Laura M - Task 2

My group and I decided to visit Giordano’s at the intersection of Blackstone & 53^rd, the grocery store nearby our school, and the YMCA two blocks from our school. We chose Giordano’s because I had asked students what some of their favorite things or places to eat were and many mentioned Giordano’s. We were aware that many students attended before and after school programs at the YMCA since it is so closely located to our school and decided it was a good community location to observe. Then we chose the grocery store because most children have some sort of experience with a grocery store and can identify familiar sights within the store.

I don’t expect to see many families at Giordano’s similar to those I see at my school. The majority of students get free or reduced meals at school, and for their family to go to Giordano’s seems unrealistic. When students mentioned Giordano’s I figured maybe they had been there once or only on special occasions. This could be an Archetype I have of students’ families from my school. My prediction was correct, the population in Giordano's seemed that it mainly consisted of people from the University of Chicago along with a group of police officers on break. It surprised me how empty the restaurant was. At the grocery store, I suspect I will notice it feeling a little more grungy than stores I am used to. I am biased in this because many experiences I have had or observed on the Southside and around my school’s community has not seemed very sterile, or comfortable. It all seems to be lower socio-economic classes with run down buildings. I did not do the observation at the grocery store, so I can not speak to it. However, my group members did say that they felt it was run down. At the YMCA I expect to witness a friendly environment with positive activities and people. I am biased with this as well because I have experiences with other YMCAs in low income area and they always amaze me at how they stick out in a run down community and how well kept and managed they are. This YMCA was very well kept and had a friendly staff. I was surprised at the age ranges of after school programs present there. There was a basketball team waiting for their league game to begin of highschool boys, there was an area for younger children, as well as for students in upper elementary grades. Other people were swimming laps, working out, and just simply chatting with friends. It is impressive to see a program in such an area that can create a safe, comfortable place for all.

Up until this week I have felt like a complete outsider. I know I still am one but I feel a little less intimidated and a little more in place. So reflecting on when I felt like a complete outsider: I think they would feel intimidated, I think that they would pass judgments on children, families, and home lives. I think many outsiders would not stop at the locations we have chosen to stop at, and that alone is an example of an outsiders Archetype.

One thing I know that I will see is a food menu at Giordano’s. In this there will be numerical literacy, along with reading literacy, and will be interconnected. In order to understand the menu, you must be literate in both of these areas. At the grocery store, my group and I were hoping to find a produce scale. This would be something that is interconnected again between numerical literacy and reading literacy. People using this scale must be capable of making sense of the scale, and to do so must be able to read the words and numbers on the scale along with comprehending what they mean.

I expect to see posters and signs of events, programs, or information in the community. This is an example of a traditional literacy, reading. A type of oral literacy which could be possible is the news playing on TV at Giordano’s or at the YMCA.

After completing my observations, I have had many expectations confirmed as well as some proved wrong. For example, there were no examples of oral literacy that I could find. There were many signs and posters around all three of our locations. At the YMCA many of the signs and posters were beneficial to the person reading them. They gave directions, information that could be opportunistic, and history. When I was forced to be conscious of literacy, I realized that it was just about everywhere. To me, being literate means that you are able to communicate with people in any way provided. This could be reading, writing, numerical, computers, emotionally, etc. In the community these instances are everywhere.

This community involvement has helped me understand student's home lives a little bit better, it has helped me realize that the students are in many ways like I was at their age and at the same time live completely different styled lives. For example, they like the YMCA, they like playing with their friends, their parents enforce rules, their parents provide opportunities for them. Then it is different because as a child I had to be in before dark, my parents never had to leave me at the YMCA without them, I was never in after school care because my parents were able to be there instead. I guess the main thing I realized about my students that I was ignorant to, is that their parents care about where they are, what they are doing, and how they are doing, they are just unable to show it in ways similar to my own experiences. The VoiceThread from the PowerPoint: Teaching Alongside Families was very informative to me and has made me think about my assumptions. I find myself relating with the first speaker (the newer teacher). I had the same negative assumptions about parental involvment and have been proven wrong, in a big way.

This will influence my teaching, because I will recognize more of the students responsibilities at home or lack of time at home to complete homework. I will realize that a student may need an authentic activity to motivate them, and now I will be able to provide them with one after being involved in their community.