Online field trips (webquest):

You will be provided with a list of websites to visit and will be asked to respond to at least 15 of the sites based on whatever you will read or see there. Specific questions for each website will be provided to you under each . Feel free to bring up some of the burning issues on webx or in class. Write your responses as bulletted notes to submit. You will also have a chance to discuss your learning in class with your group members. Also feel free to do an online field trip of a topic or place of your choice.

Here are some of the websites:

1) This website is on poverty.

http://nccp.org/index.html

Explore it and take notes about some of the thing you learn from there.

2) In this site you will learn about grandparents who are parenting and the issues surrounding the fairly prevalent phenomenon http://www.montana.edu/wwwpb/pubs/mt200401.html

What are some of the things you have learned here that surprise you?

3) THe issue of illegal immigrants has become a hot topic lately. This website is the government site on laws governing immigration. What are some of the surprising factors you have found in this site?
4) Visit this site and take a quiz or sample test for U.S. citizenship http://aenet.esuhsd.org/Citizenship_lessons/quizzes/quiz.html

Can you pass the immigration test?

FYI: Typically, tests are conducted by an immigration official who verbally interviews the applicant. It can be 10 questions, or 50 questions, entirely at the discretion of the officer. There are no interpreters, so an immigrant/applicant has to know enough English to understand and answer the questions.

See if you can find out the cost of applying to take the test...or other points of interest here: http://uscis.gov/graphics/index.htm

5) Check out this site: http://www.colostate.edu/Orgs/MSA/events/Ramadan.html

Here's something to ponder...I saw a sign in someone's yard that said, "pray to God for deliverance from Iraq. Our God will save us"...isn't it the same God that the Muslims are praying to?...perhaps for the same thing...?

I have a friend who is Muslim. The day after 9/11 someone called her at her home and told her "go back to where you came from!" She is a U.S. citizen, holds a responsible job, is raising 3 children and happily married to a man who is also a responsible tax paying U.S. citizen...

Read more about this kind of thing: http://www.hrw.org/reports/2002/usahate/

Please comment on new information you've found...what do you know about being Muslim?.
 
6) Rosh Hashanah...Yom Kippur...what do they mean? We are often most familiar with Christian holidays, and yet the majority of people in the world are NOT Christian...Find out more at this site: http://www.chabad.org/holidays/jewishnewyear/

Follow this link to learn more about hate crimes against Jewish citizens. http://www.adl.org/Learn/hate_crimes_laws/HCSA_FBI.asp   and

http://www.apa.org/pubinfo/hate/
7) Please conduct a google search to find out: Why are Hmong people here?...OR....What happened that Somalis are coming to the U.S.?

And, if you don't know, find out the difference between an immigrant and a refugee...
8) What families have in common the world around is that they are the place where people learn who they are and how to be that way." (Clarke, Jean Illsley, Self-Esteem: A Family Affair)

"Family Systems Theory is rapidly becoming one of the most popular and effective methods of problem solving. Unlike conventional psychological theory which focuses on the individual, Family Systems Theory encourages people to think of issues (e.g. conflict, difficult relationships, loneliness, etc.)

in terms of a multigenerational family or a “system.” This approach encourages people to move away from blaming others and towards individual responsibility" (taken from http://www.familysystemstheory.com/# )

9) Please visit a couple of sites in order to better inform your awareness of the issues around homeless families...

http://www.nationalhomeless.org/

http://www.unesco.org/most/usa5.htm

http://www.homeless.org.au/pictures/50.htm

http://www.futureofchildren.org/information2826/information_show.htm?doc_id=73315

What has been your experience with families who are homeless? How does what we learned in the text, Framework for Understanding Poverty, fit with what you know about issues surrounding homelessness?

10) A very interesting phenomenon related to homelessness in some countries, including my country, Kenya, is "street children". I encourage you all to read this and give your reactions to this situation (to the shame of our societies). What do you think could be done to curb this problem? Here are more sites addressing this issue.

http://www.dreamscanbe.org/

www.Streetkids Net

http://www.hrw.org/about/projects/crd/child-street.htm
11) AIDS, disabilities, war, gender stuff, gay/lesbian, religion, etc
12) Unpacking the invisible knapsack is a fairly standard and widely accepted document on the issue of white privilege. Please visit this link, and pay special attention to the list of items... http://seamonkey.ed.asu.edu/~mcisaac/emc598ge/Unpacking.html

Does looking at the list change your perception of white privilege?
13) People First Language

Please take a minute to do a search of the term "people first" language...

What did you find? What does it mean? Are there two sides to this issue?
What's your experience with this issue?

14) Here is information about families that are headed by gay or lesbian parents, which is a growing population of families in the United States. It's referred to as the "Gay-by" Boom....

I'd like you to visit several sites to further your knowledge and perhaps tweak some assumptions you have about gay headed families. I've also created many links to organizations that oppose families who are headed by gay or lesbian parents.
You have to form your own opinions...but have it be an informed opinion... Come back here and share your thoughts, ideas, & experiences. We will be having a panel of gay/lesbian parents and this will really give us some insights about these families.

http://www.itvs.org/ourhouse/parenting.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/daily/june99/gays14.htm

http://www.thetaskforce.org/reslibrary/nochild.cfm

http://www.apa.org/pi/parent.html

http://www.colage.org/research/facts.html

http://www.geocities.com/rainbowfamilieswisconsin/

http://www.rfgl.org/

15) This is a good resource for finding a great deal of information on American Indian policy and appears to be a more reliable source of information.

http://www.airpi.org/research/R98challenge.html
Please visit the site. There is so much of interest. Find something you didn't know about...explore areas you have questions about. Come back here and share what you find.
16) This is a good site for basic information about the myths and facts about domestic violence: http://www.letswrap.com/dvinfo/myths.htm

Follow the link within this site to "why she stays" (about half way down the page). Thoughts about this? It's one of the areas most difficult for people to understand..."if he's beating her, why doesn't she just leave?!"...Also, check out the links at the bottom of the page.

Domestic violence is a HUGE problem in our society. It is indicative of many things, one being the level of violence that we believe is okay in our personal relationships...it's seen as okay to spank children in this country...something that some countries have banned. If it's okay for your parents to
physically hurt you, why not your partner...we see violence everywhere, we should at least feel (be!) safe at home.
17) How about getting to know more about your instructor's (Jackie's) culture?? What is her country like and what can you learn about her that might help you in dealing with Kenyan/African families you might encounter in future. I deliberately won't give you websites about Kenya. I want you to read and bring the information to class to discuss. You will be surprised at the some of the stereotypes we have on the internet and literature.

18) What are some of the challenges of single parents that might influence your interactions with them? Do a google search on single parent support groups to see how some of their needs are met. Is there any of that information you could use to support any struggling single parents you might be working with? Research says that about 40% of single parents are also poor. Do the support groups you have found in your search cater to poor families or middle & upper class families?

 

19) Choose a country from Asia (India, China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea) and find some good information that would help you work effectively with a family from the country.
20) Choose a country from Middle East (Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Iraq, etc) and find some good information that would help you work effectively with a family from the country.