Final Connection to Service Learning Part 2 (Kliewer)

The third Author I also felt I was connected to was Kliewer from the article called Citizenship in Schools.  A quote from Vygotsky. was important to me. I am also in a Kindergarten classroom with Mrs. Maggiacomo. She is a wonderful fun teacher with an energetic personality. That is what you need to be a Kindergarten teacher. In the Kindergarten class there are some students that have disabilities. There are about 7-9 of them I would have to say. I like how the students are in the classroom even though they have a disability. Some of the students disability are worse then others but they are still teaching those students with disabilities how the students without disabilities the same except they get extra help from teachers outside of the classroom.  "Vygotsky found that the culture of segregation surrounding people with disabilities actually teaches underdevelopment of thinking through the isolation of children from socially valued opportunities. As described in more detail below, altering the culture of disability requires that a child be recognized as an active learner, a thinker, and a problem-solver, but this cannot occur apart from relationships that allow for such engagement."(p. 83) Some of these students leave the classroom everyday. I know when I was in the classroom the students did not want to leave but had to leave to receive the help they needed. I connected with these students because when I was younger I had an IEP and had to leave the classroom and it absolutely was not my favorite part of the day. But you had to do what you had to do. 

I really enjoyed my time at Robert J. Bailey Elementary School! 


Click VIDEO on children with disabilities. 

Final Connection To Service Learning Part 1 (Delpit)

I will be presenting my Pecha Kucha on Tuesday. I am very excited to be one of the first ones to present and also get it over with. I am not a big fan of presenting in front of people. I felt like my 2nd grade classroom was most connected to Collier. Collier showed up a lot in my class. My Pecha Kucha presentation is on Collier.

I also felt like I was connected to Delpit. The way Mrs. Lamarre handled her class reminded me of the rules and codes of power. Mrs. Lamarre is in charge and the students know that. "Issues of power are enacted in the classroom. "These issues include: the power of the teacher over the StU­ dents; the power of the publishers of textbooks and of the developers of (he curriculum ( 0 determine the view of the world presented: the power of (he state in enforcing conclusory schooling; and the power of an individual or group to determine another's intelligence or "normalcy.""(Deplit 24-25). When she does an activity with the students she set a timer so when the timer goes off the student needs to stop what they are doing and have pencils out of their hands and hands down on the table. From the being of the school year the students were not really good at stopping right away but by now most of the students are focused and are paying attention. Seeing the children grow throughout the first half of year was incredible. Mrs. Lamarre also has a saying and the students follow her. She is a great teacher and uses styles like Delpit. There are also many rules in the classroom that Mrs. Lamarre uses and the students do much better following the rules now then the beginning of the year. They use hand motions as well rather than words because that way the kids will copy the hand motions.

Promising Practices

This was my very first time attending a conference at Rhode Island College on Saturday, November 1st. Since this was my first time I really was dreading this conference because I thought it was going to boring and a waste of a weekend. Promising Practices  

The first workshop I attended was called Making it personal. Buddy Comet was the person who ran this. He is the dean of Pedagogy at Central Falls High School. Karen Oliviera also helped run this who works at Rhode Island College school of social work. Out of the two workshops I attended I feel as though I liked this one better. During this workshop we spent time learning on how to help students who have an IEP. When personalizing students you are taking a whole new approach. Sometimes you are in a self contained setting, you are traveling throughout the day but always with a teacher. Sometimes the students have anxiety disorders, learning disabilities and diverse ability. Buddy said that he likes when students move around in the classroom rather than sit in the desk all day because kids are kids. They need to move around to learn and stay focused. He had us pretend we

were students and go from table to table to complete a task. He said that it is okay if we don't finish each task. Every task that I did reminded me of Delpit and a little bit of Kozal. He had the directions printed for each table and had the power to make sure we knew how to do the activity correctly. The second part of this workshop Karen ran the workshop. She talked about what students face at school and out of school with foster card, divorces etc. I could related because my parents got divorced at a young age. I thought of Kozal for this because of when he was talking about the neighborhoods some children live in. I really liked how a lot of people help out these students. Leaving this workshop, I thought about minoring in social work. It is still up in the air for me. But overall this workshop was my favorite.

