Hi Spring Breakers,
Please reflect on this week's panel which discussed the nature of stigma and working with stigmatized populations. What did you learn about working with the populations that you will be encountering on your Alternative Break trip? How will working with these stigmatized populations be challenging, and what can you do to overcome or to understand these challenges?
Remember, blog entries should be 200-400 words in length.
Can't wait to hear your thoughts!
Stephanie & Julia
As I approach closer to my trip to the Peter Paul Development Center in Richmond, Virginia, I have been able to learn a lot through the course about the stigma that these kids may face. With the speakers that came to visit, the individual who had the most influence on my location was Cody Charles, who is from the Sabatini Multicultural Resource Center. One of the things that I found specifically important about the trip, itself, is that we have to not view the individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds as victims. Instead, we need to realize that they are strong individuals and they have their own stories and experiences that have allowed them to be in the place that they are today. While we may see the surface of a person, we have no idea what they have personally experienced. While going into this, it is important that we know about the population that we are trying to help and the most important way to approach these individuals is by simply respecting what they have to say. Another thing that I learned is that though we are helping this one group, it is a part of a much larger systematic problem and it is important to tackle the issue on both a local and national level.
ReplyDeleteWorking with these stigmatized populations may be challenging because we haven't experienced what they have gone through. Though we can listen and try to understand, we will never fully grasp their situations. To overcome this obstacle, it is important that we be as open as we can and try to learn as much as we can, instead of trying to change their world and belief systems. Instead, we should focus on changing ourselves and our view points to understanding these individuals and how we can truly help them.
This panel discussion so far has been my favorite. It was interesting to hear views from many different aspects of service as well as cultures. Working with populations that we aren’t familiar with can be challenging and it was great to hear the tips that each speaker presented. They also told us about stereotypes to avoid and how to go about communicating with different groups of individuals (even though it is important not to lump them all as the same). It was interesting. For my alternative break trip, I am working with animals. Even though a lot of what was said was more geared towards people, I still found it relevant because I know I will have to use these tips in the future. People that I encounter that also work at the Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation center might fall under these groups that were discussed at last night’s class. Why, I might even run into these populations while spending our free day in San Antonio. No matter what, what they told us applies somehow to each and everyone’s break and/or life. Now, concerning stigma and my Alternative Break, animals are important too. In any group, there are stereotypes and assumptions. I like how the speakers told us to go to our break with a little research, but not to act like we know it all. Of course, we do not know what is going on there or what this group is going through. It is important to just go, ready to serve and not with any preconceived notions. This week’s panel was so fascinating, and I definitely enjoyed listening to the speakers’ experiences. They were great!
ReplyDeleteThe presentation over the nature of stigma was extremely interesting to me. There was a wide array of underrepresented populations presenting, so it was very cool to see what they had to say to all of our questions. Although it does not apply to us on our Zion trip, it was still very interesting to hear about how to interact with elderly people with Alzheimer’s, victims of domestic violence, transgender queers, and multicultural people on our own campus. My grandmother had Alzheimer’s, so I am somewhat aware of how to work with that population, and I am familiar with several multicultural groups, but victims of domestic violence and transgender people are still very foreign to me. However, I learned a lot about working and interacting with them, and the most important thing I took away was to simply treat them normally. For example, don’t be afraid to use pronouns around a transgender person because you are afraid of getting it wrong; if you refer to them by the gender they don’t identify by, then they will simply correct it, you’ll apologize, and both will move on. The hardest part about this, but the most recommended, is to simply ask them if you have a question. Although it can be nerve-wracking, it is important to just ask if you have any questions, just like you would for any other person. Don’t be so afraid of offending them.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, this presentation did not relate much to the Zion National Park break, as we will not be working intensively with people on our trip.
Stigmas are force that some would say are impossible to get past. Stereotypes and prejudices are all formed by our perception of a certain group or individual. In reality, we are just generalizing and end up being very condescending towards that group. The main purpose of the panel was to relate this to the entire Alternative Break class. With my trip to Memphis, Tennessee at MemphisGrow, I do not have a specific group that may be stigmatized within my trip, but this conception of people is still relevant to my everyday life. In Memphis, I may come across a differently opinionated person or someone who does not agree with my perspective or beliefs in life. Being honest and open to these sort of outlooks can help me grow as a person as well as understand why some stigmas exist and reinforce their elimination within society. As the panel said, we must mirror the language of the people we talk to in order to get a better understanding of their lifestyle. While on my Alternative Break, I want to work with my new cohorts and friends to break molds and stigmas and show that we are volunteers on this trip for a reason. I hope to allow this volunteer experience to expand my surroundings and maybe lead to other volunteer opportunities with social injustice initiative. The best thing I heard out of the entire panel was about utility. Cody Charles talked about how he respected people who cut out the language that may be specifically targeted toward one group from their lives completely. An admirable cause indeed, and the beginning to ending stigmas.
