As we toured the areas and neighborhoods that our students come from, what contrasts did you notice? What observations did you make? What evidence of funds of knowledge did you recognize? What insights or understandings of your students' lives did this 'field trip' help develop?
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Particularly in the first neighborhood, I was struck by the lack of outdoor play area for the children. Unfortunately, I have also come to understand that for many of these students the summer is confined mostly to staying in the house or just the immediate neighborhood, if weather permits. For most of these students there is no family vacation, trips to 6 flags, the beach, or the movies to see the summer blockbuster. How often do we take for granted that our students have had these experiences? How can we honor and utilize the experiences they do have?
What I noticed was that there were three very different neighborhoods during our trip. Even though the first two were both mobile home parks, there was a marked difference in the state of the two neighborhoods. To me, Winder Village is what one typically thinks of when a 'trailer park' comes to mind. There was little to no lawn between houses and a wide, paved strip separating rows. Setting the difference between these two aside, I could see real efforts to make the most out of their surroundings in many cases. And from what I understand from Rebeccah and Sandra, often homes that look poor on the outside are very well kept inside and maintained with pride. As we know, immigrant jobs aren't often the highest paying; but it's always good to see anyone make the most out of what they have.
Being a member of the socioeconomic 'lower' class is a fund that greatly impacts students of all ethnicities. Having grown up for a time in a household where the bills seemed to come faster than the paychecks, I understand that well. Rebeccah's point about experiences is well taken. I'll certainly probe further, for educational purposes and out of genuine interest, when a kid returns from a break and wants to tell me about his/her Georgia Aquarium visit, for instance. At the same time, I try to be careful to ask each of my students on Monday what they did over their weekend. Of course, this is less time-consuming in my small group setting than it would be in a full classroom; but often, trips to a favorite aunt's house for a family gathering(to name one outing I've heard about on Monday morning) can be just as exciting to a student. I've learned cultural this way as well.
You never know when one of these students have found some bird's eggs in the backyard over the weekend, or something of the like, that the rest of the class can explore further..
Just as Richard did, I noticed differences in the two trailor parks. The difference in size of the lots was very evident - with the first trailor park having much larger lots. The homes in the first trailor park appeared more sturdy and looked almost like houses in camparison to those in the second trailor park. I noticed some children out playing in the second trailor park in several yards. In one yard I noticed that one very (causcasion)young child was jumping on a tramoline (a very small trampoline) while another Hispanic (?) child looked on. I wondered if African American children lived in the same neighborhood also. I noticed that there were many potted plants outside some of the homes and it seemed like - whether or not a family had the money to buy things to fix up the trailor - they overall were putting forth a great deal of effort to try to do the best they could to make their place "home" and a good place for their children to come home to at night. The last neighborhood we drove through was like many of the neighborhoods that surround the school where I used to teach 3rd grade. The were nice and clean looking and well-kept and many of them seemed to be built in the same type of design. As we drove through the neighborhoods I thought about how each was a home with its own world inside - a very busy world with lots going on among the family members. The challenge for me - and the reason that I made home visits to all of my students before school started each year - is to find out as much as I can about each individual world. Once I was able to do that and to establish a trust between the children and their families, the ideas as to how to bring it into our classroom life came naturally.
During the year, through our new math series, we discuss and learn about floor plans with multiple floors. I did not understand before today how some of my students do not know that some buildings have more than one level. After seeing my students' homes I can now understand.
As I have found within the Hispanic culture, students work together and see things as more of a team activity. I hope this also applies in their home life. With homes being placed so close together these various families have an opportunity to become a very close knit community.
I have visited the first two neighborhoods before and so they, especially Winder Village, are somewhat familiar. I was struck with the few kids in sight when we drive through. I know there are at least 37 elementary age kids in the neighborhood (more than that I'm sure) as well as dozens of older and younger siblings, but we only saw a couple of kids outside. So it looks like they're confined to the house! I am sure there are vast stores of funds of knowledge in these homes. The problem: How do we access them? Home visits are the best method, but not very effective unless you are fluent in Spanish. I note that in the example in the handout, at least one, if not both visitors to the household could communicate in Spanish. I tried to tap into the funds of knowledge with one of my students today who mentioned that she had a horse in Mexico. She said her grandfather had bought it for her, but had sold it a little while ago. Have to go to a meeting a church, I'll resume in a couple hours.
I remember about 3 years ago when I had a 3rd grade Latino child in my class who upon asking her what she "wished" for, she said, "A roll of quarters for my mom." At first I thought it an unusual request, but come to find out, she wanted those quarters for her mom to use at the laundrymat. It was then that it hit me, some of my kids don't have a washer or dryer in their homes!! It was something I assumed everyone had. That was just the beginning of my journey into understanding what resources my students did and didn't have. That was also the time I started doing home visits with Rebeccah and really started observing and questioning the funds of knowledge my students brought to the plate.
I know that my previous post seemed to focus on material resources, but I also meant to highlight that fact that the more you know about your students and their families (i.e., their funds of knowledge), the easier it is to make meaningful connections in instruction.
One of the things that I noticed when we were touring was the sharp contrast of the neighborhoods. The two trailer parks were very different from the subdivision. I did notice however that in all of the neighborhoods there were flowers, gardens, and other things to make it feel like home. I have seen all of these neighborhoods before, but I did not realize that this is where some of our children live.
Here was a major surprize, I had one student read a spanish language text aloud to the group. This soon to be fourth grader began reading the story fluently, IN ENGLISH! She was reading the spanish text in real time in English! Amazing! I stopped her when I realized what she was doing and told her that I only meant for her to read it in Spanish, not to translate as she read. Her response was, "Then you won't be able to understand it." After applauding her thoughtfulness and her talent in reading in two languages simultaneously, I told her I wanted to try to figure it out in Spanish. What a wonderful gift this young girl has. I wonder if the "English only" realizes what constraints they seek to put on children's growth and development!
It is important to see where our students live. We all know what an impact their home environment can have on their learning/achievement, but I also think it is important to realize that not all of our ELL students come from low income homes as that was apparent when we visited the last neighborhood.
I was surprised by the contrast and world of difference between the first neighborhood and the last. It made me thankful for the little house that I have and the fenced in backyard and playset that my children are fortunate enough to have. The run-down playground around the first neighborhood seemed like something you would see in an urban setting. It was a good eye opener. I think it is important to know the home environment of the children you teach. We did notice some gardens and how some did grow their own vegetables and such. Appearances can be deceiving though, I think you need to keep in mind that just because they may not live in the ideal house, they still can have loving and caring family members surrounding them eager to support them. Conversely, just because a child lives in a beautiful neighborhood it doesn't necessarily mean that they have a perfect family or homelife.
I also noticed that many of the mobile homes were freshly painted with bright, vivid colors that remind me of the homes I saw when I visited Xalapa, Mexico about eight years ago. To me, this reveals a deep sense of "home" and gives a glimpse from the outside of the home of exactly what Richard wrote about in his post in regards to the pride of well-maintained homes. The gardens were also well-maintained, and I have to admit I was envious of the tomato plants I saw bursting with fruit. I have one tomato plant I have pampered all summer long, just to get one small tomato!
For me, the porches of the mobile homes were important. Many porches had lots of places to sit, and I think if we were to visit in the evening we may see lots more outdoor activity. The porches appeared to have the capacity to be a place for families to sit together, and possibly to interact with neighbors.
I also saw lots of children's toys on the porches--mostly bicycles, big wheels, and other outdoor riding toys. I didn't see any children outside playing, but I wonder if this too would look different in the evening.
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