Journal #4: Stories from the Field - Seeing differences

The general look of room 205’s classroom is students from Latino, black, Asian and white backgrounds in that order. A lot of the students speak Spanish and the teacher even incorporates it into the lessons. Which is a great idea because it includes the culture that some of the students share. When I was in elementary school I know that boys always outnumbered the girls but in this classroom, but the majority are girls and about a quarter is boys. A lot of the girls in this class express their femininity through princess dresses and wearing high heels while others do so by using pink markers when they do an activity, boys do this as well. A spectrum of both can be seen where girls will refuse to wear anything but jeans and the first marker they pick is green or yellow. That is only physical though being feminine could also be seen as being emotional, in kindergarten, both girls and boys cry an equal amount. Masculinity is physically seen as being aggressive and both boys and girls are in equal amounts, the first day I came in two girls and two boys were in trouble for fighting each other with sticks at recess. Many kids show their social class through the clothes they wear or the jewelry they have. The name brands that I see a lot are Jordans, Nike, and Adidas. I’ve noticed a few boys in the class who wear thin gold chains on their necks too. Not much is verbally said though concerning money because many kids are not aware of the financial burdens their parents or caretakers experience. Anytime that the kids have asked my name they always say that I look like Maddie Ziegler which generally I guess could be fair because I have brown hair and that is one of the few references that they have in their lives to compare me to. A little girl noticed my hair and said in a matter of fact that “everyone is born with brown hair” meaning that she has not seen many people who have anything but that color. The last time they noticed something about me was when I was wearing my apple watch which fascinated them because only two said their parents had one but don't let them touch it. Poverty in this school is very prevalent and they go above and beyond with caring fo the kids, many don’t have snacks and have asked me for food. I come to school after they have had lunch and sometimes they’ll still be hungry. My teacher Mrs.C’s race is white and she has dark brown hair, she interacts with the students with care but is also strict. The first day I came in she told me “the kids know how cute they are they’ll use that so you have to be firm with them”. Regardless of gender a lot of the students are very engaged in Mrs.C’s lessons besides some of the students with ADD/ADHD. In this class, the girls seem to want to raise their hand more and answer questions while more of the boys are shyer.