Recently I attended the Poehler Lecture here at Concordia.  Now I am doing my blog on this subject for this week.  The Lecture was given by Dr. Loma Meyer.  If that name sounds familiar it should, it is the name of the main classroom building here at Concordia St. Paul.  Dr.  Meyer was Director of Instruction, Dean of the Faculty, Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Executive Vice President.  She held several of those positions at the same time.  She has been involved in Minnesota education in many areas including higher education.  Also she has worked with Education on the National level.  Name something and Dr. Meyer has probably done it in the College/University realm.  Her contributions to the world of education have been vast and very inspiring making many changes and improvements. 

                Dr. Meyer made many points during her lecture and overall one was talking about integrating faith and Learning.  All the Poehler lectures are about integrating faith and learning and Dr. Meyer's was entitled Change: Integrating Faith and Learning.  She discussed both the past of Concordia, the present, and what the future may hold.  In each period she focused on specific aspects where Faith and Learning were integrated or how they were improving an integration form.  In the past she discussed past Presidents and other leaders who looked at Concordia and wanted to more integrate faith and learning.  Many programs came about in the past to do just this.  In the present times with Dr. Holst she spent much time on how he has done this bringing change to Concordia.  The biggest one under Dr. Holst has been the Honors Program which is designed to integrate one's faith as well as learning of all disciplines.  She stated that the future holds many new and sometimes scary advances.  The internet continues to expand as well as other technological advances which are starting to negate the requirement to meet face to face in a classroom area.  With this becoming true new ideas need to be come up with on how to integrate faith and learning in this new era.

                As I mentioned earlier integrating Faith and learning is a very big goal of the Honors Program.  Connecting Dr. Meyer's address and the current Honors Program was a bit harder than I thought it would be.  Dr. Meyer's address was mainly based in the past about what she knew the best as well as the uncertainty of the future.  However a connection in my mind came when talking about the future.  It can be a dark looming cloud on the world of Higher Education especially a program such as Honors.  In Honors you spend eight hours a week, most times more and other classes, together.  You become a family and a very good group of friends.  If education is moving towards non-classroom based learning than an important part of the Honors program is lost I would feel.  That connection of students is something I would define as essential to the Honors program.  In this case I believe programs such as this must keep the classroom idea or else the learning will significantly diminish.      

                Last week in class we had two sessions on genealogy.  We discussed where the movement to learn more about your family lineage came from, how to get started, and how to keep going and turn it into a family history or just something for relatives.  All of it was quite interesting and fascinating.  Learning about your family history started off in America with the Mormons.  In fact now they have a large family Library in Utah that is quite extensive.  Also we talked about how to get started and where to look.  With the internet it is easier than ever to be able to find your family line.  There are many websites where anyone can post information they know and it is open to anyone.  Many times this is where the beginnings are people work off from there.  Also there are websites that are purely family records of births, deaths, and other significant events that were recorded.  After you have complied a great deal of information there is the question of what to do with all of it.  There are really three options in that case.  One is that you just keep it stacked away and share little bits here and there.  The second is to compile a personal and quite simple book to share with your family members and close friends.  The third and final option is to write a family history and to have it published.  No way is better than the other.  It is simply based on what you want to know and how much time you are willing to put into the experience. 

                This topic is very relevant to what we have been talking about in class.  Immigrants have been a huge focus in Honors this semester, among other things.  Almost everyone in America can trace their family back to some immigrant experience of a distant relative coming over here from another country, unless you are Native American.  Most Americans are from immigrant families.  Tracing your family lineage gives you an understanding of where you came from and more about your family in general.  Also if you can get stories of your ancestors coming over you can more easily understand to immigrants coming over today and learn to be accepting. 

                  These past two days have changed my outlook on my family history.  Awhile ago I had a large and sudden urge to learn more about my family lineage.  I checked websites and the local library.  However I didn't know what to really search for so I didn't come up with many results.  I got discouraged and just stopped.  This informational lecture has taught me great techniques to actually be able to find out about my family.  It has put into me that same passion as I had before to learn about my relatives and how they got to this country and before that. 

                The event was not what I had been expecting.  It was a lecture about a study that had occurred at Concordia.  The study was essential done by the Sociology department in cooperation with the Hmong community.  They asked a series of questions to the participants.  These questions were in regards to their faith.  There were basically four sides: Traditional Hmong, Christian, a combination, and undecided.  Each person was asked what they considered themselves and then they were all asked the same questions.  These questions were about Traditional Hmong rituals and Christian rituals.  Then there were some follow up questions based on what they person answered.

                There is definitely the connection between our studies in the Hmong culture and what we heard at the lecture.  There was much talk about the religious views of the Hmong and how they differ and are similar to those of Christianity.  There was also much talk about the Shaman and how that affects Hmong culture and how it differs from the Christian belief.  That was something that we discussed in great detail.  They do have a very distinct and different belief than us and it is important to understand what they believe and where they are coming from. 

                The Hmong culture is very interesting to me.  What they believe and the rituals they perform and so different from what I know that it attracts me to it.  There is so much to find out from their culture and there are a lot of people who are more than ready to share that information with anyone who is willing to listen.  This lecture has rejuvenated my desire to complete the Hmong minor and learn as much about the culture as I can.      

                On Monday February 23, the Honors class was privileged to have three Concordia Hmong students share their story.  Each of them had a unique experience to talk about and explain.  All of them we're born in a different country than the United States.  Some of them have vague memories of their time in the other countries but the some do not.  They talked about what their family life is like and how they are dealing with the two different cultures.  A discussion about Hmong culture in reference to marriage and other celebrations lasted a very long time.  Also we discussed the faults and successes with the movie Gran Torino.  The students had much to say and they kept you on the edge of your seat as they did it.