The second workshop I attended was called Comedy in the classroom ran by Elizabeth Anne Keiser and Tall University students. I really thought this was going to be my favorite workshop. I read the description when signing up and though wow this seems fun and interesting. When I got into the workshop they were running about 10 minutes late. Students introduced themselves as we walked in. There was also little to no room to move because of all of us plus the tall university students. This was not very structured and organized at all. We worked with the students and tried  to understand what the point of this workshop was about. It was hard to understand because the students seemed like they did not know what they were going either. I wish the adults ran it a little better so I could understand it better.

Christopher Emdin did the keynote. He did a great job tying everything I learned together. He gave a great speech and tied what he talked about by putting it in the classroom and how much the teachers role play in a students life. I could see this by working at my daycare. I ave gotten called "mom" by so many students because most of their life is spent at school and at the daycare until 6:00pm. I was happy I attended this conference and I can not wait to have my own classroom.

Empowering Education - Extended Comments

I am using Erica's Blog & Jessica's Blog for this week! I liked things from both of their blogs.

In Erica's Blog she had put "In "Empowering Education: Critical Teaching for Social Change" by Ira Shor argues that modern day education is too focused on drilling information into students brains and expecting them to memorize facts and data, instead of allowing children to make meaning of materials and act from reflection."  
-----I totally have to agree with this because I remember being in elementary school the teachers were always saying how they had to drill things and make us memorize things to move on to the next grade. I think it is great that they do it like this but i do not like it because there should be a better system of teaching and getting things in our brains a different way.


“The typical classroom is framed by the competition, marked by struggle between students (and often between teacher and students), and riddled by indicators of comparative achievement and worth. Star charts on the wall announce who has been successful at learning multiplication tables, only children with ‘neat’ handwriting have their papers posted for display” (Shor, p23-24). Jessica picked this quote. 
------For my journals I picked one of the topics which was what to look for in the classroom. Just like Jessica this quote fits perfect. I may go add in to my journal and use this quote. My teacher in my classroom at service learning uses a clip up clip down chart which is basically the same thing as a star chart. It helps the children know where they stand in the classroom and get very excited when they can "clip up". 


Jessica Says: "On page 43, Shor says, “Our role as teachers is to create a safe environment in which students can express opinions and, most importantly, generate their own language materials for learning and peer-teaching” (Shor, p.43). This single quote is full of connections. The first one being August’ “Safe Space” article. Shor says that as teachers we need to create a safe environment for students to come and learn and express themselves, as August explains through her example of LGBT in the classroom." 

-----I agree with this. Every classroom needs to have a safe environment. I have my last CEP 315 exam this week and while studying it was talking about having a good positive environment for your students. I found this to be very important and will take "safe spaces" article and use it in my classroom one day. Having a safe positive healthy environment for my students will be a big priority for me.

Citizenship in Schools ; Quotes

               

                 Reading Citizenship in schools: Schooling Children with Down Syndrome was very interesting to read. This was one of my favorite articles that we had to read so far. "Vygotsky found that the culture of segregation surrounding people with disabilities actually teaches underdevelopment of thinking through the isolation of children from socially valued opportunities. As described in more detail below, altering the culture of disability requires that a child be recognized as an active learner, a thinker, and a problem-solver, but this cannot occur apart from relationships that allow for such engagement."(p. 83)  I chose this quote because I can relate to this. He is basically saying how if you have a disability you are are not learning as much as the kids that do not have disabilities because if you do have a disability you are being taken out of your actually classroom to help with whatever you need help with. I know that when I was in elementary school and even middle school I was taken out of my class because I had a reading comprehension deficit. I absolutely hated being taken out. I felt like I was being judged.

