Upon beginning this assignment, I asked my Kindergarteners at Woodlawn Community School where they like to go outside of school. They said things like, “my Granny’s house, the park, Library, McDonald’s.” All great answers, but answers that weren’t of much help. I wanted to go into a place that was different from any place I had ever been. I knew it was impossible, at least this early, to go into one of my student’s grandparent’s house. I have been in many McDonald’s, especially the one in Woodlawn. I knew what to expect at that McDonald’s which is why I chose to not go into one. I want to go into a place that is unfamiliar and fresh. Megan and myself decided upon to places to visit, Chuck E Cheese’s and a local bus station. During lunch one day, I was sitting at the girl’s table. When I asked them where they have their birthday parties, most of them responded with “Chuck E Cheese.” I thought this would be a great place for Megan and I to go. We also chose to go to a bus station because we know that a lot of students take the bus into school with their parents or they ride the bus to get to places. We figured this is an essential part in the lives of our students in which we need to become more familiar with and we knew that we would see Literacy and Math at both places.
At Chuck E Cheese, I expect to see children playing with their siblings or parents, parents socializing, as well as a lot of reading and math conversions. Literacy will be seen from students reading the directions of the games, the menus, and the signs as to the prizes that they win with their tickets. I expect math to be seen when children have to read how many coins they need to play a game, counting how many tickets the have, and parents figuring out the bill. I do expect to see more African American people rather than Caucasian people due to the demographic of people that do live in the Chicago Land area, in the surrounding areas of Woodlawn and Hyde Park. I also expect to see a lot of mothers at Chuck E Cheese rather than fathers. I think that a lot of fathers will be working, so mothers will bring their kids. I expect that there aren’t going to be a lot of people there due to the fact that most of them will be in school. However, Megan and I have decided to go around four in the afternoon so that most students will be out of school.
I expect to see only a couple of people at the bus station. I am expecting to see families, maybe getting ready to go home from work or school. I am sure there will be certain people who are traveling alone, to wherever their destination will be. Literacy will be seen from the passengers reading what bus they are looking for, reading signs—such as how much they need to pay, maps/directions, etc. Math will be seen when people have to figure out how much money they have, the distance in which they have to travel, how much they might have left on their bus cards, etc. I do expect to see more African American people, as stated before. This again is due to the demographic in the surrounding areas and from what I have seen already driving home from school during the past two weeks.
I would consider myself an outsider, to a certain extent. I consider myself an outsider because I am still not familiar with the area/s surrounding Woodlawn. People in the area do not know who I am or anything about myself. Since I do no live in Woodlawn or Hyde Park, I am an outsider to those students that do live in that community. However, inside Woodlawn Community School, I am not an outsider. I am a teacher, part of the family within their community.
If an outsider was to come to Woodlawn, I think they would be concerned with the population and the demographic. Especially if they have never been to an area like Woodlawn. They would see people in the streets, people not minding one another, hollering, etc. This is something that I am already used to being in the school’s community for about two weeks now, but a “true” outsider might not.
As stated earlier, I think there are going to be many interconnections in the two places that we have chosen to visit. Reading is going to have to be done in both settings in order for people to do what they need to do. For example, at Chuck E Cheese’s, students need to read the directions of the games in order to start playing. At the bus station, people need to read the bus’s that are passing to see what bus they need to get onto. Writing will mostly be seen at Chuck E Cheese’s when parents are paying the bill (and they have paid with a credit card or debit card). Oral language will be seen in both settings, though mainly at Chuck E Cheese. This is due to the fact that communication is essential in almost all aspects of the things that we do. Children need to listen to what their parents/friends are saying at Chuck E Cheese’s in order to act accordingly.
TASK 4--
TASK 4--
After visiting Chuck E Cheese’s and a bus station near Woodlawn Community, I noticed so many interesting and surprising things.
In regards to my initial thoughts about Chuck E Cheese’s, there were children playing the games with their parents. Parents were helping children read the directions for the games and how many coins they needed to add in order to start the game. I did notice that there were two or three adults for each child that was playing a game. There were more adults there than there were children. Chuck E Cheese’s was pretty empty at around 4:30 in the afternoon. I expected that to be the case since students had school earlier that day. I am sure on the weekends, Chuck E. Cheese’s is more crowded.
At Chuck E Cheese’s, the first thing that struck me was the last of diversity. For a place in which a lot of my African American students go to for birthday parties and for fun, there were about three or four African Americans with the facility; the rest of the people where of Mexican decent. This surprised me at first due to the amount of students at my school that go to this Chuck E Cheese. However, after thinking about it, we were in a part of Chicago where the population is predominantly Mexican. I was also surprised at the fact that people were not friendly, at all. People/parents playing at Chuck E Cheese’s didn’t even seem to acknowledge that fact that we were taking pictures and walking all around Chuck E Cheese. I would have thought that people would be interested in what we were doing and asking questions.
