KWW

WEEKEND MUSINGS

2006-03-11T13:07:00.000-08:00

CONSIDERING SOME BASIC TERMS

These need to be sourced; (found in an earlier era of notes)....albeit, I think they're interesting definitions to remind us what we're talking about when we wade into diversity topics, or personal discussions with those both similar and quite different from ourselves.

Do you have some similar and/or different terms? How could you use them as cultural discovery tools?

BELIEF= A conviction that something is true or exists. Some are central to a culture or subcultural group, and some are more peripheral. Our central belief systems are fixed in our early childhood (consider turbulent vs. nourishing environments), and are very hard to change. Beliefs may be consciously or unconsciously internalized, and in conflict when people are exposed to wider and wider environments, i.e., home to school to work to relationships to......
VALUES= These are also embedded in us, and have a "shouldness" about them. They express desired states of what's permitted or forbidden, as in taboos. We may be unaware of their presence until we encounter difference in cognitive, affective and behavioral realms as we interact with others, personally or professionally.
ATTITUDES = These are composites of beliefs and an evaluation of them. We have attitudes about specific objects, people, groups or ideas. Our attitudes reflect our values and express our approach or avoidance. These are held dynamically, are variable, and subject to influences as we communicate with the world. Significant emotional events could change long-held attitudes. (This could be educational, or devastating for individuals and groups. Consider real world events, media influences, education levels, generational influences, work implications, etc.)
ASSUMPTIONS= These lie outside our normal awareness. They're a special type of belief or value that requires no proof within one's own culture. Kluckhohn's value orientations are a useful comparison to understand and work into discussions, or for self-reflection. (Ask for reference.)

Thanks very much for caring to comment, recommend a website or blog, to share with everyone along these lines!

OK, HOW'S ABOUT SOME FAVORITE BOOK TITLES?

2006-03-09T18:15:00.000-08:00

SOME INFLUENTIAL AUTHORS

These are some of my guiding lights. From critical pedagogy to useful classroom and counselor's office use, they are thought-provoking and can give you many ideas about education. Would love to read about some of yours......

Teaching As A Subversive Activity, by Neil Postman and Charles Weingartner, 1969, A Delta Book (Dell Publishing Company), New York. One of the old classics.....
Lives on the Boundary: The Struggles and Achievements of America's Underprepared, by Mike Rose, 1989, The Free Press (A Division of Macmillan, Inc.), New York. Very interesting & powerful! Rose was running a Writing Lab at ULCA at the time. He describes his own cultural evolution coming out West.
Multiethnic Education: Theory and Practice, second edition, by James A. Banks, 1988, Allyn and Bacon, Inc. Boston. Excellent scholarly work.
The Tao of Leadership, by John Heider, 1985 Humanics New Age, Atlanta. Tao statements inclined to wisdom for gentle leaders. Beautiful graphics, too.
The Managing Diversity Survival Guide: A Complete Collection of Checklists, Activities, and Tips, by Lee Gardenswartz and Anita Rowe, 1994, Irwin Professional Publishing, Chicaco. Chock full o' resource ideas and how-to's.
Proverbios de todo el mundo by Axel Scheffer, 1997, Maxmillan, Editiones Destino, S.A. Barcelona. Fun and colorful.
Experiential Activities for Intercultural Learning, Vol.1, H. Ned Seelye, Editor, 1996, Intercultural Press, Inc. Yarmouth, Maine. One of many such availaible.

I hope these give you a context for some of my interests, and I'd like to share yours regarding education in a multicultural world where technology itself is transforming our communications as much as our experiences. Comment below!

SOME INSIGHTFUL RESOURCES FOR EDUCATORS

2006-03-09T16:37:00.000-08:00

THESE ARTICLES ARE INTERESTING TO ME: CHECK 'EM OUT!

http://www2.nea.org/he/tanda.html About connecting with modern college students, chalk dust and time, and a whole special focus on higher ed and the national security state.
http://realworldprofessionaldevelopment.blogspot.com/ Here's an interesting blog. (I'm just learning about them on the Internet--amazing!)
http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/ Just what the URL suggests.
http://www.ccsf.edu/Services/Multicultural_Infusion_Project/index.htm An impressive example of a longitudinal approach and commitment that is working. Kudos to the coordinators & participants!

Watch for updates, and feel free to add yours of an interesting nature or usefulness.

WEAVING AROUND THE WEB

2006-03-08T19:58:00.000-08:00

My interests are diverse, and I love to follow promising links that are empowering and useful.

These are on a wide range of topics. Please feel free to add a comment or point in another direction if you'd like to e-converse and exchange URLS rapidly.

Right now, it's technologically easier for me to share them quickly via this post, rather than mastering the intricacies of HTML on Geocities. Hmmmm....

WHAT'S YOUR RESPONSE TO THESE, POR FAVOR?

SOME THOUGHTFUL QUOTATIONS

2006-03-08T15:06:00.000-08:00

I LIKE THESE

"Do battle against prejudice and discrimination wherever you find it." (? source)
"We usually don't look, we overlook." -Alan Watts
~The question asked, "Are you a tourist, or a pilgrim?" from The Art Of Pilgrimage by Phil Cousineau

One of your favorites? Please add for everyone, si se puede (if it is possible, if you would).

