Manny remembers growing up resisting work. However, his dad told him that he has to be doing something. In high school, Manny worked as a stockboy and a bagboy at his Uncle’s market. He hated it. On the weekends, he would mow his neighbor’s lawns. He said that he felt his dad’s pressure to work, so he was always busy. Another job he had was working as a telemarketer. Although he was good at it, he quit after three months. In college, he worked as a tutor off and on. He also worked at the local Save-On supermarket. His favorite job was working as a page at the Riverside City Library-Main Branch. This was from his sophomore year in college until about a year after he graduated. His responsibilities included shelving books, sorting books and helping customers find books. Working with the public was the best part of the job. He also tutored the homeless, worked as a painter with his friends. Faux finishing and murals were the types of painting he did. He also worked at refinishing old furniture. He was getting paid for it but now it has turned into a hobby. His job lasted about a year. He missed teaching, so he began working at an after-school program in Lamont from 2009 until this past June. He held other side jobs, such as working for an air conditioning contractor. His dad told him that he had to have a trade, so he would place advertisements for painting jobs. He would make a couple of hundred dollars from these advertisements. His mother’s advice to him was “Don’t work in the fields.” His father’s belief was hard, physical labor was good work.
Manny grew up playing outside, getting dirty. He would always be outside, climbing trees. He spent a lot of time outside until high school. When he was attending University of California Riverside, he would go mountain climbing. He spent a lot of time at Joshua Tree National Monument. He likes to go fishing, although he can’t swim or like to eat the fish he catches. He likes being on the water. The coast is a favorite destination, but he does not go into the ocean. He enjoys being out in the environment. His family did have a garden when he was growing up. The garden has been replaced with peach trees. Manny does not go camping. He, like me, recycles.
Here's Barb's bio of Gerardo: Gerardo’s Labor History
Gerardo’s labor history is especially unique because he grew up in Mexico and moved to the United States when he was 14 years old. In Mexico he had done agricultural work at his families farm. He says it was common in Mexico to work to sustain your own fields as a living, not working on other farms. This was a better opportunity then factory work, which only paid the equivalent of $1.50 per hour. Growing up in Mexico he aspired to be a mechanic or a farmer, both options that were common and familiar to him. When he and his family moved to the United States he discovered teaching, and became passionate about the field. His brothers work in factories and his dad manages a farm company. His mom is able to stay home and perform domestic work. A the age of seventeen he began to tutor kids because he wanted to use his knowledge to help other kids. His family was proud of this decision and supported his aspirations to go to college. He studied anthropology in college, and did a lot of field work, something he finds ironic because it carries a completely different meaning that field work in relation to farming. He valued education and worked to pay for part of tuition, the rest being covered by scholarships. Being in the U.S., at times he feels alienated from his culture, but is happy to be helping students through teaching.
Gerardo’s Environmental History
Gerardo started by discussing how he felt more attached to the land in Mexico, not only because he worked it but because it is more open. In California he feels he can’t enjoy nature in the same way. He enjoys seasonal changes and is very fond of the beach in Salinas. When he was young he played with the land, imagining different games or scenarios, and as we get older he feels we become more alienated from the land. He grew up near the second largest lake in the continent, in Jalisco, Mexico. A very unique outdoor experience that Gerardo has had is working with migrant students ages 10-16 in a summer program that goes for a week and includes camping and experiencing nature. His favorite campsite is San Luis Opisbo, and his favorite outdoor activity is hiking.
Dennis recalls being 3 or 4 years old standing in the front driveway of his house helping his dad build something. He’s wearing a toolbelt and green shirt. This was his first memory with working. This brings him to the time when he was in 6th or 7th grade where he worked around the house and also helped his family in their donut shop. Continuing to help his family with their business, when they moved from the donut shop business to running a catering service, Dennis would assist in making a variety of food. But the first job Dennis was paid for was when following the catering service endeavor, his family decided to convert the donut shop into a restaurant that served American style food. Here Dennis worked as a waiter earning money through tips. The second job Dennis took was working at Mcdonalds for a year and half before deciding to go back to school. During his pursuit of a degree, Dennis worked as tutor; tutoring accounting and psychology. He also became a caretaker for his grandmother and dad for about 6 years. From about 2004 to 2009, he worked as a crewperson at the Visalia Convention Center working as a crew person to doing housekeeping and finally as a technician while there. Eventually, he became a substitute teacher which inspired him to pursue a career in education.