                This brings me to my next quote which says, "How absurd to be judged by others at all, especially by those who have never experienced a disability or who are unwillingly providing us with support or who don't listen to the voices we have." (p. 72) Not so much in elementary school, but in middle school a lot of people made fun of the students that had disabilities and road the "mini busses" to school. August's Safe Spaces says that kids should feel safe at school and not worried that they are going to be bullied. I agree, no child should feel worried about going to school because they might get made fun of because of their disability. It was absolutely terrible to hear this because I always wondered if they made fun of me behind my back because I was being taken out once a day for different reasons. Nobody should feel this way especially kids who have down syndrome or even other types of disorders. 

                "A sense of reciprocity Or shared value exists in relationships in which individuals  including those with the most severe disabilities, are recognized as thinking, feeling, caring human beings with personalities all their own."(p. 88) A lot of students have disabilities, whether they are mild or extreme. I do not believe students should necessarily be characterized for this and be placed in other classrooms. I wish there could be another way to help a student with disabilities, I just don't know what. Having a disability is sad but it is a part of who you are. There is absolutely no shame involved. 
               
             When I was younger, I am not going to lie, I never judge a person with a disorder but I did think to myself, "they're weird,  or that stinks to be different", But I as grew older I understood more about the different types of disorders and actually realized that I wanted to help this children when I came home from Blessed Assurance. I worked with a little boy who had Down Syndrome who changed my perspective on thing. I still am thinking today that I want to work with down syndrome children. 

 

Literacy With an Attitude - Extended Comments

I first have to stay while being sick at home this reading took me forever to read. I had to keep re-reading it to understand what was going on. It did take me a little while to read. I am using Jessica Tenerella's blog this week to make some extended comments on. I did end up liking this reading. I could see all the connections it had with Delpit along with Rodriguez. I totally agree with jess when she was saying how Delpit would try and say you need to say the words or it will not get done when Finn had said the quote "But, in fact I was schooling these children, not to take charge of their lives... No opening for an argument"(Finn page 4) I think Delpit could have wrote this article. I think Delpit is very straightforward and stern. I believe she could help out in this particular situation.

Just like Jess, this piece also related to my service learning as well. In Jess's school the teachers use sarcastic tones with their students. This is how my teachers are as well. I am in a Kindergarten and 2nd grade classroom. I see it more with the 2nd grade teacher then the Kindergarten. I feel as though the teachers at the school I am at do not have the patience to help these kids. This is part of the reason is part of the reason why the students are the way they are. Part of it is because of there family. But I think if teachers had the patiences to help these students it would make a big difference.

Brown Vs. Board of Education

Brown Vs. Board of Education

"Now we are free. What do we want? We want education; we want protection; we want plenty of work; we want good pay for it, but not any more or less than any one else...and then you will see the down-trodden race rise up. "—John Adams, a former slave

It is very sad that White people basically overruled black people. In the 1870's people took away the black people's right to vote. When they were able to vote there was a poll tax so that they could keep most of the African Americans away from voting. This is so sad. This is why they say everyone is not equal. I believe this to be true. Race and politics were always a problem then.

"	We went every day about nine o’clock, with our books wrapped in paper to prevent the police or white persons from seeing them...After school we left the same way we entered, one by one, when we would go to the square about a block from school, and wait for each other. "
	—Susie King, who attended a secret school in Savannah, Georgia

When they were looking to help these children out with education it was difficult. "After the Civil War, southern states ultimately created a dual educational system based on race. These separate schools were anything but equal." Theses so sad to read because they had to hide themselves from going to school and coming home from school. So basically no student felt safe during this time. 



Listening to Tim Wise was interesting. I think he was right with everything he has said. Just because Obama, the first African American President is doing great with money and his life does not mean that other African Americans are doing great. Just like the 1800's it is the same how it is back then. All people are different. Just because you are a certain color does not necessarily define who you are. You can be who you want to be if you do the effort and change yourself. I do have to agree it is hard to find a job or become president if you are not White but Obama has done it so anyone can. 







I really enjoyed reading Bob Herbert's article. I enjoyed what he said about: 

"Studies have shown that it is not the race of the students that is significant, but rather the improved all-around environment of schools with better teachers, fewer classroom disruptions, pupils who are more engaged academically, parents who are more involved, and so on. The poorer students benefit from the more affluent environment. “It’s a much more effective way of closing the achievement gap,” said Mr. Kahlenberg." 

