Xiufang, as an adult basic and ESL teacher, was very concerned about the grammatical correctness and formality of her story, but through the story circle realized that her own voice and explanation around why she has been a teacher for ten years made her story more personal. As an immigrant herself, her excitement around teaching is very evident in this story as she explains how necessary it is for new immigrants to not only learn the language, but also the cultural behaviors. Her strength of conviction ultimately comes out as she explains her efforts to lobby the MA state government to continue funding adult basic education. It also includes some interesting insights in the contrasting civic attitudes of her home country of China and her new home in Boston, MA. She uses some great actions photos of her classes as well as shots of posters in the classrooms of BCNC and projects created/written by her students.
Created during the MassIMPACT Spreading the Stories train-the-trainer workshop at the Inquilinos Boricuas en AcciÛn (IBA) and the El Batey Technology Center of the Villa Victoria housing development(May 2007), this story was a part of an effort to bring together staff from community organizations in the South End of Boston and create inter-community connections and fellowship. While the stories in this workshop varied from very personal to place or work based, each participant brought personal touches to each other's stories in the Story Circle and throughout the creation process. [For more info on this workshop, check out Danielle Martin's CTC VISTA blog.]