Dennis comes from a farming family, but by the time he was born, they had moved away from agriculture. His family did continue to growing a variety of fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes, apricots, lemons, among others at a much smaller scale. He can recall going outside and picking the apricots that had fallen from the trees. Besides gardening, he would also mow the lawn as part of his chores. Eventually he would move from Lynwood, California and settle in Visalia. The transition from the city to a more country atmosphere was an easy tranistion. He describes it as being quieter in Visalia, and more of a steady life then in the city. Dennis would continue to garden with his family. Though he does not go camping, he can recall the one time he did in which he went camping out in Pismo Beach, located in California’s central coast. Dennis does enjoy the outdoors and has visited beautiful places like Yosemite National Park among other scenic areas. More importantly, Dennis does recycle, specifically aluminum cans, plastics and cardboard.
Barbara’s first working experience was helping in her house in the garden and yard. Her father worked as a doctor and her mom was a homemaker. Barb’s parents emphasized education as means to getting a better job and more opportunities. Barb’s parents supported her financially in school. During the summer she worked full time as a lifeguard, so she could be outside. Barbs’ two sisters worked as lifeguards too. Later she worked as a hostess for a Mexican restaurant. For a short period of time, she worked in a tanning salon. At first, she questioned her parents’ decision of asking her to work in the yard, but now appreciates the opportunity because it taught her a lesson: valuing and earning ones own money to meet personal wants.
Barb’s Environmental Autobiography
Barb was born in St. Louis, Missouri. With a smile she recalls playing Indians and with sticks as guns and enjoying the outdoors. She shared how her parents had a garden where they cultivated their own fruits and vegetables. This was not very common in her neighborhood; her parents shared their harvest with the community. She very much enjoyed visiting her extended family’s farm of tobacco and corn. Also, she enjoys camping and the outdoors. Now that she lives in California, “I will miss the snow, the seasons.” Lastly, Barb shared how California is very car-oriented. In her most recent visit to Sequoia’s National Park she observed how park visitors would just take pictures next to a big tree and remain in the car listening to the radio and enjoying the air conditioner. How can you enjoy and appreciate mother nature that way?
Noemi's first exposure to work was in the strawberry fields of California, where as a young girl she played with the children of fieldworkers who were harvesting the crops around them. Her parents were not permanently employed as farm hands, nor did they view farm labor as ideal; work in the fields was not stable and didn't pay enough for them to support a family. Noemi's father became a longtime employee of a Firestone tire plant, and would return home from long days unable to touch his children until he vigorously scrubbed his hands because of the chemicals that he had been exposed to at work. Her mother was a housecleaner and sold items at local flee markets. Both her parents experienced difficulties with their jobs; her mother was fired by an angry priest whose house she cleaned, and her father – alongside of many other members of the community – was laid off from his job in the Firestone plant after it was moved to Mexico. Some workers had become so dependent on this factory that they committed suicide as a result. As a high school student, Noemi's academic excellence drew the attention of someone who offered her a job at Dairy Queen, where she worked part-time until College. Her parents insisted that school work take precedence over a paying job, so she used this job behind the counter to earn spending money. They insisted that she and her siblings avoid their lives of blue collar work, and knew that education was the means to do so. Giving birth to a child changed Noemi's conception of work. No longer did she believe labor to be restricted to paid employment; being a mother forced her to work harder and longer than she'd ever worked before.
