Kozol Journal

Alan Shawn Feinstein elementary school is located on one of the more well known streets of  Providence, Broad street. Looking just down the street there are busy intersections, dollar stores and a McDonalds. Right in the middle of all of this is the school. The building is made from dark red bricks and I found it difficult to find the main entrance. Eventually I came to a big metal door and rang the buzzard. I was surprised when nobody asked me who I was and simply unlocked the door...maybe I don’t come off as intimidating, being a young woman with a had bookbag on. I was greeted by nobody at the door and walked into the office. After being directed to my classroom I walked down the halls to see everything was painted mint green, and if I’m being honest the lack of posters on the walls or decorations made me question whether I was truly walking in the right direction of the kindergarten hall.

When I walked into the class of room 107, I saw a class of roughly 25 students sitting on a carpet and two adults; the teachers assistant and, of course, the teacher. I sat down right between two students as the teacher began to write the daily message on the whiteboard. The classroom rules were posted as such:

Sit with your hands in your lap

Eyes on whoever is talking

Sit criss cross

Don’t talk when others are talking.

I know that the rules are important for the students to become accustomed to the expectations of students, but I can’t help but feel like they are too strict for 5 year olds.

“Can you sit next to me?” asks an excited little girl with curly brown hair and green eyes. I had almost forgotten how small kindergarteners are. I sat next to her and noticed a few students speaking to each other in spanish before the teacher got them to quiet down. The setting reminded me very much of my own kindergarten classroom. There was also a designated time to use the bathroom and get drinks as a group. When all of the kids were lined up and quiet, we made our way through the hall, with one of the students having the honor of being the door-holder. As we walked through the hall I noticed a teacher from another classroom encouraging the 107 students for being such good listeners.

My first day was truly fun and it was great to be reminded of how cute and funny 5-year-olds (some of them six, and trust me they’ll tell you if they are older) can be.

Pecha Kucha

Pecha Kucha

Map the Authors

Growing Up Public in Providence

I have lived in Rhode Island and attended providence public schools ever since I was 12. To be a young person in a providence public school is to understand 3 things:

There is a lack of money put into public schooling, Minorities are grouped together in the "worst" schools, and the third is to know that none of the flaws are typically discussed.

Although I have attended providence public schools all through 8th grade and high school, I was not very familiar with the conditions of the elementary schools, as I attended elementary school in DR and Connecticut.

My first day of my kindergarten project, I was very schocked to see that the structure of the building and the location of the school was very poor. Being right in the middle of one of Providence's more Dangerous streets, I have to admit that I was not too surprised to have stepped on a piece of glass that pierced through my shoe. I was, however, saddedned by the fact that a student could have stepped on that glass. When I walked into the school, I was greeted by a dark, drab environment that I must say, resembled the structure of the schools that I attended in a rural town of the Dominican Republic (and even there I never stepped in glass on my way to school). Walking into the classroom, I found a beautiful class of smiling kindergarteners, but I did notice that only one of these students were white. 

Connection to Kozol: Comparing Alan Shawn Feinstein elementary school to any of the predominately white elementary schools, such as Hoxsie in Warwick, you can truly see the advantages of attending a school with a higher percentage of white, high income students.

Connection to Herbert: Now, we understand that it is not solely the color of a student's skin that will determine their quality of education. But the fact that most minorities live in urban areas, makes it impossible for their children to attend a school of a better location due to the fact that you must live in the vicinity of whichever school your child will attend. This is an example of modern segregation.

Connection to Garcia: One of the pleasant things that I witnessed in my classroom, is the practice of translanguaging. Whenever the teacher pulls students off to the side to test them individually, some of the students that have a first language of Spanish, find it difficult to understand her questions. in these instances, the teacher will ask the student if they can answer in spanish, which most of the time will allow the student to provide an answer and ultimately help them with their English.

Charity vs. Change

Where is the Power?

The reading by Kahne and Westheimer "In Service of What" opened me up to an entirely new perspective when it comes to service learning.

Often times when schools from suburban, wealthier areas try to give back to their community, the classes will develop a sort of  "savior" complex. By this, I mean that because there isn't much intimacy between the students and whomever it is that they are helping, they assume that only the ones that are underprivileged are benefiting from the situation. in 

this case, the service learning is more so an act of charity.

