The Farmer's Market was somewhat what I expected. There were not very many people there, despite the wonderful weather. I believe that this was due to my timing which occurred right around dinner time. Although the actual size of the Farmer's Market was quite large, there were only about 20 people there. Everyone appeared to be of Caucasian decent but I did notice a couple that looked Chaldean and some that also appeared to be Indian. Although there were not very many people, I would still consider the market make-up to be diverse.
Thinking about Farmer's Markets, I would not suspect to find so many items such as a kid's activity table, jewelry, and even musical performer. It was very refreshing to see that there were so many different individuals from the community bringing their talents to one central location. I was also quite surprised to see that there were not very many people. It was so beautiful today that I thought the market would be overflowing with individuals. However, it was extremely slow and many of the booths did not have a single individual at them.
I feel as though the Farmer's Market reaffirmed that English is the primary language of Maple Elementary's community despite the vast amount of diversity in the school. This reminds me as an educator, that I need to open up teaching examples to spread across different ethnicities and I also need to find ways to connect to my students on more personal levels. I do not want my classroom to seem like the community these children are living in; focused on the white, Christian society. Regardless of where I end up teaching, I want diversity to be in my classroom more than just by the skin color that walks through the door. As the "Learning to Change" video discusses, our society is changing. It would be extremely beneficial to my students as well as an easy resource for myself to incorporate technology into my classroom. With technology becoming such a large part of our culture, it feels as though it is an easy connection for all different types of children from different socio-economic classes and different ethnicities.
In literacy, I see how different text and the outside community surrounding Maple Elementary focus on the Caucasian, Christian class. This can be extremely difficult for students to create personal connections to literacy. I believe that is important to bring in new literacies into the classroom that may offer easier connections for students. I want to see stories with diverse characters and hear those with different oral languages. With the advances in the internet, it is extremely easy to find items that have both diverse characters and different oral language that what our society is suffocated in.
Jessica- That is really interesting that you went to a farmer's market. I'm wondering what made you decide to go there within your city? Was that the only place that you chose to go within your city? It sounds like it was a great learning experience to connect with your students on places they could travel to on the weekends and after school. Are there many ELL's at your school? We have a lot at my school and so we have different languages posted around the school so all students can read the signs. I agree with your findings on how languages and signs around the community only focus on caucasian and christian classes. I think that it should be all different types of diverse people and their cultures not just focus on one. If the area is primarily caucasian or christian I can see how it would be the main focus- but if it is not it is not fair nor easy for those students and their families to have to decode everywhere they go. I agree with your stance on the internet and how it is helpful for those who may not speak the primary language. Insightful post!
ReplyDeleteHi Jessica-
ReplyDeleteI loved your post and that you went to the Farmers Market. It is interesting that there were not many people there because we also have a farmers market in Novi and this seems to be the case as well, which is incredibly sad. It is great however that there were things to do for the children. Maybe the market needs more advertisements and you could even do that within the classroom. You could discuss the trip to the market and maybe even find a book that could pair you discussion. You could also talk about how there weren't many people there. Then create advertisements promoting healthy and local eating. Just an idea!
I also think it is great that you want to bring in oral literacy into your classroom. Our school has a cultural night where students make foods that correlate to their culture and partake in specific traditions. Does your school have something like that? If not maybe you could suggest that. It would be great to learn about your student's heritage as well as incorporating that element of oral language.
Great post! It was very insightful : )