Noemi began her relationship with the environment at a young age, when, as a tradition, her father would take her and her siblings on camping trips for her birthday along the central California coast. There they would watch the whales on Point Reyes and enjoy beautiful views of the Pacific. When relatives visited from out of town, the family would take them to Big Sur, where the combination of towering redwood trees, rolling hills, and seemingly never ending Pacific Ocean made it one of her favorite places on earth. Every summer, Noemi's family travels to Mexico to visit relatives, and it is the smell of the hard packed, wet soil that remains vivid in her mind and brings her back to that special place. As field workers, her parents had very strong ties to the land, and Noemi wishes that her current lifestyle and work schedule did not force her to abandon that close relationship. As a girl they lived on five acres and had a garden, so there would always be fresh produce around to eat. Neighbors who worked in the fields would frequently drop by with produce they had farmed. Environmental consciousness, Noemi believes, must be a part of every child's education. As a school administrator, she worked with environmentalists to create a waste management program so that kids would learn to understand the value of conserving what they use.
These great bios are from Noemi: DAVE HELLER BIOGRAPHY THROUGH THE LENS OF LABOR
Dave Heller’s love for education runs deep within his family’s roots and history. His passion for education is one that he trekked hundreds of miles to pursue from his home state of New York to the predominantly migrant farm working community of Delano in California. Dave grew up in a two-parent household of professional educators. His mother still works as a teacher in Special Education and has experience in Kindergarten and fourth grade. His father also still works as a principal but now is at a more urban and affluent elementary school. It was not until Dave worked helping out his mother one summer in between college that he gained a completely new respect for her teaching profession. When Dave was born his mother went on maternity leave from her teaching to start her lifelong work and love as a mother. She returned to work as a teacher soon after. Dave notes how a Peruvian woman stepped in to take care of him so that his mom could go back to teaching. This Peruvian woman taught him how to say his numbers in Spanish.
Dave’s paternal grandfather’s love for education allowed him to pursue a career as a dentist. However, he had really wanted to be a scientist but because of university quotas that restricted Jewish applicants, he was unable to gain admittance into various medical institutions of higher learning. Strict quotas were predominant in most medical schools during the 1930s including Cornell, Columbia, and Yale. University deans would often specifically outline, for instance, that no more than five Jews be admitted, only two Italian Catholics, and no African Americans. When asked about his paternal grandmother’s occupation he was not sure. His mother’s father, on the other hand, fought in World War II as a pilot.
When asked how he conceptualizes work, Dave indicated that work is something that we have to do and and that allows us to make money in order to live. The more important question for him, though, is how to find a line of work that does not feel like work. His work experiences as a youth have taken Dave from working at a restaurant, to working at a golf and country club, to working for a year for AmeriCorps. Each year, AmeriCorps offers 75,000 opportunities for adults of all ages and backgrounds to serve through a network of partnerships with local and national nonprofit groups whether it involves tutoring, mentoring, or operating an afterschool program. When Dave worked at the restaurant, he did it primarily to make money for clothes and food. His coworkers were predominantly Latinos. When asked to reflect on his past work experiences he remembers in particular one person whom he describes as mean and who use to manage him at the country club. He also remembers driving around in a golf cart at the country club. Notably, Davis states, is how the country club would select a pretty looking girl to ride around in the carts in an effort to sell beverages and other snacks.
Dave is now in the Bard College MAT Delano program pursuing a master’s and teaching credential to become a history teacher. It is a pursuit he hopes will become a labor of love and where the lines between work and fun will be blurred. Instilling this same blurring of lines in all of his classes will certainly make him a most successful teacher.
Dave has always loved the outdoors. He remembers growing up and especially loving the woods and jumping in piles of leaves. He is fond of the memories he shared with his father in which they would take weekend hikes. He makes a comparison to the national and local parks in California and notes how the parks in New York are much smaller. However, in New York, one could take a ten to fifteen minute drive away from home and find a nice park. When asked how those childhood memories of being outdoors have influenced his relationship with the environment he describes this impact as a peaceful one. “I have always felt most at peace when I am outdoors and exploring,” he states. His love for the outdoors and nature, he notes, is more real than just being outdoors on a street.
