Touro University TESOL Candidate Patana Mehirdel’s Reflection on ‘Pride and Conflict in Culture and Language'(Nieto, Bode, 2017)
Touro University’s TESOL/ Bilingual Advanced Certificate Programs Graduate School of Education focuses on the art of The Reflective Practitioner and Reflective Journal Writing in several courses, including EDPN 671 Theory and Practice of Bilingual and Multicultural Education. The goal: To provide teacher candidates with a framework to make connections between prior knowledge and new information. The framework engages students in a systematic process to guide their ongoing reflection, a process they can internalize and practice as constructive educators. Students will be able to engage in this process to improve their teaching throughout their careers. Candidates’ reflective journal entries will be included in their final portfolio.
Patana Mehirdel, an Afghan-American currently pursues her masters in TESOL at Touro University, TESOL/BLE department.
“Growing up I have experienced peoples views and opinions about my religion, culture and language and most of them were based on politics or on biased negative news. Moving forward, my goal is to give students from diverse cultural backgrounds, such as Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Iraq, Iran, etc. a voice and be comfortable and confident to connect their cultural and linguistic background to their learning experiences.”
Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs only to the people who prepare for it today,” determined Malcolm X at the O.A.A.U.’s [Organization of Afro-American Unity] founding forum at the Audubon Ballroom. (June 28, 1964). (X, n.d.)
Dr. Jasmin Bey Cowin a Fulbright Scholar, SIT Graduate, completed the Education Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP™) at Columbia University, Teachers College. Dr. Cowin served as the President of the Rotary Club of New York and Assistant Governor for New York State; long-term Chair of the Rotary United Nations International Breakfast meetings; and works as an Assistant Professor at Touro College, Graduate School of Education. Dr. Cowin has over twenty-five years of experience as an educator, tech innovator, entrepreneur, and institutional leader with a focus on equity and access to digital literacy and education in the Sub-Saharan Africa region. Her extensive background in education, administration, not-for-profit leadership, entrepreneurial spirit, and technology innovation provide her with unique skills and vertical networks locally and globally.
Dr. Cowin participates fully in the larger world of TESOL academic discipline as elected Vice President and Chair-Elect for the New York State, NYS TESOL organization, for the 2021 conference.
Ongoing research, expressed in scholarly contributions to the advancement of knowledge is demonstrated through publications, presentations, and participation in academic conferences, blogging, and other scholarly activities, including public performances and exhibitions at conferences and workshops. Of particular interest to her are The Blockchain of Things and its implications for Higher Education; Current Global Trends in TESOL; Developing Materials and Resources in Teaching English; E-learning; Micro and Macro-Methodologies in TESOL; E-Resources Discovery and Analysis; and Language Acquisition and the Oculus Rift in VR.
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