ReplyDeleteThe stigma panel presentation was definitely one of the most interesting alternative breaks classes yet. To talk about stigma through such a broadly diverse group of people was very intriguing, and I found myself learning a lot from what the speakers had to say. One of the better pieces of advice I heard from the panel was to truly be yourself while volunteering. The fact that they pointed out ways to not come across as condescending was also helpful. I feel like some of the things the speaker’s said were very applicable to the places we were going to, and how we do not truly understand exactly what it is these people are going through, but that we can still be there for them, treat them as peers, and help them without coming across in a patronizing way. Everyone participating in alternative breaks obviously wants to help and do good things, so the panel’s advice on how to do our best in going about these tasks was very informative. I feel that everyone really benefitted from what these speakers had to say.
ReplyDeleteI will apply what the panel had to say on my breaks by paying special attention to the way I interact with the people I am helping. I will make sure I am as helpful and understanding as I possibly can be, and will be myself in doing so.
The stigma panel really opened my eyes to some of the little problems that can arise in volunteerism. I really appreciate all the great advice that was given and the fact they expanded my thinking on how to help others.
The stigma panel presentation was a very interesting class. One thing they taught that my group should consider is to not look at people with autism as them having a disability, but rather to look at them and see that they are actually very capable. This will certainly come into play when my group works with people with autism on our break. I showed my group a video on high school students with autism which was filmed at my high school (I even personally know one of the students in that group), and those kids have very bright personalities. In the video, the leader mentions that all of the autistic kids have different needs, and that you need to get to know them in order to help them overcome their obstacles. Referring to the movie Radio, at one point, the coach says, “He doesn’t need people to feel sorry for him. That’s the last thing he wants.” I highly recommend this movie for everybody in our group to watch. Working with people with a spectrum disorder might sound challenging, but if you take the time to get to know them, then you will definitely enjoy being around them and helping them. I actually people with a spectrum disorder are easier to get along with than those without one.
ReplyDeleteThe panel this week concerning stigma was very interesting and thought provoking. I thought it was interesting that the first question answered by the panel was, are the current responses to the problems ,concerning stigmatized populations, effective or ineffective? At first this question seemed out of place to me, but it truly set up the foundation for the rest of the discussion, that working with stigmas was challenging. Although we do not get to directly get to work with the population at Rebuilding Together, we might have to opportunity to meet the family whose house we are repairing. One of the hardest parts with working with stigmatized populations is how to approach the low income individuals, for my specific break, without seeming condescending. I think everyone on the panel gave great advice concerning this tough issue. Many agreed that one should go into the situation wanting to learn about the individuals, their complexity, in order to learn how to best help. They all stressed that the best way to communicate was through questions. Some other tips I found might be helpful included: removing power differential, effective and personal communication, and not being afraid to apologize.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I would like to add that the responses all of the members of the panel had regarding the perspective to keep in mind while volunteering for one week, was truly inspiring. All of them mentioned that although it is only one week of volunteering, there is absolutely a way for each one of us to make a difference, even if just the life of one individual, by continuing the work we do on these trips.
Last week’s stigma panel was extremely informative and a very successful class period. Even beyond the context of our breaks, I felt that the panel was very eye-opening and offered a lot of lessons for interacting with others in any setting, every day. The most important thing I got out of the panel was the overall idea of having sensitivity and being aware whenever interacting with any person. Each person has their own challenges, and even people who are grouped into one particular stigma or stereotype have many other issues affecting their life at a given moment as well. Openness to others and treating all people with respect are the broad lessons I took from the panel.
ReplyDeleteAt the Peter Paul Development Center in Richmond, Virginia, we will be working with low SES children who are considered “educationally disadvantaged.” It is important to remember that “educationally disadvantaged” is a trait describing the environmental circumstances surrounding a child’s education, not a characteristic of any child themselves. Each kid that we work with is intelligent and talented in their own way and we should remember to treat them as such. This idea synthesized the panel with the book I read for the midterm, Savage Inequalities.