Dave grew up about an hour from New York City in a community that is on the cusp between the suburbs of New York and the countryside. One of the past times that is popular back home is horseback riding.
He has also had an opportunity to explore various parts of the world and take in breathtaking views of landscapes from these different regions. Out of all the landscapes he has viewed the one he liked the most was in New Zealand. It is a sparsely populated area, he remembers. He loves it because of the rolling hills and vast lands.
His love of the outdoors has also manifested itself in his love for outdoor sports. Sports have played a major part of his life including some indoor sports like swimming. He loves to view nature as well as touch it. When he goes to the beach he always makes it a point of going out into the water.
Manny is from the Central Valley, growing up in Bakersfield. He has started developing allergies. He said that his brother and mother both suffer from allergies. His family medical history includes heart disease and high blood pressure. Because of those conditions, he has started to eat healthier. He recently got glasses to help him when he is reading. He struggled with reading, because it strained his eyes. One other thing that he said was that there is Depression on his Mom's side of the family.
Dennis moved to the Central Valley from Los Angeles and noticed a difference in allergies, perhaps related to the amount of pollen due to the large farms in the area. Also, he had an aunt who was diagnosed with Valley Fever and as a result, she had to move to the coast which improved her condition. Similarly, his great grandfather moved to the Central Valley from Kansas and developed health problems. Dennis is unsure of what they are specifically, but he states that he may have been related to asthma. As a result of the health problems developed, his great grandfather moved to Oregon where his health improved, but eventually moved back to the Central Valley and had a similar experience. He then settled at the coast where his health improved. Diabetes and cancer do run in his family history. Also, in 1992, as part of his senior project, Dennis did do research on AIDS which he found interesting and enlightening.
Barbara’s Bio-history, During middle school and elementary school breaks Barb traveled with her parents around the world. In Barb’s visits to third world countries her parents encouraged her to get vaccinated as a safety measure. By the way, Barb’s father is a doctor. Because of this she did not visit a clinic as often. Barb has taken all of her immunization shots, and takes a frequent physical exam. Here in California, she visits a doctor if symptoms continue for a few days. Also, in her purse she carries medicine (pills) to alleviate her allergies and medicine for any other pain. Her parents make fun of her because of this and call her purse a pharmacy. As a result of her relocation to attend graduate school her allergies have changed. In summary, Barb shared that, “my family is pretty healthy for the most part.”
When asked to discuss his life from a Bio-historical interpretation, Dave Heller pointed out the anthrax scare. This was something he personally witnessed during his stay in Washington D.C. during the years of 2007-09. He was a college student at the time at Georgetown University attending graduate school. He admitted that he was a little scared during this time of fear and uncertainty. One thing that he remembers about this event is how Asians in particular would wear the masks. He remembers wondering whether they were wearing them in order to protect themselves from being infected or whether they were carriers. The second brush with any type of bio-related experience was with contracting chicken pox he further states. His parents were relieved that he had gotten the chicken pox as a young child because of the stories they had heard of people getting them as adults and all of the pockmarks that resulted. As a child, Dave was also prone to many ear infections. On the plus side, he liked receiving the medication to combat these infections which were tasty in his view because they were bubble-gum flavored. On one occasion, his mother had put some of his medicine in his orange juice in the refrigerator. After one sip of it, however, he immediately put it back and never tasted it again. It was not until later that his mother discovered that he had never finished it. His last recollection of any experiences related to bio-history was during his senior year in high school. He had contracted mono, which left him bedridden for two weeks. Bio-history is an interesting historical topic that can be especially useful for studying larger historical themes. The study of epidemic viruses, infections, and diseases, however, can also play an important role in illustrating how they have shaped individual lives as Dave’s myriad experiences illustrate.
