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Reflecting on everything we have discussed in class, I want to be a better listener and passive observer when around young children.  I have learned that children are very capable and deserve not to be treated as younger than they are. As always, patience is an important quality to have and possess, therefore, I want to be more patient when interacting with kids. Moreover, I think kids deserve the full ability to hold agency and be independent, which I will encourage. Finally, around young children, I will now make a cognizant effort to not be hypocritical in anything I say or do, because I have learned that children are always observing you and pay attention to what you say and do!

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Jake Fritsche

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In my personal life, technology played a large role in directing my social capabilities, both socially with friends and educationally in the classroom.  I remember playing on my family's computer when I was in elementary school, learning from the internet and playing games.  Additionally, I remember getting my first cell phone when I was in 6th grade, and thinking it was special that I could send a personalized message to my parents if I was not physically with them.  Over time, I gained more exposure to electronic as they became wildly popular and in high demand.  For example, in high school, I owned my first laptop, where I performed research, sent emails, and even surfed the internet.  Reflecting on my life, I have noticed how technology has rapidly advanced, as well as become more useful.  Today, a single device can perform so many essential functions in our lives!  I do not think this growth and rapid spreading of technology will change, however, we must be careful to not let it consume our world and tear us apart.

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Jake Fritsche

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Week 13 - Tuesday Reflection Video - Jake Fritsche

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Today's lecture was interesting because I was able to learn about the indigenous tribes and lands who settled in the present day lands I currently live in.  Reflecting on my own life, my family once came from a small area of Germany about 170 years ago and settled in Giddings, Texas, a town about 55 miles east of Austin. My family has since grown and moved primarily to Houston, which is where I am from. My relationship with the land, earth, and outdoors is unique because my family still has property in Giddings, Texas where we often go to relax, hunt and fish, as well as spend time with family outdoors. When I am there, I always walk outside, help mow the yard, and work on fences and dirt piles. Spending this quality time outside has allowed me to respect nature and engage with a different level of education.

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Jake Fritsche

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Week 12 - Tuesday Reflection Video - Jake Fritsche

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Growing up, biology played a large role in my life due to my education and other social interactions I had when I was younger.  I went to a traditional school, where didactic learning took place, although I was presented opportunities to learn and experience things for myself at home, which fostered my early development.  Additionally, I believe biology in the classroom impacted me through being enrolled in classes which roughly had 30 students in them.  This smaller classroom environment allowed me to meet and interact with others more easily, which benefitted my social aptitude.  Personally, I envision carrying the way my parents disciplined me, to my future children.  I believe they taught me the difference between right and wrong from an early age, which guided my decisions as I got older.  In some regards, I will try to be more patient when I am around younger children or even my own kids.

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Jake Fritsche

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Week 11 - Tuesday Reflection Video - Jake Fritsche

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In my personal life, culture has impacted many of the beliefs, values, and activities I have and do.  Culture is something that as kids, I believe we observe from our family, friends, and environment around us.  Personally, growing up in Southern culture, I was fortunate enough to be raised in a community which values close integration with one's family and fervent respect to adults.  This resulted in my close relationship with all of my grandparents and love for my family.  Additionally, the dominant culture of English being the most spoken language in my city, state, and even country, benefitted me in my education as well as social development.  Finally, I have other friends who are from different areas and are involved with other cultures, so it is interesting to learn why their beliefs are shaped by their childhood backgrounds!

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Jake Fritsche

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Week 10 - Tuesday Reflection Video - Jake Fritsche

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Today's discussion about ableism made me realize how our culture might explicitly promote the inclusion of disabled people, however, implicit messages through advertisements, commercials, and social media promote ableism and the discrimination against disabled people.  I believe there isn't enough recognition and support given to disabled people in government funding, medical help, or even social acts.  Personally, I see myself as a capable individual and feel fortunate enough to make my own decisions cognitively and freely move physically.  These non-limiting conditions have been able to give me the opportunity to exercise agency when making important decisions, going to school, and even spending time with friends.  I personally know someone who has autism, and we talk about the importance of helping people realize having different abilities from other people should not completely define someone or ever put isolating restrictions on them!

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Jake Fritsche

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Week 9 - Tuesday Reflection Video - Jake Fritsche

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I consider myself monolingual, because I my native language is English and I have spoken it all my life.  This being said, I took Spanish for 10 years at my school, and am fairly conversational in it.  I am not too confident of my Spanish ability, but I am proud I can converse with other Spanish speakers on occasion.  In regards to shaping my development, I felt learning Spanish helped me expand my knowledge of another culture, as well as different ways to learn certain concepts.  From a social perspective, I was able to communicate with more people in my neighborhood when I operated my powerwashing business; I was fortunate enough to connect with others - and benefit my neighborhood in a way I did not know was possible!

