Final Project Narative

 Susan Gaboriault

CURR 501

Summer 2024

 Final Project

         I work at Central Falls High School in a transition classroom. The transition program is for young adults ages 18-22, who have an I.E.P. and who want to work on employability, social and life skills. These young adults have mild to significant challenges and face many barriers to work and social engagement. Their families struggle with issues of immigration status, finance, food insecurities, homelessness, and language barriers. While we work to support our young people and their families, we focus on instilling self-advocacy, self-determination, and a sense of confidence. One way of directing them towards a more stable future is supporting them in securing gainful employment.

         Finding work can be challenging for most people. Our students also face additional barriers due to their disabilities. Our goal as a program is to make connections within our community to employers who could benefit from having our young adults as part of their team. Our young adults are given training in different types of skills such as preparing food for our class run cafe, they do prep work, cooking, shopping and meal planning. Skills range from knife skills, kitchen safety, budgeting, and cleaning. They also take orders and make deliveries, building social skills. Our program also does all the laundry for our sports teams, take request to do clerical work for teachers, make personalized merchandise, and take orders for jackets and shirts. A new business started last year is our class made, organic, dog and cat treats, as well as receiving a food truck as part of a CTE program. We make deliveries throughout our district.

         Outside of school, many of our students go out to work sites, often unpaid, to gain employment skills. We send staff to assess the needs of our youth and support them with the tools they might need to do their job. Some youth will always need a job coach to support them, while others gain independence quickly. All these experiences inside and outside of school build a skill set and confidence that make our youth better employees. The difficult part is getting employers to see that and to hire them. My final project was developed with this in mind.

         My project is to develop a class website to post resumes and to inform potential employers about our program and the support and training it provides. We can include a link/QR code in our introduction letters to new potential employers. I had previously worked on an elevator pitch in a Transition course I took last year, and we could fine tune it to fit individual employers. Adding our students' resumes to the website would allow these potential employers to "meet" our young adults and see what a variety of skills they have. They could then set up interviews to get further information. We might also use this site to gain access to tours of businesses with the potential to see if there are areas for employment for our workers. There are several things we could add to our site, such as interviews with current and past participants of our program. I look forward to collaborating with the staff and students to have a collective voice in developing this further.

         The reason I love to work in collaboration with others is because it is how I learn best, especially when it comes to technology. I agree with some of Prensky's opinions that those born before tech was popular and easily accessible, learn differently than those born into the tech age. I also have similarities to his description of the "digital immigrant" when he writes that when a digital immigrant learns “to adapt to their environment, they always retain, to some degree, their "accent," that is, their foot in the past." (Prensky, 2001, p.2) That is me, one foot in the past. I like when students can teach me something new because it gives them an opportunity to hold power in space by being the "expert".

         I believe that every person has value, skills and purpose. Often students with disabilities are underestimated in their ability to teach us something new. I believe that we need to value individuality and diversity. Differently abled does not mean UN-abled. Young adults who face challenges need to build a level of perseverance. I was reminded of them when we watched to video of baby George in the TEDx Talks by Dr Michael Wesch. In the video his son kept trying to come down the steps and fell repeatedly, but continued because he believed he would eventually do it. It is that belief I want to instill in my students, that with enough practice and belief in themselves they can accomplish anything. Like Rita Pierson says, "Every child needs a champion!". We need to cheer them on and believe in them so that they learn to believe in themselves.

         We have discussed how the media has taught us how we see ourselves through this "hidden education" embedded in movies, news, social media, and in books. These socially constructed beliefs about who we are and our place in the world must be challenged and reimagined in a self-constructed belief system. Children are influenced from birth from the clothes they wear to the toys they play with. As they get older society and the media become their mirror and it is up to us to take a critical look at how to dismantle these influences that negatively impact our beliefs. Linda Christensen discusses this in chapter 7 of our text Rethinking Popular Culture and Media. Christensen discusses how she feels it is important to have students’ critique what they see in their favorite children's media to see the danger of embedded stereotypes. "First, I want students to critique portrayals of hierarchy and inequity in children's movies and cartoons. Then I want to enlist them to imagine a better world, characterized by relationships of respect and equality." (Christensen, 2014, p 176). A good article on this subject is Trapped in the Mouse House: How Disney has Portrayed Racism and Sexism in its Princess Films 

         Being critical of the media does not mean that we stop enjoying media, we need to find a way to hold both truths, a wise teacher recently told us. As I learn this for myself, I also need to find ways to teach this to my students and my children. We live in a world that revolves around technology and media and as a technocrat, according to Scott Noon, I am still working toward not only experimenting with tech tools but pushing to becoming a techno-traditionalist who is proficient at using tech in my classroom. By taking this class and trying new tech tools I am beginning to find tools that I can incorporate into some of our lessons, like Kahoot, Canva, and Google Sites. I used Google Sites to begin working on our classroom website and I am really excited to share this with my coworkers and students. I have confidence that this will benefit our program and project a positive image of our workforce. It is a great way to counter the negative bias toward my student population.