Manny remembers growing up resisting work. However, his dad told him that he has to be doing something. In high school, Manny worked as a stockboy and a bagboy at his Uncle’s market. He hated it. On the weekends, he would mow his neighbor’s lawns. He said that he felt his dad’s pressure to work, so he was always busy. Another job he had was working as a telemarketer. Although he was good at it, he quit after three months. In college, he worked as a tutor off and on. He also worked at the local Save-On supermarket. His favorite job was working as a page at the Riverside City Library-Main Branch. This was from his sophomore year in college until about a year after he graduated. His responsibilities included shelving books, sorting books and helping customers find books. Working with the public was the best part of the job. He also tutored the homeless, worked as a painter with his friends. Faux finishing and murals were the types of painting he did. He also worked at refinishing old furniture. He was getting paid for it but now it has turned into a hobby. His job lasted about a year. He missed teaching, so he began working at an after-school program in Lamont from 2009 until this past June. He held other side jobs, such as working for an air conditioning contractor. His dad told him that he had to have a trade, so he would place advertisements for painting jobs. He would make a couple of hundred dollars from these advertisements. His mother’s advice to him was “Don’t work in the fields.” His father’s belief was hard, physical labor was good work.
ReplyDeleteManny grew up playing outside, getting dirty. He would always be outside, climbing trees. He spent a lot of time outside until high school. When he was attending University of California Riverside, he would go mountain climbing. He spent a lot of time at Joshua Tree National Monument. He likes to go fishing, although he can’t swim or like to eat the fish he catches. He likes being on the water. The coast is a favorite destination, but he does not go into the ocean. He enjoys being out in the environment. His family did have a garden when he was growing up. The garden has been replaced with peach trees. Manny does not go camping. He, like me, recycles.
Here's Barb's bio of Gerardo:
ReplyDeleteGerardo’s Labor History
Gerardo’s labor history is especially unique because he grew up in Mexico and moved to the United States when he was 14 years old. In Mexico he had done agricultural work at his families farm. He says it was common in Mexico to work to sustain your own fields as a living, not working on other farms. This was a better opportunity then factory work, which only paid the equivalent of $1.50 per hour. Growing up in Mexico he aspired to be a mechanic or a farmer, both options that were common and familiar to him.
When he and his family moved to the United States he discovered teaching, and became passionate about the field. His brothers work in factories and his dad manages a farm company. His mom is able to stay home and perform domestic work. A the age of seventeen he began to tutor kids because he wanted to use his knowledge to help other kids. His family was proud of this decision and supported his aspirations to go to college. He studied anthropology in college, and did a lot of field work, something he finds ironic because it carries a completely different meaning that field work in relation to farming. He valued education and worked to pay for part of tuition, the rest being covered by scholarships. Being in the U.S., at times he feels alienated from his culture, but is happy to be helping students through teaching.
Gerardo’s Environmental History
Gerardo started by discussing how he felt more attached to the land in Mexico, not only because he worked it but because it is more open. In California he feels he can’t enjoy nature in the same way. He enjoys seasonal changes and is very fond of the beach in Salinas. When he was young he played with the land, imagining different games or scenarios, and as we get older he feels we become more alienated from the land. He grew up near the second largest lake in the continent, in Jalisco, Mexico. A very unique outdoor experience that Gerardo has had is working with migrant students ages 10-16 in a summer program that goes for a week and includes camping and experiencing nature. His favorite campsite is San Luis Opisbo, and his favorite outdoor activity is hiking.
Dennis recalls being 3 or 4 years old standing in the front driveway of his house helping his dad build something. He’s wearing a toolbelt and green shirt. This was his first memory with working. This brings him to the time when he was in 6th or 7th grade where he worked around the house and also helped his family in their donut shop. Continuing to help his family with their business, when they moved from the donut shop business to running a catering service, Dennis would assist in making a variety of food. But the first job Dennis was paid for was when following the catering service endeavor, his family decided to convert the donut shop into a restaurant that served American style food. Here Dennis worked as a waiter earning money through tips. The second job Dennis took was working at Mcdonalds for a year and half before deciding to go back to school. During his pursuit of a degree, Dennis worked as tutor; tutoring accounting and psychology. He also became a caretaker for his grandmother and dad for about 6 years. From about 2004 to 2009, he worked as a crewperson at the Visalia Convention Center working as a crew person to doing housekeeping and finally as a technician while there. Eventually, he became a substitute teacher which inspired him to pursue a career in education.
