Part I: Visits
Part one of this assignment directed us to observe students in their “natural habitat” and suggested that we visit an organization that serves students or their families outside of school. This directive seems to imply that community organizations are somehow situated in a more “natural habitat” than school classrooms. I want to be clear that I do not agree, and that what follows will simply be an exploration of two environments in which middle-school-aged children exist outside of school during summer: Crotona Center for Boys and the Fresh Air Fund’s Explorers Program. Or, put in a more fun way: what happens when you stick middle schoolers in camp?
Visit 1: Crotona Center for Boys
Located across from the Bronx’s Crotona Park and 30 minutes away from the American Dream School via subway, Crotona Center for Boys’ mission is to help boys “…develop into men of good character through study, sports and mentoring.” During my visit, I observed one group for about an hour and spoke with the program director. Throughout the visit, some common themes emerged.
Theme 1: Physical Space
Crotona Center for Boys is located in a repurposed brownstone across the street from Crotona Park. Its outdoor space, originally a parking space, has been redesigned as a group space with a temporary tent, tables, and seating. This is the first summer that the program has existed in its own space. Before, it had been co-located in various schools throughout the South Bronx.
In observing this space, I wondered how walking into a repurposed brownstone each morning as opposed to a traditional school building changes the dynamic of the program. Pedro Caranti, the program director, expressed that this change in location has provided the boys with a sense of ownership and has also allowed the boys to experience the program as something altogether different from traditional schooling.
Theme 2: Character Education
For Caranti, providing a space for the boys to work on becoming better men together was the core purpose of the program. Caranti views the campers as a group of boys growing together and serving one another. In particular, the program aims to develop four “human virtues”: prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude. Every element of the program, by design, contributes to this goal. When training group leaders, Caranti stresses that their objective is “not to teach curriculum, but to form these boys in character.” For example, although a discussion about a text included comprehension questions and clarification of difficult vocabulary. the discussion centered around identifying virtues that the main character was demonstrating.
On Mondays, the boys also fill out the “Crotona Character Mirror,” also called a “Character Reflection Survey,” aimed at helping the boys to discover the extent to which they are building habits that lead to good character. Items, rated on a ten point “never” to “always” scale, include “I make my bed every morning and keep my room in order,” “I read 30 minutes or more every day at home,” and “I value and act upon the advice I receive from the adults who have my best interest in mind.” After filling out the sheet, the boys write down goals (Caranti provided, “I will make my bed every morning” as an example of a goal), which are shared with a group leader in a one-to-one mentoring conversation.
I also experienced a point-based system, where group leaders either took away or added points in response to behaviors observed among the boys. Caranti explained to me that these were “demerit points.” Instead of viewing this system as based on reward and punishment, Caranti views the points as a reflection of how well the group is living the cardinal human virtues at a given time. In this system, the fewer points a group has the more virtuous it is, as points are meant to represent the burden or weight that comes from conducting oneself in a negative way. In this system, all points are tied to the group. “If I don’t live a virtuous life, I affect everyone around me. We don’t live in isolation,” Caranti emphasized.
In experiencing this intentional focus on building character, I wondered about the relationship between a purposeful focus on character education and student behavior (both short and long-term).
Theme 3: Terminology
At Crotona Center for Boys, the terms used to refer to the elements of the program are very important. “We avoid calling the group leaders ‘teachers,’ the learning spaces ‘classrooms,’ and the boys ‘students,’” Caranti told me. He hopes that this linguistic move stresses the program’s focus on developing character. In calling the facilitators “group leaders” instead of “teachers,” for example, Caranti aims to position the leaders within the group. “The group leaders are affected by the group as much as the boys. They suffer and celebrate with the boys,” Caranti said.
In observing this intentional language, I wondered about how linguistic moves (repositioning “teachers” as “facilitators,” “classroom leaders,” or “co-learners,” for example) might change the dynamic of schooling. For instance, I’ve witnessed real power in viewing Chris and Terri as “facilitators” instead of “teachers.”
