After reading Gunckel’s article on “Using Experiences, Patterns, and Explanations to make School Science more like Scientists’ Science,” school science seems to benefit students on a more educational level than scientists’ science. This article states that school science reduces scientists’ science because there are a lot of explanations occurring without developing “patterns and experiences that support explanations.” I think that traditional science is beneficial to students because visually representing scientific data and discussing the “facts, diagrams, definitions and isolated skills” will better stimulate an elementary student’s brain. However, students need to be able to explore and investigate what they are learning about, in order to be successful. All students learn differently. Some learn visually, mentally, some even learn better doing hands-on activities. I think the focus of traditional school science is beneficial to the traditional elementary student.

Class 1: Reading 1_Flanagan

After reading Gunckel’s article on “Using Experiences, Patterns, and Explanations to make School Science more like Scientists’ Science,” school science seems to benefit students on a more educational level than scientists’ science. This article states that school science reduces scientists’ science because there are a lot of explanations occurring without developing “patterns and experiences that support explanations.” I think that traditional science is beneficial to students because visually representing scientific data and discussing the “facts, diagrams, definitions and isolated skills” will better stimulate an elementary student’s brain. All students learn differently. Some learn visually, mentally, some even learn better doing hands-on activities. I think the focus of traditional school science is beneficial to the traditional elementary student.

Task 2: Community Visit--Jen Flanagan

Upon beginning this assignment, I asked my Kindergarteners at Woodlawn Community School where they like to go outside of school. They said things like, “my Granny’s house, the park, Library, McDonald’s.” All great answers, but answers that weren’t of much help. I wanted to go into a place that was different from any place I had ever been. I knew it was impossible, at least this early, to go into one of my student’s grandparent’s house. I have been in many McDonald’s, especially the one in Woodlawn. I knew what to expect at that McDonald’s which is why I chose to not go into one. I want to go into a place that is unfamiliar and fresh. Megan and myself decided upon to places to visit, Chuck E Cheese’s and a local bus station. During lunch one day, I was sitting at the girl’s table. When I asked them where they have their birthday parties, most of them responded with “Chuck E Cheese.” I thought this would be a great place for Megan and I to go. We also chose to go to a bus station because we know that a lot of students take the bus into school with their parents or they ride the bus to get to places. We figured this is an essential part in the lives of our students in which we need to become more familiar with and we knew that we would see Literacy and Math at both places.

At Chuck E Cheese, I expect to see children playing with their siblings or parents, parents socializing, as well as a lot of reading and math conversions. Literacy will be seen from students reading the directions of the games, the menus, and the signs as to the prizes that they win with their tickets. I expect math to be seen when children have to read how many coins they need to play a game, counting how many tickets the have, and parents figuring out the bill. I do expect to see more African American people rather than Caucasian people due to the demographic of people that do live in the Chicago Land area, in the surrounding areas of Woodlawn and Hyde Park. I also expect to see a lot of mothers at Chuck E Cheese rather than fathers. I think that a lot of fathers will be working, so mothers will bring their kids. I expect that there aren’t going to be a lot of people there due to the fact that most of them will be in school. However, Megan and I have decided to go around four in the afternoon so that most students will be out of school.

I expect to see only a couple of people at the bus station. I am expecting to see families, maybe getting ready to go home from work or school. I am sure there will be certain people who are traveling alone, to wherever their destination will be. Literacy will be seen from the passengers reading what bus they are looking for, reading signs—such as how much they need to pay, maps/directions, etc. Math will be seen when people have to figure out how much money they have, the distance in which they have to travel, how much they might have left on their bus cards, etc. I do expect to see more African American people, as stated before. This again is due to the demographic in the surrounding areas and from what I have seen already driving home from school during the past two weeks.

I would consider myself an outsider, to a certain extent. I consider myself an outsider because I am still not familiar with the area/s surrounding Woodlawn. People in the area do not know who I am or anything about myself. Since I do no live in Woodlawn or Hyde Park, I am an outsider to those students that do live in that community. However, inside Woodlawn Community School, I am not an outsider. I am a teacher, part of the family within their community.
If an outsider was to come to Woodlawn, I think they would be concerned with the population and the demographic. Especially if they have never been to an area like Woodlawn. They would see people in the streets, people not minding one another, hollering, etc. This is something that I am already used to being in the school’s community for about two weeks now, but a “true” outsider might not.

As stated earlier, I think there are going to be many interconnections in the two places that we have chosen to visit. Reading is going to have to be done in both settings in order for people to do what they need to do. For example, at Chuck E Cheese’s, students need to read the directions of the games in order to start playing. At the bus station, people need to read the bus’s that are passing to see what bus they need to get onto. Writing will mostly be seen at Chuck E Cheese’s when parents are paying the bill (and they have paid with a credit card or debit card). Oral language will be seen in both settings, though mainly at Chuck E Cheese. This is due to the fact that communication is essential in almost all aspects of the things that we do. Children need to listen to what their parents/friends are saying at Chuck E Cheese’s in order to act accordingly.

Reflection Post: Ageism

Upon doing this project, I had no idea what ageism was or where it originated from. After looking in the dictionary ageism can be defined as discrimination against persons of a certain age group; a tendency to regard older persons as debilitated, unworthy of attention, or unsuitable for employment. This is a topic that is underrepresented in the children’s literature field. It is a topic that needs to be spoken about and taught about. There are a lot of books out there that can exemplify this topic; however a voice needs to be spoken. I sat at the Library and read just about every children’s book that I could find about this topic and from those books, I choose the books Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs by Tomie de Paola, Grandpa Had a Stroke by Dori Hillestad Butler, Mr. George Baker by Amy Hest, and The Patchwork Quilt by Valerie Flournoy. Some of the books that I have chosen are books that I have heard about and books that I have not heard about. Each of these books that I have chosen represents a relationship between a child or young adult and an elderly. With these relationships we see the differences between children and elderly and I think these relationships help illustrate the regards to older persons. If we, as future teachers, can incorporate this topic then we can become that culture that has become consumed with the ideal of not only youthfulness, but aging as well.

Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs by Tomie de Paola

De Paola, Tomie. Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs. New York: Putnam Juvenile, 1975.

A sad but truthful story lies within this children’s book. A little boy named Tommy has a Nana that lives upstairs and a Nana the lives downstairs. One day, Nana upstairs passes away and is gone forever and Tommy has to deal with the death of his Nana. At the end of the story we, the readers, can understand that Nana’s spirit is in a shooting star that Tommy sees.

Tomie De Paola is indeed an author who is otherwise informed on this topic. What lead me to this assumption are the words that are written within this children’s book. De Paola talked about Nana upstairs needing to be tied to a chair so that she didn’t fall out; this is a sign of ageism. We see throughout the book that Nana upstairs needed help with things like eating, sitting up straight, and putting her hair up; all of this leads de Paola to otherwise informed because he is very detailed about his words when is comes to Nana upstairs; the illustrations to them justice as well.

The pictures in this book are fantastic. They are very simple and they get to the point of the story. This is not a book in which I would say is lacking details in the drawings. I found it interesting and something I liked very much about this book is that it is written and illustrated by de Paola. I feel like you don’t see very many writers who are illustrators as well. I think this helps the story stand out because Tomie knows the exact pictures that he wants to use for each page instead of someone else doing it. His pictures consist of pencil drawings in black, pink, white, and tan. There are no other colors that accentuate these illustrations, just simple pencil drawings. The front cover of this book is the best picture because it shows the Nana that lives upstairs and down. It is a very informative pictures in which illustrates the three main characters in the story.

The one thing that stood out to me in this book were the stereotypes that Crawford illustrates in her article. “Stereotypes include rocking chair-bound women who frequently wear aprons, sport gray buns, and engage only in traditional experiences such as cooking, baking, or sewing (Crawford 1-2).” In Nana Upstairs and Nana downstairs, Nana downstairs is always in an apron. This is a common stereotypes that people have when they think of grandparents or the elderly but by teaching and discussing how these stereotypes are not necessarily true, children can rid these stereotypes.

I think this is a very touching story in which teaches children how to deal with the death of a loved one from a children’s perspective. Through out this book we see how both of the Nana’s are portrayed in the light of a children’s story. Nana downstairs can take care of herself and takes care of Nana upstairs. This is a very uplifting story in which is very open-ended for any interpretations that may arise.

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Grandpa Had a Stroke by Dori Hillestad Butler

Butler, Dori Hillestad, and Nicole Wong. My Grandpa Had a Stroke. New York: Magination Pg, 2007.

This is a story about a little by named Ryan who spends every Saturday with his Grandpa until his Grandpa had a stroke. Now, everything is changing and Ryan is coping with these changes. In the end, Ryan and his Grandpa reunite on a Saturday and his Grandpa shows Ryan that just because he has changed does not mean that he can not to things that he did before; like spend time with his grandson on Saturdays.

Upon reading this book, I had an email conversation with this author that helped me understand her views on this topic explained in the book. I had asked her how she was an “insider” to this topic and she responded that he grandfather had a stroke and he had completely changed overnight. She wanted to find a book to explain to her young children at the time and she couldn’t find one so that was when she decided she was going to write one. During the story we learn a lot about what happens when someone has a stroke. On page 8, Ryan’s dad explains to him what happened, “Grandpa’s stroke happened in the part of the brain that tells him to move the left side of his body (Hillestad 8).” We, the readers, can gather that Hillestad has a sense of what happens during this time. The pictures help as well to understand what is going on throughout the story, starting with the cover of the book; this is where we see Ryan and his grandfather out fishing while he is in a wheel chair. This demonstrates that some people need wheel chairs after they have a stroke, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t do the things they used to.

Through out this children’s book, we learn a lot about strokes and how to go about them in the present and in the future. We, the readers, can also see how Grandpa was portrayed in the sense of his stroke. Grandpa could do all of these things and after he has a stroke, he can not do as much, but when he can, he does them with his grandson. This is a fantastic book for teaching about strokes, how children can deal with strokes, and how the elderly is seen as through the eyes of a little child.

Dori Hillestad Butler’s Website: http://www.kidswriter.com/books.htm

Mr. George Baker by Amy Hest

Hest, Amy, and Jon J. Muth. Mr. George Baker. New York: Candlewick P, 2004.

Sitting, waiting for a school bus to arrive is an interesting way for a one hundred year old man and a young school boy to get to know each other. Mr. George Baker goes to school with Harry because they are both learning to read and write. This story is a great story to show the bonds between a young child and an elderly. This story goes to show that anything is possible for Harry including being friends with Mr. George Baker. Just because Mr. George Baker is one hundred years old does not mean that he can do things that younger people do. He can dance with his wife, play his drum, and go to school. After reading this book, the reader can gain that there is no shame for Mr. George Baker to go to school with Harry; he has an inspiration to learn to read and write.

Amy Hest has an interesting take on this book as for as the “insider-outsider” debate stands. In Mr. George Baker, we gather that he can dance and play the drums. To this extent Hest is an otherwise informed because she has tried all of these things. She wanted to write a book in which an older man can do all of the things that she had tried and failed at; however she wanted this older man to be able to do the things that she couldn’t. On one of the pages, George asks his wife to dance and they dance across the page. On another page, Mr. George Baker is playing the drums with people all around him. We can gather from all of this that Mr. Baker can do all of the things at one hundred years old that someone a lot younger may not be able to do; and there is nothing wrong with that.

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