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First, a little about myself: My name is Lawrence Wong and I am a vegetarian-gardener-photographer-gamer-educator. How's that for a hyphenated label? I have a Bachelor of Arts degree focusing in Pacific and Asian Studies at the University of Victoria. I have lived in Japan as a participant of the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme, dabbled in the video game industry as a digital artist, and even worked as a landscaper. Now, I am enrolled in the Post Degree Professional Program in secondary social studies education at UVic. The decision to go into teaching social studies arose from my concern for the current state of the world and the environment. Through social studies I hope to engage students in thinking about how their actions and way of life affect the environment around them.
Because of my backgrounds in cultural studies and geeky hobbies, I am especially interested in the use of technology, mass media, pop culture, and games in education. I would also like to use gardening as a tool to teach about the environment and food security.
So, I hope you will join me on my journey;drop in from time to time and share with me your ideas and wisdom.
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| It's fascinating the way the camera captures both a sense of space and time |
What a cool picture! I thought I would be your first comment since you were mine! As a fellow social studies-er I have a question for you to think about:
ReplyDeleteYou have defined yourself here using hyphens. Today, it is very common for people to identify in this way. Do you think hyphenated identities are the way of the future, or do you think that all labels belong to an older school of thought that is going by the wayside?
As a little side-note, there is obviously no wrong answer. There is a lot of literature on this topic, especially by Neil Bissoondath.
Lawrence! Thanks for the comment on my blog! Your hyphenated self-description is fantastic. I'm looking forward to many more conversations about living green, and growing/eating vegetables.
ReplyDeleteI'm also interested in hearing more about your time teaching in Japan with the exchange program. I bet it will be a fabulous experience to draw on when you head into your practicum soon.
The JET Program sounds great! My sister participated in the JET Program too and she's now teaching in Vancouver.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments!
ReplyDeleteMelissa: I think the answer to your questions is both yes and no. I see both trends of label rejection and very specific hyphenated identities. People don't like to be pigeon-holed or categorized and stereotyped. But at the same time, those who seek to define their identity in our modern complicated world may embrace hyphenated labelling. In fact, one can argue that hyphenated identities are a reaction to labels and stereotypes.
My use of hyphenated label to describe myself is really my attempt to be clever at 1:00am in the morning. :)
Excellent someone else who enjoys gardening, this summer I thought I would try and grow basil, northern weather it was doubtful whether it would turn out to be a success? I must have a green thumb for basil, do you know how many tiny, tiny, tiny seeds are in a basil packet? LOTS, and they all seemed to survive and thrive. I can just imagine how well they would thrive in the temporate climate. I'm going to try, what kind of veggies grow best down here? Will they still grow throughout the winter months?
ReplyDelete