Theme 4: Developing Passions
The program has a “hobby period,” which exposes the boys to non-academic interests. A younger group, for example, worked on building model cars, while an older group built boats out of popsicle sticks. Later in the summer, the younger group will be singing acapella.
Witnessing this intentional focus on exposing boys to non-academic “hobbies” led me to wonder about ways in which we, as teachers, can be more intentional about exposing our students to non-academic subjects that they find interesting. In my own school, I find it is all too often the case that my students’ lives consist only of eating, sleeping, learning core academic subjects, and playing Fortnite. (As a funny and somewhat disturbing aside, every electronic billboard in the South Bronx I saw the day of my visit was advertising the “Fortnite World Cup” encouraging any student who might have happened to step outside to enjoy the outdoors to rush back in watch Fortnite.)
Theme 5: The Lost Arts
When I asked Caranti what schools today were missing, he suggested that many schools lack a focus on the classics. For example, they substitute Dickens for Graphic Novels. For Caranti, there is great value in showing a child that they can (a) successfully struggle through a classic piece of literature, (b) enjoy it, and (c) have a relevant conversation about it. He also feels that schools might benefit from reintroducing the lost art of memorization and recitation (indeed, while the younger group learns acapella later this summer, the older group will be focusing on memorizing and reciting important poems), stressing that it helps to build capacity in both memory and performance.
While I have no illusions that schooling will return to teaching the canon of traditional literature (nor do I hope for this outcome) I do wonder about what’s lost by depriving students of exposure to classical literature. Especially in terms of building cultural capital and providing access to power, I wonder about the extent to which minimal exposure to classical literature would build cultural capital and provide access to power.
Theme 6: Single-sex Education
Crotona Camp for Boys is, as the name implies, for boys only. The staff is also male only. While I know that it is beyond my control, I wonder about the wisdom of putting boys and girls together at a time when hormones are raging. I also wonder whether our “advisory” period in the morning could benefit from single-sex groupings.
Visit 2: The Fresh Air Fund’s “Explorers Program”
Located in Sharpe Reservation in Fishkill, NY (one hour and fifteen minutes away from the American Dream School by car), the Fresh Air Fund’s “Explorer Program” is a four-week sleepaway camp that “…offers a fun summer camping experience with a hands-on, engaged, learning approach that provides an academic boost for sixth-grade students.” Three boys and three girls are nominated by each participating NYC-based middle school to attend the program. Unfortunately, I didn’t have an opportunity to experience much of the program in action, but I did get a tour of the physical space, and I had an opportunity to chat with the American Dream School students who are attending the program. As above, I’d like to dedicate the space that follows to an exploration of some common themes that emerged out of my experience.
Theme 1: Physical Space
Similar to the Crotona Center for boys, the Explorers Program is not located in a traditional school environment. Instead, all activities take place in or near cabins in the woods.
In experiencing this physical space, I wondered about how an environment situated in nature impacted the learning dynamic.
Theme 2: Integrated Learning
All learning experiences in the Explorers Program are centered around the first two books in Jason Reynolds’s New York Times Bestselling “Track Series”: Ghost and Patina. For example, since the main character is a runner, all campers track their steps with a pedometer and math inquiries utilize the pedometer in some way. In an art project, the campers designed sneakers. Social-emotional inquiries are based on “forging a path.”
I left my observation wondering how thinking more purposefully about integrating curriculum could provide students with more entry points, more anchors into learning, and, ultimately, more meaningful experiences. Indeed, although all three boys in the program have not expressed a fondness for reading, they all explained the book Ghost with great excitement and happily (and, I should add, without prompting) provided information about the main characters.
Theme 3: Writing as Praxis!
Every weekday begins with the students reading an affirmation and a quote and reflecting on them in a free-write journal. Terrence, one of my boys in the program, remarked that he couldn’t believe he was writing during the summer, but he seemed to be doing so happily.
