1. Writing about my research, was it difficult or easy, changes I made in response to the challenges.
The research seemed challenging at first, finding information that I felt was important to my service agency was more difficult than I imagined. There are so many different angles to look at migrant workers and their families and the hardships they face. Through my research, I have found that there are still people being taken advantage of and not given what is rightly theirs. It has been an emotional ride thus far. Maybe it is a harsh term, but when learning about migrant workers the idea of legal slavery comes to mind. People not being given basic needs, working long hours with very little pay, inadequate housing, dangerous work environment, and so forth.
I have a hard time accepting inequality and imbalance, especially when it comes to human beings. They do a job that is vital and necessary, and I am thankful to the people who work so hard to put food on our tables. However, isn’t there a way to get the job done and be given the acknowledgement through fair wages, decent living conditions, health care, and education that you’re doing such an important job? This has been the most difficult part of my research, that it hits an emotional cord for me. One of the ways I vent my frustrations is telling other people about what I am learning and how it affects all of our lives.
I have had a somewhat difficult time finding a lot of stuff written about migrant workers, I have found a lot of stuff on current legislation and programs’ being brought forth that try to address some of the issues, but that is frustrating as well. The new programs are meant to help, the government realizes the old programs are not working, but from what I can tell, the new programs are not different enough from the old ones to make the changes they are seeking. There is a lot of big agricultural business impeding the process, they want cheap labor, and often the all mighty bottom line is more important than the people are. Enough of my ranting, I wish I had all of the answers, but unfortunately I do not.
2. How has my voice changed in response to my research?
It has been a different experience from the writing I have been doing. I feel a bit intimidated by doing a little research and then trying to sound like an expert of sorts. Like I have said, the information I have researched so far has given me knowledge and quite the opinion, but I have a hard time feeling as if I am conveying the research completely. I am hesitant to express too much of my own opinion because I fear offending someone. A question I ask myself when writing on our blog is, would a migrant worker feel patronized or ashamed of being what they are by the information I am sharing? Am I being too ethnocentric? I would like to find the voice of migrant workers to hear what they are saying about the lives they live. I have yet to find it, there are plenty of websites and articles written on their behalf, but, is it what they want?
3. Transition from traditional writing, to writing on a blog.
I like the fact that I get to write for a larger audience than just my professor. We are tackling large issues that I think the more people know about them the better off we will all be. It is through the process of learning about things that we find a way to change them. It goes back to the idea that community service is a necessity for democracy it is our duty.
Although I am glad to share what I am learning, I may be overly cautious in my writing because I am not a real “expert” on any of the stuff we are learning. I am thinking that through the semester, my knowledge base will grow and I will be able to delve deeper into the subject and hopefully give a richer analysis.
4. Weaknesses or strengths to my writing?
The feedback I have received has repeatedly told me that my writing does not always have good flow. It is one of my biggest hurdles when I write. I do not feel I am the most eloquent of speakers either. Finding the perfect words and putting them in perfect sequence drives me crazy. I will revise and revise again to make some sort of semblance out of what I am trying to say. The dictionary is always by my side when I write. My writing has gotten better over the last 2 semesters, but still needs some work. It has been a few years since I have been in high school, 15 years to be exact. High school was not my strong suit either; I dropped out at the beginning of my junior year and got my GED. School was neither fun nor challenging for me academically, challenging socially though. I suppose I can relate somewhat to the folks in the HEP program in that regard.
5. How is blogging a workable medium for research writing?
The point of research is to gain understanding and knowledge on a subject. What good would it do to have that knowledge and not share it? I have really enjoyed the different aspects that each of our groups members have researched and brought to the table. I have an angle I am playing, but it is only a part of the whole picture, the blogging allows all the different ideas to come together in one place. It creates a broader picture and gives the reader more. I have benefitted from reading what others have posted, they have found information I never thought to look for, and it has helped inform my own research. Each of the group members has given such great, thoughtful reports on what they have learned.
At first, I was apprehensive about doing a group project, but thus far, it has been a good experience. I trust my other blogging companions to be thoughtful and show care in their work.
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