Center creation- Rontae’s Poster Board
Marlene Vasquez
December 15, 2021
School Family Comm
Fall 2021- EDCE 22102
Center creation- Rontae’s Poster Board
I decided to base my poster board on something that my student can relate to. I work in a high school as a Paraprofessional. I help students with different cases of disability. This year I have a student named Rontae; he is a bright student who is filled with outstanding knowledge and ideas. Starting off this center I thought of different ideas on what my center should be based on. Many ideas came to mind, but I decided to narrow it down to something that would grab his attention and that would be portable for him as he travels from class to class. That is how the idea of the poster board came about. I first introduced the idea with Rontae by discussing his thoughts on the center creation. He expressed to me little details of what he is interested in so that way it could be a clear indication of what types of magazines I should look out for. I collected data on a notepad regarding the questions and responses he gave me.
Question Data:
1. What are your interests? It can be anything.
- “Famous artists in the rap game, I think Kevin Hart is so dope. I like to watch my mom’s shows because she loves to talk about how she would love for me to become someone wealthy so I could buy her a house one day. I think that looking at famous people’s lifestyles inspires me.”
2. What are your goals?
- “I want to be rich and famous for my rap songs. I also want to have a good job so I could have my own place and car. I want to have a famous girl that understands my lifestyle. I want to have a rip body where everyone I know would go crazy because they were expecting me to look so good”
3. Who inspires you?
- “Kevin Hart, Bruno Mars, Jay Z, Michael B. Jordan, DMX, Kanye, M&M, honestly I like a mix of artists in the music and acting industry because I know I could do what they do and who knows, I might be even greater. We’ll see.” As he laughed. He continued on saying, “I do like female artists too as inspiration. There’s a lot of things that they have done that sometimes overpowers the men artist. Sometimes I listen to Beyonce or Lizzo for inspiration throughout my day or workouts. I think that they are really dope and they have real topics in their songs that I could connect with.”
4. Who is someone that is a great representation of you now or who you want to become?
- “I think that Kevin Hart is the perfect example of who I am now and the success he has achieved is what I want to reach. I think that his storyline of life is not only inspirational but also, I feel like I’m going through the same path that he has gone through. Many of my friends don’t know this in this school but I love to make jokes and I was known for my jokes in my old school. I also was a part of the school’s plays, but I don’t want to do it in this school. I would rather show them my rap skills and have a new image here so that I could get better at this part of myself since I already know I’m good with acting and making jokes. I think Kevin Hart is a perfect example because he is also a good reader and was smart in school and I think I am too. My grades show it, and the teacher says it too, so I don’t know if Kevin Hart is the best example I can come up with right now that represents me.”
5. What’s your favorite color?
- “Green”
6. What is something new that you would like to show in your poster board that not everyone knows about you?
- “I would like to show off my home stuff. I am really into interior home design. As I watched the shows with my mom I kinda got into it and I want to buy a house one day and have it designed with my own style and taste. I think that none of my friends here or even the teachers don’t know that I love looking at new ideas of how to flip houses and put together all the furniture.”
The second time I collected data was when I sat down with him for a quick five-minute conversation after his first period class where he expressed to me what he plans on doing with the poster board after he finishes creating it. As well as what period of class would he like to focus on finishing the poster board. He expressed to me that he would like to put the poster board in his room as a form of inspiration. He would like to use the like 10-15 minutes of music class, math class and global class since he is ahead with the assignments with those classes. I also Asked him which magazine brand he would like. He expressed that he doesn’t usually look through magazines to know the different brands, but he would like to know which ones he could choose from. So, I went on my laptop and googled the most common magazines that would be easy to find and had him choose three from the ones he saw.
After listening to my student and gathering all the data that he shared with me I decided to go out and go on a hunt for three magazines. Each one would have some if not all the details that he shared so that he could post it all on the board. I wanted to make this center something that he could take home and have it in his room in a way that inspires him every day. It took me three days of hunting for the magazines until I finally found the right ones. I went to stores like Walgreens, Duane Reade, Whole Foods and Barns and Nobles and I was able to gather the three magazines that made the most sense to all the details that Rontae gave me. I had to speak to the teachers from Rontae’s classes to allow him to take the last 15 minutes of class to start working on poster board. It took him a full week to finish it up. It was very interesting to see him pick and choose the images from all the magazines and explain why he chose them to his friends in the classroom. This activity definitely broke down a barrier for my student and his friends. They were able to ask Rontae questions about himself and where his inspiration came from to cut out so many pieces of house images. He was very excited to explain to his friends the shows that he watches with his mother and why he put Kevin Hart in the middle. It was so great how the students were gravitating to the Rontae to help him with the poster by gluing down the pictures.