My initial thoughts about the 67-bus station were not very accurate. There were two groups of people, none alone. One group seemed to be a father and a son and the other was a male and female (not sure of their relation). However, I could see how literacy and math were being used. Each group had to read what number was on the bus to make sure that they were getting on the right bus (which is also mathematics).
I was very surprised when we visited the 67 bus right off Stony Island, which is a couple of blocks away from Woodlawn. I was more surprised than not with this community encounter. I thought that the people at the bus station would be very cold and judgmental at what we were doing. Megan and I approached a couple of people that were standing at the bus stop and asked them if we could take pictures of them getting on the bus, etc. for a project we have to do. They were so understanding and asked questions about Michigan State, Woodlawn Community. They were really inviting and understanding about our project and almost seemed excited to be a part of it. We even got a picture of the bus driving waving to us!
This community experience has helped me learn about my students because a lot attend birthday parties at Chuck E Cheese’s. When they talk about Chuck E. Cheese’s at school, I will know what they are talking about and the games that they have played. When they talk about the bus that they take, I know exactly what bus they take and even the bus driver! In regards to families, this experience helped me understand what parents do for fun with their children as well as what families need to do in order to pick up or drop off their children at school. Some families might not be able to afford to pay for a car, so they use public transportation. It is mostly an assumption when I say that my students who take the bus can’t afford a car. However, this assumption leads me to think about the finances within my student’s families.
This experience will help me implement lessons that talk about Chuck E. Cheese’s and using the bus system. Since I know more about what the children to at Chuck E. Cheese’s, I can write math problems that involve coins needed to play a game. I am going to take this experience and use it to my full advantage. I am hoping that students will be more engaged in learning if they can relate to what they are learning about. I know that my students are very knowledgeable; I just have to approach my teaching technique and community experience to expand their thinking.
In Compton-Lilly’s article, she states that Norma Gonzalez, Luis Moll and Cathy Amanti “argue that all people…bring funds of knowledge to schools and classrooms and that teachers should build on these funds of knowledge to design instructional programs that are responsive to students…”(450). This quote talks exactly about what we should be doing with the community experiences. We should build on the knowledge that the students gain at Chuck E. Cheese’s and at bus stops. Children are very knowledgeable and it is up to me to relate to their experiences and my own to “build on their funds of knowledge.”
**I do not know how to make my font bold, therefore my task 4 edits look like this (Edit:.....)
ReplyDeleteWadsworth Elementary is in the Woodlawn area of Chicago. Our school is located on Woodlawn and 63rd. Prior to visiting places of our community, I decided to research the history and dynamics of Woodlawn. Woodlawn is 98% African American and over 1/2 of its residents are on some sort of social aid (Wikipedia). Honestly, knowing this information prior to visiting areas of the community did give me some feelings of anxiousness. I was not sure what to expect. I am from a small suburb of Detroit and I was from a mainly white community. At first, stereotypes of the homeless and people living in poverty came to mind. What would I see as I visit a place where half of the people are on governmental aid and 93% of my students are described as "low income?"
Before visiting places around my community the other interns in my school cohort asked the teachers and students in our school where they liked to visit in our community. We inquired about restaurants and after school "hangouts." Some of our teachers said that it was not safe to go to ANY restaurants around our school. Our students said that they typically went to Giordano's in Hyde Park, the YMCA after school and the grocery store down the street. These are the three places we choose to visit. We figured that the restaurant was something that the students might visit on a special occasion, the grocery store might be something that the do with adults at home to get food they eat on a more regular basis and the YMCA is something that many of our students do as a social event or after school.
I expected to see a grocery store that is typical of the chain grocery store, Aldi. From my experience, Aldi is a grocery store similar to L and L or Jewel Ossco. I expect to see children and adults shopping for food because we plan on visiting after school. (Edit: The grocery store was much smaller than I expected. There were about five isles, and there was no deli and a very small produce section. Based on my experiences at Aldi prior to this, I am surprised to see such a small store serving this community.) At the pizza restaurant, I am expecting to see a restaurant typical to Italian eateries. At the YMCA I am expecting to see a recreational center with a pool, possibly a play area outside and children participating in after school activities.
Based on my research of the community, I guess in regards to biases I expect to see many African Americans who seem to be struggling financially. I am not sure what this might consist of or if it will be the case. (Edit: At the grocery store, I did observe a man and a woman arguing over the price of something, saying they could not afford to buy so many groceries. This does not necessarily mean that they are poor or reflected by the statistics of the community, however it shows that these families are aware of a budget and possibly watch watch what they spend. At the restaurant, I saw families of many different ethnicities dining out together. This also shows that there is still a disposable income within the residents of this community and they are able to go out and spend money on leisure such as eating in a restaurant.)
I see myself as somewhat of an outsider, however based on my experience at my school with such a friendly staff, I have become somewhat "used" to being a minority in my community. Other outsiders might find this intimidating at first (I know I did). (Edit: Outsiders might be surprised by the small grocery store or by the lack of families shopping there after school hours. I was surprised to see there were no children and about 10 adults shopping at this time.)
