Demographics
I am approaching my third year of teaching. I have taught World Geography and World History II for the past two years. The majority of the population that I teach is freshmen and sophomores. As reported on the Virginia Department of Education's website, for the academic school year of 2010-2011, Wythe's school population was 984 students. 6 Of those students, there were 287 freshmen and 231 sophomores. 7 I taught approximately 155 freshmen and 30 sophomores. It is my responsibility to get the freshmen prepared to take Virginia's geography state assessment. Most state assessed classes are seen as difficult for learners but geography is especially difficult as some of Richmond Public School's high schools have done away with the class. Last year, I collaborated with another social science teacher to accommodate exceptional education learners within the classroom. A large percentage of Wythe's student population receives an individualized education plan (IEP) by which those students have special accommodations that must be met within their learning environment. It is not uncommon to have collaborative teaching teams within the classrooms of Wythe as more than half of the school's population has an IEP.
Sources used
The sources used in this unit will attempt to answer my questions that I have posed in the layout of the curriculum. I have included visuals, fictional, and nonfictional works to assist me during instruction. Some research has proven that students are stimulated by pictures and the use of video as these sources appeal to their emotions more. To this end, I have included some films and picture books. It is my belief that these sources will capture my students' attention and will force the issue of questioning their identities and the identities of others.
Films
There will be no full length films assigned for this unit. Instead, I will use excerpts from films and utilize a variety of strategies listed in the next section to highlight their main points.
The Public Housing Dilemma: Richmond, Va.
I am choosing to open my unit with a brief documentary about the evolution of housing projects in Richmond, Virginia. The documentary explores the history of housing projects and also lays out the effects of having housing projects. One of the effects is how the offspring of older generations have adopted a mentality of not wanting to move from Richmond and their communities. I want my learners to think about the negatives of not exploring worlds outside their communities. This video suggests how manmade borders around these neighbors have created mental boundaries for learning about other cultures. Although there is value in appreciating one's culture, there is also a struggle to learn about others.
A Day at Hillside
This is a quick documentary of the halls of George Wythe High that depicts how students communicate, whether orally or through verbal cues. The message from this title purports that students have sectioned themselves off according to their housing project while being inside of George Wythe High. Instead of the title of the film being called "A Day at George Wythe" it is instead called "A Day at Hillside," which highlights how students see the school as an extension of their community. This speaks to my student's perception of themselves and how they see themselves representing their communities at school. As mentioned before, C. Wagner conceptualized that outside influences can contribute to a school's culture. 8 With this is mind, if every neighborhood or street did a film, it will speak to how culture and identity are important themes in the lives of the learners. It is also evident from this film that their ways of communicating are linked to their specific housing project. For example, only students from Hillside Court can say certain words and use specific hand gestures when greeting one another. I want to show this film to my students and make correlations to how other cultures outside of their communities do the same things. Cultures within and outside of Virginia preserve their identity by having norms and practices unique to them. If I make a connection to things outside of their reality, it can broaden their sense of awareness and they can then see similarities.
Goodwill Hunting
This film has two main characters who are at their construction job and the one friend tells the other one that if he is still living in South Boston, Va. in ten years he will have let everyone down because he has the potential to be more. This scene paints a vivid message of taking advantage of opportunities and not resting on what is comfortable in life.
Texts
There will be no full length text assigned for this unit. Instead, I will use excerpts from a variety of books and utilize a variety of strategies listed in the next section to highlight purposeful segments.
The House on Mango Street
Sandra Cisneros, author of The House on Mango Street, presents this novel in a series of vignettes, rather than a structured novel. Eleven year old Esperanza Cordero lives in Chicago and hopes to one day become a writer. She has come to realize that assimilation is the key to success and vividly depicts joys and ills of her community; however she also comes to understand that she is limited by her Chicana culture and its low expectations for girls and women. The reader is left to wonder how Esperanza will ever leave Mango Street to pursue her dreams as a writer when her opportunities as an impoverished and Latina woman seem so limited. I do have a rising Hispanic population and I am choosing this book to be culturally inclusive. My desire is for the Hispanic learners to see themselves in the main character so that they can have the desire to follow their dreams.
Monster
Monster is set in Harlem, New York and focuses on sixteen year old Steve Harmon who is accused of serving as a lookout for a robbery and murder which takes place at a local drugstore. As an aspiring filmmaker, Steve serves as the narrator of the novel Steve, writing the novel in the style of a screenplay. The reader struggles with a range of emotions as Steve tries to present himself as someone who isn't a "monster", as he is characterized by the prosecutor, but rather a boy who was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time. Monster forces the reader to examine who they are and how they are perceived by others. This is an excellent source for my learners because it allows them to see how others could assign particular attributes to their culture only based on race. Are my students upholding those perceived messages from the book? Do my students want to support the message or try to offer other attributes of their culture? This novel could act as call for action on my student's part.