I believe this is true and correct. This is what we need for these students to make a difference in their lives. 

Collier Quotes Extra Blog Post

"One, teachers should be aware of the special kind of speech that mothers and fathers use automatically with their children, and try to emulate this. "Caregiver speech" has six features:" p.224 

"The critical distinction to maintain is between how children acquire the capacity to converse casually in a second language. and how they learn to become proficient students using second language." p.225

"It is worse for many students who are placed in English-only classrooms with teachers who have 110 training in second language acquisition and who use an English-only curriculum. So, the choice of language in which the student works academically is less important than success in mastering school skills, or academic language proficiency." p.225,226

"When two languages are used in the school curriculum, the teacher should plan the precise times to use each language. Bilingual pedagogy research indicates that the teacher should clearly separate the two languages of instruction. For example, the teacher should speak Spanish when the instructional language is Spanish, and speak English when instructional language is English. On the other hand, young children should be permitted to speak the language they know best." p.229
  

"Code-switching by students should be accepted, and not penalized. The insights ofValdes have been advanced and refmed, not superseded, Many sub­ sequent researchers have confirmed that it 'IS preferable that children code­ switch at the ends of sentences. Even when they code-switch within a sen­ tence, it should be accepted, if not used by the teacher." p.230

Coming From other students blogs in the class :

Chanels Blog:

3. "Don't teach a second language in any way that challenges or seeks to eliminate the first language." In relation to Collier's text, the Swedish teacher chose to teach in a way that did seek to remove or eliminate your native language English from the classroom, and this can be seen in the teacher's refusal to use any other language but Swedish to teach the class.

 "...teacher should be aware of the special kind of speech that mothers and fathers use automatically with their children, and try to emulate this" (224) 

Although it is the educator's job to "facilitate academic language development" (225), it cannot be lost that it is extremely important "to allow the child to express [themselves]... which encourages learning" (230).

Erikas Blog:

"Once upon a time there was a grown-up who loved children. One child who came to know this person was eager to find out about many things. Together they discovered the intimate secrets of time and space and nature and the way things work. They played with language. They both grew in wisdom and they learned how infinite and mysterious knowledge is ..." (222)

Extra Quote from Article:

"4. Teac11 thestandardform{ifEnglish andstudents' !rome lallglla~,!c togetllcr lI'i(1I {l/I appreciation i f dialect differences to create an environment of language rccagllit;ol1 ill tile classroom."p.227

Main Idea: 
I believe Colliers point was to show that if you have a student that speaks two languages, you should teach in two languages to become a better teacher and know the language your students speak. I also believe the main point is that if the student needs to say something in Spanish rather then English, let them because it will help the student move along and understand the assignment. It is a blessing to have and know two languages. 

In The Service Of What? - Hyperlinks

This weeks reading was called In The Service of What by Khane and Westheimer. I enjoyed reading this article because I love helping others. Ever since I was a little girl I always wanted to give and not receive. Reading this article had me thinking a little bit. What do you think is better? To read articles about service learning or to actually go out in some sort of field and actively learn. To me I believe going out in the field and actually working with groups and low income families would be better to grasp an understand of rather then reading articles. Especially for teens and children, I believe it is better to go out in the field because you can physically see things and understand why you are there helping out. I think that when teachers take their students out to help the community they need to choose an area where they can learn something but also be safe. Going back to reading Safe Spaces by August, I would want my children to feel somewhat safe going to these sites. I think the older they get then you could start taking them to places that they may feel less comfortable at. 

“Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference. And we have a
choice: What sort of difference do we want to make?” 
-Jane Goodall 

I belong to Holy Apostles Parish in Cranston. I have gone to ccd since I was in Kindergarten. When I reached middle school ccd I had to start doing community service. The community service included going to St Charles. Soup Kitchen in Providence. This was an amazing experience. I learned to really appreciate what you have. When I was in the confirmation program I went to Montego Bay, Jamaica, Blessed Assurance Orphanage. I spent a week here teaching, playing and feeding children from ages 1 to 26 years old. I could talk about this experience all day long. This was the most eye opening experience I have ever done in my life. Because I want to be a teacher, some parts of the day I took kids aside and just colored and tried to teach them to write there names. They were so proud of their work! It made me so happy I was able to help these children. I am glad I am in a providence school doing my service learning. I can not wait to continue to go to my school to help these children each week. 

This is a Short 4 Minute video from a Mission Trip a few years before my trip! Holy Apostles Mission Trip  ! Enjoy :) 

Extra Blog Post Cinderella Lessons & Stereotypes

I feel as though there are more Disney movies geared towards girls then little boys.  Gender stereotype is in more of the movies that have some higher class like the princess movies.  In Cinderella, Disney and The Brothers Grimm both say that the stepsisters are very cruel and the stepmother is very jealous and cold hearted. The slipper is a symbol of stereotyping because is something girls relate to. In the movie and Brothers Grimm version of Cinderella, they show the Prince using the glass slipper to “find his bride”. The stepsisters try and fit their foot into the slipper but it just pops off in the movie on both of the girls. This is a gender stereotype because it is fit for only a woman’s foot, in this case Cinderella. In real life people will fit in all different size shoes and some people will be able to share shoes. In the Brothers Grimm, when the two daughters are trying to fit their feet in this shoe the Stepmother is telling her daughters to cut their toes off to fit into the shoe so Cinderella won’t be allowed to try in out. When Cinderella finally tries on the shoe, it fits perfectly. “She is the true bride.” “When they passed by the little hazel tree, the two little white doves called out “Roo coo coo... the real bride’s here tonight”(Grimm 122).  The stepsisters were just trying to fit into the society of the world of royalty and upperclass.  They also showed more stereotype of woman because they were trying to be someone they are not.

http://video.disney.com/watch/glass-slipper-4ca3d081299b2810cff9a5f0

Disney always teaches many lessons in their movies whether the movie is about cars, animals, or princesses.  A Disney lesson from Cinderella towards children is that throughout the movie Cinderella is treated very poorly and rudely by her stepmother and stepsisters. I feel as though most people would be rude and yell back at them, but Cinderella does not and she chooses to stay calm throughout the entire film. She teaches children you should act respectful even when getting treated unfairly. Another lesson that Cinderella teaches through the critical eye is that the mice and the pumpkin are used as “vehicles” to get Cinderella through a difficult time when they are turned into horses and a coach respectively. Just as people come into our lives for certain reason we know people are used, as “vehicles” in are lives always coming and leaving.

Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us - Extended Comments

Reading Unlearning the Myths that Bind Us was very good. I enjoyed reading this article. After reading Jessica Tennerella's blog, I decided I will write my blog based on hers using extended comments. Like Jess, I took a class that was called Mickey Mouse Monopoly as my FYS with Professor Zornado. We read many articles and watched the disney movie related to which article we

read. This class did teach me a lot and like Jessica I always left the class with anger, confusion and sad because of the underlining messages from the films and articles. I work at a daycare as well and I have about 40 children in my after school program. I see how there are many gender stereotypes because I have a lot of times when boys are playing a game they made up from the lego movie and this little girl always wants to play with them and the boys say no because it is a "boy game". I try to explain that they need to let her play or they can not play at all because she is allowed to play with them and it would not be fair.

Not only do Disney movies affect these children's lives but also other movies like Mean girls. I think I have explained this situation before in another blog. I have these girls who were the 3 mean girls from the movie and kept being mean to the girl that was not part of there little club . It got so bad  that this girl actually left our daycare and we had to end the game. This little girl would go

home crying from after school care. I was in shock knowing this happened. These movies are affecting these young kids society. I do not really believe there is anything to do. But just like reading Safe Spaces,  when I become a teacher,  I want to create a safe place where these children can explore an feel like they home and safe. I want my children to have fun and not be afraid to come to school.