Charity is a great way to give back and help others, however it is a short term solution to a much larger problem. But the United States government LOVES to instill this idea that it's citizens should give to the less fortunate without questioning. By not asking questions, or not placing yourself in the shoes of whomever is is that you're helping, you won't be able to make any changes to the root of the problem.

And that is exactly what the government wants you to do. "Give food to the poor!", they say. but by solely doing that, yes less people go hungry, but nobody questions why there is so much poverty to begin with. Which means, the government won't have to put in the extra work to tackle the issue.

Government: "yess do the work for me"
 

One experience that I have had with service learning that I hope to recreate in one of my future classrooms, was in in 4th grade. Every month my teacher would walk us down to the local nursing home and we would simply spend time with the residents. The teacher simply prepared us by saying that some of the folks there had a few memory problems (such as Alzheimer's) and to simply ignore it if they repeat themselves too often. As 4th graders, we benefited from this experience because we got to interact with some amazing people and listen to their stories and advice. As an elderly person, I later learned that they are not always visited by their families and can be lonely. It opened my eyes at a young age that the elderly are not always respected or treated well. 

Safe Spaces

The Term "safe space" is often one that stirs up controversy. Some feel like today's youth is too sensitive and that there should not be a need for a safe space. But the thing is, why wouldn't we want to create an environment that allows for everyone to feel comfortable?

However, August does not talk about safe spaces being an actual place, but rather an atmosphere. LGBT youth are not always represented or even respected in their school environments. 

I don't know about you, but I never learned about safe sex for LGBT people in health class.

And then they end up like this...

Social and psychological development progresses as youth move through our educational system. Not providing a comfortable environment for students that may be seen as different, can ultimately cause the student to feel as though they don't belong in that classroom. 



The question is, how do we create an environment for students of all identities to feel comfortable in?
This video demonstrates just how one educator implements this: Creating a Safe Space for Students

One thing that I've realized that may be the most difficult part about creating a safe space in a classroom setting is the fact that it can oddly stir up some controversy. The main problem is not students accepting these spaces, but rather their parents. Inclusion for diverse students will likely inevitably be followed by someone trying to exclude people with identities that are much more different than themselves.

"A Secret Education in the Media"

Christensen's "Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us"

I think that most of us are aware that the media definitely impacts our daily life and perspectives. Children are even more impressionable; like sponges waiting to absorb anything we feed them. TV, games, the internet, etc... It all silently affects them. 

I personally remember being one of those girls that loved to play princess and patiently waited for my prince to find me, like this

When really I should have been more like this:

Young girls such as myself learning that men are supposed to "save" them is just one example of the way media can influence youngsters. 

It's not just TV, it seems as though everyone has such strong opinions about everything on social media.

Remember Facebook trolls?

This freedom to share our ideas and opinions behind the safety of our keyboards, brings out so much more opportunity to spread negativity, and young people can more easily pick up on that.

It's not all bad though. Personally, I think that social media offers everyone a way to feel connected to the world around them. Especially youth, who are often confined to their homes and classrooms. We can talk to people our age from around the world, giving us a more global perspective and helping us to debunk stereotypes about other countries.

Garcia vs. Rodriguez

This week I'm going to be discussing the differences between Richard Rodriguez  and Ofelia Garcia's take on being bilingual.

The main idea that Rodriguez tries to convey in the reading "Aria", is that sometimes being bilingual causes internal conflict. When you come to the U.S. as a non English speaker, not only will you struggle with integrating into a new culture, you also may not be given a fair chance by other Americans if they realize that you don't speak English. you might even get a few of these looks if you speak another language...

"Speak English"🙄

Rodriguez believed the best option for him to become successful, was to stop speaking Spanish at home, that way he could learn English faster. However, by doing this, he sacrificed a part of his identity. Rodriguez's relationship with his Spanish reminds me of the poem "My Spanish" by Melissa Lozada.

I can relate more to Garcia's approach of translanguaging. English is my first language but when I moved to DR, I had to learn to speak Spanish. I have never abandoned my Spanish because it has become such a huge part of who I am. I am able to build relationships with so many people in both English and Spanish. The best way to describe being bilingual is through the words of Charlemagne....