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Jake Fritsche

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Week 8 - Tuesday Reflection Video - Jake Fritsche

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As I mentioned in my Autobiography, my gender is male and I am white.  These largely impacted my childhood and upbringing.  I adhered to traditional stereotypes and played with typically male-oriented toys such as action figures and toy guns.  My development was additionally impacted by a summer camp I attended growing up, where I spent 2 weeks at an overnight camp with other boys my age.  It was a co-ed camp, so there were girls and boys both doing activities in their free time and playing games.  Through attending camp, I learned how girls were good at and loved to play the exact sports I did, which was not an idea I got to experience at home.  This was crucial for my ability to see past traditional gender norms, and be educated on these societal topics.

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Jake Fritsche

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Week 7 - Tuesday Reflection Video - Jake Fritsche

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I believe young babies should exhibit a considerable amount of agency.  This belief I hold is because children, in play, are able to experience and express themselves in ways not limited by outside factors.  In my own life, I was able to express agency at recess, which is where I was able to play after lunch in elementary school.  I usually was able to run wherever I wanted and play with my friends in truly any capacity.  This is desirable because it gives children a level of freedom they usually do not receive.  A healthy amount of oversight should be present though, because adults are usually looking out for us.

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Jake Fritsche

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Week 4 - Tuesday Reflection Video - Jake Fritsche

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This week, I am reflecting on our topic of Agency.  Agency had a large role in my life growing up because I grew up in a small private school, with about 30 students in my grade for all of elementary and middle school.  We could act independently, but were fairly closely monitored due to the intimate classroom setting. This being said, I can remember having structured classes with short breaks of free time in between them, to rest, talk, or explore, which is a good example of agency. In my life, I believe agency existed early on, and then decreased during my elementary years due to schooling, then obviously increased as I grew older and experienced more freedom.

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Jake Fritsche

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Week 3 - Tuesday Reflection Video - Jake Fritsche

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I grew up in Houston, Texas for most all of my life.  I actually was born in Plano, Texas which is outside of Dallas, but moved to Houston when I was three.  Being a lifelong Texan, my upbringing has been centered around having polite manners, only wearing shorts, and having a stocked refrigerator full of sweet tea. Although these southern ideals are portrayed in movies, I associate them with my childhood. Being from Texas, I have always been able to go hunting and fishing with my family outdoors, which is something I value.

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Jake Fritsche

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For my entire life, I have gone to small private schools.  I went to a small private elementary and middle school called St. Mark, which had roughly 30 kids in a class and was enjoyable because I developed intimate friendships with those I grew up with.  Additionally, I attended Houston Christian High School, where I graduated with 130 students and was fortunate to play baseball and basketball for the school, as well as participate in Student Council.

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I am a male that considers myself to fulfill the traditional "boy stereotypes" such as playing sports   like football and baseball, and enjoying and the rugged nature of the outdoors through camping.  Growing up, I was always the loud, talkative, and bold kid who never met a stranger and rarely got embarrassed.

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I am a white male, who was fortunate enough to never have to deal with the disheartening systemic racism that is prevalent today in America. In Houston, the population is very diverse; however, my schools were predominately white as well. This being said, I spent a significant amount of time volunteering at homeless shelters and food pantries in high school, which helped expose me to all different types of races and people of differing backgrounds.

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My native language is English, which is what I grew up learning and speaking.  I was fortunate enough to learn English from both of my parents, whose native languages were also English.  I learned intermediate Spanish in high school and consider myself to have decent fluency.  It is important for me to continue to learn Spanish, so I am able to travel the world and communicate with others better.

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Growing up in Texas, politics tend to favor conservatism. Some of my family is conservative, however, other people are more independent. I believe politics is important and the right to vote should always be carried out, as a gift given to us as Americans. Someday, I could see myself running for a small political office position; the idea and responsibility has always interested me.

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I was born into a family which prioritizes God and faith, discipline, hard-work, respect, and importantly, family. I love the close bond my family members and I share because we all know the trust and love we have for each other. Similarly, I was taught from a young age to respect others and listen to those who had something to say, which I believe is a missing quality in many people today.

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I am a Christian who grew up going to church with my family and ultimately made my faith my own belief. I grew up going to Christian school, as well as Christian summer camps, so this helped shaped me into who I am today. Pictured below is me and my campers at Camp Ozark, a Christian summer camp where I served as a counselor in the summer.

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I grew up playing every sport I could get my hands on - from baseball, golf, basketball, and football. Baseball was my first love, and I was able to play competitively for a while, ultimately leading me to commit to playing college baseball. I de-committed, and ended up here as a student at UT, but still try to play with my friends!

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I love my friends and my family - they are an important part of my life due to the close relationships and fun experiences we have shared over the years. Here is a picture of my buddies at UT; we are all members of a University organization called Silver Spurs.