Hearing the speakers on the stigma panel made me want to know more about stigmatized populations and individuals, to hear their stories and experiences. Several of the speakers brought up the point of making an effort to understand the views of others and to take the time to understand the context of their views. I think that this idea of approaching others respectfully and trying to find out more about others of all backgrounds will help many, including myself, to reflect on personal beliefs and stereotypes.
Before listening to this panel, I would have never thought this topic would relate at all to my site, Teach for America in Chicago. Now, I believe that discussion was really important because I had no idea Chicago was a major city for diversity. I have not really dealt with these issues before and listening to the panel talk about them so openly was really interesting.
ReplyDeleteI learned that it is really important to be sensitive, understanding, and empathetic when dealing with stigmatized populations. This could be very applicable to my time in Chicago because the faculty/staff and students could be in these populations, so now I have a better understanding of what it's like for them.
It will still be challenging to work with these groups because no matter how much I learn about their situations, I will never fully be able to know what it's like to be discriminated and go through my everyday life as they do. To overcome this challenge, I need to be able to develop good and trusting relationships with them. Even though they may be very different, I can find ways to connect with them and learn. It's important for me to ask questions rather than assume things about these groups.
When I think of gardening, I think of working in my backyard at home with my dad., not exactly working with stigmatized populations. My alternative break on the other hand, will definitely encounter some of the stigmatized populations that we discussed on Thursday in class. In a way I was thinking to myself in the beginning of class, “I’ll be gardening, none of these things will affect me,” where in reality they probably will come up and I may not notice it. Coming to a completely new place with people that you kind of know is the first step. I will be working with 7 fellow KU students but the only interactions that I will have had with them will be from class time and our mini break. That alone will be a new experience in itself. I liked that Sara brought it up in class that we will be spending most if not all of our time together so there may be some circumstances where we will have to think a little bit more about what we are saying or doing, mainly because we don’t know each other as well as we will towards the end of the trip.
ReplyDeleteI truly enjoyed hearing the different perspectives of different stigmas from Laura, Becca, Liam, and Cody. It was intriguing because we will probably cross paths between someone from at least one of these stigmatized categories whether it is someone in our group, someone that works for Grow Memphis, or even someone that we will run into on the street. These situations may be awkward, uncomfortable, or challenging but solvable. After this panel discussion, I learned to not be afraid to ask questions and if you say something wrong to apologize, learn from it and move on.
Stigma is similar to privilege or oppression in the sense that it is often over looked. People sometimes do not realize that they have assumptions about different groups of people; if individuals recognize that they have a stigma, there can be issues addressing that stigma because of those feelings. I enjoyed all the individuals on the panel because they were able to give several different viewpoints of stigmatized communities. They listed ways to alleviate feelings of stigma in general and how to go into our different volunteer experiences with ways to deal with stigmas people may have.
ReplyDeleteEven though none of the presenters directly deal with or had things to say about environmental issues, I think many thoughts can still be taken away from the panel and be used on our trips to JBG. When dealing with issues or misunderstandings, education and awareness help relieve preconceived notions. For example, JBG helps to educate the Austin community about the importance of healthy, organic food which, in turn, helps with stigmas about farmers or about eating local vegetables. Some people may not understand the importance of eating local and seasonal and are just used to getting whatever they want at the store. These individuals may judge the JBG farmers for not growing the vegetables that they are used to getting. With some education and explanations for the reason for organic and seasonal farming, people may overcome stigmas about local farming.
The presenters were also helpful for our group when sharing ideas about how our group should mentally prepare and go into our break. We need to critically think about what we are doing this break for. We will need to keep an open mind and simply be ourselves. We need to be okay with making mistakes and asking questions and realize that we are going into their world. We need to respect all individuals at the farm and follow the rule and routine that JBG has developed.
I really enjoyed this week’s diversity panel. The panel had tons of good information to prepare us for the upcoming trip. Our group is going to Joplin, so many of the topics did not directly apply to the people we will be helping. This is because there is not a direct social issue that is oppressing the individuals of Joplin, or something that they have been struggling to overcome for years. Many of the people that we will be helping are like you and I. They just had a one time tragic unforeseen event that altered their lives. The majority of the people that will be needing our assistance are just uninsured, and or under insured. It is not that the people of Joplin have been fighting poverty for years; it is that they just need help getting back on their feet. Most of the panel spoke about different social issues that are holding certain groups of individuals back. The most beneficial part of the panel was how to speak to the individuals that has been affected. Many of them had the same general advice. Do not act like you know what they are going through, because you don’t, and don’t be afraid to ask the individuals questions about the event, or what they are going through. This was helpful, because I was not to sure about how we would interact with the individuals that have been devastated by this horrible disaster. Overall the panel was helpful understanding how to interact with the people we will be meeting on our trip.
