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ErikNeri

MsHamby

UWRT1101Section26

EthnographyRD

ThediscoursecommunityIhavechosentoobserveistheIB12thgradeEnglishclassat
NorthMecklenburgHighSchool.Thisdiscoursecommunityisverydiverseinraceandethnicity
buttheyareallapproximatelythesameage.Theyareallintheirlastyearofhighschoolbutthey
areallintheInternationalBaccalaureate(IB)Program.TheIBProgramisthemostrigorous
publicschoolacademicprograminthenation,anditstrivestobuildastrongacademic
foundationwhilealsogivingaheftycommunityservicerequirementtoteachstudentstolive
balancedandprioritizedlives.IwasoncepartofthiscommunityandIrecentlygraduatedfromit
thisJune.IchosetoobservethiscommunitybecauseIwasoncepartofitandIwanttoseehow
muchithaschangedsinceIleft.IwanttoseeifthereisstillaUnitmentalityamongstthe
community,becausewhenIwasstartingoutfreshmanyearinIB,IworkedwithmyfellowIB
classmatestodotheassignmentsandtogooutanddocommunityservicetogether.Therewasa
senseofcommonunityamongstthegroupfromninthtotwelfthgradebecausewewereaschool
withinabiggerschool.Nobodyoutsideoftheprogramwouldunderstandthecomplex
assignments/projectswewoulddo,andthereforethatseparatedusfromtherestofthestudents
whowereinnormalhonorsprograms.Wehadclasseswiththesamepeopleforallfouryears,
andthatmadeuscloserlikeafamilybecauseweallknewabouteachother.Iwanttoseeifthat
sameUnitMentalityisstillprevalentamongstthesestudents,thementalityofhelpingone
anothertogetthroughthetoughassignments,exams,projects,presentations,etc.


Methodology
FormyresearchprocessIinterviewedaBoybythenameofLuke,whoisinhislastyear
ofhighschool(12thgrade)andlastyearofIB.IinterviewedhiminhislunchtimeonMonday
the6thofOctober.Iaskedhimgeneralquestionsabouthowhisyearhasbeen,intermsofschool
work.IalsoaskedhimhowwellhegetsalongwiththepeopleinhisIBclasses,whichhe
respondedwithadifferentanswerthanIhadanticipated.Hefeltverydistantfromhisclassmates
inIBandhefeltasifhewasanoutcastbecausehechosenottogofortheIBdiploma.His
feelingstowardsseveralpeoplewithintheprogramwerenotverypleasant.Hestillhadtodo
mostoftheworkhispeersweredoingbutwasexemptfromdoingafewverybigassignments
thatwerevitaltoreceivingtheIBdiploma,sothereforehewasnotrequiredtocompletethem.I
decidedtoobservethe12thgradeEnglishclassbecausethoseweregenerallythebiggerclasses
andtherewasalwaysplentyofchatteramongstpeers,andthatiswhatIwaslookingtoanalyze
andobserve.
Iwantedtoseewhattheyweretalkingaboutandhowtheyexpressedthemselves.Itooknotes
andfocusedonaparticularconversationbetweentwogirlsaboutaparticularassignmentthat
wasduethatday,andapparentlyitwassomethingtheyhadbeenworkingonforalongtime.The
wayItooknoteswasverysimple,Iwrotedownimportantbitsoftheconversationintomy
notepad,andImostlylistenedtowhatwasbeingsaidallacrosstheclassroom.Itooktheflyon
thewallstancebecauseIfeltlikethosesideconversationswouldbemoregenuineratherthana
conversationwithmeinvolved.Iwaslookingforgenuineinteractionamongstpeersintheclass
andtakingtheflyonthewallapproachwasthemostefficientwayofgatheringthemost

amountofinformation.Alsothismethoddoeshaveitslimitationsbecausewheneveryoneis
talkingatthesametimeitisdifficulttofocusonwhatpeoplearesaying.SowhenIwouldtryto
hearwhatagroupwassayingIwouldoftentimeshavetomoveveryclosetothembecauseof
howloudtheclasswasattimes.Therewerealsosomanyconversationsgoingonthattherewas
nowayIcouldwriteaboutallofthembutthatalsokeepsthingsgenuineandunscriptedbecause
Iwantedthestudentstojusttalkwhenevertheyfeltlikeitandaboutwhatevertheyfeltlike.
SinceIwasoncepartofasimilardiscoursecommunityIfeltlikeIwaspartofthecommunity
andIcanwriteaboutitonadeeperlevel,sothefeelingofbeinganoutsiderhasnotbeena
problemforme.
HoweverthereisapartofthediscoursecommunitythatstillisnotavailabletomebecauseIam
technicallyanoutsider,andthatisaprivateFacebookpagewhichistheretoremindthemselves
aboutassignmentsandanythingimportantcomingupintheIBworldthatiscomingup.Our
classdidthesamethingandIassumeitissimilartotheFacebookpagewehad,andtherewas
frequentusageofthepage,anditwasofgreatsourcetogoandlookattoseewhatthe
homeworkwasandwhatitwasabout.Sometimesiftherewereessaysdue,peoplewouldpost
theirintroductionssopeoplewhowerehavingtroublestartingtheirpaperswouldhavesomesort
ofbasistogooffof.Therewasasenseoftrueunityamongstthegroupbecausewewereall
theretryingtofulfillthesamegoals,andweallwantedthebestforeachother.Ihaveonlyheard
abouttheprivateFacebookpagethroughafewconversationsIheardintheclassroombutIhave
notseenitpersonally,andthatiswhereIwilllookforthesamefeelingsofunitythatIoncefelt
whenIlookedatmyclassIBFacebookpage.

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