Pre-tour
1) We are visiting a local barbershop that a teacher recommended we go see because it has been part of the community for “forever.” She mentioned that Obama gets his hair done there. Also, we will be visiting a YMCA in order to get a better idea of what the students are doing once school gets out.
2) I expect that the barbershop will be filled with mostly Black men. They will be talking loudly. Also, I hope there is one of those spin things that looks like a candy cane outside. As far as the YMCA, I hope the students have a place to get their work done and play with their friends. I’d also expect some sports to be played
3) I think an outsider would probably expect to see the same things I do but go into it with a completely different attitude. I used to work at the YMCA in Lansing and have certain expectations as far as what I expect the workers to be doing and helping the students with as far as their school work and such. For the barbershop, I think that is an experience that as an outsider we can only imagine from movies and pop culture. People have specific ideas and as “outsiders” its probably similar to what I have as someone from a different Chicago community
4) I anticipate that there will be a different oral literacy occurring in both settings. Because both the YMCA and the barber shop are more informal locations, I expect that the language will be much more cultural than standard. I’m almost positive that people in both settings will communicate differently than they would in a more formal school environment.
Post Tour
During the tour of the YMCA I overcame some of the biases (Working Alongside Families Powerpoint) and preconceived ideas I had before about parents and families. I have heard for so long that families in inner-city schools are often disengaged but being in a setting where students are set up to learn like the Y made it clear that the parents are in tune to what is safe and best for their children. By sending their children to the Y they are eliminating the chance for trouble to occur and allowing their children an opportunity to get started on their work. I think it's especially clear that these parents want their children to succeed because they place the students in an environment that is created for growth and established in order to help. By doing this, the students are set up for success and can get help on assignments and homework while there parents are at school. The after school program may be particularly helpful if the parents work late or are not completely confident with their own skills in terms of math and literacy. Placing them in a program with people who help them may provide the necessary enrichment that a child could be missing at home.
Being in the Y showed me how being literate involves all sort of characteristics. Students speak to each other differently in a setting outside of school but are at the Y in order to play and learn together. The parents clearly put their children there because it is a safe place to grow and learn and the school promotes the after school program for this same reason. When community establishments exist in a way that can only increase a student's productivity they are beneficial to all parties (students, parents and teachers) involved.
Mallory,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with what you are saying about the YMCA. I think it is encouraging to see families who are spending money on their children's education. Even if parents are only using the Y as a cheap form of babysitting, their children are safe, by being off the streets, and furthering their education. I think it would be interesting to see research on if this time spent at the Y after school directly impacts their learning at school.
The biases that you had about families in urban schools are the same one's that the majority of Americans have about urban ed. Hopefully someday this will change =)
Hope you enjoyed spending time in your community.
Holly