Disciplinary Literacy Journal #2 by Chue Yang

Understanding Boundless Possibility

yang5616 — 2024-10-13 22:06:10 UTC

I was in sixth grade when Kao Kalia Yang came to our school and read her memoir, The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir, to us. It was an empowering moment for me to see a Hmong professional, someone who reflects what I look like, for the first time showcasing her unique gift and tell their story of growing up in a refugee camp, a very similar story that I, too, came from but hasn't yet had the language repertoires to explain. Seeing a successful Hmong woman reading to us for the first time made me believe that my possibilities were boundless, as I couldn't even imagine that it was possible for a Hmong person to become an author.

yang5616 — 2024-10-13 22:31:13 UTC

Flip-Flops Self Portrait

yang5616 — 2024-10-14 00:07:31 UTC

In my high school art class, we were asked to draw a self-portrait and write a short paragraph explaining what we drew. For my self-portrait, I drew myself wearing a flip-flop, a very cheap common footwear that reminds me of my identity of perseverance and determination through the hardship of growing up in refugee camps without proper shoes.

College Course - Hmong History Across the Globe

yang5616 — 2024-10-14 00:29:53 UTC

In this course, my Hmong professor supported us in gaining a better understanding of the history of the Hmong people. We explored the Hmong diaspora's impact on the Hmong language, history, health, and nuclear family structures. Through this class, I gained a stronger connection to my Hmong identity and a greater admiration for my parents and their courage in escaping on foot from the prosecution of the Pathet Lao after the Secret War. Stories that my mom told me to help her conceptualize into words the traumas that she still carried.

yang5616 — 2024-10-14 00:30:38 UTC

Push-up for Speaking Hmong

yang5616 — 2024-10-14 00:46:11 UTC

A time in which I felt like I was not allowed to bring my Hmong language identity into the classroom was in summer school during sixth grade. I was told by my white summer school teacher that speaking Hmong, my native language, was wrong and that only English could be used. My English was limited, so I kept using my Hmong language when communicating with my Hmong friends. The teacher would make me and my friends do push-ups as a reform for speaking our language.

String-Tying

yang5616 — 2024-10-14 00:56:31 UTC

Non-Hmong teachers and peers sometimes ask me about the red and white strings/yarn tied around my hands. Part of my identity follows the practices of shamanism and soul calling, in which animals are sacrificed as we call upon their spirits to support and protect our family members who may be suffering from an illness. The red and white yarns are tied after a ritual to bind a person's soul to their body and protect them from evil spirits. This was often something where I didn’t always feel comfortable sharing as it relate to animal sacrifice and spiritual beliefs of my cultural identity that can be seen as weird to outsiders not appropriately aware of the practices.

yang5616 — 2024-10-14 01:02:28 UTC

This is a great book I would like to use when exploring the living complexity of plants to help expand my students' perceptions that science can include knowledge beyond Western Science from diverse experiences and cultures of others, too. Braiding Sweetgrass weaves personal stories, scientific observations, and Indigenous teachings to highlight the importance of plants and the natural world.

Traditional Medicines and Spiritual Healing

yang5616 — 2024-10-14 01:28:46 UTC

Within Life Science, students will explore cell structure and function. We may discuss how our body cells are responsible for healing damaged body structures and discuss the value of medicine in aiding the body against infectious diseases. Traditional medicines and spiritual ways of healing could be implemented so that different students' identities are welcome to share their cultural ways of healing and valuing health. I can first introduce my cultural beliefs in the Shamanism ceremony and soul calling, setting a respectful and cultural acceptance environment for others to share their knowledge.

Scientist Spotlights

yang5616 — 2024-10-14 01:38:24 UTC

This is such a neat website that I plan to develop a project around it where my students can explore the different types of scientists. They can use their creativity to create ways to share and showcase the scientists they explore. I hope this will create a reflection in which my students can see themselves as scientists capable of pursuing whichever field of science and career they choose.