Continued:
ReplyDeleteI expect to see many types of inter-connections between reading, writing and listening at the places we are going to visit. For example, I plan on seeing people reading and writing grocery lists, reading labels and prices and listening to store announcements, cashiers and other people in the store. (Edit: I did hear a couple arguing about what to buy and prices, they were required to read the prices and listen to each other speak about it. I also saw cashiers reading prices and discussing the amounts with customers. I also saw three customers on their cell phones. This is an aspect of literacy that is new and might be relative to students we teach.) At the YMCA I expect to see children and adults reading signs to see where to go within the building and listening to directions that are given. At the restaurant I expect to see people listening to each other speak, reading the menu and discussing it with the wait staff and writing their name on receipts. (Edit: These were present at the locations!)
( Task 4 Edit: I have definitely learned a lot about my community throughout visiting these places. I know that my neighborhood is not very safe and the crime rate is high. I teach/work in this environment and these families live in it. However, I see that there is literacy and math present in many aspects of the community despite the fact that the community does not have many funds and might not have state of the art buildings or facilities. I have learned that each school, community and family brings different experiences to our school learning community. I think as a teacher it is important to help students see that they are learning all the time, whether it be at the grocery store, eating out or at the YMCA after school.
Much of the Compton-Lilly article was about connecting home to school experiences. I think that the funds of knowledge idea could really help out in my school community. For example, in my school at least in my classroom, there is a lack of parental involvement. This is sad because they really have a wealth of knowledge and can lead us to learn about their child and help us understand their development thus far. It might be hard for a teacher to do home visits, as the teacher in Compton-Lilly did. However, a neat solution might be to send home a questionnaire for parents to fill out on bright colored paper and offer that the returnees will be entered in a drawing for a certificate to a store in the community. This might involve parents and help encourage them to help us learn more about their child and their own personal experiences that they can contribute to the classroom.)
When asking my kindergarteners where they like to go on the weekends, and what they do after school, they did not really know the names of places they visit. They said things like “going out to eat” but did not know the name of the restaurant, or “going to the park” but did not know which specific park. I suggested to the other Bret Harte interns that we go to the YMCA since three of my students attend the after school program. We have also decided to go to Jackson Park (right across the street from our school), the Museum of Science & Industry, which is about a block or two away from our school, and Mellow Yellow, a restaurant nearby. I am going to be visiting the Museum of Science & Industry and Mellow Yellow on Saturday, two of the interns visited the YMCA yesterday afternoon, and another intern will be visiting Jackson Park tomorrow afternoon. We chose these places because they are all within walking distance of our school, and we feel that many people within our community visit these places.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the Museum of Science & Industry will be very diverse, racially and socioeconomically. I think that people who live in our school community will visit, as well as people from other parts of the country who are visiting Chicago. I expect to see mostly families at the museum with both parents in attendance since I will be going there over the weekend. I will also be recording the people, building designs, plant life, stores, and music I hear while walking to the museum. I expect to see mathematics in action while purchasing my ticket, at the vending machines, while looking at the map of the museum, and the layout of the building.
While visiting Mellow Yellow, I expect to see mostly African Americans since our school consists of mostly African American students. I expect to see families at the restaurant, couples, and friends of all ages. I will also be recording the music I hear in the restaurant, the building design, the people I see, and the surrounding stores. I expect to see mathematics taking place while people are paying for their meals. People will be counting their money, calculating the tip, dividing the check up among a number of people, etc…
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteContinued...
ReplyDeleteI think an outsider may be considered with the number of people, and the demographic of the area if they are unfamiliar with this. I have been living in Hyde Park for over a month now, and do not feel as much of an outsider anymore. Moving here for the first time was a little different for me, but I actually grew up in a very diverse area so I became accustomed to the area and the diversity pretty quickly. One thing I noticed on the bus though, one of my first days in Hyde Park, was that I felt like I was the minority. I think that an outsider, if they are a young Caucasian female like myself, may be uncomfortable being the minority if they are used to “blending in” with everyone else.
At the museum, I believe that I will see literacy taking place in the form of all three types. People will be communicating with one another on the exhibits they see, some may be writing down what they see if they are participating in a school project, and most people will be reading the information posted under each artifact, the museum map, signs to various locations in the museum, and the shows that will be taking place. At Mellow Yellow, I will see waiters/waitresses jotting down customers’ orders, and we will see customers writing on the check if they are paying with a credit/debit card. We will also see people communicating, and reading the menu. In addition to people at both the museum and restaurant communicating with other people they are with, we’ll be seeing people talking on their cell phones, and text messaging.
There will definitely be connections made between the two places I am visiting, as well as the places the other interns are visiting. Literacy is such a big part of our every day lives. We communicate with one another, whether it be orally, or through a cell phone or computer. Reading is important wherever you go because you need to be aware of street signs, so you can find your way, signs in the museum so you know where the exhibits are, and of course the menu at a restaurant so you know what you can order. Written language may not seem as common as reading and communication, but when you are text messaging on your cell phone, that is considered a form of writing, and even simple tasks such as paying a bill and signing your name.