The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963
The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 is set in Flint, Michigan during the height of the American Civil Rights movement. The Watsons left Birmingham to escape segregation and their children have no sense of what it is like to live in a segregated society. At school, they are called the "Weird Watsons" because their parents are from Alabama. The children in the family, Byron, Curtis, and Joetta are sent to the South for the summer after Byron Watson constantly gets into trouble and his actions finally push his mother too far. Fed up, his parents decide that they will send their children to the Deep South for the summer to spend time with their Grandmother in an effort to get Byron away from his gang. During their journey, their mother makes preparations to re-enter the segregated south and the children are in for a racially charged adventure along the way. This piece will force learners to become more aware of their own culture. The experiences of the children allow them to appreciate the sacrifices of their families which in turn, can provide a springboard into a change of behavior. This can aid as a mirror into their culture.
A Guide for using The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 in the Classroom
This companion guide was designed for teachers to use when teaching The Watsons Go to Birmingham. Comprehension and discussion questions will be garnered from this text.
When I Was Young in the Mountains
This short picture book does an excellent job describing life in the Appalachian Mountains. The illustrations show a picturesque view of the mountains, the weathered clothing of the school children, and how Grandpa works in the coal mines. My students may be able to draw some similarities with this family but also may enjoy noticing how different the lifestyle is from theirs. For example, the little girl had to awaken Grandmother late at night because she ate too much okra. But the twist is that Grandmother had to escort her to an outhouse. I am certain that my learners will laugh at the idea of using an outhouse, but they must realize that this is a reality for some. The author closes the book with,
When I was young in the mountains, I never wanted to go to the ocean, and I never wanted to go to the desert. I never wanted to go anywhere else in the world, for I was in the mountains. And that was always enough for me. 9
This quote will certainly generate one main question from my learners, "Why would she want to stay in the mountains?" Since this is a legitimate question, I can then ask them, "Why don't you want to leave the south side of Richmond?" This book could make it important for my students to expose themselves to other worlds other than their realities. Because the little girl is proud of her home, as my students can relate to, it does not mean her home must be her only exposure.
Poems
I am choosing to spend the first couple of days of school getting to know my learners. I am choosing to do "Where I'm From" poems to get a glimpse into their realities. In my experience of doing a "Where I'm From" poem, I was painting a picture of my reality, providing images, and conveying messages of what is important to me. It is my hope that my students will do the same. After writing the poems, I want to use them as art work that will cover the walls of the classroom. I want my students to realize the similarities that they have with their peers and celebrate their differences. As I do understand that making those connections will be an on-going task, we can revisit them and write new poems at the end of the school year. I am hoping to see growth and more of an awareness of where they are from on a larger scale. According to George Ella Lyon, who authored "Where I'm From," his inspiration to writing the poem was to "know when you get to be from a place that doesn't have roots like trees." 1 0 This is my inspiration for my students. I want them to see themselves not only in their families and in their communities, but also in other places than south of the James River.
Here in Harlem
This book is a collection of poems in many voices written by Walter Dean Myers. The author celebrates the voices and aspirations of the residents of Harlem. There are three poems in particular that I choose to use so that my learners can compare and contrast cultures.
"Macon R. Allen, 39"
This poem embodies all there is to experience in the "black church." For many of my students, they attend church every Sunday because they were reared in the church. Myers takes on the voice of Deacon who paints a wonderful image of what the "black church" experience is like. One of the recurring messages throughout the poem is, "Oh, Lord, I love a shouting church!" On many occasions, my students speak about and imitate their Sunday church experiences in school. If I present this poem to my students, I want them to draw an immediate parallel to the "black church" experience as they should see themselves and perhaps their family members' voices and identity in the poem.
"C. C. Castell, 49"
This poem is written from the voice of a person who is on disability. Castell goes on to describe everything he sees while sitting on his porch stoop. The main thing that is observed is how "the young peoples is in a hurry." 1 1 According to Castell, the young people are hurrying to complete whatever task that must be done for the day. The young people believe there is something important to be done so there is a sense of urgency to complete it and Castell calls this urgency "progress." The messages from the poem are clear. Since Castell is disabled, he is not able to be a part of the "progress" that is described in the poem. He can only participate by watching from his stoop. Castell is reflective in his approach while watching the young people and I want my students to do the same. I do not want my learners to not progress in life because of their prejudices or slanted views. Instead, I want them to participate and not become disabled by their opinions or by things foreign to them. If they take stock in their thinking, they can potentially change their approach to learning about cultural geography.
Lois Smith, 12
This poem is written from the voice of a student who wants a school to be named after her. Myers provides a picture of a five year as the backdrop in order to offer how this child aspires to be famous as do most kids. A lot of my learners want to be famous or accomplished in some respect. What I want to impress upon my students is fame comes with prices. There will be others who look up to them. "And young kids would want to grow up to be like me," is a line from the poem that I will turn into a question. Do you want other kids to be like you when you grow up? Will you be making any changes to your life in order to be a positive figure in the community? This line can begin a conversation about how it is important to see yourself in others so that we can celebrate our similarities while honoring our differences. In order to achieve this, my learners have to become more aware of other cultures.
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