To: Group on Women

Hi all,

I loved your presentation on women in education. Your Prezi was interesting and visually
pleasing. It had a lot of material but the formatting and organized structure made it easy
to follow and helped me think about what was being presented about each woman.
Though I really liked the song, it was sometimes hard to read with a song that had lyrics
playing in the background. The song was awesome though, and played a big part in the
feel of the Prezi, so it would be tough to replace.

I also liked what aspects of each womans relationship you chose to hone in on, including
her upbringing, specific ideals she had toward education, and her legacy. The legacy part
was especially interesting because, as we talked about in class, these women arent
particularly celebrated in typical history education.

The format of your write up is clear, to the point, and thought provoking. I love the use of
a set of quotes for each woman with a brief analysis following. That helps the women and
their stories speak for themselves, while including your thinking without making it too
complex. Well done!

she encourages her fellow Native Americans to learn English, most likely to give them a
common language with which to share ideas and advocate for themselves (from the
Zitkala-Sa analysis)
- Good point, it seems like this thin line is what so many people and groups were
forced to walk, she represents it well.

Her struggles were similar to the struggles of many of the schools created to civilize
Native Americans, except that she genuinely wanted to help them (from Charlotte
Forten analysis)
- I wonder how many people/ teachers this was the case for? It is a powerful
realization and one that I think could help anyone think about different ways to
approach education

Great Job!
Abby

To: Group on Native Americans

Hi all,

The visual component of your presentation was so interesting. It was unique in a way that
made complete sense with the Native American experience. Seeing the sections of land
change and diminish on each map was powerful. I like how you made this so clear, losing
land is so strongly connected to the education experience of Native Americans, and you
connected it well with the information that went with the maps in the presentation. I also
liked that the maps were the main focus and you included information in ways that didnt
hinder the visual.

I also liked that your write up uses a focus on Zitkala-Sas experience. Using a focus like
this helped me really get a feel for the information you were presenting in an engaging
way. Her story encompasses many of the greater issues facing Native Americans and
education, particularly the image of dangling between cultures, so it works well as a
window into the process of deliberate deculturization.

One part of your write up that stood out to me was your discussion about her relationship
with her mother. This showed the difficulty of having one foot in the world of ones
parents and one foot in a new world, and how education still struggles to make that
middle ground work.

Well Done!
Abby


To: Group on Asian Americans

Hi all,

I loved your narrative-style presentation. Writing and presenting from the first person
allowed me to really get a feel for the range of experiences going on, as well as dig
deeply into specific types of experience. You were clear about your presentation not
covering everyone and every aspect of Asian American education, which is completely
reasonable, but I think you did cover a variety that demonstrated the even greater variety
throughout the 19
th
and 20
th
centuries.

It made sense for your written component to be part of the presentation because it was so
useful to hear the vignettes read aloud. Additionally, it was powerful to hear each story
while seeing the images you presented. I liked how some images matched what was
going on in the narrative and some were dramatically contradictory, it made a good point
about the range of experiences and perspectives.

I really liked the part in Meis vignette when she talks about how her parents get upset
when she criticizes the segregation going on within desegregated schools. She says,
when I speak like that Im disrespecting everything my parents and grandparents worked
towards to get us an equal education. This makes a great point about the generational
differences you highlight in your presentation.

Ending with Mary Tapes vignettes was a great idea. It was a strong ending that
highlighted how long this struggle has been going on, what has improved/ changed and
what has not.
Well Done!
Abby

To: Group on Hispanic/Latino Americans

Hi all,

The idea of using a board game as the visual component of your presentation was so
creative and interactive. Physically moving through the timeline of specific characters
made the overarching history of education for Hispanic and Latino Americans as a
system more personal. It was hard to have full access to the board with everyone
playing at once though. Of course, the amount of people in the class and the structure
of presenting made that difficult to work with anyway. I think in a situation where there
was a small group really playing and going through the game, it would be a very effective
learning tool!

I like how the board game really broke down events into accessible summaries and
events, but your characters (players) and the written narrative illustrate the experience in
a more personal way. I especially like the point you made about how this way of looking
at the history of Hispanic/ Latino American education shows that events stay present in
families, even if they happened 50 years ago, it affected a near relative. It makes sense
that your narrative tells a story of a Mexican family, specifically. This keeps it
accessible, personal, and real.

The part of your narrative about Carmen stood out to me the most. It moves so quickly
from her showing love for education and potential for success, to her having to put away
her books in order to make money for the family, which leads to her life as a mother and
housewife. The narrative flows in a way that highlights a cycle of attempted education
confronted with laws either for better or worse, and then social/ societal/ economic
powers overtaking any effort. It works well to tell a multigenerational story.

Nice work!
Abby