October 17, 2010

By: christina w. from Philadelphia, PA
Comments: 12

Posted By: christina whitt
On: 11/12/2008 7:50:09 AM

I had a wonderful time participating in the City of Neighborhoods workshop. I found particularly striking and useful our visit to Chinatown to explore the neighborhood and determine design solutions to problems the residents may encounter. Also, looking at the history of the community and the changes that have occurred over the last 100 + years added insight. This approach is definitely something I will use in the future!

Posted By: Anna Bennett
On: 11/16/2008 7:32:44 PM

Christina, I agree, the CoN program was great! I look forward to using the design process, and possibly even the neighborhood approach in my classroom in the near future. What ideas are you floating around for your lesson plans?

Posted By: christina whitt
On: 11/17/2008 6:59:02 PM

Hi Bennett! I am probably going to do an urban development/community based program about different neighborhoods in Philly. Our students come from all different neighborhoods, so I will probably break them up by area and have them brainstorm ideas on how to improve their community through design. I like the model we followed for Chinatown, so it may contain some elements of that experience. Hope all is well!

Posted By: Kwanita Williams
On: 11/19/2008 10:24:06 AM

Hello Christina, It's Kwanita on the 2nd floor at FLC! I am considering using a similar method in LAP 8 for my sophomore classes. Students are required to write a research paper based on a social justice issue. The students are reading To Kill and Mockingbird by Harper Lee and A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines in prior laps. Therefore, they will be able to relate social justice issues to Philadelphia. I am also going to follow a model similar to the one we followed in Chinatown. My plan is to provide students with background Philadelphia statistical information (crime rates, health data, education data, housing data, etc.) During the spring I will take my classes outside to take pictures or sketches of the surrounding neighborhood, conduct interviews with people that live and/or work in the neighborhood. Students will be free to do this same type of investigation in their home neighborhoods too. The final product will include a research paper and students will have an opportunity to develop a design that could solve a neighborhood issue. For example, a poster advertising AIDs awareness to teens, and/or an architectural solution to abandoned housing. We will speak soon! -Kwanita Williams

Posted By: Karen Lennan
On: 11/25/2008 1:25:15 PM

I am very interested in these project ideas since our students just studied their neighborhoods: maps, positives, needs for improvement, and crime and safety stats. they presented the information in a powerpoint format in their social studies classes. Any ideas on a follow up design lesson that could springboard off of this? Karen

Posted By: Peter Weiss
On: 12/26/2008 6:40:35 AM

I've had lots of time to reflect on the workshop we attended and was particularly pleased that it was inclusive of out of state people, not that they were from so far away. Lots of good stuff came from seeing fresh attitudes and young teachers with strong opinions of how things should be done. I am a linear learner and this was a visual and tactile workshop. It was hard for me, but really rewarding. Peter Weiss

Posted By: Bruce Miller
On: 1/3/2009 11:28:42 AM

Hi Kwanita This is Bruce, from Connecticut. I was at the CoN in New Orleans, June 2008. I really enjoyed the program, and learning about the process. I really like your idea of integrating a social justice element as a focal point for considering their plan for making neighborhood change within their community. I think that it is something that the students can really establish a personal investment in. I visited a website that was share by another post called: www.ourmap.org. Check it out. This is a forum for college students to enter short stories that relate specific themes. I got caught up reading a number of stories written about "Place". Perhaps what struck me the most was the geographic diversity that was being presented through the stories being relayed. How kids think, and what they see as important from places that share absolutely nothing in common provided me with a host of ideas on how to use them in various social studies lessons. I wonder if it might fit in with your lessons. Mike and I are attempting to simulate the New Orleans experience. We wrote our own 10 day curriculum for a summer institute that will be offered to students from a variety of area schools (diversity? Maybe not but as close as we can get it). We have a small town with a main street that hosts a series of large mill buildings that have fallen into disrepair. Our students will follow the process much as we did to develop a plan to present to a mock town meeting on how to best make use of these buildings. I hope that you enjoy your lessons and look forward to reading future posts letting us know what the kids came up with. Happy New Years - Bruce