Although Terrence is not a student who has enjoyed writing in the classroom, he seems to have a lot to say in his journal entries. I wonder about how purposefully including journal-based freewriting into the school day during the academic year could affect students’ fondness for the experience of writing. I also wonder about the extent to which writing as praxis can foster meaningful socioemotional development.
Theme 4: Technology Free Zone / NATURE!
The Explorers Program campus is technology-free.. Camper cabins have no electricity, and campers are not allowed to use cell phones or communicate with their families (aside from one family visitation day, when all six students’ parents visited) for the duration of the program.
The combination of being in nature and the lack of cell phones seemed to provide for novel experiences. For example, twice during a camper-led tour, my three boys and I stopped to look at a millipede and a daddy long-legs. Both times, it was a student of mine who noticed the creature! During some down-time, when a group of boys were relaxing on a grassy knoll, I noticed that two boys were lying down reading (?!?!?!). I also noticed a boy walking around with a trident-like object made from silver-colored popsicle sticks. “It looks like a selfie-stick,” he remarked.
I left pondering about whether removing technology for an extended period of time might open students up to valuable experiences that might otherwise be overlooked.
Theme 5: Single-Sex Education
Although the Explorers Program is for both genders, each gender is located on a different campus. Two of the three American Dream School boys in the program experienced significant “girl drama” throughout the academic school year, and I wondered about whether removing these boys from the influence of girls their age had a net positive effect on both academic and social-emotional development.
Theme 6: Positive Vibes
I experienced a great deal of happiness during my tours of the Fresh Air Fund. At the girls campus, one of my students greeted me with an enthusiastic hello, and the other two seemed happy to see me. At the boys campus, all three of my students proudly took me on a tour of their surroundings and showed off work they have been doing throughout the program. A group lunch I had on the boys campus was filled with chanting and laughter. I also heard from a facilitator that one boy said that he wanted to stay at camp “forever”!
Theme 7: The Role of Non-Instructional Staff
I learned from a program facilitator that one of my boys cried a lot during family visitation day (when his extended family visited in a fifteen-person van…imagine!) This crying has resulted in my student’s anxious father, who speaks Spanish, calling every day to inquire about the well-being of his child. To assuage dad’s anxiety, the camp director decided to put my student’s father in touch with the Mexican kitchen staff. The kitchen staff, many of whom have been part of the program since its inception, responded very positively to this development, remarking that “we get to talk to parents now!”
Hearing about this simple anecdote made me wonder about the funds of knowledge and cultural capital among staff who are often often perceived as ancillary to student development, and it led to my asking myself how my school might make better use of staff that are considered “secondary” or “ancillary.”
Part II: School Staff Interview
Although I originally proposed visiting two sites instead of interviewing a staff person, I quickly interviewed a staff member by telephone. Instead of looking to instructional staff, I decided to interview one of our support staff. K (as I’ll call her to preserve her anonymity) began as a main office admin and has since become responsible for interviewing potential teachers.
The major takeaway from my interview with K was the great wealth of resources that non-instructional support staff can provide for teachers and how seldom these resources are used. For example, K knew:
- Who was dating whom
- What was on Instagram and snapchat
- Drama among ADS families
- Family issues affecting student’s emotional well being
After this interview I will be sure to take more time to interact with “support” staff and learn from their funds of knowledge. Doing so will allow me to learn much more about my students as “whole” people.
Also interesting in this interview was K’s perception of bilingual education. K is bilingual, and she believes that learning Spanish should happen in the house. For her, learning Spanish in school takes time away from time learning important job-related skills. This is a perspective that I’m sure many parents have and one that bilingual educators can learn from.
K and I also shared the perception that staff are often underappreciated by the administration. However, she noted that every morning this summer the principals of both our high school and middle school campus, the school director, our director of operations, and all support staff have been getting together to participate in team building activities, an exercise that she believes has fostered important positive dialogue among many different stakeholders and has led to a greater sense of being appreciated among all involved. After learning about this practice, I wondered about the role that more frequent team-building activities could have in fostering a sense of cohesion and appreciation among middle-school staff.
ECLInstitute - HVWP 2019-2020 