ReplyDeleteDennis comes from a farming family, but by the time he was born, they had moved away from agriculture. His family did continue to growing a variety of fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes, apricots, lemons, among others at a much smaller scale. He can recall going outside and picking the apricots that had fallen from the trees. Besides gardening, he would also mow the lawn as part of his chores. Eventually he would move from Lynwood, California and settle in Visalia. The transition from the city to a more country atmosphere was an easy tranistion. He describes it as being quieter in Visalia, and more of a steady life then in the city. Dennis would continue to garden with his family. Though he does not go camping, he can recall the one time he did in which he went camping out in Pismo Beach, located in California’s central coast. Dennis does enjoy the outdoors and has visited beautiful places like Yosemite National Park among other scenic areas. More importantly, Dennis does recycle, specifically aluminum cans, plastics and cardboard.
Barb’s Labor Autobiography
ReplyDeleteBarbara’s first working experience was helping in her house in the garden and yard. Her father worked as a doctor and her mom was a homemaker. Barb’s parents emphasized education as means to getting a better job and more opportunities. Barb’s parents supported her financially in school. During the summer she worked full time as a lifeguard, so she could be outside. Barbs’ two sisters worked as lifeguards too. Later she worked as a hostess for a Mexican restaurant. For a short period of time, she worked in a tanning salon. At first, she questioned her parents’ decision of asking her to work in the yard, but now appreciates the opportunity because it taught her a lesson: valuing and earning ones own money to meet personal wants.
Barb’s Environmental Autobiography
Barb was born in St. Louis, Missouri. With a smile she recalls playing Indians and with sticks as guns and enjoying the outdoors. She shared how her parents had a garden where they cultivated their own fruits and vegetables. This was not very common in her neighborhood; her parents shared their harvest with the community. She very much enjoyed visiting her extended family’s farm of tobacco and corn. Also, she enjoys camping and the outdoors. Now that she lives in California, “I will miss the snow, the seasons.” Lastly, Barb shared how California is very car-oriented. In her most recent visit to Sequoia’s National Park she observed how park visitors would just take pictures next to a big tree and remain in the car listening to the radio and enjoying the air conditioner. How can you enjoy and appreciate mother nature that way?
Dave's Bio of Noemi:
ReplyDeleteNoemi's first exposure to work was in the strawberry fields of California, where as a young girl she played with the children of fieldworkers who were harvesting the crops around them. Her parents were not permanently employed as farm hands, nor did they view farm labor as ideal; work in the fields was not stable and didn't pay enough for them to support a family. Noemi's father became a longtime employee of a Firestone tire plant, and would return home from long days unable to touch his children until he vigorously scrubbed his hands because of the chemicals that he had been exposed to at work. Her mother was a housecleaner and sold items at local flee markets. Both her parents experienced difficulties with their jobs; her mother was fired by an angry priest whose house she cleaned, and her father – alongside of many other members of the community – was laid off from his job in the Firestone plant after it was moved to Mexico. Some workers had become so dependent on this factory that they committed suicide as a result. As a high school student, Noemi's academic excellence drew the attention of someone who offered her a job at Dairy Queen, where she worked part-time until College. Her parents insisted that school work take precedence over a paying job, so she used this job behind the counter to earn spending money. They insisted that she and her siblings avoid their lives of blue collar work, and knew that education was the means to do so. Giving birth to a child changed Noemi's conception of work. No longer did she believe labor to be restricted to paid employment; being a mother forced her to work harder and longer than she'd ever worked before.
