I'm interested in two particular questions regarding this reading...first, what can we learn from reading Iserhoff's piece reflexively? Second, what is the value of this sort of writing, in general? What can we learn from people's stories about their lives? Are the life stories of even an "average" person worthwhile?
20 comments:
I believe that Iserhoff has a definite knack for allowing others to see things from her perspective, which is the basic point of relfexivity. I think that her vivid descriptions allow one to step insider her shoes, so to speak, and feel the things she was feeling at these difficult points in her life. I think that this can allow us to better understand others, and see that we are all more alike than it might initially appear; we all struggle with family issues, with feeling like we don't belong, with being lonely or feeling disrespected.
I think, though I can see why some people might think this type of writing is too specialized, that there is much to be gained by studying personal stories. I think it can be especially valuable as a tool to get an inside look at other cultures, and in the case of the Iserhoff piece to see the types of effects our government policies (like the mandatory education one) can have on minority groups. I think that by reading peices like these we can compare our own lives to the lives of others, and also generalize these experiences as specific examples of widespread phenomenon we should be aware of.
I think that Iserhoff did a good job of letting us see things from her view, and what she though. She had explanations and descriptions that kinda of made me feel like I was there. When I started reading her piece, I though of how much my life growing up was different than hers. I then began to think about how much I should appreciate what I had. I found it very interesting to read about this story, and it definitely held my attention.
From these kinds of stories, we can learn how different people grew up. It can allow people to understand people's lives better, and what it would be like to be in that person's shoes.
I think any story of any person's life is worthwhile reading, because everyone's life is different. By reading these kinds of stories, we can compare our lives.
Iserhoff's story allowed us to look deeply into a culture and to information we are generally not privy to. The difficulties she faced in the essay and the bravery to overcome these difficulties is inspiring. On the other hand, it is also hard for me to put myself in her position. I cannot imagine having my parents force me to go away to school for ten months on my own. I also have no inclination of what it would be like to live without a mother for so long.
I think the value of this sort of writing is the way it makes us think outside of ways with which we are comfortable. Reading about someone else's life allows us that safe distance, but at the same time makes us vividly aware of ways in which our lives may be similar after all.
I think that we can learn alot by reading Iserhoff from a reflixve stance. I dont think that too many of us can identify with her. She was living on a indian reservation type set up. She didnt really grow up in the society that we did. She was taken from her home and forced to learn the customs of another set of people. I think by reading this reflexivley it gives us insight on how she grew as a person. She started off hating school, she didnt want to go and leave her land. Later on she wanted to go to school and she became detached from her native lands. It allows us to see this transformation.
I believe this writing is valuable because it is something that not many go through. It broadens what we know about peoples customs and backgrounds. I do believe that your average person has a worthwhile story. People come from all different background, different family customs, different ethnicities. These can comprise a much different story for each average person.
From this reading, we get to understand where Iserhoff is coming from because it is sort of like a small version of a journal. We come to understand how she lived, what she thought as time went on, her fears, her accomplishments and how they made her feel, her feelings towards her family and how those changed as the story progressed and many other things that I came to understand through her writing. She talked about missing her family and trying to deal with being away from them. I am really close to my family and sometimes, being hours away from them, makes me a little homesick so I could defiantly connect with her on that aspect.
This type of writing is very personal.Through it, I can learn more about how the person feels and what they think as opposed to just finding out what they did on a day-to-day basis. It goes much deeper into the story and it makes the story better because I can usually find a feeling to relate with.
When people tell stories about their lives, I always start to think about my life and I start to go through some of the emotions and experiences I've been involved with.
I think everyone's life stories are worthwhile. Everyone has something to share that someone else hasn't gone through, be it good or bad. Some people might share a story of triumph an others might share a story of sorrow. People have so many interesting things to share but they never get the opportunity to talk about those experiences. Through other peoples stories we can also learn more about ourself.
It seems we can learn that she was uncomfortable with the many changes in her life. She seems to be a Native American from Canada who was being Anglicized. She was very uncomfortable about being taken away from her family and not being allowed to speak her language. She makes us be able to feel how she did and does a good job of describing her emotions. She lets people see what she saw and feel how she felt making it a much more powerful writing.
I think this type of writing can be entertaining and can also be considered a type of historical account. I don't think its the most advanced form of writing or necessarily a productive type but if it is interesting can serve a purpose. I wouldn't think this style of writing would be very interesting if it was from an ordinary person who hasn't had an exciting life. I don't think this would be the type of writing I'd pick out to read but it isn't horrible to read when required.
Iserhoff's story was definitely a good look at how "nurture" affects human beings. From reading her piece reflexively, I learned that it is hard to develop a true identity when the culture of your environment changes. Also, constantly shifting from one environment to another without developing roots can leave one feeling very alone. It was hard for Iserhoff to develop a set of values from her heritage and connections to people around her because she was thrown into a world where she was supposed to think and behave according to very different standards.
Stories about others' lives allow us to live vicariously; thus, we can get inside their heads and learn how they perceive and feel in given situations. Then, from coming to understand how they perceive the world, we can reevaluate our perceptions, sometimes modifying our attitudes. Also, though we may not change our lines of thinking, we may better understand why people think/do what they do allowing us to grow in tolerance and empathy. Because no one person perceives the same way as any other, stories of even an average person are worthwhile.
We can learn many things about the Indian culture from Iserhoff's experiences. Her stories let us view her childhood from her point of view and also makes us compare our childhood with hers. I personally can not relate to any of Iserhoff's experiences, but I can relate to remembering the bad things instead of the good. It seems that bad memories stick in your mind because I think people often take good experiences for granted.
