Chrysanthe’s Community Project

    Cornwall is a beautiful town tucked between Highland Falls and New Windsor NY. It is a small, suburban, tight knit community, and many of the students in this town begin school together starting in preschool, and continue their schooling together until the end of High School. Cornwall is often labeled as a “wealthy” district, and although many of the citizens of Cornwall are considerably well off, there is still a range of socioeconomic statuses within the district. The Cornwall Central school district is comprised of families living in both Cornwall and Cornwall on the Hudson, and the high school is actually located in New Windsor, NY.      The Cornwall community strives to keep their town clean. It is rare to find garbage on the town streets. Main street is usually dotted with pretty flower pots leading up to the library- which is a community gathering center.Having grown up in Newburgh, and still living there currently, I can say that my drive from work to home looks vastly different as I leave Cornwall and enter the Newburgh area.      Cornwall is known for their exemplary athletic performance, as well as the outstanding grades of the students. For my Community Project, I decided to observe young teens at a summer soccer camp, in order to get a better idea of their interactions outside of school, while still engaging in something that is meaningful to the town culture (sports).One of my colleagues, a 9th/10th grade Spanish teacher is one of the coaches of the summer soccer camp.Upon getting out of my car to enter the camp (located on MT. Airy Road- minutes away from the High School), I saw that there was a line of cars with parents inside, waiting for their children to be done with practice. Some parents were standing to the side, on their phones..     I made my way to the soccer camp, there were about twenty preteen/teenage soccer players mingling among themselves, waiting for the next order from their coaches. I casually made my way over to the soccer players and stood awkwardly behind the crowd of teenagers, pretending to be on my phone as I observed their interactions. I overheard one student talk about his “girlfriend” and how she was “buggin” out because he didn’t text her back last night. Another conversation was about someone’s cousin leaving for NYU, and how the family is going on a cruise to celebrate the student’s graduation.One girl started to run and scream that there was a bee, and the boys started to tease her jokingly. One of the coaches called the kids back to their field, and they proceeded with their practice.      From my observations, I noticed the smaller groups that were formed within this larger group. Asth most sport teams, the students worked together, but when there was a break period, or pause, the students quickly returned to their preferred group. What was perhaps even more interesting was the fact that some of the teenagers were talking about the other teenagers in their group. I heard one group of girls making some comments about another girl on the team.             In connection to my interview with my colleague, she mentioned that parent involvement is huge in the district. It made me think about the line of cars waiting for their children to be done with practice- these parents took time out of their day to bring their child to practice, and stayed. This of course is not always possible for parents, and is not a reflection of how much a parent cares, but rather the resources that are available to the family and flexibility of schedules. As I left the athletic grounds, I drove down a different street and saw huge mansions with perfectly cut lawns, along with delicate mailboxes dotting the entire road. It looked like something out of a “Better Homes and Gardens” magazine, and I couldn’t. help but to want to just stop and stare at the sprawling houses.    This project taught me that Cornwall is diverse, and “student centered”. There is a great deal of parental and familial involvement, and extra curricular activities as well as sports are held in high regard. I also learned that there are designated areas (such as the soccer field) where students can have the opportunity to participate in sports, even in the summer. I also had the chance to listen and observe casual adolescent interactions (outside of school), which aided my understanding of teenagers and the complex interests and emotions they experience.