ReplyDeleteFrom listening to the panel about working with stigmatized populations I learned the importance of not assuming anything about another person. You can never understand what someone is going through unless you are that person. I cannot place my values or beliefs upon another. When in doubt of something in regards to a person’s identity it is always just best to ask. It’s also important to understand everyone’s unique needs. What is a problem for one person of a population may not necessarily be a problem for another. For instance the idea of gay marriage is important to the queer community, but gender/sex identity could be bigger for another person. It’s also important to get to the root of the problem and not to just place a band-aid on the situation because it is not a permanent fix. I also learned how to communicate well with differing populations. You should always go into a situation seeking to learn more about the person. Always remember that the person knows best for what they need help with. You should also never treat another person like a victim. I learned many things this week that will help me to work with the queer population in Minnesota.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the panel a lot. I have heard Liam speak in the past. I enjoy the advice he gives. He is such a great advocate and knows these stimas since he has faced them personally. The lady from Willow also was also very inspiring, my sorority works closely with Willow and I have never had a chance to hear how they address and work with the survivors. The lady who represented dementia patients had a lot of grea ways to address issues that are commonly involved with work with the elderly, which easily generalized to many groups. As someone who works with children with developmental delays I can see how they are treated in public (bullying, weird looks, other children not understanding why they are different) and directly deal with the associations people make. It was nice to hear the advice from people who do not focus on behavioral techniques to handle these things. I love behavioral science, but hearing it from another perspective, and from people with experience was helpful to understand more than what I am repeatedly exposed to. I am glad that each panel guest mentioned how important language use is. When I first started working with children with Autism, language was challenging. I think with my exposure, it will not be a problem for me, but it may be for others who have not been taught what is appropriate. For example, when addressing the issue of Autism, we use "person first language". The child has Autism, Autism does not have the child (i.e. we say "child with Autism" not "Autistic child"). That may seem like a small switch of the words, but it gives power to the disorder rather than the individual. This goes back to Cody's speech; we do not usually use this way of wording because it does not effect us. I plan to use all of the advice on my trip, honestly. All of their advice applies to me and my future plans. Not only do I want to work with children who have been diagnosed with all types of the Autism Spectrum, but I would also like to do anti-bullying/ Autism awareness in local schools. If we make people aware of the issues and they are familiar with it from the start, we can prevent them from forming stigma, which may decrease bullying across all types of issues.
ReplyDeleteAfter I listened to the panel I did not think it related to my break at all. The next day I realized in fact it was an important class because it helped me realize how diverse the population I will be dealing with in Chicago. Overall, I learned a few basic things about interacting with a diverse community. I learned about the importance of being kind and gentle and have the ability to apologize in case I offend someone in the community. Most importantly, I learned that I won't fully understand this community after working with them for a week. I am anticipating that I will work with people who come from a different class from me and have had different experiences than me. The best thing to do before the trip to help aid me in working with this stigmatized group is to do a lot of research on the organization I will be working with and the population I will be in. I feel that I will leave the trip feeling grateful for the opportunities that were presented to me that got me to the place that I am at in college and life. I also learned I will need to be humble and have the ability to apologize just in case I do offend someone. Lastly, I learned that I won't be making massive changes in this population but I hope that I will be able to reach out to a few people in this group. Minor changes are still important and hopefully what I have learned after this trip will be incorporated into my life back in Kansas.
ReplyDeleteBeth Boomstein
I thought the stigma panel was very interesting last week. One stigma that we didn’t see that I would have enjoyed was someone discussing mental illness which has a great deal of stigma. But I really enjoyed the others that were there. I actually have never really thought about a stigma surrounding older individuals with dementia but after hearing her talk I understand that it does exist. Domestic violence is another social issue that I’ve never really thought about the stigma that surrounds it. I thought it was interesting that each of them seemed to give similar advice for approaching different populations. They suggested that we be open minded, listen, and admit our flaws. I think that is excellent advice not just in our interactions with a stigmatized population but also in our approach to new experiences. I think it was Cody that suggested when we go on our break we keep in mind that we are there to learn and that we can learn from all of these experiences and different populations which was for me the most powerful message.
