Memo

I began memoing on May 26th after I decided to build my nvivo portfolio for Dr. Wright's class.

My interest in Bharatanatyam As I was reading through all the kahanis submitted to the project, I began to ask myself about why I am interested in the art forms from India, especially Bharatnatyam. I realized that it is not just me but other Asian Indians like Roopa also have the same feelings and inclinations as mine. So, do all Asian Indians raising children outside India gravitate towards art (dance and music) to help their children understand our culture, roots, etc? We did not gravitate to these art forms while we were growing up in India like we are consciously trying to bring this aspect into our children's lives. I need to conduct a study to explore this trait in me.

Children and habitual principle I was curious about my son's high school entrance essay, and hence I asked him to read the same at the Kahani Project this year. I began to wonder why this child, who is growing up in the States is drawn to his father's village of all the places on earth. I am curious about his "guna" (habitual principle or tendency) and the predominance of the sattvik (preservation) guna in Mohan! Is this entirely due to exposure at home and through our travels to India or is this sociocultural learning? Is there a concept that explains the growth pattern in children in psychology or sociology?

My Reflections on Gowri and Nikkitha's stories We all are attached to our children's creation - both artifacts and writing. I read Gowri (my daughter) and Nikitha's (Gowri's friend) and I began to code their stories with respect to community involvement, family traditions, and the need for festivals in their lives. Is it because they are girls from traditional families that they choose to write about festivals? I see a common thread in their writing. Nikitha focused on Deepavali at her home and in San Antonio and wrote about the performing arts during the festival. The golden nugget in Nikkitha's write-up is her discovery of the illuminating aspect of mind and the divas (oil lamps). Is this Nikkitha's self discovery or did she receive this information from her music compositions or her parents? Are children capable of arriving at such an analysis? On the other hand, Gowri wrote about the etymological aspects of the culture bound words. Gowri's mentioning of the shivate traditions is surprising to me because we are Vaishnavaites and we do not learn about Shiva at all. Although she dances to songs sung in praise of Lord Shiva that her guru, Mrs. Ramanath teaches her. Is Gowri capable of transferring what she learns from dance class onto her writing? Again, are children capable of applying what they learn from one place to another situation?

Connections My curiosity is about culture, performing arts, traditions and practices. I look for themes related to these aspects in my students writing because it is culturally relevant for both of us. It is through these expressions that we all connect to our cultural roots and form an identity in life. Maxene Green discusses lived experiences and vygotsky promotes socio-cultural learning. Story writing, especially those based on travels and cultural practices are essential for children's growth.