Joi Thompson

Blog Hello, My name is Joi Thompson and I am a Junior at Michigan State University. I am currently studying Mathematics Education with a minor in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of  Other Languages)...

Updated Website:
http://joithompson.weebly.com/

Professional Website: http://joithompson.weebly.com/

Study Abroad 2014 Making fun memories!!!

Inquiry Project 5
Title: Embracing Diversity!!!

Thinking about the Netherlands and how the people are so open to different cultures I began to inquiry about the openness of their teaching style inside the classroom. As I was talking to several different teachers I started to ask about various restrictions on what can be said to students during instruction time. Also, I asked about their dress code and how that could negatively impact the students. After hearing the various teacher responses, I was shocked to find out that there is no restriction on any topics discussed in class.
When talking about this topic with teachers, the main question brought up was, “why doesn’t America embrace the diversity?” My answer was that in order for America to keep everyone happy, they only decided to not integrate any cultures. For example, it is considered rude now to say Merry Christmas because it might offend someone so instead we say Happy Holidays. However in the Netherlands, it is not considered offensive because it is a national holiday and the people really do not care that much because it is a part of the tradition. A lot of the teachers said that they love it when they have students have different religions because it leads to a lot of class discussions on the differences of his/her religion with the students. Likewise, in America we have separation of church and state which prevents students and teachers from talking about religion in the classroom.
The teachers said that since there is so much diversity in the classroom, it is important to embrace all of the different cultures. One teacher said that her students engage daily in learning about other student’s culture because it creates a living learning community. The teacher further explained that this community helps the students engage in other languages which can give them experience a textbook can’t. Likewise, other teachers felt that speaking about certain issues in class helped students accept the other students’ cultures and gave a deeper apprehension of that culture in comparison to their own.

Emerging questions:
What makes the Dutch so open to new culture?
Resources:
Teachers from various schools
http://www.fluentin3months.com/amsterdam/
http://stuffdutchpeoplelike.com/2011/05/28/dutch-directness/

Cultural observations after living in Amsterdam — Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and... My experience in Amsterdam has been amazing, educational, frustrating, active, disappointing, eye-opening, cultural, beautiful and real. When I arrived with the mission to learn Dutch, my priority was always to get to know the Dutch people. Doing so through their […]

Inquiry Project 4
Title: “The Gay Capital” Conti…
As I continued my inquiry of equal rights in the Netherlands, I discovered that they are open and accepting to homosexual couples. The majority of the population in the country welcomes homosexual couples in every kind of politics, education, and social media. Also, the Netherlands has a lot of homosexual establishments, such as clubs, bars, shops, and hotels. In comparison to the United States, you won’t find too many places just for homosexual couples. Even in states where they support the equality of homosexuals, you will only a few cities who are “gay-friendly.”
However, after talking to a few of the Dutch students at Fontys, I was shocked to hear that the Netherlands is becoming less accepting of diversity. On the other hand, in an article I recently read, it said that “public attitudes have become much less negative over the course of several decades, with a strong decline in negative attitudes to homosexuality since 1970.” Furthermore, in 1973 homosexuality was no longer considered a mental illness anymore and in less than thirty years later same-sex marriage was legalized.
Since same-sex marriage has been legalized, homosexual couples are now allowed to adopt children, so this is reducing the number of children in foster care. This fact, is one of the main reasons why Dutch people are welcoming homosexual couples. However, I have yet still to find out what makes the Dutch so accepting of other cultures around them. Hopefully for my next inquiry I can come to some form of conclusion about their openness to the diversity of people surrounding them.
Resources:
Teacher Training Institute Fontys studentshttp://www.amsterdam.info/gay/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/dutch-gay-rights/
http://www.scp.nl/english/Publications/Summaries_by_year/Summaries_2006/Acceptance_of_homosexuality_in_the_Netherlands/Acceptance_of_homosexuality_in_the_Netherlands
http://www.holland.com/us/tourism/interests/gay-le***an.htm

Gay Amsterdam, gay hotels, accommodation and night life Amsterdam has rather a large gay scene. Many foreigners find themselves attracted to the city, and you can also spot celebrities. Amsterdam has more than one hundred gay bars, discos, saunas, video stores, bookshops, restaurants and hotels.