Noemi began her relationship with the environment at a young age, when, as a tradition, her father would take her and her siblings on camping trips for her birthday along the central California coast. There they would watch the whales on Point Reyes and enjoy beautiful views of the Pacific. When relatives visited from out of town, the family would take them to Big Sur, where the combination of towering redwood trees, rolling hills, and seemingly never ending Pacific Ocean made it one of her favorite places on earth. Every summer, Noemi's family travels to Mexico to visit relatives, and it is the smell of the hard packed, wet soil that remains vivid in her mind and brings her back to that special place. As field workers, her parents had very strong ties to the land, and Noemi wishes that her current lifestyle and work schedule did not force her to abandon that close relationship. As a girl they lived on five acres and had a garden, so there would always be fresh produce around to eat. Neighbors who worked in the fields would frequently drop by with produce they had farmed. Environmental consciousness, Noemi believes, must be a part of every child's education. As a school administrator, she worked with environmentalists to create a waste management program so that kids would learn to understand the value of conserving what they use.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThese great bios are from Noemi:
ReplyDeleteDAVE HELLER
BIOGRAPHY THROUGH THE LENS OF LABOR
Dave Heller’s love for education runs deep within his family’s roots
and history. His passion for education is one that he trekked hundreds
of miles to pursue from his home state of New York to the
predominantly migrant farm working community of Delano in California.
Dave grew up in a two-parent household of professional educators. His
mother still works as a teacher in Special Education and has
experience in Kindergarten and fourth grade. His father also still
works as a principal but now is at a more urban and affluent
elementary school. It was not until Dave worked helping out his mother
one summer in between college that he gained a completely new respect
for her teaching profession. When Dave was born his mother went on
maternity leave from her teaching to start her lifelong work and love
as a mother. She returned to work as a teacher soon after. Dave notes
how a Peruvian woman stepped in to take care of him so that his mom
could go back to teaching. This Peruvian woman taught him how to say
his numbers in Spanish.
Dave’s paternal grandfather’s love for education allowed him to pursue
a career as a dentist. However, he had really wanted to be a scientist
but because of university quotas that restricted Jewish applicants, he
was unable to gain admittance into various medical institutions of
higher learning. Strict quotas were predominant in most medical
schools during the 1930s including Cornell, Columbia, and Yale.
University deans would often specifically outline, for instance, that
no more than five Jews be admitted, only two Italian Catholics, and no
African Americans. When asked about his paternal grandmother’s
occupation he was not sure. His mother’s father, on the other hand,
fought in World War II as a pilot.
When asked how he conceptualizes work, Dave indicated that work is
something that we have to do and and that allows us to make money in
order to live. The more important question for him, though, is how to
find a line of work that does not feel like work. His work experiences
as a youth have taken Dave from working at a restaurant, to working at
a golf and country club, to working for a year for AmeriCorps. Each
year, AmeriCorps offers 75,000 opportunities for adults of all ages
and backgrounds to serve through a network of partnerships with local
and national nonprofit groups whether it involves tutoring, mentoring,
or operating an afterschool program. When Dave worked at the
restaurant, he did it primarily to make money for clothes and food.
His coworkers were predominantly Latinos. When asked to reflect on his
past work experiences he remembers in particular one person whom he
describes as mean and who use to manage him at the country club. He
also remembers driving around in a golf cart at the country club.
Notably, Davis states, is how the country club would select a pretty
looking girl to ride around in the carts in an effort to sell
beverages and other snacks.
Dave is now in the Bard College MAT Delano program pursuing a master’s
and teaching credential to become a history teacher. It is a pursuit
he hopes will become a labor of love and where the lines between work
and fun will be blurred. Instilling this same blurring of lines in all
of his classes will certainly make him a most successful teacher.
BIOGRAPHY THROUGH THE LENS OF THE ENVIRONMENT
ReplyDeleteDave has always loved the outdoors. He remembers growing up and
especially loving the woods and jumping in piles of leaves. He is fond
of the memories he shared with his father in which they would take
weekend hikes. He makes a comparison to the national and local parks
in California and notes how the parks in New York are much smaller.
However, in New York, one could take a ten to fifteen minute drive
away from home and find a nice park. When asked how those childhood
memories of being outdoors have influenced his relationship with the
environment he describes this impact as a peaceful one. “I have always
felt most at peace when I am outdoors and exploring,” he states. His
love for the outdoors and nature, he notes, is more real than just
being outdoors on a street.