Link to Jess's Blog.

Safe Spaces (reflection)

Reading Safe Spaces was extremely eye opening. It is so sad to see bullying happening in this world. Bullying is one of the worst things a child could do to another child. As you all know I work at a daycare. I am in the after school program which holds about 40 children in one classroom. These students ages are from age 6 to about 12 years old. Over the summer we held a summer camp

program. It was going great until one of my students started to get bullied. It was group of girls who were playing a game called "mean girls" that they made up. Just like the movie. So all of these girls (about 4 of them) were teasing this one little girl. We teachers did not know about it because at certain times of the day they were allowed to free play until one day the parent of the child who was getting bullied came up to us and told us her daughter went home crying from daycare and did not want to return because of the 4 other girls. So we (teachers) had to step up to the plate and end this bullying in our classroom. We had to explain to all the students what bullying was. We had the children do little 5 minute shows to show us bullying and also made anti-bullying posters for our classroom so the children could understand. It was very heartbreaking knowing my students were bullying. After we had a talk with our children it took them a few weeks to finally get back to the way things were. It is safe to say we have not had a problem since then.

Bullying needs to end! BUT HOW?????????

Rodriguez (Reflection)

Reading Aria by Richard Rodriguez actually surprised me. I could not believe that these nuns went to this child's house and asked them to basically start speaking English fluently so that he could participate and understand in class. I work at a daycare. We get a lot of children who are Spanish, Asian, and white. But when we give tours to the parents of these children we do have to ask "does your child speak english". We do not have any teachers that speak a different language other then english so it would be hard for the child to learn. Some of the children we have had come from foster homes and have no choice but basically learn english from us because they need a daycare to stay throughout the day. I know that it could be very frustrating on the teacher and the children trying to understand one another but sometimes you just have to work through it. Even though his school was a catholic school I do not really agree with the nun going to their house telling the parents to basically stop speaking Spanish. Today I am pretty sure more people speak spanish in the US then people speaking English so  to me I would not completely change and just speak English if I spoke Spanish and was my first language. That is their first language and will always be their first language. I think I would do the same thing and keep my child in that school so they could learn a second language but I would still continue to speak spanish and english. I would not just take away and forget about my first language. I believe Lisa Delpits #2 rule saying "There are codes or rules for participating in power; chat is, there is a "culture of power" could fit right in because in this case the nun has the power I believe because they are telling his family to only speak English at home so he can speak english at school.. Overall I believe Rodriguez's main point was that to always keep your first language and your traditions throughout your entire life and to never completely change them.

Richard Rodriguez - here is a little bit about questions and answers with Rodriguez (youtube)

McIntosh, White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack (Connections)

Reading McIntosh's article was truly incredible. I never really realized how much "power" we as white people have until reading this article. For personal experience I have black children at my daycare and just the other day I was putting on a bandaid on a black child and was thinking to myself there really aren't black colored bandaids. It is sad that this is the way it is. Why wouldn't they make there colored skin bandaids. Nobody wants to change anything to make society more about black people. Why can't everything just be equal?  I really think McIntosh did a great job writing this article. There are a lot of things that black people can not do but white people can. Many examples include, white people getting a job faster then black people, seeing toys, dolls and picture books being mostly "white" then black dolls and pictures, also being able to go out alone in the streets where I live. These black people have many disadvantages and it is so sad. McIntosh had said "If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing housing in an area that I can afford and in which I would want to live."(McIntosh 2) Most black people would not be able to choose where they want to live. Most of them live in tiny houses because they can not afford a nice house because they can not get a job. I think White people over power black people. One of Delpit's aspects of power say The rules of the culture of power area reflection of the rules of the culture of those who have power. In this she said "Children from middle-class homes tend to do better in school than those from non­ middle-class homes because the culture of the school is based on the culture of the upper and middle classes - of those in power. The upper and middle classes send their children to school with all the accoutrements of the culture of power; children from other kinds of families operate within perfectly wonderful and viable cultures but nat cultures that carry the codes at rules of power." (Delpit 27) So, because these people can not afford a nice house and do not have a job, or if they do making very little money, these children can not get the help from their parents. But, a lot of white people have nice houses and take the time with their children to help them with homework. I really feel like white people should help out black people more. I am glad we are going to these Providence schools to interact with the children because I am sure some of these children do not get much interaction with their parents from home. 
Mcintosh also had said, "For this reason, the word "privilege" now seems to me misleading. We usually think of privilege as being a favored state, whether earned or conferred by birth or luck. Yet some of the conditions I have described here work systematically to over empower certain groups."(McIntosh 4) I agree with this. But I also question if we are privileged because we are white. Is she basically saying white people are more privileged then black people. If anyone could maybe let me know in a comment I would love your input on this part. 