Inquiry Project 3
Title: “The Gay Capital”

I started off my first inquiries about the Netherlands and their view of patriotism towards their country. I talked about how they expressed little to no national pride. However, as we visited Amsterdam, I saw that there were a lot of flags flying around the city. These flags were rainbow colored and not red, white, and blue. That is because they were not the national flag, but the gay rights flag. Everywhere we went you could see the flag in and outside of shops all around the city. Everyplace we went you could discover the flag in and outside of shops all round the city.
I found this to be interesting because from what I observed that the people really did not care about patriotism in their country. Even though they may not care about pride in their country they do however have pride in their people.
The Dutch are so willing to accept people of different backgrounds no matter how different they may appear. This country is what you will call tolerant especially when it comes to diversity, in so they were the first city to legalize gay marriage. The city of Amsterdam has gay clubs, bars, souvenir shops, and hotels. So far I have not yet talked to anyone in regards to gay rights activism inside of the Netherlands, but I have researched the statistics on how the majority of the population feels. In a recent poll conducted 85 percent of the Dutch population agreed with same-sex marriage. This number in comparison to the U.S. is shocking because in America the country seems to be divided on the issue.
In my last inquiry, I asked the question, “Why is the Dutch culture so accepting to people of other cultures and religions?” I have yet to still answer this question because I have not talked to anyone Dutch people about it. I am going to continue my inquiries about Dutch acceptance of other cultures by talking to Renee, Henry, and other Dutch people.
Emerging questions:
Why is the Dutch culture so accepting to people of other cultures and religions?
What made the Dutch want to get involved in the gay rights movement?
Resources:
http://www.holland.com/us/tourism/interests/gay-le***an.htm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/dutch-gay-rights/
http://www.amsterdam.info/gay/

Gay & Le***an - Holland.com The Netherlands demonstrates its progressive character when it comes down to homosexuality. In 2001, the Netherlands was the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriages. Until this day, a vast majority of Dutch society supports equal rights for the le***an, gay, bisexual, and transgend…

Dutch Culture Photo Assignment: "The Netherlands is the Home of the Free! "

I chose to use this photo to depict Dutch culture because to me it represents how open the Dutch people are. While visiting the Dutch schools I have witnessed how open the classrooms and people are in comparison to the United States. The teachers and students really don't have a filter when it comes to the topics discussed in the classroom. Also, just walking around the Netherlands I feel like I can be whoever I want to be. Here in the Netherlands you see every type of person you can imagine. I've seen gay people, straight people, in*******al couples, old couples, children by themselves, families, and people of diverse backgrounds. Honestly, I feel like there is little judgement of people who are different. In the Netherlands, you are free and the country is just this open body of water where there is no end to who you want to be.

Inquiry Project 2
Title: The Netherlands is the “Most” Patriotic Country Conti…

Going along with my first observation of the Netherlands and their attitude towards patriotism and pride for their country, I have discovered that my reflections are somewhat accurate. My first observations examined the differences in national pride between the United States and the Netherlands, since I had never seen their national flag or colors. Through that observation I made the assumption that the majority of the Dutch people were not that patriotic. After talking with several students from the Netherlands and hearing what they thought of their country, it corroborated what I thought about their perception of patriotism.
I found that a lot of the students are not that enthusiastic about their country and that they are more eager to point out the flaws about their country. In reference, to one of the articles about the difference in culture, the Dutch people are more open to criticism of their country. However, in the United States you will find a lot of people who are offended when someone criticizes their country. Also, the students from Teacher Training Institute Fontys did not even know their national anthem and in comparison to the United States, we are conditioned as young children to know the Pledge of Allegiance and the anthem.
One of the questions I wanted to further research was “why aren't the Dutch so prideful about their country.” From the information that I have gathered I can conclude that the Dutch are more modest and cooperative people. The Dutch students see being prideful as a flamboyant quality and it is unneeded. When walking to Renee he said that the Dutch people are more about trying to please and being neutral, so being prideful would not mix well with that type of society.
I am not trying to say that the entire population of the United States is die hard patriots and everyone bleeds red, white, and blue. From my own personal experiences, I have encountered only a few people who you will call anti-patriots and for the most part people who are proud to call America home.

Emerging questions:
Why is the Dutch culture so accepting to people of other cultures and religions?

Resources:
Teacher Training Institute Fontys students
Renee, the tour guide
http://www.forbes.com/2008/07/02/world-national-pride-oped-cx_sp_0701patriot_slide_11.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/7608125/England-least-patriotic-country.html
http://www.eupedia.com/europe/cultural_differences_europe_usa.shtml

In Pictures: World's Most Patriotic Countries Research shows that citizens of relatively new nations, like South Africa, the Philippines and the United States, have more pride.