a community full of literacy

1. I have decided to visit the People’s Church, Tim Horton’s, and the Hannah community center. I chose to go to the People’s Church because when talking to my students and their families I learned that several of the students attended the Peoples Church Preschool prior to coming to Pinecrest. Tim Horton’s was chosen because one of the children referenced to how he often went there with his dad in his writing journal. I chose the Hannah Community Center because of its location, and because the activities that they offer are ones that the students routinely tell me they enjoy.

2. I expect to see several college students, and senior citizens as the primary customers of the Tim Horton’s. Some biases may be that the senior citizens would be common customers because they have nothing better to do then casually drink some coffee while enjoying a doughnut. Another bias would be that students come in for coffee so they can stay up late studying. The fact that one of my students enjoyed going there actually surprised me.

At the People’s Church Preschool I expected to encounter parents dropping off kids and hurrying to work. Some community biases might be that the kids go to preschool so they can be better prepared for Kindergarten or because the parents have to work and need someone to watch their child.

I’m not quite sure as to what I will see in the community center because I've never been in one before. The fact that the parking lot is always full when I drive by signals to me that it is a popular place.

3. An outsider would definitely see the places in the community differently than member. At all three locations however, I will be an outsider as I do not frequent any of the locations I have chosen. It will be interesting to observe what the atmosphere at Tim Horton’s; whether people go to just eat, or socialize or study.
At the community center it will be interesting to see if it is more like a welcome center with resources about the community activities or if the building is actually the center meeting place for community events.
At the Peoples church preschool I expect only to be an outsider in the sense that I will not be going for to enroll a child. If someone were to go without an education background, I’m sure he or she would have lots more questions about the set-up of the program then I expect to have.

4. There are many types of interconnections among reading, writing, oral language and other literacies that could contribute to communication in the setting I have chosen to look in to. In regards to the community center,a parent might read a flier advertising some social group meeting at the community center. She might call the number on the bottom and talk to the group’s coordinator to get more information. The parent might then visit the community center to fill a club membership form before participating in the club’s events. If the parent was unable to read, write or communicate orally in an effective way she would not have learned about the club or how to join. If the information were posted on a website the parent would also need to be computer literate as well. The same kinds of connections should be present as someone reads a menu and communicates their order to the cashier. Writing might also be included when writing a check or signing off for a credit card payment. At the preschool there will certainly be paper work that the parents will need to read and fill out before the child can attend. Oral communication between the parents and teachers will also be essential to a successful program.

5. Connections can be made between contexts such as the school, classroom and the community. Literacy can also have connections between places in the community. Students can use literacy to write an invitation, or make a phone call, to invite friends from school to a community activity. Families who have kids of similar ages can read enrollment ads in the paper and recommend preschools to each other by phone or email.


After Experience

When I visited the People's Church Preschool, I was pleasantly surprised at the presence of literacy there. Since several of my students have attended that preschool, it gives me a good idea of the materials those students have already been exposed to. At the Community center I was surprised at the organization of the facility and the number and variety of act ivies they offered. They even had their own senior center on site.

Although I learned a lot about families when I had parents write down community places that are important to them and tell why; I relize I have learned even more by accually visiting the place. I have learned that most families really value their child's education but also education in general.

As far as literacy was not surprised by the types of literacy I found, although I tried to look for examples of nontraditional literacies as well. I actually found it slightly easier to pick out the different uses of literacy at Tim Horton's then at the Community center. I think this was mainly due to the time of day at which I visited.

Through visiting different places and colaborating with other interns at my school, I learned about several places I had never been to before. Having this new knowledge has already helped me connect to students during our writing workshop time. By knowing about the places my students care about, I can give productive input when those places show up in their stories.

~Donnalee