From: carlee kellams <queencarlee@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: carlee kellams <queencarlee@yahoo.com>
Date: Sun, 12 Nov 2006 12:41:49 -0800 (PST)
To: Heritage <heritage@lists.evergreen.edu>
Subject: [heritage] 4 questions

Carlee Kellams
The BIG Questions
Greetings to my fellow scholars,
I am now able to share my response with you for I just
got a writing program on my new computer. I had
previously written my responses and just did not post
them for all to see. I hope this works.

What brought me to Evergreen and the Heritage program
specifically?
I originally heard about Evergreen at my High School
College fair along with many other colleges. None of
them caught my attention like Evergreen. I was most
impressed with the free thinking vibe I got from the
description as well as the student centered
curriculum. However I was personally and academically
not ready for the commitment of college. I did attend
Spokane Falls Community College for one year; however
after my experance there and in high school I was vary
discouraged with learning institutions in general. I
decided to focus my work on people with Mental
Illness. I worked at Community Mental Health in
Spokane. I started out as the evening receptionist and
quickly worked my way up through various positions and
landed in the multicultural department as the office
manager.
During my time there I worked closely with twelve
multicultural therapists. I developed personal and
professional relationships with all of them. As a
child of a single mother who has devoted her life to
social services I fit right into the chaotic
environment of Community Mental Health and was able to
do some of the same things the clinicians were doing,
even without the degree. I worked in many crisis
situations that allowed me to gain crisis prevention,
crisis intervention and management skills. I became
familiar with the practice and procedures of
diagnosing of clients and also participated in
behavior management. These are just a few of the
clinical skills I learned while I was there.
Because of this real life experience I knew this was
the kind of work I wanted to do.
I eventually decided to move to Seattle because of
the diversity and the opportunities that a larger city
holds. Although Seattle is not the most diverse city I
felt it had a little more to offer then Spokane. I
began working with children with special needs. Many
of them have diagnosis as Asperser’s Syndrome, Autism
Spectrum Disorder and Prader Willi Syndrome. As much
as I love this work I really missed the cultural side
of it, so I sought it on my own. One of my life long
dreams has been to go to Ethiopia. I have many
Ethiopian friends who helped me submerged myself in
the language, food, history and traditions of the
culture.
My dream finally came true when I went to Ethiopia
for two months and fell in love, with the country and
with a wonderful man. I was completely absorbed with
everything about Ethiopia. When it came time to leave
I had a very hard time and I almost did not come back
home. I knew I had to comeback to the states for the
sake of my family and I knew I could not support
myself there. This furthered my love affair with
other cultures. This is part of what led me to
Evergreen. Upon returning to the states I began
working with an amazing family, as a Home Therapist
and Nanny. They have a son with Prader Wolli
Syndrome, which is a rare genetic anomaly. I
participated in a shadow program at a private
preschool. We were there for three years and worked
closely with the two teachers, Barbra Gordon and
Katheleen Mangen. I developed a great friendship with
the two of them and they introduced me to the Heritage
program. Barbra and Kathleen were students in the
program and had spoken so highly of it and the
faculty. I eventually came to a couple of classes to
check things out. I was so amazed that a program like
this even exists.
I knew I could be successful in this challenging and
progressive environment. Although I'm vary nervous
about my own success in school, and I'm really still
trying to wrap my head around the whole process, I
feel truly blessed to have been guided to the people
and the program.

More Big Questions:
I am working towards a PhD in Psychology with a
multicultural focus. I want to know the ins and outs
of Psychology and how cultural significance plays role
in the human psyche. I would like to explore
different cultures and societies to better my
understanding in this. I would like to include my
previous experience in Ethiopia as part of my
fieldwork and add a trip to Peru this year and more
trips in the years to come. I am also interested in
the Psychology of social injustice and education. I
plan to link all of these together through Psychology.

How Am I Going To Learn This:
I plan on taking an extensive look into the human
mind and its functions, look at various social
injustices that happen around the globe, expose myself
to other ways of life, and develop cultural competence
with as many populations as possible. I will do this
through books, lectures, field work, tips to other
countries, articles in mental health literature,
multimedia and anything else I can get my hands on. I
plan to take one trip per academic year at Evergreen.
My eventual goal is to do an internship at a Mental
Health facility.