         My WHY for coming back to school to earn my degrees was to be able to support my children and the students I work with. My world was very closed off and only included the things that affect my everyday life. I was too busy looking to get through the day to look around at what was happening around me. I had a very narrow view of the world. My opinions were shaped by the few exposures I had with the media and the people I associated with. Coming to college opened a whole world to me. I was exposed to people who had vastly different lived experiences and a wealth of knowledge to share. I was exposed to readings that mainstream education does not provide. I learned about my identity, my privilege, my biases, and my lack of understanding. I learned that I could grow in ways I never imagined. I find college to be both a sanctuary and a torture chamber. It forces me to look at things that are hard to see and makes me ashamed while at the same time shows me a better way and gives me grace to turn my thoughts toward justice. Learning makes me challenge myself to be a better me, to imagine a better world. The best part is that it allows me to bring this self-discovery home to my family and into my classroom. It creates a pathway for me to support them in the ways that they need to navigate the world. I know I sound like it has all been a life changing event, well that is good, because it has!

         I thank my teachers for showing so much care and desire in their pursuit of creating a better world. I thank my coworkers for letting me try out new things in my classroom. I thank my students for allowing me to work beside them and teaching me about themselves. I thank my family for putting up with my absence so that I can come home and offer them a more understanding mom that can guide and support them as they grow into the wonderful human beings I know and love. I am most thankful for my mom that raised me to be independent and resourceful, who showed me that women are strong and capable. She makes me thankful to be me.

Pecha Kucha

link to my Pecha Kucha

 https://www.loom.com/share/8f98af4b44e0473bbd9048173ab4538e

GOOGLE SITES

 Google Sites

Step 1. Sign into Google

Step 2. Click on the waffle

Step 3. Click on Sites

Step 4. Choose a template that best fits your needs.

Step 5. Title your site.

Step 6. You can add text boxes, choose a theme, and add pages as needed. Tools in the right side      column menu.

Step 7. Enter the information and/or pictures in the sections needed. Delete those not needed.

Step 8. Add links as needed in the sections.

Step 9. When you are satisfied with your site, preview then publish it.

Step 10. Share the link to your site.

Step 11. Return to update your site as needed.

For further tutorials check these out.

How to create a Website in Google Sites for free.

Top 10 Tips for Google Sites for Beginners

Why We Banned Legos

How can a toy cause such an uproar that they are banned? I just had to read how one of my favorite past time activities became so controversial. 

In our text, Rethinking Popular Culture and Media, the chapter titled WHY WE BANNED LEGOS, caught my eye and I so glad I read it! The authors, Ann Pelo and Kendra Pelojoaquin, discuss how an issues of power, ownership, and equity showed up in their after-school program. Like many of you the children in this group, ages 5 thru 9, enjoyed playing with Legos. As they played a "Legotown" emerged and children began to decide what building were included, the features, and sizes. What also emerged were positions of power, who could have the "best" pieces, the largest buildings, and ownership of those buildings. Younger children were left out and those who couldn't get the pieces they needed eventually stopped playing. The negotiations and conflicts created conversations of social power and ownership that mirrored those of a class based, capitalist society. (p.52) 

Then came Legoland's downfall.  Another group that uses the after-school space had accidentally demolished Legotown. The children were devastated! This was the opportunity for the adult staff to examine the issues that had arose during construction and discuss if there was a way to bring forward the issues in a way that would get the children to see what the issues were and create a new set of rules that worked in a more equitable way.

Teachers discussed their own beliefs and experiences with wealth or lack of, private ownership, and distribution of resources. They came up with a way to have the children learn about what power looks like. Teachers devised a game that created a bias and let the children play, then discuss how they felt. Power was given seemingly at random to certain colors of legos that had been chosen by the children. Those with the most points made the rules for exchanging the legos. The point was to collect as many points through the exchange and then get to make the rules. Through their own actions and creation of rules around the exchange of the Legos, some student held power longest, some complained that they would never be able to negotiate for power even with some balanced rules, while others just gave up. Children were able to discuss their feelings and beliefs about who has power and what it means to have ownership. Wonderful discussion came up through this process around fair distribution of resources and power. This "game" was taken from an approach the teachers had learned from a school in Reggio Emilia, Italy. "We weren't working from a carefully sequenced lessons on ownership, resource sharing, and equity. Instead, we committed to growing an investigation into these issues, one step at a time."(p.55)

Through this explorative method, the children's collective voices created a system for the usage of the Legos that was fair and equitable. The teachers gave the children the opportunity to  see the ways systems can be biased and to learn about their beliefs and explore the ways that they can change those systems. 

Who would have though of Legos as a tool for social justice learning? 

Here is an article on how the Lego corporation is promoting diversity and inclusion.

Final Project Idea

 I work in a transition program with young adults who are preparing for life after high school. All students have IEPs and face various challenges for employment. As a program we seek potential work placements and negotiate placements that are often volunteer and supported by work coaches. It can be difficult to get employers on board. I believe that people with disabilities need to be seen as assets rather than the deficits that are often associated with their "label". 

By creating a job site, like Indeed.com,  for my students to post their resumes I hope to attract potential employers. My hope is that this site can highlight the strengths and skills attained from our program and showcase the potential our students can bring to the workforce. Using Canva.com, students can create a resume that show their experience and proficiency using skills necessary in the workforce. 

