Post Community Visit

After driving around the city of Southfield our group learned a great deal more about the community on many different levels. Before searching the city we noticed the diversity within the school itself so we were wondering if this diversity was apparent throughout the community. We were also wondering if languages would be represented in the city of Southfield just as languages are represented in the small community of our school. So, this is what we found…

We noticed that people were partaking in activities that made sense to that particular place. For example people were using technology at the library and checking out books. Children were in the children’s section of the library reading with caretakers. It was great to see parents reading with their children. At our school many of the teachers are concerned that our students don’t have books at home and always try to work with parents and use the library as a resource. This is just one example of how our school is bridging the gap between home and school and trying to understand parents just as the Learning Alongside Families Powerpoint displayed. The library was a great resource and we learned so much just from flyers available to the public. There were technology classes that members of the community could take, upcoming cultural events taking place at the library were advertised and there was even a brochure for specific grade level activities.

We also went to grocery stores to see what types of literacy we could find there. We realized how much literacy is needed to do a simple task, such as buying groceries. Students need to have numerical literacy in order to use money, they need to be able to read products and advertisements, and they need to have the language to purchase an item or ask questions. With multiple languages represented in our school our student need to be able to function in the community and a grocery store is even a great classroom tool to get students talking about purchasing items and dialogue that forms around this task.

After visiting these two places we were surprised at how little the actual languages that people in the community speak were under represented. Although some languages were represented on cultural or religious buildings, there were no translations in the library or the grocery store to help families who speak a language other than English. At our school, signs are translated in three languages, the languages that are prevalent the most: Arabic, French, and Spanish. Students are able to feel safe in the school because the signs are there to guide them. We did not see languages represented the same way in the community and that was somewhat a surprise.

This experience taught us a great deal about the community, our students and families. We now know what resources are available to students and we can make real life connections within the classroom. After talking to teachers and educators within the building we realized how many resources we have within the school itself. When putting these two concepts together we are taking the resources we have within the school and pulling in outside information from the community creating the ideal learning experience for our students.

As literacy learners, we know that our students struggle more because many are ESL students. After going out into the community and realizing that out students languages are not represented we can try and do this within the classroom. We can teach them life skills for example the language to check out a book or to buy groceries and simulate this within the classroom. Going out into the community helped us understand only some of the experiences our students have on a day-to-day basis and now we can bring these into classroom discussions and help our students make connections and become thinkers. Overall this was an engaging project that was incredibly helpful. We will continue to learn more about our students and where they come from as the year progresses.