Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly (1997) Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life, New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.
Engaging in the flow of this book was not easy. I read about 1/3 of the book before I started running with the flow. The flow is what carries us away from mundane life and grabs us. Surprisingly, leisure time does not create a flow but boredom.
QUESTION: What do Native American and Hispanic kids do for fun which engages them?
QUESTION: What is the individual to the Native American or Hispanic?
QUESTION: According to Piaget, "Having equilibrium is good. To have equilibrium, there must be chaos at one point in order to be stable when equilibrium is reached.
QUESTION: Then does Piaget indicate that the more complex is the cognition, the more the equilibrium?
QUESTION:What is a whole community environment for the NA or Hispanic?
QUESTION: When my students say, "Mrs. Salsedo, this is boring!?" I can return the comment to them and give them a challenge: "Our attitude to work usually involves spending a lot of effort trying to cut corners and do as little as possible. But that is a short-sighted strategy. If one spent the same amount of attention trying to find ways to accomplish more on the job, one would enjoy working more--and probably be more successful at it, too.
Hell in this scenario is simply the separation of the individual from the flow of life. It is clinging to the past, to the self, to the safety of inertia. There is a trace of this sense in the root of the word for "devil": it comes from the Greek dia bollein, to separate or break asunder. What is diabolical is to weaken the emerging complexity by withdrawing one's psychic energy from it.
This text is truly an insight into some of the cultural differences of what I've learned over the years and still don't know about the hispanic people. "The rich and absorbing study of Mexican parents in border communities leads to more complex, rather than single-minded, solutions to school success. Valdés sees to the center of things and deftly questions the merit of typical educational interventions aimed at promoting school success...." Unfortunately, she does not offer solutions. I guess this is the job of the one who reads and ponders and wants to learn more. This text is now out of print but is relevant to today's children of hispanic heritage. I find what she says to be very relevant to my understanding, as an anglo educator, to be important as I've taught in the bilingual classroom K-12 for the past twenty years and still finds important points which affect me as a successful educator who is aiming at successfully raising my students to be competent in this--the 21st century.
From Stanford University faculty description: "Professor
Department of Spanish and Portuguese
Bldg 260
(650) 723-3291
gvaldes@leland.stanford.edu
Guadalupe Valdés is the most eminent expert on Spanish-English bilingualism in the United States. She is the only member of our faculty to have appeared on the cover of the Chronicle for Higher Education. She is author and co-author of five research books on the subject, as well as eight textbooks. Her appointment is divided between the Department of Spanish and the School of Education. She has been responsible for a successful renovation of language programs in the department. As an undergraduate instructor, Professor Valdés is committed to getting students in contact with language research outside the classroom. Her courses usually involve a fieldwork component in the surrounding Spanish speaking communities and instruction in research methods and data analysis."
QUESTION: Has family intervention programs improved school success or been another negative deterant for such success today?
QUESTION: Parents have a responsibility to understand the education system in order to make a wise decision as to the type of education they want for their children, but doesn't the school also have a responsibility to understand the needs of such families?
QUESTION: California has sunset bilingual education because success is not, apparently, coefficient on the need to be literate in the primary language. Maybe, this is true. Then, what is the reason children coming from Mexico are not being successful in our schools?
They can create a "curriculum of the home" that teaches their children what matters. They do this through their daily conversations, household routines, attention to school matters, and affectionate concern for their children's progress.
Conversation: is important. Children learn to read, reason, and understand things better when their parents:
QUESTION: Who then becomes the surrogate? Do agencies help? Do "Neighborhood" Boys' and Girls' Clubs help? Do students who take advantage of these programs succeed as compared to those kids who go home to no parent, have no resources available which are described as being necessary?
QUESTION: Gail Weinstein had some good ideas regarding grandparenting and the importance of narrowing the bridge between the older and younger generation. But, when is this appropriate and how does the family succeed in doing this?
COMMENT: How do you know when your students aren’t sure of themselves or you?
They’ll “retreat into whispers and hide their lack of confidence behind impassive
faces.”
REFLECTION: The mind is a wonderful tool. We know so little about it. We know nothing
about how we learn except we can view the product of what is learned. It seems
that the mind is something which globally acts the same for any person or
culture. If the mind is strong and we feel good about ourselves, we then success. If
we believe we are not capable, we fail.