and hopefully more of us will shuttle between the two!

Maybe a next step for this discussion would be to let each other know the
ways in which we incorporate certain rules from different aspects of our
lives into who we are as human beings, what those rules may represrent, both
negative and positive, in the culture from which we borrow, and how we have
come to utilize them in ways that do not cause us to contradict the true
essence of ourselves.
I think this would help to furthur our understanding of the people we come
into contact with, in the classroom or on the street, who feel they
constantly have to compromise their integrity to achieve success in this
country- the pressure to conform, the pressure to succeed, the feeling of
not being completely a part of any one culture, and, especially those people
that are born to first generation immigrants in this country, the constant
switching back and forth between expectations from their family and
expectations from society at large.



On Thu, Apr 24, 2008 at 9:40 AM, Karen Wyman <Karenw at nmcadv.org> wrote:


>  Hi, all,

>

> In response to what Daniel wrote, I see your point about adding to the

> tools we have able for use, and I do think that the use of some tools

> requires us to go along with things we might have grave disagreements with.

> To use the example of the English language, I must go along with its rules

> in order to use, and some of those rules reflect aspects of our society and

> culture that I abhor. Violence, sexism, racism, and classism are embedded in

> the language we speak, and so we must use flawed tools to build our

> understanding.

>

>

>

> Of course, we all have to live in this flawed, imperfect world where we

> must take part in systems and organizations which we don't wholeheartedly

> support, and I understand that in order for change to occur, it takes all of

> us. Some of us will do our work from within existing systems and structures,

> and others of us will work from the outside.

>

>

>

> Respectfully,

>

> Karen

>

>

>

> Karen Wyman

>

> Community Outreach Trainer

>

> New Mexico Coalition Against Domestic Violence  (NMCADV)

>

> 201 Coal Avenue SW

>

> Albuquerque, NM 87102

>

> phone 505.246.9240

>

> fax 505.246.9434

>

> www.nmcadv.org

>

> karenw at nmcadv.org

>

>

>

> ----------------------------------------------------

> National Institute for Literacy

> Poverty, Race, Women and Literacy mailing list

> PovertyRaceWomen at nifl.gov

> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to

> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/povertyracewomen

>




-- 
Daniel Rizik-Baer
Family Literacy Coordinator
Children Youth and Family Collaborative
(818) 442-4407 cell
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