There are all sorts of beautiful people who live in Kingston and the surrounding towns that make up the large district student population. Monday, I spent my time visiting the family-oriented Mi Casita on Broadway and then headed to the Kingston Library. During my day in Kingston, what became more clear to me was the connection between all different types of people. The wealthy, the working class, immigrants, middle class, down and out, and all the other in-between kinds of families enjoy the diversity that Kingston has to offer. It is a great hot pot, where many different types of people and cultures are valued and not watered down.
Perhaps a little bit naive, but this is my optimistic viewpoint. This notion was one of the first things I recognized as a teacher at Bailey Middle School in Kingston. It was inspiring to meet a very full range of students. It was a big job to try and figure out how I was going to reach them all as a new teacher.
Luckily, when I came into the school this February, I had a lot of help transitioning into the role of a classroom teacher. One of the people responsible for my smooth transition was my ENL co-teacher. We have been corresponding over the summer, and she gave me some suggestions as to where students might be hanging out. She recommended Mi Casita, which serves, Salvadorean, Guatemalan, and Mexican food. Being a bit of a foodie, I decided to make this my first stop.
When I arrived, I was a bit nervous because I am socially awkward and have never really eaten at a restaurant alone before. However, although pretty much empty at noon, the restaurant was warm and inviting. My waitress was a lovely young lady with long dark hair in a ponytail and a big smile. She welcomed me, and I decided to stay and eat. I hoped to observe some kids coming in to get lunch.
Two older gentlemen ate at the corner table alongside pictures of delicious food options on the wall, the restaurant owners also had pictures of their family framed up. A little girl with a missing tooth was framed alongside a more extensive family photo.
Me trying to pretend to take a selfie and actually take a picture of the owner’s family photos
A place is set up often gives a good indication of the people there. These people valued family. They also appreciated the integration of American culture into their restaurant. They had two American flags hanging up along with more international decorations.
I think that this is reflective of many of my students. Kingston has a large immigrant population, and I have many ENL students. They value their culture and their family, but they also want to be accepted into the “American” way of life.
After lunch, I headed to the library. Kingston Library itself is a beautiful brick building, standing three stories high. It has a garden with picnic tables and chairs. It also has a chain-link fence around the perimeter. Because I am from a small town, I was surprised by the fence.
I think a lot of the deeper meanings behind environments. Who is that fence keeping out? Is it necessary so homeless people cannot sleep in the library’s garden? It almost seemed like a symbol of the barrier between the resources of learning and the community.
As I entered the children’s portion of the library, the librarian on duty gave me a hesitant look. I told her who I was, what I was doing, and that I’d like to stay and observe what the kids are doing for a little bit. Although she said, they usually do not let adults in the Children’s Library without kids, she’d make an exception because I was a teacher.
When I walked into the room, my former student immediately greeted me, “Hi, Ms. Ponder!” Q was sitting at a long table with computers and children excitedly “whisper-shouting” and talking as they explored, attacked each in their lego game (forces of fury?). It brightened my heart to see him out of the school environment, and I walked up to Q and his friends and began asking him some questions about his time at the library. How often did he go there? What did he usually do? Did he come with his friends? Although he seemed happy enough to see me when I first arrived, Q became quiet and gave me one-word answers. His teenage self-had kicked in, so I let him be and sat down at a table and listened to the kids talk to one another as they played and observed the children’s library.
I often think of Q when thinking about students I want to help more. His mom never answered the phone, came to meetings or responded to emails. Q feel asleep in class often but was always polite to me despite his lack of interest in school (something I really appreciated). His love for video games reminds me of myself as a kid and an adult. Games are an easy escape from the troubles of the world. Q is the second youngest of five children, and his older brother is in jail. He is sweet, kind, and doesn’t care about school or reading at all. It seemed like they have a lot more on their plate than I can imagine.
I left the library feeling like I wanted to do more with our community. Family is important to a lot of my students, and most teacher’s know that student success is tied strongly to family support. I think that as a teacher, it is important to try to make valuable bonds between students, family, and the community. This is not something I can do alone, but there are a lot of like-minded individuals in the school and in local businesses. I think a good start would be to invite community members into the classroom to show students what resources there are for them after school. I hope to instill pride in our community with our students.
If you walk a block away from the street from the library, you come to uptown Kingston, where you can buy a glass of Kombucha from the local coffee shop for 6.00 dollars. There is a great revitalization happening in the area, but in this transition, I hope that the families of my students will be open to working together with schools to make this transition viable for all people living here.
Uptown Kingston in Winter photo credit: planet waves
ECLInstitute - HVWP 2019-2020 