What Do I Plan To Do With What I’ve Learned:
My long-term vision is to open a private practice as
a therapist, working with adults in a multicultural
setting. I also envision myself continuing in
fieldwork and traveling to various parts of the world
to continue life long learning.

What Difference Will It Make:
This work will allow me to enter Antioch University
as a competent competitive student with extensive
knowledge and experience in Psychology. Having
exposed myself to other cultures will allow me to
reach out to the community. I believe to treat
someone on all levels you need to understand and
embrace the whole person. Knowing about someone’s
culture and personal history will enhance my skills
and make me a better therapist. This in turn will
allow me to contribute to society and hopefully make a
difference in lives of the people I work with.

From: Mattie Blevens [mailto:mattieblevens@hotmail.com]
Sent: Thu 11/9/2006 1:46 PM
To: Native American Studies
Subject: RE: 4 questions...answered

Okay, so second try.

1. What do you want to learn? (content and goal)

I enrolled in Heritage in order to be able to explore my own "history". I
find it very interesting that there are almost 300,000,000 people in the
U.S. that would identify as "Americans". Truthfully this word means
something different to everyone, and I am curious as to how others feel as
"Americans". (I know that I myself am not confident of my cultural history,
and being an American is a chance for me to define myself as an individual
simply because our country has become a melting pot of cultures.) I want to
know what unites us as inhabitants of this country and why/how we feel
connected to our roots.

2. How are you going to learn it? (idea of multiple intelligences)

In order to explore the question of what it truly means to be an American, I
plan on conducting video interviews with several people who identify
themselves as American. These people will be of various ages, races,
cultural backgrounds, etc. I will then edit the footage to create a video
exploring the word "American" and maybe come closer to an understanding of
how United States citizens of today see themselves within their country.

3. What do you plan to do with what you've learned? (the move from theory to
practice, i.e., praxis)

Upon the completion of this project, I am going to utilize our local
television station: TCTV. I will show them my finished product and seek to
get it aired on our local channel. I also plan on using the video production
time as a chance to explore many of the multimedia tools that Evergreen has
to offer. I am very interested in video production and I plan to use this
project as a stepping stone towards larger video production pieces in my
future.

4. What difference will it make? (build in reflection and assessment, from
which springs the next round of the four questions)

I believe anyone who views this movie will be urged to question their own
identities as "Americans". The answer that each individual finds for his/her
self will be something that they can hopefully draw on regarding questions
of personal and worldly identity. I hope that this movie will have the power
to make people think about themselves and others in a new light. And if
nothing else this video will be able to raise awareness of different and
common views of what it means to be American.

---

From: <g.duality@gmail.com>
Reply-To: <g.duality@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 14 Nov 2006 16:24:13 -0800
To: Heritage <heritage@lists.evergreen.edu>
Subject: [heritage] I love this class (new plan)

Wonder if others are experiencing a need to redo their plan seven
weeks into this quarter.

To re-answer the four questions:

What do you want to learn - Drawing and Salsa Dancing.

How are you going to learn it - Drawing will happen through
experimentation, with the intent of defining a technique that aligns
with who I am. As yet I don't know where specifically to focus
within this discipline, BUT I plan to explore and experiment with two
exercises. Drawing simply for pleasure to explore color balance,
perspective, resolution and theme, and drawing to exercise my mind's
eye (looking at a collection of objects or a scene, then turning away
and drawing the relationships and characterizing qualities -
variations of this method are used by law enforcement and
intelligence agencies. Salsa dancing happens every thursday at the
Eagle's Ballroom. I've attended classes since midsummer and intend
to continue. With Salsa dancing, I want to be able to take my
partner through all advanced sequences with confidence (characterized
by accurate footwork, consistent tension during hand contact and
directional cues useful to expert and beginner). Maybe learn how to
make smoke with fast footwork too.

What do you plan to do with what you've learned - Writing has been a
personal therapy (therapy meaning the release of or relief from a
discomfort, agitation or stress - this is my definition). Drawing and
dancing will be used with similar intent.