THEORY INTO PRACTICAL RESOURCES

2006-03-08T12:30:00.000-08:00

(Why I Love This Field and the Tools Anyone Can Develop)

The very pragmatic field of intercultural communication began to develop from disparate disciplines as early as the late 1950's, informing very diverse arenas, such as international education, business, study abroad, Peace Corps training, and the Navy's race relations, among other areas.

Its emphasis for trainers and facilitators on creating atmospheres and environments conducive to facilitating change has always been on what works well, informed by experiential education and a well-researched body of knowledge which is broadly accessible (see website WAVELENGTHS inside my complete profile above.)

I have had the great honor, and years of fun and learning, working with and attending workshops of the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication. From 1976 to 1986, some of the core staff and repeating participants were part of the prior Stanford Institute for Intercultural Communication, sponsored by Cliff Clarke and the late King Ming Young through the School of Education. ( Muchas Gracias a two of my earliest professional mentors.)

As an alumni of Stanford myself, it was home-coming and inspiring to go back to the campus for a few summer weeks, as I began a series of multicultural experiences and educational opportunities in a small rural community college further north. When the Institute moved to Oregon, near Portland, I was happy to return to my hometown in the summers for many moons and making dear friendships as well.

Everything I learned was applicable as we invented "Stanford on a Shoestring" back at my college, through consciously paying attention to intercultural theory/practice to create some very successful EOPS "Summer Bridge" programs, as well as international student activities.

Later, with other mentors and colleagues, I was privileged to be part of a many-year EOPS Statewide Student Leadership Program, seeing students grow like lilies with the assistance of diverse mentors, counselors and peer mentors.

The study and application of culture and communication can be further subdivided into culture-general principles, and culture-specific emphases.

For example, a culture-general principle is that folks are often not aware of their own culture around them, because it swirls like a fish all around them daily. Change the water and the fish will react!

A culture-specific emphasis in education and training might review knowledge, understand the values of, and even practice behaviors which would be viewed quite differently by someone from another culture.

For example, many people from Asian and other cultures don't touch the head of another's young child. In Thai culture, it is an insult to show the bottom of one's foot towards another; in Arab and Jewish cultures, pork products are shunned.

Knowing these things, as well as exploring our own cultural roots and influences, can make us all more effective and conscious communicators.

Intercultural communication focuses on individual interactions, and takes into active consideration the varying perceptions, values and behaviors of those communicating. While the terms in these dynamic fields are still fluid, "multicultural education" often includes another component, that of societal power and the influences of "isms" on interactions and the often disparate layers of society.

Both are critical, in my opinion and experiences, to help us all share resources and methods which work to create a more sane and respectful world.

SO, how about:

E-DISCUSSION QUESTION #2, open to everyone reading this:

When did you realize you were a "fish out of water"? (For me, it was probably as I moved from a small monocultural mill town in the Fifties on the Columbia River in Washington state, to a multicultural junior high in Santa Maria, CA).

Cultural shock, surprise, and new discoveries awaited me....how about you? What did you first learn or realize about being different? Do any lessons or "ahaha's" come from those experiences? Feel free to drop a line and share your ideas and resources!

Upcoming: Marvelous Mentors

2006-03-06T17:12:00.000-08:00

Preview for SUGGESTED DISCUSSION TOPIC #1:

Watch for this tribute to, and ideas about, mentors and mentoring....who have been yours?
One of the most fruitful discussion questions I've heard for creating group cohesion asked participants initially to describe the charactertistics of their mentors...the values expressed and the indirect intimacy constructed were an anchor throughout the week of training with gentle and wise George Renwick, one of my mentors...~KWW

Mujeres de Todos Colores

2006-03-06T16:20:00.000-08:00

AN EXAMPLE OF A NETWORKING ACTIVITY

AN ADAPTABLE IDEA: One of the recent activities in our i.e. Resource Network is reviving a group which met bi-monthly, in earlier times, composed of as many diverse and interested service providers as we could gather, called Mujeres de Todos Colores, Women of All Colors. We wanted to be informed and network with one another for the mutual benefit of ourselves and our students/clients/colleagues. It became a sort of cheer-the-cheerleaders group as well as assisting us in our professions and communities.

To track our two-state original region, I created a paper Cultural Grid to plot those interested or skilled in critical areas, such as all levels of education, representatives from law, Behavioral Health, AIDS awareness, ESL and workplace readiness, among others. The other side of the grid noted members of the group by their cultural indentification or chosen interest, i.e., African American, Latino/a, Asian American, Multicultural, Elders, In Transition, Second Careers, Rainbow, etc. Part of our chosen task was to continue to identify women of color and their allies and colleagues to join the network and multiple its resources.

The group began with a weekend retreat, and met in various places of our sparcely- populated area, with an email newsletter for updates and lunch reminders. Meanwhile, we all sought culture-specific resources to add to our common knowledge. As with all of us with multiple hats, our disparate interests made only the most dedicated hang on, but it's time for another go at it, 'eh, comadres?

SO, this is a reminder to those prior members, or new friends, to respond either via my email or here to let me know you'd like to help organizing and meeting again. Before April?

Perhaps anyone reading this would like to join the e-component? And, some might ask, why did we concentrate on women for this group? Well, most of us had that characteristic in common, and liked the rare chance for camaraderie.

Open to discussion for a new e-version, since it will be here! ~KWW