                This panel connects very well with the other panel we had earlier.  Although each set is from a different generation many things were very similar.  They both stated the same history that got them to the United States in general.  The account of the war was more detached from the students end but they still knew about it.  This also is connected to when we visited the Hmong Center.  The presentation there was connected to what they students had to say because the people of very close in age to one another.  When Paul Hillmer came in and talked to us about his book he also talked about the migration to the United States.  His account of history is very close to what the Hmong students told us at the panel.  Although Kalia Yang's book is much more descriptive than the stories the students had to share they are very similar.  Both sets of people remember the Refugee camps and how they were treated in Thailand.  Another common thread is that of the difficulty adjusting to American culture for the parents and therefore on the children as well.  It seems to be a commonality throughout Hmong people.

                To me this panel affected me more than any other experience, except when Kalia came in, I have had to write a blog on.  Hearing the story from someone who is around my age is so much more powerful.  The way they could talk about their experience and in a way relate to us.  Since they are our age they have lived in the same time as we have and we have a common living time.  This really helps for looking at Hmong culture and family life.  Mainly because we can compare what happened to our culture and family when the same events were going on.  The way they shared the history of their people hit me so much deeper and in a completely new way. 

                On February 18, 2009 Convocation for an art exhibit was held at Concordia University.  There, they were showing artwork by/about immigrant/refugee artists and people.  Along the walls there were photographs, embroideries, paintings, and sculptures made of wood.  There was so much to see and read that about the artists and the work they have done.  Then after we had had time to look around and examine the pieces there was a time for what artists were present to explain their work, where they came from, and why they chose to do what they did with whatever medium they had chosen.  The stories they told were of their childhood and where they and/or their family came from.  Each one of them had their own story to tell but they all had the same driving force of coming from another country and making their way in a brand new country. 

                The stories told by the artists are very much reflected in their work.  Most of them say that the pieces mean so much to them on a personal level that no one can really understand exactly what they are trying to tell everyone.  This is something we talked about last semester in the art portion.  Art is first and foremost for the creator of said product.  Also during this portion of class we talked about how art can be in almost any medium.  There were certainly many different types of art and the exhibit.  Also some of the stories we heard from the artists are very similar to the books we have been reading and the speakers we have been listening to.  People adjusting from their own culture to one they are very unfamiliar with.  Kalia Yang talks about this in The Latehomecomer.  Also Mary Pipher shares many stories of people having to assimilate into the American culture.  Mr. Yang and Ms. Thao also spoke about coming to America not really knowing what to expect.  But they as well had stories about how they grew into our culture and learned the ways it worked while still keeping their old selves in there also.

                I have always loved art in pretty much any form or medium.  I am a musician and a writer so my appreciation for art is not that difficult to know where it comes from.  Seeing this works of art has been amazing.  It has really inspired me to learn more about other cultures in the United States.  There is so much I don't know about people of other nations.  With going in to education I will have to deal with children from different countries more and more as this country moves on.  They will have other beliefs and traditions than me and I need to know of these to be able to teach to this kids.  It will also benefit me to know about their culture so I can explain certain aspects of American culture that may be confusing or seem wrong.  There is so much out there to know and so little ambition to learn it.  I want to be the one who goes out and actually understands other cultures instead of being ignorant of them.       

                Last Monday night we had a panel of two guest speakers talk to us.  They were Mr. Yang Long and Ms. Choua Thao.  Mr Long was a soldier in Laos who was an officer and fought with the Hmong warriors.  He told us what he saw and what he witnessed in Laos.  Some of the stories were unbelievable from my perspective.  I could never imagine fighting in the jungle just a few miles away from my family.  Then, having to worry about who to trust and who not to trust did not help up the situation.  He told us how he got to America and then earned his degree here and worked hard to make the money and be in the position he is today.  Ms Thao was a different story entirely.  She is a very strong person and survived because of her strong will and perseverance.  She talked about how she was a nurse in Laos and took care of the people when they were injured or sick.  She keep the soldiers off the nurses so they could do their job in the hospital she worked in.  Her journey to America was slightly different than Mr. Long.  She came here were lots of experience and got her degree.  She fought for everything she ever got.  She isn't someone who takes crap from anyone.  It is her way or the highway and she usually comes out on top.  She told us that we have to have a dream to live for, and advocate for ourselves and others underneath us because no one else will.

                Many of the history they told us about the war in Laos was exactly as Dr. Hillmer had described to us.  It was much more powerful to hear it from two people who had actually lived the event.  They have a totally different outlook on the war and life in general than when we visited the Hmong center.  They shared with us information that we will not hear anywhere else.  A unique experience that only they can retell with their own voice, that if it came from anyone else it would lose its sincerity and truth.  On the other end of the spectrum we have not had anything in our class time quite like this.  These were the actual people who lived through the war that no one knew about till it was too late.  They tear at your heart and beg you to listen and inhale all that they were saying.  We were hearing history that was not in any books and was the complete and God-honest truth. 

                It was an experience to never forget.  There was so much talked about an event that not much is known about.  There are no history courses out there that dig down deep into the war in Laos and the Hmong, at least not yet.  We have been given something that not many people are given.  Stories of survivors of a conflict that only they really know firsthand and will talk about.  They told us everything they could remember about their lives and not leaving too much out.  The struggles I have been through look like a walk in the park compared to what they have gone through.  From now on I will be thankful for what I have and the opportunities that are available to me and make the best use of them,