I think that this center creation was great for my high school students. It’s a great activity that can be modified to all age groups. Which is why I think that it would work perfectly with children in elementary school. Giving them materials and visuals that they can relate to and have discussions with would be essentially the idea of the center. When children have conversation with one another throughout the activities within the classroom based on the lesson that is being brought forth in the classroom, that’s where new vocabulary is introduced from one child to another. It is great for all our students to have moments like this where they can interact with one another in creative centers because one of the richest, empowering learning covers is when each child is able to express their thoughts and opinions. Not only that but in those moments is where each child’s culture and native languages are expressed further into conversation where other children that aren’t as exposed to the language would learn a new language and expand their vocabulary.
The third time I gathered small data from Rontae was after he finished his poster board. The reason for this was because I thought that it would be great to listen to his point of view now that he finished. I started off by expressing to him how I enjoyed watching him flip through the magazines and have such joyful expressions. As well as seeing how it brought some of his classmates together. As I was expressing my point of view to him, he was smiling and began to express his thoughts. He stated that he thought it was fun to look through the magazines and try to imagine he owns a nice house like the ones he saw. He felt inspired to change up his style a little after seeing the way Kevin Hart was dressed and how other artists showed off their own form of fashion sense. Not to mention how cool it was to see the different workout moves that he started to try at home because he saw it in the magazines. He said that it was so much fun when his friends from the different classrooms would gather around him and give their opinions about what the cut out that he chose to put on the poster board. He expressed that he liked how it all came together and that he got a lot of comments on social media after he showed off the finished product. He stated that a lot of his followers started to copy him and come up with their own “vision board” for what they want their future to look like. He stated proudly that he felt like he started a new trend. This was great news to hear from him and felt that collecting this data was a great idea because I was able to see how the journey went. From the start, just brainstorming on what the center creation would be. To then actually have all the materials and see how the poster board was executed. Into the final result and reflection on it.
My thought of this center creation can be viewed as a “Self-soothing corner” where it could be transformed into a corner where any child with special needs can have this corner where the materials that are there can help them calm themselves. There are a couple articles that touches upon the importance of activities such as my center creation. In one of the articles titled, “The Imperial arch” toward Early Literacy: Locating Popular Culture in a Kindergarten Classroom” by Haeny S. Yoon, it states, “Validating popular culture as an intellectual activity in children’s lives requires the space and time to play. Furthermore, it requires the same observation, documentation, and analysis we would give to any kind of “serious” activity” (Yoon, pp 174). This is very important to note because making sure that the teachers have these types of soothing centers for the children, should give the same level of importance to these activities in these centers where it’s self-soothing. Just as important as the subject for math, literacy, and social studies; having the time and space for the children to have an area where they have purposeful time to create or in other words have something accessible for them to self-soothe. I think that it is important for all children to be able to have a center in the classroom where they could go and gather themselves in a way that helps them calm down and feel good.
Another great reading that helps this center creation is from the article “[Re]claiming “Inclusive Education” Toward Cohesion in Educational Reform: Disability Studies Unravels the Myth of the Normal Child” by Baglieri et al, it states, “. Yet despite this common discursive heritage, a good deal of divergence currently exists in the meanings attributed to the construct of inclusive education, both between and within the various educational discourse communities circulating among nations around the world that draw upon the term” (Baglieri et al, pp 2125). This is a wonderful quote that focuses on the topic of school education with children that have a disability, connecting with “inclusive education” in the English-speaking world and how it has emerged. In other words, centers like the one I have done for Rontae helps with this idea that Baglieri et al is bringing forth throughout this article. Having a center in a classroom where they’re children with disabilities (which are considered Inclusion classrooms) would benefit greatly by having a self-soothing area for the children.
Lastly, another article that is great is “DisCrit Classroom Ecology: Using praxis to dismantle dysfunctional education ecologies” by Subini Annamma & Deb Morrison, it states, “When considering how DisCrit Pedagogy extends this commitment, it is again considering the multiple-marginalization’s that Students of Color face and how others can learn about them without essentializing” (Annamma & Morrison, pp 76). I found that this part of the article is perfect as to a connection to my student. Rontae is an African American student who has an amazing personality and stands out amongst the crowd when he feels free enough to express himself. This center creation allows him to express himself in all angles, which includes his race and ethnicity. This center creation helps him demonstrate all the various systems that relate to him and it’s a visual description on who he is and how he envisions his present and future. There are many layers that this center creation targets, and I think that it would be great to implement this for all age groups. Thus, including this center creation in an elementary school where young children can express themselves through a form of arts and craft while at the same time stimulating a part of their brain and emotions where it could help them independently self-soothe if need be.
