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We will document our journey with the use of learner narratives in the ESL classroom context. Please stay tuned for our experiences and we invite you to add your own.

Post 1:

Today while at the local nail salon, I realized how many people don't celebrate Easter and were working on this 'holiday'. At first I felt terribly that they had to work while others were relaxing and celebrating. But to my surprise, when asked by someone else in the salon how they felt about working, they said that they would have been working on this day in their previous country and to them the day had no significance, instead they saw it as a great opportunity to make money. Perhaps their children would see it as an insignificant day too, unless a eurocentric teacher were to implement value and significance to the days which constitute a holiday in this country. We as teachers need to be cognizant of the ways we 'celebrate' people's religious holidays, although it's important to recognize those who do celebrate Easter, Passover and other religious events we should also make it known that not having a religious affiliation is okay too and doesn't denote a deficiency of any type. Perhaps students could create journal entry for this weekend discussing their perceptions of this particular holiday and how it makes them feel about themselves.