NALC Training Sesson Reflections (3 hrs)

I was very impressed by the concept of the NALC. To hear how many volunteers and students were already involved gave me inspiration to sign up early for sessions. Since the organization revolves around educating mainly students below the 6th grade reading level, there are many opportunities available to meet very diverse students even from foreign countries. The material was mostly familiar with just a few rule names coming back to my memory as I read through the documents in the folder provided. The training host was very nice and enthusiastic. He showed a keen understanding of the material and how to connect with the student in order to make the tutoring session comfortable. Having the format of the training in slide-show format gave good reference to the key points of the training. The most important concept was the help the student grow by connecting with them in some way, where you can help them read an understand more word meanings. Writing and pronunciation are fundamental concepts that was reviewed as well, providing me with a lot to think about before I booked my next sessions. I look forward to supporting this initiative to increase education for the community.

NALC Meeting 4

The next session was at 11 a.m. on October 27 at NALC Nashville. I was excited form the beginning of the lesson because my student brought a list of words to go over and pronounce. Her pseudonym is Emily. I was about to read many lesson stories with her talking about the different holidays. Since the lesson plans were encompassing upcoming events in United States society, I think she benefited greatly from the session because she is formerly from Asia. This session was the most compelling because I was able to help her the most with her pronunciation on certain "I" words depending upon if it was long or soft. It was very interesting that certain terms she would pronounce them as "ing" when there was no "g." An example is with the word "thin" compared to "thing." Overall, her energy lifted the session. I was able to laugh able certain concepts when I tried for explain fundamental ideas such as laughing, scary, and upset. It was funny to act out these terms with her. We created a list for the next session and worked on more pronunciation.

NALC Meeting 3

Unfortunately, since the meeting period was canceled due to the student pulling out, I was confined to doing desk work and filing. The good news is, I personally feel there is value in highlighting what exactly my purpose was in volunteering for that full hour before my next 11 a.m. session. I filed numerous documents that gave updates to over countless students. It was impressive to see the checks and balances set up by the NALC. Before I was required to files these documents, an employee sorted through all the lesson plans and progress of the students in order to secure positive growth for each student. I found value in understanding that ethics should always be promoted at all levels of an organization, more so in volunteer opportunities than anything else because of the importance of social programs. I also was able to print out just as many certificates of achievement for merits of academic achievement. Giving positive reinforcement to certain students recognizes their efforts and progress through the program. NALC provides an opportunity for students to solidify their English and literacy skills, prepping them for GED and job opportunities simultaneously and for the future. I was excited going into my next session.

NALC Meeting 2

The second session at NALC in Nashville was with a gentlemen by the pseudonym of John. He was from a country in North Africa and worked very well with understanding concepts. Since he brought homework from him last session, we walked over the spelling and pronunciation of numbers 0-100. For John he mostly focused on pronouncing the terms because he often was quick to understand the concepts behind the terms and the whole lesson planned. He read very well, often only messing up once or twice before fulling understanding the spelling and reading. I was blown away by his progress throughout the session. We read through almost two full pages of stories in the back of his book where longer, more condensed lesson plans were found. For next time, John was going to focus on the list of 50 new terms we worked on ranging from day-to-day topics. Since this was his 5th or 6th session, John was already quick to understand the structure of the lesson plans and how to keep up his pace throughout the session. I was very impressed by his enthusiasm and intelligence.

NALC Meeting 1

I was fortunate enough to book consecutive sessions at the NALC center here in Nashville. From 10-11 a.m. on Tuesday October 25th I tutored a student by the pseudonym KP. We walked through various lessons mainly incorporating numbers. She could read very well throughout the book's designed lesson plans. We looked through concepts that revolved around a mall and school scene. We focused on her spelling of numbers going through 100. The student was very interactive, she even asked to read through the multiple lesson plan words on the above post board. Luckily, subjects in each of those lesson plans gave a variety of term used daily. She was a little bit tired but performed very well for her first visit at NALC Nashville. Overall, I enjoyed my experience interacting with the student at the Nashville Adult Literacy Center.

Reflection on Discussion Forums

For my ethnographic project, the Chesapeake Bay's surrounding culture is being dissected. In order to gather more research, discussion forums featuring SaveTheBay, fishing, recipes, government policies on the bay, and tourism recommendations were searched. SaveTheBay is the main hub for Chesapeake Bay environmental initiatives. Within the website, there were three blogs found including the Bay Daily, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and Clagett Farm with recipes. These blogs did not have much interaction, which led me to other outlets such as Facebook and Twitter. More interaction was found here due to stronger links between local businesses from Maryland. I was able to go to other websites and pages from here and research businesses featuring fishing conditions, tourism and restaurant recommendations, and colleges. From here, I researched forums with these companies and was able to find higher traffic that talked about the Chesapeake Bay. With more time to sort through the information, I will be able to link evidence together to round out my analysis about the cultural influences. The growth and consistency of these businesses depend upon the bay and the communities' association with it.