Dave grew up about an hour from New York City in a community that is
on the cusp between the suburbs of New York and the countryside. One
of the past times that is popular back home is horseback riding.
He has also had an opportunity to explore various parts of the world
and take in breathtaking views of landscapes from these different
regions. Out of all the landscapes he has viewed the one he liked the
most was in New Zealand. It is a sparsely populated area, he
remembers. He loves it because of the rolling hills and vast lands.
His love of the outdoors has also manifested itself in his love for
outdoor sports. Sports have played a major part of his life including
some indoor sports like swimming. He loves to view nature as well as
touch it. When he goes to the beach he always makes it a point of
going out into the water.
Manny's Bio-History Biography
ReplyDeleteManny is from the Central Valley, growing up in Bakersfield. He has started developing allergies. He said that his brother and mother both suffer from allergies. His family medical history includes heart disease and high blood pressure. Because of those conditions, he has started to eat healthier. He recently got glasses to help him when he is reading. He struggled with reading, because it strained his eyes. One other thing that he said was that there is Depression on his Mom's side of the family.
Dennis moved to the Central Valley from Los Angeles and noticed a difference in allergies, perhaps related to the amount of pollen due to the large farms in the area. Also, he had an aunt who was diagnosed with Valley Fever and as a result, she had to move to the coast which improved her condition. Similarly, his great grandfather moved to the Central Valley from Kansas and developed health problems. Dennis is unsure of what they are specifically, but he states that he may have been related to asthma. As a result of the health problems developed, his great grandfather moved to Oregon where his health improved, but eventually moved back to the Central Valley and had a similar experience. He then settled at the coast where his health improved. Diabetes and cancer do run in his family history. Also, in 1992, as part of his senior project, Dennis did do research on AIDS which he found interesting and enlightening.
ReplyDeleteBarbara’s Bio-history,
ReplyDeleteDuring middle school and elementary school breaks Barb traveled with her parents around the world. In Barb’s visits to third world countries her parents encouraged her to get vaccinated as a safety measure. By the way, Barb’s father is a doctor. Because of this she did not visit a clinic as often. Barb has taken all of her immunization shots, and takes a frequent physical exam. Here in California, she visits a doctor if symptoms continue for a few days. Also, in her purse she carries medicine (pills) to alleviate her allergies and medicine for any other pain. Her parents make fun of her because of this and call her purse a pharmacy. As a result of her relocation to attend graduate school her allergies have changed. In summary, Barb shared that, “my family is pretty healthy for the most part.”
When asked to discuss his life from a Bio-historical interpretation, Dave Heller pointed out the anthrax scare. This was something he personally witnessed during his stay in Washington D.C. during the years of 2007-09. He was a college student at the time at Georgetown University attending graduate school. He admitted that he was a little scared during this time of fear and uncertainty. One thing that he remembers about this event is how Asians in particular would wear the masks. He remembers wondering whether they were wearing them in order to protect themselves from being infected or whether they were carriers. The second brush with any type of bio-related experience was with contracting chicken pox he further states. His parents were relieved that he had gotten the chicken pox as a young child because of the stories they had heard of people getting them as adults and all of the pockmarks that resulted. As a child, Dave was also prone to many ear infections. On the plus side, he liked receiving the medication to combat these infections which were tasty in his view because they were bubble-gum flavored. On one occasion, his mother had put some of his medicine in his orange juice in the refrigerator. After one sip of it, however, he immediately put it back and never tasted it again. It was not until later that his mother discovered that he had never finished it. His last recollection of any experiences related to bio-history was during his senior year in high school. He had contracted mono, which left him bedridden for two weeks. Bio-history is an interesting historical topic that can be especially useful for studying larger historical themes. The study of epidemic viruses, infections, and diseases, however, can also play an important role in illustrating how they have shaped individual lives as Dave’s myriad experiences illustrate.
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