Have you noticed how we happily jump from Halloween to Christmas? What happened to Thanksgiving? The month of November used to be filled with legends of Pilgrims and Indians and school plays, Squanto. Miles Standish, Priscilla Alden. Though their stories have turned out to be more fiction that fact, Thanksgiving was always a major part […]
Adapted from Native American prayer by Camille Linen THE PEOPLE: Today we have gathered and we see that the cycles of life continue. We have been given the day to live in balance and harmony with each other and all living things. So now, we bring our minds together as one as we give greetings […]
Students were asked to write what they felt as well as what they saw. Notice that with feelings there are more similarities than with images. A good question to ask adult ESL students is why emotional responses are more alike than image responses. I feel a little cold because of the weather. It makes me […]
No study of Native American culture is complete without the inspirational sounds of Navajo flutist Carlos Nakai. The music evokes images from our collective unconscious and sets up a friendly environment for new students. Here are some images that emerged from a half hour of listening and writing: I am in a vast plain and wild nature and I can […]
A Day of Tragedy When I got up this morning, I wanted to believe yesterday’s happening was a nightmare. But when I turned on the TV the news was still going on. What a horrendous affair it is. It is beyond human expectation. I can’t believe such people exist; they cause terrible tragedy. When I think of the innocent […]
Ten years ago at 9:00 a.m. I was in my classroom in Port Chester, N.Y. teaching English to 20+ foreign born adults as these New Yorkers gazed up into the lower Manhattan skyline speechless and forever changed…. I notice Jose, the computer instructor, standing silently in the doorway of my classroom. Walkman in hand, “What’s going on, Jose?” “A plane just crashed into the […]
In case you didn’t notice…I’ve been on vacation all summer. And what a vacation it was! When I was a child I always dreaded writing the traditional first day back composition…”What I did on my summer vacation.” Not this year! This is what I did on my summer vacation. My husband Lou Del Bianco and I went on […]
Who isn’t an immigrant? This is a good viewpoint for Americans to hear. All of our ancestors moved to America from other countries a long time ago. Kazuko They (Americans) don’t know their descendency. They think because they were born in the USA, it makes them Americans. Yes, it does, but they don’t have any relationship with native people who are […]
“May I speak? I’ve got to say something! All the people here are hard workers and you just tell us that our situation is changing. But we are still in the same condition. We don’t want more lies and long speeches. We want better money and better conditions in our jobs. We have rights and we are going […]
What does being a mother mean? This Mother’s Day I have a new perspective: I’ve become a great grandmother.My granddaughter Christina is a brand new mommy to sweet Samantha, my daughter Denise, an adoring grandmother… In this life-affirming time, I asked my students to describe their mothers. They did so with joy, nostalgia and great passion. I’m just like […]