The community I teach in  is located in Mickleton New Jersey in the township of East Greenwich. The Gloucester County school district consists of only two schools, grades Pre-k through 6th, and is surrounded by rural farm lands. These students move on to Kingsway Middle and High school. The district continues to grow as developments are still on the rise in the area. The district is not very diverse in culture, as the population of students is roughly 80% caucasian. Most students come from a two parent , upper middle-class household, however there is a small percentage of students are of low socioeconomic status. There are many activities and or clubs that are present in the school and town community. Within this community it seems that economic status is highly valued as well as academics.Parents within this community can be extremely assertive when it comes to their child’s grades, behavior, etc. 

 I feel connected with this culture as I have fostered relationships with both students and their families. I have also participated in many after school activities which has made me feel even more closely connected with the community I teach in. 

 

     I feel that I am an insider because I have family that lives in this particular community.  I also grew up close by the area, in Deptford New Jersey. I am an outsider for a number of reasons. My entire elementary, middle, and secondary education was spent in the catholic school system. My community, friends , and extracurricular activities were not focused in my town but rather spread across south jersey, as my classmates were from different areas. I also do not feel that the academic pressures were as heavy when I was a student. 

 

       I hope to find out more about the community as a whole and how the outside pressures of status and academics reflect on the students. I would also like to learn how the tiny district compares to those with a large number of schools. It would be interesting to dive deeper into the ways that the school accommodates its lower socioeconomic population. 

One event that stood out to me was a free diabetes self management workshop that is being held at Friends Village Auditorium. The event is an interactive six-week program which allows people suffering from the disease to come together and learn more about how to successfully manage their diabetes. 

A problem that often occurs in this community is the amount of accidents that occur on the closeby busy roads. Kings Highway runs into many of the neighboring roads at four way intersections, causing an increase in collisions over the past few years. The community leaders have decided to install a flashing light at one of these intersections, in hopes of eliminating this issue. 

As I have previously noted there seems to be a large focus on the education of the community. Kingsway high school “students of the month” are recognized for outstanding performance in academics as well as character. Students who attended the schools previously and now attend Rowan are recognized for attaining Dean’s List for the past semester. 

 
Major Assignment 2 Part 4

 When considering my driving questions I considered a few places within the curriculum in which they could be implemented. Within our math curriculum there is a unit of study involving data and graphs. Students could use the first question to record data on the use of technology amongst students and parents in both schools and at home. This could be used to created different types of graphs to display the time spent on technology compared to the time spent doing other activities. Students could consider how the amount of time spent on technology may affect relationships and form a disconnect. 

 In looking at my second driving question I considered both Math as well as Social Studies. We are currently studying the identification of area and perimeter. This could be used to design a community space that would provide both educational and recreational resources. Students could consider the area in which they would be able to build this space and determine the correct measurements depending on the size of the space being used. 

 My final question correlates with a Unit of Social Studies in which students learn about immigrants. Students learn that immigrants have come from all over the world to live in the United States. America is known as the melting pot due to the fact that our country has been introduced to many different cultures and customs by way of immigration. Therefore, diversity is an important part of our society and should be celebrated. Students may choose to research different cultures of their choosing and identify important factors of that particular culture. Students may also present important people who have contributed to our society who have come from other places around the world. 

 I feel that technology is important part of my school’s community which also connects to the curriculum. Technology plays an important role in the classroom daily, and is used across all content areas. 

What potential outside resources can we integrate into our community in order to expose our students to more diverse cultures ?