Neighborhood+and+Families

This portion of our field guide represents the impact of literacy on the surrounding neighborhoods, and on the families invested in Mt. Hope Elementary School. When accessing this field guide, it is important to consider the definition of Literacy being referenced. According to Gail E. Tompkins, "Traditional definitions of literacy focused on the ability to read words, but now literacy is considered a tool, a means to participate more fully in the...society of the 21st century." (Literacy for the 21st Century: A Balanced Approach, 5th Edition, p.4).

This is a picture of Eastern High School, directly next to Sparrow Hospital Parking, off Pennsylvania Avenue. The families and neighborhoods surrounding Mt. Hope have easy access to Sparrow Medical Facility, day care, and parking. There are signs designating parking areas, drop-offs, hospital entrances, etc. It is essential that individuals seeking medical attention are able to read and comprehend directional information, as well as understand how to read pay-rates, and informational paperwork. The same goes for the Ingham Regional Medical Center; a medical facility just a few blocks from the school. The IRMC is located on 401 W. Greenlawn.

The Salvation Army is a great resource for families in the area. __The Salvation Army is located on 525 N. Pennsylvania__. They have a sign advertizing their daycare services. They also have a gym in the basement and they have youth basketball teams practice there.It is important that families are able to read the sign in order to attend services. Children need to be able to access the basketball court by asking questions, and having conversations with Salvation Army volunteers; literacy tools that enable them to participate in community activities and neighborhood activities.

My students and families have easy access to the Capital Area Transportation Authority (CATA). There is a bus stop two blocks from the school that is often utilized by local families. The fourth and fifth grade students recently took CATA downtown Lansing for an annual Social Studies field trip to the Michigan State Capital, and the Michigan Historical Museum. You must be a socially literate individual (meaning, you must be able to read societal cues in order to engage in the act of riding in public transportation). You have to read the rules and procedures signs, you have to read social norms to see when to sit and when to stand. You have to be considerate of the other people's space; therefore you have to be able to read emotional cues as well. Being able to comprehend, analyze, and decode these norms is an essential part of riding CATA.

==== Mt. Hope Elementary School's Parent Teacher Association (PTA) put on a Parent Night at the elementary school on Tuesday evening, September 14th. ====   A number of parents and families participated in Mt. Hope's Parent Night. Hot dogs, pop, popcorn, chips, and cookies were provided by the PTA. A table was set up for individuals to visit and sign up to become members of the PTA, or to donate money. Families came with their children of all ages, many of which were not yet enrolled at Mt. Hope. These families brought blankets and lawn chairs to sit on as they watched their children play, as they talked and interacted with other families, and as they discussed their children's potential with faculty members. A large range of literacies were in action, discourse, interactions with numerous individuals, reading PTA signs, reading the emotions of other people (emotional literacy). People were recycling and throwing away their trash from dinners (environmental literacy). When looking at literacy as tool in which one becomes an active and engaged member of the 21st century, then finding settings in which literacy is apparent, is a natural, on-going process. The process of analyzing societal cues/norms, reading body language and facial expressions, engaging in dialogue concerning critical issues, such as children, is a from of critical literacy. Personally, I engaged in numerous conversations with families. These conversations ranged from how their children were doing in school, to the meatloaf recipe one mother used and was currently cooking in the oven.



The homes surrounding Mt. Hope Elementary school (located on Shubel, Pershing, and Harding) are well taken care of, with gardens, nice landscaping, decks, porches, picket fences, and Spartan paraphernalia covering garage doors and front doors. I'm curious...are the homeowners college graduates? Are their children? Mt. Hope's fifth-fourth grade teacher, Robin Moritz, lives on Shubel, (the house with the Spartan S) and many children live in these surrounding neighborhoods and walk to school. There are only two buses that pick up kids and drop them off, and the rest of the students are either dropped off by mom, dad, grandma, parents’ boyfriends/girlfriends, etc. or they walk. Students are not allowed to ride their bikes. The streets are all tree lined. families need to be able to house numbers, street signs, etc. For families that have gardens and flowers planted in their yards, this shows their abilities to garden; i.e., read information on dirt, seed packets, fertilizer information, weather forecasts, and maybe even Famer's Almanacs? If the decks and/or fences are made by families then those individuals need to be able to read measurements (numeracy).

There is a traffic circle on the corner of Harding and Pershing, which is displayed by these signs. This is an aspect of literacy that families and neighborhood kids and individuals traveling through the neighborhood must navigate on a daily basis. The ability to read these street signs will inform people that a traffic circle is ahead, that they must yield, head in the correct direction, stop. etc.

These signs are similar to the ones above. Due to the large amounts of construction in the areas surrounding Mt. Hope Elementary School's local neighborhoods, families have to be adept at navigating and reading the many signs on the roads. There are construction signs, and signs for the highway which is only minutes from the school.

This Marathon Gas Station is located on the corner of Mt. Hope and Pennsylvania Avenue. Only two blocks from Shubel. This gas station is often busy with cars and people buying beverages. I ran into one of my student's parents while I was getting gas. She was purchasing a lottery ticket.