International Education-Adiza Ameh

Name: Estella Berkurst
Date: June 12, 2010
Place of current residence: Seattle, WA
Place of past residence: Philippines

NOTE: This woman may actually be the sweetest old lady I’ve ever met.

What level of education did you reach?
I reached high school, through my first year.

Why didn’t you finish it?
I didn’t finish it because I was working at my beauty shop in the Philippines.

Oh, you owned a beauty shop? Did you own it by yourself?
Yes, I did.

Did you get a lot of business?
Yeah, since the shop was close to my school, I got a lot of customers. I did manicures, facial massages, pedicures, and permanents as well.

What did you study in?
I graduated in hair science.
(I don’t actually know if this was true since she didn’t finish high school)

Did you like high school?
No, not very much I wanted to help my mother and I just wanted to so hair./

Was high school hard?
No, not hard, it was just boring, I wanted to do hair and help my family out and in addition school was expensive and since I was above the 6th grade, I had to pay for my education.

What did you do when you came to the U.S.?
I worked as a seamstress when I first got here. I immediately came to Seattle. I married my pen pal whom I was writing to in the Philippines, and that’s why I came to the U.S. Then I got a divorce because he drank too much.

Did you want to finish high school here, or go to college?
No, I didn’t want to go to school here, I just wanted to go to work and make enough money to live off of. I didn’t know anyone here but my husband, I didn’t know very much English and I struggled to adjust to the American lifestyle.

Did your mom want you to continue school in the Philippines?
Yes, she did, but she knew that we didn’t have enough money to send me to school and support the family at the same time, so she made me quit going to school. I had a sister who wanted to become a teacher, but she got married in the Philippines, and had two children and she didn’t get to fulfill her wishes of going to school and working.

If you had more money, would you have continued your education?
Yes, I would have, and I wish I had gone to school because school is important and it makes you a good person living in your country. I wish I had gone to school, if I would have continued to go to school, I would have gotten a better job and now I would have more money for retirement. Now, I only get $600 a month and that’s not enough to pay for me and my husband to live comfortably each month.

What would you have studied more?
I wanted to study more to be a beautician, but I had no money, I had no car, and I was a newlywed. I had now way to get anywhere, let alone a school. If I had a way to go, I would have gone.

Was there equal education for girls and boys in the Philippines?
Yes, there was, everything was equal in terms of education.

Do you have any children?
No, no.

Do you wish education was free for everyone?
Yes, I do, wish it was, even bad people who are criminals should get a free education because the only reason why they are criminals is because they didn’t get an education.






Name: Bibiana Ocheke-Ameh
Place of current residence: Seattle, Washington
Place of past residence: Nigeria, Africa
Relationship: Mother

Where have you obtained education?
Nigeria and U.S.A.
When?
I’ve been getting my education since the 70’s and then again in the 90’s. I have to go sit down now so you can ask me there. Do you need the exact date?
Mom, no. Come on….

When did you receive education in Nigeria vs. America?
When I say the 70’s that means starting from elementary school, high school, you know. So, in my 70’s I was in Nigeria. It wasn’t until the 90’s that I got my degree in Seattle.

And what college did you attend?
University of Washington

What degree did you earn?
Business Administration

So you got a bachelor’s?
Yes.

So, lets go back to Nigeria, what kind of education did you receive there?
Up to a high school diploma.

What kind of classes were there?
Wow, general classes, math, English, science, social studies(which you guys call language arts) Uh…arts and crafts, uh…we did PE. Well, its PE. You get involved with so me activities, running, races, netball(which is like basketball) and then we also, umm…yeah, that’s about it.

What kind of students were at school?
…we played badminton….
Mom, I’m asking a different question now.
Oh, what? I didn’t hear you. What?
(I repeat the question)
Well, elementary school is mixed with boys and girls, but high school was only a girls school, a boarding school, where you live away from home. Called St. Mary’s High School. Oh, actually St. Mary’s college. Back then college was called high school.

What kind of teachers did you have there?
All kinds, like geography teachers, literature teachers, umm.
Describe them.
We did have some European teachers, nuns as teachers.
You had nuns as teachers? Did they hit you with rulers?
No, not in high school.

So, in general, do you think the quality of education you received in Nigeria had a connection to your economic status, gender and/or location?
I believe so.

