Community Visit- Katie

After speaking with students and teachers at our school, we decided to visit a hair salon (Cleopatra’s on 53rd), the 61st street farmers market and Leona’s italian restaurant. We chose these places based on the prominence they hold in the community and in our students lives. As I have spent a significant amount of time in and around this community already, I expect to see a diverse crowd of people. At the farmers market I am expecting to see the “farmers market types”... the type of people who commute to work by bicycle, have compost bins by the back door and are genuinely concerned with their environmental impact. In my past experience, I have not actually witnessed a lot of diversity at farmers markets, so I suppose I am going into the experience expecting to see just one type of person. At the hair salon, I am expecting mostly women, getting their hair done and gossiping about who is doing what in the neighborhood. Again, these stereotypes are somewhat grounded in past experience, but I am very interested to see how things play out in this new community. Judging from how many people have recommended Leona’s, I am expecting to see a diverse crowd, gathered together for the sake of of delicious pizza, burgers and drinks. Leona’s is located in the heart of Hyde Parks central business area, and many of my students walk past it on their way to school.

Post-Community Visit
Although it wasn't my first adventure into the heart of Hyde Park, the fact that I was accompanied by a few first timers made it a bit more exciting. One thing that I noticed was that there were a lot less people out and about than I was used to seeing. I think this is because for the most part, my time in the community was spent in the evenings and on weekends, when more people are out and about. So to see it a little less crowded during a work day was kind of cool. I was not surprised by how friendly and outgoing the people we encountered were. First at Leona's they were not even open for business yet (we had eaten there the night before and were going back for pictures) but the waitress's saw us standing at the door, came to ask what we needed, and let us in to do what we needed to do. Also, at Cleopatra's the hair salon, it was obvious by the expressions on the stylists faces that they were wondering why we were just standing outside staring and not coming in to chat.

The experience I had in the community gave me even more insight into my students lives. I realize that people in this area really look out for one another and are genuinely willing to help. One way in which this has already begun to impact my teaching is by allowing students to help each other. For example, the other day my CT was at a conference so it was just a substitute and myself, and a few of the students were struggling to understand the math lesson. When I realized there were also a few students who were very bored with the lesson because it wasn't a challenge, I was able to determine who might be a good "teacher" for a classmate. This turned out to be incredibly effective and it was nice to see the pride on the faces of the students who were helping their friends. I also realized that the students can relate to each other better than I can relate to them, so having an explanation come from a peer could be incredibly helpful for someone who has a hard time articulating what exactly they don't understand.

It is somewhat easy for me to anticipate how an outsider would view this community, given that I am still making the transition from outsider to insider. It did not take long for me to fall in love with all the neighborhood has to offer, but I am aware that not everyone sees things through my lens. For example, on move in day with my parents following me in a U-haul, my awareness was heightened and I suddenly took note of anything that might be perceived as dirty or dangerous. I was prepared for the look from my father as he pulled up to the curb, and mentioned that although there were mansions on the blocks surrounding my place, abandoned lots and essentially the opposite of mansions occupied space not at all far from this little “mansion district”. The fact that a visibly drunk and/or drugged driver crashed his car into the side of my building a few short hours later did not improve my parents perception of my new home. Although I recognize my parents concern, I feel that it stems from a lack of understanding and familiarity with such a diverse and unknown culture. I believe that integrating myself into the community here is absolutely necessary to my success as a teacher, and thus far I have really enjoyed it.

I feel that I will see interconnections among reading and oral language at the farmers market as well as Leona’s. This is because both experiences involve reading (either a menu or food descriptions and price lists) as well as oral language as far as ordering or inquiring as to the quality of the food. Some new literacies I expect to see in the community might have to do with city life in general, for example, the bus/train system is still totally overwhelming to me, and the fact that people of all ages, races, shapes, sizes etc. are so adept at public transportation is very impressive to me. I really hope that in this next year I will become at least mildly proficient. I expect to see all of the traditional literacies, especially because of the amount of schools in the area as well as the proximity to the University of Chicago. I feel like education is highly valued here and literacy is everywhere.