Questions/Comments/ Points to Share
I have to agree with Jessica's question and going to share her question again. How could we fix this? I feel like I am learning new things in this course already. I am glad I am taking this course but if white people are racist and against black people I don't know if they should be teaching because a teacher should love their children no matter what race they are. I am not sure if I am being harsh saying this but it is what I believe. 

    

Amazing Grace ~ Jonathan Kozol (Quotes)

As soon as I started reading Amazing Grace by Jonathan Kozol I immediately felt so sad for these families with their living conditions and health. Up until now I never knew that it was this bad down in the South Bronx of New York. Now I know why my parents get so nervous when my brother visits his friend in the Bronx. My brother has told me before that his house that he lives in is as big as a dorm room and his parents need to work around the clock along with his friend to live at URI and be able to live off campus. Reading this article knowing that this young child see's dead bodies burning makes my stomach turn. For these children they are used to walking around their neighborhood seeing all these horrible sites. During the winter months, there are houses freezing. Only sometimes the city hands house blankets and extra sleeping bags but sometimes they run out. A father says, "You just cover up... and hope you wake up the next morning"(4). I would be so scared to fall asleep at night knowing I may or may not wake up the next morning. The place these families live in is one of the most poorest and abandoned places. When I go visit New York I stay near and around Times Square and my mom has always told me never to give a homeless person on the street anything because you do not know what could happen to you. It is different for the children living there because they are so used to this lifestyle. The little boy in the story was having a conversation with the priest and he gave a homeless man pizza. "He looks surprised by this."Why would they be mad?" he asks: "God told us, 'Share!.'""(8) This little boy has religion in his life. God told him that was the right thing to do. I don't think that his parents would of liked him to give the homeless man pizza alone but to this little boy he had done the right thing. One last thing I was completely shocked about is that this poor woman who was sick could not even go to to hospital because it was disgusting and unsanitary. "The bed is covered with blood and bandages from someone else. Flowers are scattered on the floor. Toilet's stopped with toilet paper. Bed hasn't been made"(15). It was better for her and other people to basically stay in bed and sleep all day then to go to this hospital where there was only a few doctors and low staff. I do not think I or any of us could handle this. There are so many medications out there today to get us better faster then to just lay in bed. I can not believe how bad this area of New York really is. This has opened my eyes a little more.

St. Anns Church 

Questions/Comments/Point to Share

One thing I would like to bring up in class is some of these families go to church every weekend and have God in their life. I think their lifestyle is very hard and I am proud of these people for always believing in God and trusting him along their way. I think the children believe more in him because they do not know how bad their life really is compared to their parents. 

About Me!

Hi, My name is Karissa and I am a sophomore here at RIC. I am 19 years old and will be 20 on January 23rd. This past summer was fun and very busy. I have worked at a daycare called The Gingerbread House for 4 years now. I mostly work with the after school program that ages 6-12 years. I think working with these kids has made me realize I really like to work with younger children better and that is why I have chose to go into Early Education. On my days off from work I had to study for summer classes and I also squeezed in some beach time. Who doesn't love the beach!! I am taking this class because it is a requirement for the school of ed. I do have to say that I am enjoying it so far. While I am not in class I have to work. It does get a little stressful for me but I am managing my time for homework, work, and school equally. I hope everyone had a great summer!