Journal Table One

Date/Significant Observations from Field Course Content

Notes from 3/13/17 to 4/17/17
B) How do Personal/Cultural Knowledge
or Popular Knowledge shape the
I went to Ridgeway Community School in racialization of the white student(s) you
Houston, MN about 20 minutes from Winona. will be working with in your clinical
Ridgeway is a small school consisting of 100 setting?
students from preschool-5th grade. According The personal experiences, and understanding
to their website their mission statement is to of cultural and popular knowledge help shape
be an academically challenging school with the racialization of students everywhere. This
an emphasis on community and wellness that can be understood and influenced by where
leaves a positive, lasting impact. Their vision they come from, how they were raised, the
statement is to be a growing school that is people they come across throughout their life,
full of inquisitive learners practicing healthy and a big one is media. In the Social
living habits and becoming engaged Constructs of Difference power point,
community members. Ridgeway offers after racialization is defined as, expectations,
school care, no school day child care, and assumptions, perceptions, stereotypes, and
summer kids club. Art is important to fears we have of racial groups as shaped by
Ridgeway, and they also offer students to join social interactions, media images, political
garden club. rhetoric, and economic forces. People think
that racialization doesnt account for white
The median household income in Houston, people, but white people are expected to be
MN is $36,944 per year, and this median successful and seen as more superior in our
income is below the eligibility threshold for society. The world puts more negative
reduced prince lunch. In Ridgeway stereotypes on African Americans and Latinos
Community School, the amount of student because white people are favored. This is why
eligible and receiving free/reduced lunches it is important that our students of every race
are: are aware of the racialization that occurs so
that we can teach our students to learn how to
Eligible for Free/Reduced Lunch: 32.0% accept and treat others as equals. The white
Ineligible for Free/Reduced Lunch: 68.0% students I work with in my clinical setting
shouldnt have to feel pressured to
The overall school demographics at Ridgeway accomplish a great amount of success, nor be
community school: treated in high favor by their teachers or
parents because of the racialization our
White: 96.0% society has set for them.
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 1.0%
Two or More Races: 3.0%

These demographics reflect what I see in the

after-school program. There are about 30-40
students from kindergarden-5th grade that
show up for the after-school program. All but
one (Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander) of the
students are white. The teachers that stay after
to help out are also white and have been
teaching for a while. One is male in his late
30s that teaches Phy. Ed and coaches. The
other teacher is female in her late 50s
possibly early 60s that is a kindergarten
teacher.
I will focus on three different students in my
digital ethnography project. Student A is a
girl in 5th grade that is the only Native
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander in the school. I
have noticed that she is a good student and
productive during quiet time when working
on homework. She asks for help when she
doesnt understand a problem and is a quick
learner. I helped her on math homework last
week because she couldnt remember how to
add or subtract fractions. Once I refreshed her
mind she was able to complete the rest
correctly on her own. She seems to get along
with the other kids in the program and is
involved in the volleyball club it offers. I got
the chance to meet her mom whom was very
nice and seemed close to her daughter. I can
tell that her mom is very involved in her
educational life.
Student B is a Caucasian boy in 1st grade. He
is a very energetic boy that has trouble with
staying on task. The times I have worked with
him during quiet time on reading, I have
noticed he struggles in this area. He has the
tendency to skip sentences, words, as well as
mispronounce a lot of words. He sometimes
gets into small fits with other peers, but
usually gets along with others most of the
time.
Student C is a Caucasian girl in 2nd grade. She learning. Norma Gonzalez states this
is also an energetic one that gets along with a importance in her article: What better way to
lot of the other classmates. She is also very
talkative and told me her mother is from
Canada. I can tell she is a good student, but
she struggles to do homework on her own
C) How can the racialization of the
student(s) you will be working with be
reinforced or challenged by any of
his/her/their other demographic
characteristics?
According to the Intersectionality Graphic
there are many other demographic
characteristics that can reinforce and
challenge our students when it comes to
racialization. Gender is one of those
characteristics that reinforce the racialization
white people face. The majority of those in
power are white men and white women are
portrayed in the media all the time for
fashion/beauty. Also the stereotypes of men
being the breadwinner, and women being the
stay-at-home moms is starting to change.
Seeing as there is 32% of students receiving
free or reduced lunch in my clinical setting
challenges socioeconomic status. White
people have expectations to be able to fully
support their family and be a part of the
higher socioeconomic status, but in this case
racialization is being challenged. There is also
11% of the students that are in special
education. This focuses on these students
exceptionality, and challenges racialization of
white students. Even though there are some
demographic characteristics that reinforce
racialization, there are also many that
challenge racialization for white students.
D) How can the Funds of Knowledge
approach help you see a students cultural
background as an asset to his or her
learning?
The Funds of Knowledge approach is very
important in understanding a students
cultural background as a means to their
engage students than to draw them in with
knowledge that is already familiar to them,
and using that as a basis for pushing their
learning (1). I think learning about what our
when around other classmates. The three
weeks I have been going she is always
working on subtraction problems, but has
students around her give her the answers. I
know she knows how to solve them, but
chooses not to.
students already know and going from there is
going to benefit not only the students, but
give the teacher an understanding of where to
start when teaching. Cathi Amanti states,
Our assumptions about culture shape what
we consider to be important information
about ourselves and others, and how we
interpret and judge human behavior (131).
This is important with her research because
the rest of the article is visiting households to
experience where these students actually
come from to gain perspective so that we
arent quick to make assumptions of others.
These authors reveal the importance of the
Funds of Knowledge approach. Not only will
the students feel that their personal lives, how
they grew up, and the knowledge they already
have is of importance, but will benefit them in
the success of their education.
E) Discuss the possible Activities to
Investigate Funds of Knowledge that you
will possibly use to identify the Funds of
Knowledge (assets, strengths, resources)
possessed by your student(s) you choose to
study AS WELL AS the EDFD 400/401
Developmental and/or Learning theorists
who you can use to give a rationale for
your choice of said activities.
There are three activities that I will possibly
use to identify the Funds of Knowledge my
students have.
Activity #1 I felt was very important in
looking at the familys occupation because
this can reveal the knowledge being shared
with one another at home. In my EDFD 400
class we learned about a theorist named
Bronfenbrenner that would agree with
parents occupation influencing a childs
learning development. This theorist talks
about the Exosystem which is interaction
among two or more environments, one of
which does NOT directly include the
individual. Knowing about what the childs
family does for work can help me to
understand where they are educationally to
see how that influences the child.

Activity #2 focuses on the type of outlets the

students families have when dealing with
challenging or changing circumstances such
as, economic, social, cultural, or
technological. I feel this activity is important
because these interactions influences a child
by teaching them that it is important to have
others to go to when things are hard, or when
they need help. It also allows me to
understand more of what is happening at
home. In my EDFD 460 we learned about a
theorist named Vygotsky who emphasized the
fundamental role of social interaction in the
developmental cognition of people which I
believe this activity focuses on.

Activity #11 was one that stood out most to

me because it is very important to know what
students are doing outside of class to benefit
them in their education and learning
development. It is also important to know if
parents are taken initiative to help their child
do better in school, as well as do other
educational things to benefit them in the long
run. Once I know what physical places,
physical materials, or individuals that my
learner identifies as educational resources I
can get a better grasp on what more my
students should be doing outside of school, as
well as an understanding of why they may or
may not be doing well in school. The social
interaction these students face outside of
school also correlates with Vygotskys theory
stated above.