Blog # 1



Hi my name is Meijoly Jones but you can call me Jolie. Currently, I'm a Senior at UH Sugarland majoring in EC-6 Early Childhood Education. I love math, traveling, and sports. Click here to learn more about me.   Click here

Comments

  1. UnknownSeptember 13, 2017 at 7:41 AM

    Hi Jolie, I think it is awesome you are so well traveled. Every summer for the past summers I have gone to the Caribbean Islands. The scenery is beautiful. Although, I am not sure if this is the case, but in St. Maarteen, their accents are so heavy it is hard to communicate sometimes due to the language barrier. Another thing we have in common is that I as well know sign language, my sister taught me in high school (the alphabet and a few words I remember).

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    1. UnknownSeptember 13, 2017 at 5:01 PM

      Hi Jessica,
      Thank you for reviewing my profile ! Yes, you are absolutely right the accents in Puerto Rico are extremely heavy and in some parts of Puerto Rico it can be very tough to communicate if you are not an expert fluent Spanish speaker for instance in Ponce, PR. Like I mentioned before I am not very fluent in Spanish (as I probably should be) but I do understand more than I give myself credit for its more of how to response that I have the most trouble with. Are you like that as well ? Do you understand the language written or spoken to you but struggle speaking or is it vice versa? Its cool we have a lot in common like ASL, are you continuing to study ASL, or do you plan to in the near future?

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    2. UnknownSeptember 13, 2017 at 6:07 PM

      Jolie,
      Unfortunately, I am not as lucky as you. I do not speak it in the slightest bit nor understand it spoken or written in the slightest bit. I will learn a second language though in the near future. As a future educator, having even slight knowledge of Spanish can have the slightest advantage when helping a student in need. As far as my sign language goes, I can sign more than I can speak a second language.

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    3. UnknownSeptember 13, 2017 at 6:39 PM

      Totally understandable, honestly if I didn't have my mother I wouldn't be no where near where I today. I think taking the language in school only helped with my ability to know proper grammar terms but that's honestly it. I personally feel like school rushed the process and didn't take the time to really teach the language how it is spoken in the real world. I also agree with you as a future educator we need to be more educated on the language because we are unaware of what lies ahead of us and which students we will be faced with. Do you plan on becoming certified in any second language?

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    4. UnknownSeptember 13, 2017 at 6:50 PM

      Jolie,

      Unfortunately, I do not have the time from my busy schedule with school and work to become certified in a second language. I wish I did though. Even if I did though, I would not teach a Spanish class or anything like that. It just would not be fair to my student as I would not be totally fluent. My spanish skills would be considered Tex-Mex at that point. In my experience though, that tends to be the case with the students in my class that speak spanish as a second language, they know Tex-Mex.

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    5. UnknownSeptember 13, 2017 at 6:57 PM

      I couldn't agree with you more! My students don't understand proper spanish or correct grammar spanish only Tex-Mex which is sometimes confusing for me. I know both ways so at times it becomes overwhelming trying to figure out how to correctly respond to a student. I think I would struggle the most with getting certified in spanish because it is harder to know which is the correct way to teach the language. However, i would like to become certified in ASL not so much to teach in a classroom setting but to continue teaching to young children.

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    6. UnknownSeptember 13, 2017 at 7:02 PM

      My boyfriend is from the Caribbean Islands and in St. Maarten they speak both French and Dutch. If I could learn Spanish, I would be just a short step away from being able to communicate with my future in-laws French. Knowing multiple languages is just purely beneficial in all aspects.

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  2. UnknownSeptember 13, 2017 at 7:15 PM

    Hey Jolie,
    I admire your family history and how diverse your family is. Even though you did not grow up speaking another language, your parents background made you want to learn more about their life. I am glad your trip to Puerto Rico was successful and you learned many new things. I have never been to Puerto Rico but your video was very interesting and educational. Made me want to go visit and learn about the traditions and history as well. However, your sister is a good role model to you as well. Because even though she is not teaching another language verbally, she is teaching another language physically known as sign language. Hope her experiences teach you many interesting aspects as well like your mom had. According to Glen Elder's research on the family stress model there is a connection in economic stress to a child's socio emotional well-being among families of all cultural backgrounds (Gershoff, Mistry & Crosby 2014). So in consideration of that statement hope you have an eventful student teaching experience working with the kids this school year, and hope you enjoy it as well!

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  3. UnknownSeptember 13, 2017 at 9:23 PM

    Hi Meijoly! It’s so interesting that your parents are of different ethnicities. It fascinated me that you got the chance to look into your mother’s history. Projects in school like that one and this video project makes me appreciate my education. I love how you visited San Juan, Puerto Rico and noticed the interpreters throughout the church. Your experience demonstrated languaculture because you connected both language and culture beyond what is written on paper (Brown & Lee, 2015, p. 81). You learned about the culture and how it relates to your ethnicity. I can tell that Spanish is very important to you. I also love food so I enjoyed learning about the rice and beans meal! I’m glad you got to apply the Spanish language in Puerto Rico. I wish you the best of luck with American Sign Language. That’s awesome how your sister can help you learn, that’s a great way to bond with her!

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