Essay #3 Interview

Agustin Tovar
DTC 375
Dr. Jason Farman
3/12/09
Essay #3
Word Count 836

My mother’s introduction to the new world of communication

The person I chose to interview is my mother. She is 67 years old and never really received an education in her lifetime and has struggled to learn much along the way. Due to the fact that her upbringing did not offer her education or that she struggled to get any education. She has primarily worked as a farm worker and a nurse’s assistant. Has never been in a situation were working with a computer was part of the job.
One thing that me and my sister have stressed to her was that even at a more advanced age she should try to do more for herself and try to learn new things, this has been a difficult transition for her. She has tried but gives up more often, than none. As for learning about new technology, the computer and the Internet would be the most. Probably the web would be her choice, I will admit though that she trying to understand the Internet but gets turned off a lot. She tells me “ I think technology is wonderful but for me it is past my learning point and there is only so much I can get out of it”. I think my mother is overwhelmed by what she sees me do on the computer and thinks that is the learning curve. I don’t know how much my mother will learn about the computer and the Internet but I’m proud that she is trying to learn it.

Agustin: What education did you have growing up?
Gloria: I migrated from Mexico in the 1950’s with my family. Education was the last thing that my parents wanted for me and my brothers and sisters. All they made us do was work, work! Coming into another country for that opportunity for a better life was the idea of moving from Mexico. When they actually put us in school it was intimidating because we were older than the other students and had problems getting along with them.
We moved around so much that we never had the chance to really get any kind of education and our reading and writing skills were not very good.

Agustin: Did you have any more education when you got older?
Gloria: Yes. I received my GED in the 1980’s. It was a difficult thing to do because my husband was against that, so I had to do it behind his back. At this time computers were not so much around, and we depended more on writing and filing.

Agustin: Did you work with computers much or at all after getting your GED and getting into the non-labor workforce?
Gloria: Very little, I was a CNA (Certified Nurses Assistant) and most of what I would do was written clerical, I did try to work with a computer, but it was mostly used by doctors and other staff in the work place. Plus it was very intimidating because I really had a limited education and no computer skills.

Agustin: Because of your background with work and education, did you want to learn something new like a typewriter or a computer?
Gloria: I did but, but being brought up in old ways, it was difficult for your father to want his wife to be more educated than him. That is why I had to do things sneaky.

Agustin: How about typewriters?
Gloria: My daughter, your sister actually showed me how to use a typewriter it looked nice but took a long time to write something, it didn’t seem to fit me and your father didn’t like it either.

Agustin: When were you first really introduced to a computer and began to understand how it works?
Gloria: When you moved back in with me after your father left. That was the first time I was exposed to that technology.

Agustin: And what did you think about it when you got a better understanding of it?
Gloria: Turned off. It was so much information and the fact that I am older and not very educated made it even harder to understand. I was amazed by what was possible with the computer and what you could do with it. After going through exercises on the computer with you, it was too much. That’s probably why I have taken so long to understand it.
It really was and still is overwhelming to me.

Agustin: How do you feel about it now, since you have your own computer for yourself?
As of last year I gave my Power Mac G4 to my mother.
Gloria: Still a little overwhelming trying to understand some of the programs in it.
But it is a little more friendlier than before. This time around I know how to get around the computer, and actually do some things like email, word documents and itunes.

Agustin: Recently I introduced you to working with the Internet, and shown you more than email functions. How is that going along?
Gloria: Kind of good, there is so much stuff on the Internet I still get lost getting around it. I try to do the easy stuff, but the Google page is hard to understand, why so many links come up, when you type something. I still get confused on why so much information, and is it all true and good?

Agustin: One thing I noticed on teaching the computer is that you have trouble clicking on certain things. That is you double click a lot or not click hard enough on buttons. This bugged me, have you been able to physically use the keyboard properly?
Gloria: Yes. That was also a difficult thing to get use to, as I get older things get harder and it was and still is a challenge to type properly.

Agustin: When was the last time you used a keyboard?
Gloria: Probably 5-7 years ago.

Agustin: At this point in your life do you feel that a computer will serve you or help you? And will you be trying to educate yourself more about the computer or the Internet?
Gloria: Probably not so much, I probably will try to use the Internet more, but as for trying to get a better understanding of the computer and all it has to offer, probably not.
I think things like crossword puzzles, reading, and exercising, those things will probably serve me better in the future.