ReplyDeleteCody also mentioned the term “victim” and its tendency to insult people. While watching the documentary When the Levees Broke I noticed that this was a major issue for a lot of the people affected by Katrina. Calling someone a victim takes away their power and if anyone noticed the woman from the domestic violence shelter referred to the population she was discussing as “survivors.” This image really stuck out to me because I was aware of it before Cody mentioned it yet I used it all over my midterm. I knew that calling someone a victim did not help anything and was not a sensitive way to communicate but I still used it in my paper. I feel this demonstrated that even being aware of a problem or an issue is not enough. We have to be consciously aware of our actions and our language if we want to improve ourselves. So I think that when I go to New Orleans I will keep this moment in mind and remember that even though I am aware of many issues and problems I need to continually be conscious of myself in order to really make an impact.
-Mariah Riling
I really enjoyed the panel discussion that we had in class last week. It was great to see how such a diverse panel could share similar insights on varying social issues regardless of what “group” they in fact represented. My favorite aspect, and probably the one that I think pertains most to our trip to Chicago (Teach for America), was that of communicating respectfully and effectively with stigmatized groups. I loved the advice of “Be yourself”, “be genuine”, “be humble”, “be open minded”, “use mirroring language”, “treat people with dignity”, “apologize and move on” and especially the framework that the Willow organization operated within of, “the survivor knows best”. I think all of these tips are invaluable, not only in working with any and every stigmatized group, but in working with people in general. I think the fact that all of these sentiments, ideas, and advices transcended these different personalities and organizations (all of which who have different missions), is a testament to how “true” and worthwhile the advise actually was. I think that keeping these things in mind while working in the schools in Chicago, whether it be with students, teachers, or Teach for America personnel, will facilitate the growth and strength of the relationships we build and in turn will allow us to realize our maximum potential in achieving what we set out to do—helping our organization and its constituents in any way we can.
ReplyDeletePierre Mondon
The presentation on stigmas was interesting to me because it brought up aspects of stigmas and effects of stigmas that I never really realized were there. Some of the populations that we talked about were populations that I had previously seen as sort of one-dimensional. One example of that is the queer community. Before the presentation, I sort of regarded that community as a single unknown entity.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of stigma doesn’t really apply to my break directly (I’m going to the Zion National Park to restore the trails and other maintenance). However, I believe I can take a very valuable lesson from the responses from the panel and apply it to how I approach my break. The panel discussed various topics from various points of view, but all of the responses came from the same root philosophy. That philosophy basically boils down to going into every situation with an open mind and attitude of learning. This could aid me while I’m trying to make a contribution to a community in multiple ways. One way is I can keep from offending people (either people on my trip, people directing us at our site, or people we run into on the way) that are different than me which would take away from the positive attitude of the trip as a whole. Another way I can take a lesson from the stigma panel and apply it to my trip is by taking that open and learning attitude into the work we will be doing. Being open to doing whatever the site needs will up my ability to be a valuable asset on the trip.
After listening to the panel talk about stigma, I realized something. In the past, if someone looked different or acted a certain way, I would always instantly judge them and never try and welcome them there, Especially when it came to those who were homosexual. I was very against them and turned a deaf ear towards the fact that hard their lives become so much harder once they're out because everyone knows. The advice "to be yourself" is one of those phrases that everyone hears their entire life, and just listening to the panel talk about this helped reinforce this point. It doesn't matter if you're different from anyone else. There are plenty of other people just like you that are just looking to meet new people and create life-long friendships.
ReplyDeleteOn my Spring Break trip to Kendalia, TX, there will be a stigma for the illegal immigrants and for the poor people, so interacting with them and showing that you do care, and that you're not just here to volunteer and then leave and never come back. It's a commitment and as a result, you have to be held accountable and go. But the biggest fact remains that is to not be accepted when you truly act yourself. This causes people to do crazy things and never be happy and they become scared to truly express themselves. With the trip, because of the stigma panel, I know that working with the sort of people I usually tried to avoid all throughout my child will be difficult and challenging, but listening to the panel talk helped convince me that I can do. They're humans just like us. They just want to be friends. And instead of going out of my way to avoid them, I'm going to do the opposite. I'm going to introduce myself to them and try to just talk and become friends with them.