When exploring our community, we observed many different literacy elements located all throughout our area. Driving around, there were several different churches, community centers, and businesses. In these we saw our diverse school population reflected. Within one mile of our school, we saw three different types of churches or centers for people from different backgrounds, for example an arabic community center down the street. We also noticed literacy in neighborhood grocery stores, the library, and in newspapers and public announcements. What really suprised me was how evident the diversity really was in the community. One who is not familiar with the area would be able to identify easily that there is a diverse population represented by the buildings and services offered. Another thing that really surprised me was the Southfield Public Library. I was not expecting such a beautiful facility, perhaps because of my previous knowledge of the socioeconomic classes of our school. However, the library is an incredibly stunning building, full of multiple different resources for people of all ages in the community.
Through this exploration, I was really able to see the resources available to our students and families. The amazing library in and of itself is one of the biggest literacy resources the community has to offer. It has several floors of books, computers, magazines and newspapers available for those who are able to obtain a library card. Also, the library offers a wide variety of acitivities and programs to help the people of the community. These include things such as computer classes, language learner help, and science camps for younger kids. During this exploration, we also compared the communities we grew up in to the city we are teaching in. This really opened my eyes to how different the environment of my students lives is to the one I grew up in. Also looking at our schools statistics (highest rate of free and reduced lunch) demonstrated the poverty level of my students, something I hadn’t really realized before.
During my teaching, I will take into account the socioeconomic status of my students and their families, as well as integrate and embrace the diversity that was shown in the community and mirrored in my classroom to be able to create meaningful learning activities that relate to my students lives.
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