Glossary - Chesapeake Bay Ethnographic Study

The following definitions will be constantly updated throughout the research process.
Maryland
Chesepiooc-Algonquian, native word "at a big river"
Chesapeake: By tribes called "Great Water", later became "Great Shellfish Bay" by settlers
Chesapeake Bay- the United States' largest estuary surrounded by Maryland and Virginia, draining to Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New York. Provides seafood, tourism and access
Baltimore, Maryland- Founded 1729, was a leading seaport and port of entry for immigrants to the US, population of 621,000 as of 2010
Lord Baltimore- member of Irish House of Lords, founding proprietor of the Maryland Colony
Fells Point- furthest area in Baltimore harbor, main ship building center
Annapolis, Maryland
Port of Baltimore- port of entry for seafood, tobacco, and ship building distribution
Fall Line
Marsh- wetland that seasonally is flooded or remains wet, dominated by one or few species
The Great Depression
Fall Line
War of 1812
Patapsco River-in central Maryland, forms into the harbor of Baltimore, Francis Scott Key was on a British ship on this river - Star-Spangled Banner
Wetland- environment that serves as a refuge for birds, blue crabs, striped bass, eastern oysters, shad, otters, etc
Salinity-measured in parts per thousands (ppt), serves as a unit of measurement for salt levels; used for Chesapeake Bay; three zones including oligohaline, mesohaline and polyhaline
Oyster Farming
Trawling Net- use for scientific research and data collection, crabs and fish are caught and counted this way
Rappahannock River-in eastern Virginia, feeds into the Chesapeake Bay, served as North and South boundary in Civil War, 195 miles long
Chespeake Bay Program
Chesapeake bay Foundation
Salisbury University
University of Virginia
William and Mary
Estuary
Eastern Shore
Sandy Point
Kent Island
Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel
Virginia Beach
Cape Charles
Humid subtropical- Koppen units, environment with very humid and hot summers, cold to mild winters
Watkins Point
Coastal Plain
Ft. McHenry- National Monument where US soldiers defended harbor in War of 1812 from British Navy for 25 hours, Star Spangled Banner was written about this star-shaped fort
Dry Docks
Port of Entry
Commercial Crabbing
Recreational Crabbing

Interview to Research Question

Mark Estabo, the manager and part owner of Higgins Restaurant branch in Ocean City, MD gave incite to the history of his company and the cultural uniqueness of the Chesapeake Bay. Mr. Estabo's grandfather crabbed around the Chesapeake Bay area mainly around Ocean City for the sense of adventure and fun. Through the early part of the 20th Century, they weren’t able to sell any crabs due to the high supply lasting until the mid 1970's. In retrospect, the locals were very fortunate to have the Chesapeake at their disposal because it provided a basic element for free, food. Local fisherman were able to catch a plethora of seafood selections from the bay including the Maryland Blue Crab and over 300 other species of fish. Father worked in a local Bar, saw the increase in people into Ocean City around the 1970’s and 1980’s. At this time, there was as change int he market due to the change in supply. Local bars and restaurants began to find it harder to catch the same quantity each day, causing a price to be added to the Maryland Blue Crab. Ocean City, MD is the next most popular destination for Chesapeake tourism. Over the years, there has been a significant increase in large hotels around that area. The connection with Ocean City, Baltimore and Annapolis is the Chesapeake Bay and its seafood. The bay has been able to provide access, distribution, and even food products. When you look at the infrastructure of these three areas, the development from the past fifty years arose primarily because of the factors of production provided by the bay. It was local business owners like Mr. Estabo that benefited from this monetization of the bay.

Cohesion Coherence

What is the culture/literacy/Discourse you are studying? (an overview).

The ethnographic study will revolve around the Chesapeake Bay located mainly in Maryland. The culture surrounding this area involves businesses that rely on the lay of the land and the resources at their disposal. These businesses have depended upon the Chesapeake Bay to provide seafood, access and tourist appeal since the establishment of the state. One important distribution inlet from the bay, the Inner Harbor, is located in Baltimore and serves as a testament to the importance of the water source on the local and regional economy. The culture and history surrounding this area support the environmental efforts to keep the bay prosperous. A unique discourse in the individuals can be observed for this area, which has found its way into sports culture and the up-and-coming entertainment culture of the city.