Rebekah Nathans Freshman Year

It takes a lot of humbleness for a whole professor to pose as a student for an entire year to realize what is required to be the undergraduate student. This is because after even being a professor of anthropology for more than 15 years as a teacher and a student Rebekah Nathan never came to understand them and that seemed very strange and unfamiliar to her. With her skills acquired from anthropology and even from the fields of research she threw a weight behind the students and thus lived as students in the dormitories and even attended classes as like any other students and this grew to be the new but unfamiliar territory which she was found to lead from the front.

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The American College student became her subject of study. What motivates my happiness is that most of her observations are extracted directly from the local and international students she interviewed and all they gave into details about their experiences and encounters of their US-born classmates and the verse was also true. She covered different fields that are from the dorms, classes, extra-curricular activities, libraries and even the social halls and events. What she realized was that crammed schedules were order of the day. This motivated most of the students to blow off some classes, meetings for instance dorm meetings, class discussions, clubs and so forth. This brought about the lack of self-commitment to what mattered most to them by engaging and fitting other secondary items in their schedules. For example, part-time jobs, clubs, art and partying, travel and exchange programs and opportunities, filming and theater scenes had become everyday options and funny enough these activities to some extent replacing friendship, classes, and even other cause work activities.

The author summarizes this by providing reasons on why you get serial and typical characters in schools. She goes ahead and gives a very informative and profound analysis on how enrollments and growth and financing of higher education as contributed to the shaping and molding of students character. Nathan as comes up with three masts on which the students learn but that has made them very unsuccessful in their daily endeavors which as heightened the levels of cheating to suit their needs and wants. This includes the choices one make in life, this as triggered the individualism in oneself and lastly it as increased the yarn for material aspects. This as opened a loophole for some clusters of discrimination in which their skin color bonds them and also the language they speak, the origin of their faith, the place they come from.

This as cropped up in a new culture which as lead the current generation to withdraw to specialized cocoons. But I appreciate the pieces of advice from Nathan as part of her recommendation because she as come to understand some happening and when they happen and what they translate to and that why Nathan said she wishes other professors would, at least, be more curious about the people they're teaching. . . . Understanding the enormous gap between student and faculty values has prompted Nathan to be more inventive about the way she presents things in class. 'I would have preferred less noise, drama, throwing up, but it made me a better professor,' she says. 'If kids have to sleep through lectures, I understand. At this point, it'd be pretty hard for me to feel alienated."Rachel Aviv, 'Undercover Mother,' the Village Voice, August 2, 2005

The banters with students from the outside US made me realize the choruses and in that way I was thought and norms and traditions of my country. When I interacted with international students, I realized that most of them accepted that they were very welcoming, but nobody bothered to take numbers phone numbers to offer further assistance. Many students articulated disbelief at the dull treatment they received and the absence of interest they professed from American student, about their encounters "Students don't ask me anything about my life," a Somali student lamented. "Even my friends ... they don't ask me questions about how I got here, or my life in other places." A student from the United Arab Emirates observed: "Here everyone minds their own business. They're not that hospitable. Like if someone from the U.S. came to the UAE, people would take them out to eat and ask questions. It would be a long time before they paid for their meal." A Mexican student concurred: "I'm lonely here. I don't think an American is coming to Mexico would have the same experience as I've had here. We're more social, more curious. We'd be talking to him and asking questions."

This difficultness leads to lack of noticeable openness in the collage thus life becomes more coupled with handy affection which results in particular structures, interests, relationship and many more other social relationship. This was viewed by international students as individualism" and "independence. This was characterized by several roommates who were interviewed. This was evident from the feedback Arturo gave. There's much more independence here. At home, students live with their parents. Here families aren't that tied together. My roommates do give all his parents a phone call at least once a week. It would be different if they were Mexican. This was also supported by Alicia, who is a Mexican student American students have a lot of independence. At eighteen Mexico, I can't think of living by myself. Maybe it is the money, but we believe united better, of both family ties and for expenses."

What its annoying is the way American student think about the international students. The perception is that the international students are very ignorant of them. Although they never mind to ask how they got to be on the American soil there are some startling questions they ask like Is Japan in China?" "Do have a hole for a bathroom?" "Is it North Korea or South Korea that has a dictator?" "Where exactly is India?" "Do you still ride elephants?" "Do they dub American TV programs into British? All this is what makes other student from other outside countries think and conclude by saying American students are nice, but they need to stop being so ignorant about other nations and other cultures. Americans need to look at the world around them and even the cultures around them in their own country said the student from EAU.

American students are much more ignorant of other countries and cultures. I suppose it's because it's so big; and knowing about California for you is like us knowing about France. It's a neighbor. The U.S. is less dependent on cultures, and maybe that's why they need to know less. Still, Americans come across as not interested in other cultures, like they don't really care about other countries. So they think things like Swedish people are only blonds. Germany student and lastly this is what the student from India said, Somebody asked me if we still ride on elephants. That really bothered me. If I say I am Indian, they ask which reservation? I say I'm from Bombay. Where is Bombay? Some people dont. Even know where India is. A friend of mine and I tried to make these Americans see what it was... like and we asked them where they're from. They said California. And we said where that was?

In conclusion, it is evident from the summaries given from these blogs that a variety of reasons that have cropped that are unappealing in most of the American colleges and schools have an express truth to the cohort and unbecoming trends that if viewed into much detail, ignorance of cross cultural that is self delusion that has bite them heavily which has led to world cry that needs urgent intervention that will necessitate for a quick remediation to be sort. From what we have seen from Nathans three masts on which the students learn but that has made them very unsuccessful in their daily endeavors which as heightened the levels of cheating to suit their needs and wants. This includes the choices one make in life, this as triggered the individualism in oneself and lastly it as increased the yarn for material aspects. Hence, this is also seen to have loophole for some clusters of discrimination in which their skin color bonds them and also the language they speak, the origin of their faith, the place they come from. Finally, culture is seen to be revolving around the world of engagement, independence and individualism. When viewed into much detail, is an ignorance of cross cultural that is self delusion hence cries out to seek remediation. , but it is also one of cross-cultural ignorance and self-delusion that cries out for remediation. It is my hope that the great America to do more and make it a haven of safe land to cohabit in.

Work cited

Nathan, Rebekah. My Freshman Year: What a Professor Learned by Becoming a Student. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2005. Print.

Nathan, Rebekah. "Understanding Student Culture." Anthropology News. 46.7 (2005): 17-18. Print.

Nathan, Rebekah, and Gail M. McGuire. "Book Reviews - My Freshman Year: What a Professor Learned by Becoming a Student." Teaching Sociology. 34.4 (2006): 423. Print.

Stahl, Jessica. THE STUDENT UNION. The Truth: Americans Reveal What They Really Think of International Students. N.p., 2012. Web. 18 June 2012

Stahl, Jessica. THE STUDENT UNION. Why Arent Americans and International Students Becoming Friends? N.p., 2012. Web. 19 June 2012

Stahl, Jessica. THE STUDENT UNION. Americans are Self-Centered but Friendly? 60 Opinions from International Students. N.p., 2012. Web. 20 June 2012