Reconnection to Homelessness

While I was looking for new news on homelessness I came across this article http://www.wnyc.org/blogs/wnyc-news-blog/2011/nov/04/getting-shelter-bed-about-get-harder-homeless/. This article states that homeless single adults in New York City have to prove they have no place to go or they will not be allowed to stay in the shelters. I feel this was a poor decision by the city officials because they are denying shelter to those who may really need it. Another reason I feel it was a poor choice is because the winter is only a few weeks away and the temperature is already dropping well below 50 degrees most nights.

From my teaching experience I have not seen anything in the curriculum that is related to citizenship or any topic the students are interested in pursuing. This may be because I am in a third grade classroom and some of the students may not understand how to do a citizenship project. I also do not feel there is space for it because the school was deemed a level 4 school and has strict guidelines they must follow. But I feel it is something that should be added to curriculums because it anytime a student gets to investigate a topic of their choice they are going to be more involved and focused in their work. You could engage your students in class by presenting them with a list of topics and seeing which students have interest in each topic. Much like how the blog topics were presented with us in class. I would also allow students to provide their own topics if they had a topic in mind that I did not mention. I would engage my students in the topic by having them do a project on their topic. I would give them plenty of time to utilize the computer lab in the school as well.

I feel the school I am in is following the NCSS definition of social studies. Every morning the school recites the school pledge in which they say they will respect the differences of others and I will treat others the way I want to be treated. The school also educates the students on different ethnicities, people with special abilities, and other topics such as littering through their short-stories. I do think that getting involved with issues can help reach the goal of social studies because it shows students how to be a productive and active member of society. Getting involved also helps students become more and educated of these issues and topics. I do think this project has got me connected because it helped show me how different topics can be easily connected and taught/learned at the same time. For example, we will be looking at how unemployment and homelessness is related. This requires us to learn about both homelessness and unemployment at the same time.

-Brian

Service Learning Project:

For our service learning project as a group we are going to serve dinner at My Brothers Table in Lynn, Massachusetts. We haven’t contacted anyone yet but are going to soon. We are planning to go the last week in November.

The contact information is:

My Brother's Table
98 Willow Street
Lynn, Massachusetts
01901


Main Phone: 781-595-3224
Fax Line: 781-595-3224

Reconnection:

While I was looking online to reconnect with my topic I found two interesting articles and videos on the Good Morning America website. One is about foreclosures and the other is about food stamps. These two topics are both closely related to homelessness and contain interesting information.  

Nearly 15 Percent of U.S. Receives Food Stamps

 

2010 Had Record 2.9 Million Foreclosures

 

From my experience teaching I have not really seen citizenship and getting involved in issues that the students are interested in connected to the curriculum. I’m not sure if this is because I am in a second grade classroom and this can be difficult to do. Or this may be because there is not space for it. Personally as a teacher I would make space for it because I feel it is important to have the students involved in issues going on around them and that interest them. I would make space for this by connecting it to something we are learning about in class already or have an outside assignment/project be done. Finding out what the students are interested could be done in a class discussion or their interest could come out in the classroom while taking part in a lesson or activity. Then I would try to engage the students in topics that are relevant and interest them.



In the school I am at I do see the school promoting civic competence. This is done because every morning the entire school says the school pledge. The school pledge has students say that they will appreciate the differences in others, make good choices, think before speaking or acting and treat others the way they would like to be treated.  In the pledge it is teaching the students positive ways to act in the school community. And these qualities encouraged in school are then used outside of the school and the outside community. Overall, the students are taught how to act in order to be active and understanding individuals.


I do think getting involved with issues can reach the goal of social studies because it helps show students that they can make a positive change by being an active member in society.
I do think this current event project gets me connected to as a teacher what I should be as a learner and modeling inquiry. This is because the current event project has shown me how you can take a current event and connect it to other things. Also exploring an issues that is interesting to you allows you to learn more and also take action to on that issue.


-Elizabeth

Teaching Strategy

 
Approaches To Discussion

Four Kinds of approaches to discussion:

- Responding to a problem.

- Responding to an observation.

- Responding to a narrative.

- Reflecting on classroom activities.

One approach that would work best for the topic of homelessness would be responding to an observation. This could be done my presenting a group of people with a picture of a family at a food pantry, then ask: Where do you think this family is and why do you think they are here? This would be a good way to start the discussion because people usually have the wrong ideas about why people are homeless and have stereotypes of people who are homeless. 

The Best Practices To Facilitate A Discussion 

- Use a combination of group and whole-class discussions, even on one topic. As an example, provide the stimulus, put the students in groups, and then debrief through a whole-class discussion.

- The focus is not on what you will say, but on how you will respond to students’ propositions and questions.

- If a class discussion is not going well because of lack of energy or enthusiasm, stop and discuss the situation with the students.

- Instead of responding, ask another student what he or she thinks. 

The four questions asked:

 

     - Do you think it’s their own fault that they are here? Or do you think there is another reason?

     - Do you feel as if the parents should be able to provide for their own family? Or do you think there is something beyond their control which is affecting them being able to afford food?

     - Do you feel bad for these people? If so why or why not?

     - If you saw a family like this on the streets would you help them?

How it will be done:The best practices listed above could be incorporated in the discussion on the four questions. First the questions, along with the picture, will be presented to students in small groups. While this is going on the teacher should walk around and make sure the discussion is going well, if not the teacher should stop and discuss with students. But while discussing with students the teacher should try to get the students to express their own ideas and options, this could be done by the teacher asking what they think instead of responding. When the class is ready each group will present their ideas, findings, and questions for the class. The teacher should respond by respecting the students positions and questions.

Service Learning 

For our service learning project we are doing it at My Brothers Table. As a group we all have to figure out a night that works best for everyone to go serve dinner. And as individuals we have to sign up for the walk which is on October 23^rd.

I chose this photo to add to our blog because it signifies one of the problems I see with our society. The people in the line are waiting for food, standing in front of a sign that says "There's no way like the American Way". I took that as, "you're not American because you can't afford your own food"... there are a lot of people that think that way, and it's sad.