C.I.T.E. TRIP TO N.Y.C.: An Enjoyable Educational Experience
-Lindsey Nevitt and Kathy Weldin
On Saturday April 13, 1996, C.I.T.E., the Center for Intercultural Teacher Education, sponsored an educational field trip to New York City to show various cultural attractions to interested students. Accompanied by Dr. Herman Navarro, an associate research professor in the college of education, the forty students who participated chose to expand their cultural horizons by visiting the Museum of the American Indian, Liberty Island and Ellis Island.
The first stop was the Museum of the American Indian, a branch of the Smithsonian Institution. Upon their arrival, the group was met by a knowledgeable cultural interpreter of Native American Heritage. The role of the cultural interpreter was to provide the tourists with information about the lives and traditions of different Native American Tribes. While showing various American Indian objects such as headdresses, moccasins, and clothing, the interpreter focused on the differences between each type of artifact that is unique to each Native American tribe. By emphasizing these differences the students were able to learn that each tribe has its own distinct culture and history. The museum proved to be very informative.
After the museum, the students boarded a ferry destined for Liberty Island. While visiting the Island, students were able to see the Statue of Liberty up close. While most of the students have previously seen Miss Liberty, many others clearly had not. The students were amazed by the responses of the visitors as they viewed this American symbol of freedom. One student noted the open-mouthed look of awe on one family's face as they stared at her crown. Even though this family was of a different heritage, students felt that this one icon was a common bond between them.
After taking another ferry, the group proceeded to Ellis Island, where many immigrants passed through, filled with hopes and dreams. Students walked around looking at pictures of the immigrants. One aspect that especially grabbed students' attention was the actual conditions which their ancestors suffered through to become citizens of the United States. An actual dormitory room which many immigrants slept in served as one example. It was an enlightening experience for the students to see the conditions their ancestors endured many years ago.
Overall the trip was a success. The intention of seeing and learning about different cultures was achieved. After this trip, these students can now look at the different types of people with clearer vision and will hopefully be able to use these new perceptions in the multicultural classrooms where they will teach in the future.
-Cassandra L. Estepp
For the Steve Miller Band concert on Saturday April 20th I had waited in line for five hours on March 16th in order to get good seats. I was fourth in line and was able to get fourth row on the floor. This I was pretty happy with and at 8:00 p.m. on the night of the concert I was there to see the band begin to play. There had been rumors that someone else would be opening for them, but they turned out to be just that - rumors. This was the first time I had ever seen the Steve Miller Band in concert. The show ended at 11:30 p.m. with only one twenty minute break in the middle. The first half of the concert was not really what I had expected. I had gone with the notion, like many others nearby, that I would hear all the songs I knew and enjoyed. Instead, they played many songs I had never heard before, let alone really enjoyed. Everyone seemed unhappy and disappointed with the concert. I saw a lot of people leaving and complaining, not to mention no one was even cheering for the band. I was beginning to fear that I had wasted my time and money. After intermission they started out with one of their popular hits "Fly Like an Eagle." I came back from the concession stand in the middle of this song and discovered that I was no longer in the "fourth" row. Everyone from the sides had come down and filled in the area directly in front of the stage as well as the middle row. I made my way back to my seat and had to stand on my chair in order to see the concert. This was more like a real concert. Everyone was cheering, yelling, body surfing, etc. Everyone was having fun. The remainder of the concert was great. They played all of the songs I had expected to hear and the concert totally turned around. It seemed like the morbid crowd during the first half had taken some sort of caffeine boost. I found the concert to be great. However, I know now not to pay all the extra money for good seats, when I can be right next to the stage and pay half the price. The same band that had not been very popular during the seventies, except for one or two top forty hits, had reached a new audience in the nineties.
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