Family, School, and Environment: How Do They Affect the Student? For this ethnographical project, I observed in a Pre-K classroom at a public, urban elementary school in Birmingham Alabama. I observed in this classroom for a total of twenty-five hours during the months of November and December. During my time, I participated in regular classroom activities, attended lunch and physical education class with the students, and interviewed both the lead teacher and the teaching assistant. The purpose of this ethnographic case study was to observe the effects of the surrounding neighborhood, the physical environment of both the classroom and the school as a whole, and the students’ socioeconomic status on student behavior and ability/desire to learn. The first thing I took note of during my observation was the surrounding community. I collected this information by taking a driving tour of the area and taking note of the things I passed on my way to the school every morning. This particular school is located in an older neighborhood of Birmingham. The streets are patchy and show signs of wear and tear. The area is mostly residential with a few major streets which are lined with businesses. The residential areas are comprised of old single family homes, some more run down or neglected than others, with few being completely abandoned and in very bad condition. The major roads in this neighborhood are lined with a mix of old buildings and gas stations. Most businesses are new ones that have found their currents homes inside old city buildings. There are some businesses that appear relatively new, including some gas stations and local grocery stores. It seems to be a relatively low-income area, but overall the area gives the feel of most typical urban city neighborhoods. I will discuss the affects I observed the surrounding neighborhood to have on student learning later on in this paper. The school itself is situated in a residential part of the city. The existing school was built in 1994 and an addition was built on and finished in 2004, so it is relatively new and well kept. The outside features a fenced in playground area and outdoor classroom. When I stepped inside, the first thing I noticed was the unique architecture. The ceilings are vaulted and feature beautiful wood beams. An enclosed spiral staircase leads up to the second floor, where the upper grade levels are located. The first floor features the main office, cafeteria, gymnasium, lower grade levels, and various closets and offices. The walls are classic painted cinder block and feature large displays of student work and accomplishments. This seems relatively standard to me from my observations in other elementary schools, but I believe the cheerful colors and proud displays of student work helps to encourage the students to strive for greatness. The organized separation of grade levels helps keep the students around other students near their ages, which adds to the friendly environment. Maintaining a welcoming school environment is crucial as it makes students excited to come to school every day. From what I observed during my time at this particular school, I would say that the administrators and teachers do a great job of facilitating a positive learning
…show more content…
There are nine male students and seven female students who attend regularly. During my observation, I did not see anything out of the ordinary in regards to separation of gender. All students interacted comfortably with one another and did not treat each other differently whether male or female. Of course, there were times when female students simply gravitated toward each other and vice versa with the male students, such as lunch time, where they are allowed to sit with whomever they like, but I never observed a student being treated differently because of their gender. When it came to race, I never observed the children interacting with students of any other race. Although one student was mixed ethnicity (Hispanic and African American), she looked just like her other peers, and was never treated differently because of her race. Since the students were all African American and did not interact with children of other races while I was there, I cannot speak on how race may have affected their
There are nine male students and seven female students who attend regularly. During my observation, I did not see anything out of the ordinary in regards to separation of gender. All students interacted comfortably with one another and did not treat each other differently whether male or female. Of course, there were times when female students simply gravitated toward each other and vice versa with the male students, such as lunch time, where they are allowed to sit with whomever they like, but I never observed a student being treated differently because of their gender. When it came to race, I never observed the children interacting with students of any other race. Although one student was mixed ethnicity (Hispanic and African American), she looked just like her other peers, and was never treated differently because of her race. Since the students were all African American and did not interact with children of other races while I was there, I cannot speak on how race may have affected their