Can you tell me more?
Without the education I received, I don’t think I would be where I am today. If I didn’t have education in Nigeria I probably wouldn’t be here. That Nigerian education was the starting point and the biggest influence for my continuing to get an education in the U.S.
It opened my eyes to go further.

Did the fact you were poor growing up affect your ability to receive a decent education in Nigeria?
Um, I don’t know…probably, given what we had, it was decent enough. But if the family was richer, I could have been exposed to private tutoring, so in a way, yes.

Didn’t you say you had to pay for your basic education in Nigeria?
Yes.

Was getting that money easy for your family?
No, because we were poor it was difficult, because my parents were farmers they had to work hard to pay to send me to school.

So what about gender? How did that affect your education?
Gender didn’t really affect me particularly. Not that I can remember. If it did, it wasn’t apparent to me.

Didn’t you say you dad had reservations about sending you to school because of your gender?
Initially, yes. Especially, for high school, he was advised by others not to send me to school, not to train a female, but with me and my mother’s persistence, he was convinced.

Lets move on to your education in the U.S. How did you get the idea to come to America for college?
I didn’t decide on my own, to come to the U.S. Your dad was here already and I came sort of as a result of marriage. I also wanted to get more education and further my experience.

And what made you decide to major in Business Administration?
Well, I wanted to maybe eventually have my own business and I wanted to have the tools to do so. If that didn’t work, I could then use that to work in any field. I felt it was versatile.
And how did you like UW?
It was a good school, and I have no other school to compare it with, but I think the education was good, the training was rigorous and you worked hard for your degree., your credits.

How would you compare UW in America to St. Mary’s College in Nigeria?
UW was in a different country, St. Mary’s had less resources than in UW, even compared to high school here in America. In that respect, there was a huge difference. High school here there are textbooks, accesses to libraries, in Nigeria, if a teacher recommended a textbook, if you had the money, you can get it. As far as teaching, in Nigeria, you can get one-on-one with the teachers, but here, in the University, you have to fend for yourself. So there were pros and cons.

Ok, thanks, for your help, Mom. Nice talking to you.
You’re done?
Yeah.
Good luck to you.


1.) Where have you received education?
2.) Up to what level?
3.) Describe your high school teachers?(ethnicity, teaching methods)
4.) What was class like? (how big, diverse, did everyone get good grades, honors vs. regular, did everyone have the desire to learn?)
5.) What did you think of the school system at that time vs. now?
6.) What college did you go to?
7.) What did you major in?
8.) What kind of classes did you enroll in?(were they connected to your personal interests or required?)
9.) Describe them. (how big, diverse, challenging, interesting, fun?)
10.) Were your professors easy to talk to? (did you get much one-on-one experience, did you feel like they played an active role in your educational journey?)
11.) Compared to high school, do you think college was more of an enriching experience for you? Why? (which did you learn more in, which did you like better?)
12.) What school do you currently attend?
13.) How far into law school are you?
14.) How would you describe your first year of law school? (was it challenging, interesting, surprising, did you enjoy it?)
15.) What classes did you take?
16.) How would you compare first year to second year? (which did you like more, why, which was harder, different level classes)
17.) How do you expect third year to be? (heard any rumors?)
18.) What were your teachers like? (helpful, nice?)

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS:
19.) Was it hard for you to pay for college? Did you receive scholarships? What about law school? Do you think all educational facilities should be free? Why?
20.) Do you think that in the U.S. , it is easy to receive an education that will get you into the career you choose, or the job you want to get? Why do you think so much emphasis is placed on teenagers going to college, even if that doesn’t necessarily guarantee them a job in today's society? Do you feel like you will be able to get the job you want?
21.) How has gender affected/not affected your educational experience? in positive or negative ways? Do you think it will in the future?
22.) Does everyone share the same privileges in receiving an education in the U.S.?

TOP QUESTION:
23.) Do you think that if you were living in a developing country, you would be able to receive the same level of education you have in the U.S.? Why/why not?