What difference will it make - Drawing and salsa will instill peace
of mind, increase self-confidence and be one more step in creating
the life I want to live.

Hunter

---

emily p - 10:19am Nov 16, 2006 PST

What do you want to learn: I want to learn more about Native Americans, after contact with the Europeans. I am interested in the events that lead up to the French and Indian War…and the consequences of the war. I also want to study other wars with that directly or indirectly affected the Native population. One aspect of my research will explore how the European (French and British) manipulated the Native Americans in the War. (Using them as guides and to fight for false hopes of keeping land and sovereignty) My study will also include other major battles, such as Battle of Tippecanoe, Navajo Conflicts, Sioux Wars, Battle of Little Big Horn, Nez Pierce War. I want to understand the cause and affect of each war.

How are you going to do the learning: I will work with a partner, Thomas Cook (also enrolled in Heritage), and we will read books and watch documentaries that focus on the wars. For the French and Indian War I will read The War that Made America: a Short History of the French and Indian War (and watch the documentary based on the book and titled the same), and White Devil. I will continue to find credible books and documentaries to learn from throughout the year.

What do you plan to do with what you learned: I plan to pass on the knowledge that I gain from my studies this year. My plan is to go into education after Evergreen and I think it is very important to include Native American studies in curriculum.

What difference will it make: I am hoping that by learning more about Native American history I will be better equipped to provide a more rounded and accurate account of U.S. History.

thomas cook - 10:48am Nov 16, 2006 PST

What do you want to learn: I want to learn more about Native Americans, after contact with the Europeans. I am interested in the events that lead up to the French and Indian War…and the consequences of the war. I also want to study other wars with that directly or indirectly affected the Native population. One aspect of my research will explore how the European (French and British) manipulated the Native Americans in the War. (Using them as guides and to fight for false hopes of keeping land and sovereignty) My study will also include other major battles, such as Battle of Tippecanoe, Navajo Conflicts, Sioux Wars, Battle of Little Big Horn, Nez Pierce War. I want to understand the cause and affect of each war.

How are you going to do the learning: I will work with a partner, Emily Peterson (also enrolled in Heritage), and we will read books and watch documentaries that focus on the wars. For the French and Indian War I will read The War that Made America: a Short History of the French and Indian War (and watch the documentary based on the book and titled the same), and White Devil. I will continue to find credible books and documentaries to learn from throughout the year.

What do you plan to do with what you learned: I plan to pass on the knowledge that I gain from my studies this year. My plan is to go into education after Evergreen and I think it is very important to include Native American studies in curriculum.

What difference will it make: I am hoping that by learning more about Native American history I will be better equipped to provide a more rounded and accurate account of U.S. History.

From: jesse callahan [mailto:marinersfanforlifebaby@yahoo.com]
Sent: Thu 10/12/2006 1:34 PM
To: Native American Studies
Subject: Heritage

Hi,

My name is Jesse Callahan and I am in the Heritage program this fall. I am checking in to say that I have read the Heritage web page and I am registered at the web crossing. So far my experience with this program has been positive and I am taken advantage of Evergreen's facilities.
I have become proficient in the media lab and I am allowed to check out camcorders from the media loan. I am going to film a music video for a local band as my first project.
I also plan to help KAOS with their pledge drive. Having talked to people who work at KAOS, the pledge drive is a perfect way to get my foot in the door at the local radio station.
At nights I take Arabic and I am learning quickly. I have set up a study group that meets almost everyday and I hope to speak conversationally very soon.
My last endeavor so far, has taken place in the library. I am very interested in stories, storytelling, mythology, and lore. I have been reading general literature about Greek Mythology, Egyptian gods, and Chinese folklore. The only problem is that I do not always understand what I am reading and I would benefit greatly from someone who could answer some of my questions about the subjects listed above. Do you know of anyone who could help my studies with mythology and folk tales? Do you have in suggestions on where I could go for help? Also, Chinese, Egyptian and Greek stories aren't my only interests, is there anyway I could be introduced to actual native story tellers?
Please e-mail with suggestions. I am planning on coming to the Saturday meeting so maybe we could talk then also. Have a good day.

Thank you
Jesse Callahan