Here is a sample resume of one of my students.

Challenging the Influence of Media on the Culture of Children

 

 Good Versus Evil

My relationship with Disney, cartoons, and children's culture is vast and varied. As a child born in the 60's to having children born as recently as 2013, I have seen many movies, cartoons, toys, books, and games depicting a multitude of characters. I bought the toys, movies, and costumes for my children but did not take notice of the stereotypes portrayed. My "white privilege" blinded me to many of the ways we are "educated" to see the world. It all seemed to just be a simple form of entertainment. If I were to say what the purpose or moral of the stories were, it was usually about good versus evil, with goodness prevailing. I now view media with a more critical eye, although it can distract from the enjoyment of the movie.

In our reading from chapter 7 in Rethinking Popular Culture and Media, Linda Christensen writes about how children are indoctrinated into a way to act, live, and dream. She discusses how she challenged her students to critique what they saw in some of their favorite children's media. Her purpose in this was to have them recognized the danger of imbedded stereotypes in media. She states, "First, I want students to critique portrayals of hierarchy and inequality in children's movies and cartoons. Then I want to enlist them to imagine a better world, characterized by relationships of respect and equality." (Christensen, 2014, p 176). Initially students were not happy to realize they had been secretly influenced on how to view themselves and the world. Christensen then ask them to take that dismay and turn it to action by having them share their findings with others so that "Instead of leaving students full of bile, standing around with their hands on their hips, shaking their heads about how bad the world is, I provided them the opportunity to make a difference."(Christensen, 2014, p 186).

Here is a link to see some of 10 Painfully Racist Moments in Disney Movies They Want You To Forget 

A good article to readn is Trapped in the Mouse House: How Disney has Portrayed Racism and Sexism in its Princess Films 

Boyd & Prensky Divergent Positions on the "Digital Native" Terminology

 

 

 

 In the readings this week we notice a difference of opinion on the usage of the term "digital native". In the reading “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants” by Marc Prensky From On the Horizon (MCB University Press Vol 9 No 5, October, 2001) he writes,

"Children raised with the computer ―think differently from the rest of us. They develop hypertext minds. They leap around. It’s as though their cognitive structures were parallel, not sequential. Linear thought processes that dominate educational systems now can actually retard learning for brains developed through game and Web-surfing processes on the computer." (Prensky, 2001, p.3)

 Prensky believes that because a person was born during an age of technology they are more adept at its language and usage. He also uses the term "digital immigrant" to describe people that were born before the digital age of technology. The terms are used to highlight the differences that exposure to technology has had on a persons ability to process and seek out information. Prensky discusses how this exposure enables the digital natives to use technology with ease because their brain has been "taught" to process information differently, that there is an actual physiological difference in how their brain works due to exposure to technology. He asserts that the digital immigrants must work harder to learn the "language" of digital media. Today's teachers, who are considered digital immigrants, must change the means of educational engagement to digital formats in order to meet the learning style and preferences of the digital native. Teacher need to assimilate to the digital way of "speaking" to youth. The differences between the natives and the immigrants are the root of today's educational issues. In this article, Digital Native or Digital Immigrant, What Language Do You Speak ?, they discuss how to bridge the language barrier between native and immigrant.

In the reading Its Complicated, by Danah Boyd (https://www.danah.org/books/ItsComplicated.pdf) we read a differing opinion.

 "The notion of the digital native, whether constructed positively or negatively, has serious unintended consequences. Not only is it fraught, but it obscures the uneven distribution of technological skills and media literacy across the youth population, presenting an inaccurate portrait of young people as uniformly prepared for the digital era and ignoring the assumed level of privilege required to be “native.” Worse, by not doing the work necessary to help youth develop broad digital competency, educators and the public end up reproducing digital inequality because more privileged youth often have more opportunities to develop these skills outside the classroom. Rather than focusing on coarse generational categories, it makes more sense to focus on the skills and knowledge that are necessary to make sense of a mediated
world. Both youth and adults have a lot to learn." (Boyd, 2014, pgs.179-180)

 Boyd approaches the "digital native" concept from a literacy perspective that discusses the varying degrees of differences in digital competency for the so called natives. Levels of exposure to technology vary and abilities to navigate their usage is not consistent for any generation and therefore not a "given" simply due to when you were born. In this framework we can see how harmful this "digital native" concept can be to how we approach supporting digital learning in schools. Boyd believes that although youth were born into a digital world and they are deeply engaged with technology, it does not give them with an inherent knowledge or skill set.

 While I can understand Prensky's belief that technology can be viewed as a language learned most easily at a young age and that it affects how the brain learns, he does not look at the broader picture. Just because a person learns a language from birth it does not necessarily mean that they can read or write in that language with the same proficiency as all other people who learned to speak that language from birth. Additional skills are built through exposure and access to them, quality instruction, and learning style/ability. There is a YouTube video that I watched that helped support this argument. I agree with Boyd that when we look at how technology affects how youth access information it is more effective to support digital literacy and critical thinking around the information they consume and create. These skills are important to ALL users of technology, regardless of age.