1.) I received education in the United States, specifically in Seattle, Washington and San Francisco, California.
2.) My last degree was a bachelor’s degree from University of Washington and I am currently one year away from my juris doctor (law school).
3.) I attended both Garfield High School and The Center School. At Garfield, my teachers were racially diverse. I had teachers that were white and teachers of color. At Garfield, the students took a lot of initiative with the work that they did. Instead of the teachers leading, the students were kind of self-led and the teachers would supervise. At The Center School, the teachers were all white. They took a more hands-on approach with the students. Also, Garfield was about ten times bigger than The Center School.
4.) At Garfield, the classes were more diverse unless I was in my honors or advanced placement classes. Those classes would be more white students. In the core academic classes, most students got good grades. In the electives, there was a greater range of grade distribution. Everyone seemed to want to learn, although there were always distractions. At The Center School, there were some students that wanted to do well and others that didn’t. It seemed that everyone fit squarely into one or the other, there was no middle category.
5.) I have no idea what this question means. What school system? You mean the teaching methods or the district? Okay, not sure what to say here.
6.) University of Washington (Seattle, WA).
7.) Law, Societies & Justice with a focus in Crime Control & Justice
8.) I took a lot of criminology and murder classes, a lot of psychology and sociology, and some biology dealing with drugs and the human body. I also took a lot of ethnic studies classes dealing with different cultures and their experiences. My classes were based on interest, yes. College was a great opportunity to learn about whatever I wanted.
9.) My classes were mostly huge. The largest had about 700 people, I think. It was in a huge lecture hall with a microphone for the professor and a PowerPoint screen bigger than Jupiter. That was cool. The classes were challenging and interesting. Some were boring but not many and I don’t even remember them now.
10.) My professors were pretty easy to talk to, for the most part. In the biggest classes, I did not really interact with the professors because I didn’t really want to, but they were accessible if I ever did. Some played a more active role and I will remember them because of it. I recently ran into a retired professor when I was back in Seattle and passing through downtown. We both recognized each other and I thanked him for entertaining me in his classes. It was amazing that he remembered me because he is 77, I was his student five years ago, he has had thousands of students, and the class that I was in was humongous! But he remembered me. J
11.) Yeah, college was definitely more enriching than high school. And it better have been, because I paid a lot of money for it and my high school education was (on the record) free. Yep, got to take a variety of classes. I participated in so many organizations, events, and opportunities! I traveled – and the school paid for it! I worked for UW. I met life-long friends there. I got recommendations from people that helped me to be in law school right now. I gained a sense of who I am. I learned about people from all over the world. College was the bomb.
12.) I currently attend University of San Francisco School of Law.
13.) I have completed two years of law school, I have one more year before I sit for the Bar.
14.) The first year of law school was like getting attacked by piranhas. But it was interesting. Very stressful and painful, but also surprisingly doable. It passes.
15.) I took Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Contracts, Civil Procedure, Property, Torts, Moot Court, and Legal Research & Writing.
16.) My first year was like the year of being a deer caught in headlights. My second year was a TON of work, but I wasn’t scared. I wasn’t scared at all, I was just exhausted all the time and spread too thin. My first year, I had no idea what was going on. Ever.
17.) It’s supposed to be boring because you already took everything required or that you were interested in taking. Also, it’s supposed to be annoying because you have to do all this stuff to get ready for the Bar.
18.) My teachers were a mixture of really awesome, decent, and a couple really lame ones. There’s one that is so lame that I don’t even want to check my grade in her class. But I have to. Maybe after this interview.
19.) Yes, it was hard to pay for college. But it was harder for my parents because that’s who actually paid. Financial aid helped a lot once I began receiving it. I didn’t get any help the first year. Yes, I think education should be free unless the educational facilities is teaching the secrets of life itself or can answer why we are all here on this planet. If it’s just general knowledge, it should be free. See, giving people knowledge promotes success for everyone. It’s in all of our best interests that everyone receive a good education.
20.) I better get a job – or else! Yes, I would hope that my education will have helped with that or I will be really pissed off. I mean, I am spending a lot of money for all this and if there’s no job at the end of the tunnel then there’s no reason for me to be waking up so early in the morning to learn stuff. No, it’s not easy to get a good education in the U.S. I consider myself blessed to be receiving one myself. But there’s all kinds of access problems that prevent people from getting a good education. Discrimination against people based on their race or socioeconomic status can close doors for people. It’s not fair and it’s not right.
21.) I’m not sure how gender has or hasn’t affected me educationally. I can tell you that it’s not as easy to determine as other types of discrimination/preference, especially in education.
22.) NO. See part of answer 20.
23.) Depends on the country. Maybe I would attain the same level, but it may be looked at differently there. I don’t know. This is your TOP question?!