I thought that Iserhoff's writing was very personal and was very hard to relate to. As middle-class citizens, none of us really understand the hardships that she went through. I did not get a lot out of her stories because I think that everyone has hardships that they must overcome in their lives. I thik that her experiences are unique because she is from another culture, but they are just part of life.
Iserhoff shows her story and allows the reader to see through her eyes. Her life growing up did not start the same way mine did but I understand how she came to her conclusions through her writing. Knowing what other people go through is valuble because a person can discover how great their own life is. Life is what you make it out to be.
We can be reflexive with the "average" person because most people are the "average" person. Those stories are worth while because they are the easiest to connect with.
I think there is a lot to gain from reading this piece with a reflexive attitude. By looking at the world through anothers eyes we can start to understand more about there life and become more accepting to people in general.
Personal stories allow people to see from another viewpoint. they draw the reader in by making them feel as if the story were about themselves. I think the stories about average people, although maybe not quite as exciting, are the most valuable of all. They allow us to really connect with the person in the story and make the story much more realistic and relevant.
reflexivity might be defined as seeing things from different point of views or perspectives. Iserhoff definitely used this term very well. From her descriptions it is easy to see how the different perspectives placed in her writing. It easier for us to understand others when we are thrown into their point of views. And Iserhoff did this very well.
With writings like this, it is easy to relate ones self to that of others situations. Everyone's life is interesting in its own way, and therefore we can truly see the meaning of her stories.
I think Iserhoff really captured readers attention. She was very open with how she felt about things and talked about things in detail almost enough detail to make you think you were there.
I like to read personal stories because you can almost always relate in one way or another, even if the author has come from a completely different background. Personal stories help people to become more accepting of others and their cultures.
I feel that Iserhoff did a pretty good job of showing how she felt about reflexivity. She does a great job at opening eyes to what is going in the world with other people. and allows readers to peer into the lives of others.
I think great knowledge and character can be built from reading stories about other people. one is then able to take away important messages and such from other peoples mistakes happiness or disappointment. Then after the gather this knowledge the have the ability to do hat they please with it, whether that means acting on it or just letting it go by the wayside, that is up to the individual.
I thought this reading was so interesting. I was amazed at her different life style. When I first started reading it, I was thinking if was hundreds of years ago. When I realized it wasn't, I was amazed at their classic lifestyle.
I think the value is that you realize the different culture. Her people were so into following the book, and not changing the way they have been living for the past however many years. She was shunned from her town for wanted to learn, and not be like the people before her. I couldn't imagine living in that environment.
Through Iserhoff's writing we are able to see and understand how the natives felt and what they went through. Through reading entries like this one we are able to see how life is in a different view. We are able to understand the issues of the time period and cultures that are foreign to us. Even what seems like an average lifestyle to some can be completely unknown to others. We can all learn from the traits of others and how they handle situations within their lives.
Through reading this story I was able to feel sorry for the certain characters and allow emotions to be enraptured throughout. I think that Iserhoff accurately portrayed racism in a way that was efficient and meaningful to his audience. It was hard not to sympathize with the characters; therefore, allowing readers to form bonds and own opinions about the government nd society at this time.
This reading gave a clear view of what Iserhoff's life was like. Before reading this I knew nothing of Canadian indians, but I was able to understand the things she went through because of the way she told them. I could understand how she was feeling at times.
I think it is very important to read these types of writings. By reading these we can understand what other cultures are like. This can give us something to compare our own cultures to. It is important to do this because certain things we find completely normal are completely unfamiliar to other cultures. By learning about other cultures we can better understand our own. "Average" people often give the best accounts of culture because they lead everyday lives of it.
The way that Iserhoff writes, allowed me to put myself in her shoes very easily. Although I cannot personally relate to her life, I can read this story reflexively and understand the struggles she went through growing up. She writes very descriptivly, which allows people to put themselves into her reading. These personal stories make it easier for people to understand where she is coming from.
I think that personal stories are very valuable. They allow people to understand other peoples lives better. Also, they help to show how someone's childhood molds them into who they are as an adult. Everybody has there own story, so reading other people's helps you think about your own life and how it has influenced you as a person. Everybody's story is unique in some way and hearing other peoples allows you to compare your story to theirs, which is valuable.
I think Iserhoff did a great way of allowing us to see from another persons perspective. She uses a lot of detail and description which made it much easier to understand what she was talking about.
I think we can learn a lot from other people's life stories. We only sometimes see what our life is and only focus on what we know. By hearing other peoples side of things and how they grew up can allow us to learn other peoples cultures. People need to be more diverse and by this I mean more open minded to others peoples way of living and their experiences.
by allowing us to see someone the way someone else was grown up can allow us to understand how great we really have it. Sometimes I take things for granted but seeing how negatively someone can live makes me feel more blessed about my life.
I think that Iserhoff makes a very valid point in stressing the importance of reflexivity, especially when relating stories about ones personal experience to another. She makes it easier for the reader to step into the framework of her story by giving explicit details about the circumstances and how it effected her as a person. Everyone has personal hardships, and acknowledging that helps to bridge the gaps in our realm of understanding.
I do agree that this type of writing is specialized, but I can still appreciate it none the less. I think that it is important to be reflexive. Its one of the most important things in my life.
Reflexively I believe that we can learn the hardships that another culture or people other our own faced and be able to better understand the culture and be able to live peacefully with them with out having to force our ideologies on them.
This sort of writing gives us a better understanding of the other view points which can eliminate some of our own biases of close mindedness.
Whether or not the life story is worthwhile is not the key but what we need is to gain an understanding of what they went through to gain an even better understanding of our own lives.
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