I believe that his center highlights family and community in a visible way. This project of Rontae using the artist and pictures of the dress codes that they are wearing in the poster board demonstrates culture. He also demonstrates family in his own way by putting a lot of house pictures which for him represent his mother. He expressed in the data I collected from him that he spends a lot of time with his mother watching shows on houses and that is their form of bonding. Therefore, using and requesting to have a magazine solely on household represent family to my student. As far as community, Rontae was able to use artists that are highly known in his community as well as basketball players and actors. These are points that were very important for Rontae because it helped him relate to his friends more every time they gathered around him to do this activity.
Rontae oversaw this center. I made sure to ask him questions that would help me gather the materials that “HE” wanted, not what I thought he needed. It was great to see how he looked so happy sharing and demonstrating to his friends and people within the classroom what he was creating with this center creation. Hearing him saying that he will post this poster board on his bedroom wall proves to me that he felt self-empowered. This happened after he completed the board as well as when he expressed that he feels like he started a new trend. He stated he posted on social media his poster board and because of that his followers are starting to do the same.
The resources for this center creation can be found all around our environment. I think that this poster board in particular is perfect because it shows that it all really depends on the systems that the child is in and what attracts their attention. Using materials that surround us is all you need for this center creation really. I used the resources around me that helped me gather the proper materials that were needed to complete what Rontae asked for. I use magazines which were found in the stores around the school. I also got the glue poster board and scissors from a nearby dollar store. This is all within the system and community that my student Rontae is exposed to, as well as the students and teachers that attend the same school as him. We used these things for this center creation. However, this center creation can be modified to other items to help the student in the classrooms that would need a self-soothing area. The school that Rontae attends is mixed with students that relates and connects to him despite the cultural background which is why I thought that because of his age (being a teenager) and the school community, I think that it all ties well with the developmental systems in Rontae’s life.
I believe that system theory plays a huge role in this center creation. I think that every component that was used is based on the systems that relate and connect to Rontae. Which is great because he is the focus in this center creation and having a new way for him to express and demonstrate all the systems that makes up who he is into one center is truly amazing. I learned a lot more from him throughout this center creation and I think that it helped him come out of his shell a bit more, not only with me but with his friends and classmates as well. I think that system theory was shown greatly when the students that were around Rontae while he was doing his work on the center creation, were able to join him and ask him questions. These were just a one-worded response that the students were waiting for; they were asking questions that nudged Rontae to share more of himself on things that I don’t think he would have done if it wasn’t for the poster board. Moreover, this meant that the students around Rontae, who all have their own groups of systems that they relate to; came together for that one moment when Rontae was doing his center creation because they all have this one common system that ties them as one for just those couple of minutes.
This project and assignment went great for me and my student as well. It opened new ideas for the other teachers around us that saw how the other student gravitated to this center creation. It has started a wave of conversation amongst the teachers and now they would like to incorporate projects like my center creation in their assignments. Which proves to me that this center creation is a great strategy that can be used in different subjects and manipulated in a way that grabs the attention of the students. Which ties into the many systems that this center creation can connect with and the wide range of age group that it can impact with. It was a great idea to have because it brings together family and community systems into this great activity which helps the children to visually demonstrate in a beautiful poster board. I think that this was a learning curve for me and it’s something I would definitely use in the classroom for my future classroom in an elementary school. This creation definitely helps to break a barrier with my students, and I think that it would continue to do that in other classes and systems. I hope to see this center creation be implemented in other classrooms and systems. The systems I focused on in this center creation were special education, public education, and popular culture. The readings that were used were from Baglieri et al, Annamma & Morrison, as well as Yoon. I focused on just one student (Rontae) and the systems that related to him. I also made sure to try to use this center creation in the best way that could be modified and be implicated for early childhood. The main purpose of the center is for children with disabilities to use it as a self-soothing corner.
Poster Board:
His finish produces of the poster board:
Citation
Haeny S. Yoon. The Imperial arch” toward Early Literacy: Locating Popular Culture in a Kindergarten Classroom. Article Language Arts Lessons.
Baglieri et al. October 2011. [Re]claiming “Inclusive Education” Toward Cohesion in Educational Reform: Disability Studies Unravels the Myth of the Normal Child. Teachers College Record Volume 113, Number 10.
Subini Annamma & Deb Morrison. March 20218. DisCrit Classroom Ecology: Using praxis to dismantle dysfunctional education ecologies. Teaching and Teacher Education 73 (2018) 70e80. Journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/tate