Chicago Center for Urban Life & Culture

Directed Study Presentations

Students in the Academic track presented the results of their research this semester for the Directed Study course with Executive Director Scott Chesebro.

 

Greg – “Chicago’s Dedication to the Roots of Hip Hop Culture May Be Commerical Rap Music’s Underground Savior.

 

Danielle – “Is There a Gender Divide Between Chicago’s LGBT Neighborhoods?”

 

Josh – “Does Having More Assets Mean Foundations are Able to Give More to Capacity Building?”

 

Daniel – “Is Race a Factor in Determining Movie Selection for Neighborhood Theaters?

 

Hillary – “What are the Contributing Factors to School Truancy?”

 

Wrap-up Journal Entry

The following is a student journal entry at the end of the semester:

 

How do you wrap up and summarize a life-changing experience? I shall do my best.

Upon my arrival, I had no idea how the Windy City would change this sheltered, shy girl into an independent, strong woman. It was as though I dropped myself in a completely new, harsh environment and I had to adapt to the new living conditions. I didn’t realize a change; it just sort of happened. One minute I was amazed at the amount of diversity and how wonderful it felt to be in a place where everyone can find a niche, and the next I was becoming part of the diverse population. I was creating my own space.

Though I did not have my traditional educational experience, I learned so much that will be forever valuable to me. Having the opportunity to be out in the city was something that worried me at first: how would talking to a bunch of random people and looking at some murals be worthwhile as a class? But actually experiencing the different cultures that exist within Chicago had a profound effect–actually seeing people from different walks of life and partaking in different cultural programs allowed me to understand the city more than a textbook could. Though I may not have filled notebooks with facts and figures, I was able to gain valuable life experience.

I had no idea that Chicago was going to have all of this microcosms of different cultures scattered throughout the city. It’s like Epcot at Disney World – you can visit different places around the world in just one area. Except it’s not Disney; there are no commercialized, carefully crafted mini-countries. There are actually authentic communities for people to experience as much of native culture as they can within a U.S. setting. Actually being able to go to these different places allows you to experience different cultures in a first-hand way.

I grew up while I was here. Living in a city like this makes you aware of everything: safety, race, self-sufficiency, etc. Living in the bubble of a small, private liberal arts college shelters you from a lot of what the world is like and actually being removed from that comfort zone shows you the capacity for growth that you actually have.

Spring Semester 2007 Wrap Up

At the end of the semester, students share their stories and experiences. Here is some of what they said:

 

I made a marketing plan (for Deeply Rooted Productions), and then designed the brochure for the training program. I learned about capturing the African American experience, which was new for me.

 

I worked within the marketing department (for Third World Press) and then was part of planning the Bronzeville Film Festival. I went to a planning meeting which was with the vice-president of the company, my supervisor, and me, and really felt appreciated. When they were discussing which celebrities to fly in for the Film Festival, the vice-president said they should fly me in too.

 

I know I want to be a Montessori teacher, and I my school has offered me a position as a teacher assistant. I’m going to use that job as my certification internship.

 

Kenwood Academy (music department) was really really cool. When I entered the school on the first day I was very aware of the cultural differences. Time dispelled my concerns and I began to see what was reality. I’ll remember most the daily hugs. I had a kid I hated and I complained all the time about this kid. But I didn’t want to ignore him and I kept being the sweetest to him. On the back of his final exam he wrote me a letter and said he was sorry for the crap he gave me. He said, “You showed me you care and you’re the first teacher to do that.” Then I had to chase him down to hug him!

 

Overall student teaching was pretty challenging. But it was rewarding. I loved Kenwood (math dept) and I’m sad to leave. If I wasn’t moving to California, I’d stay because they want me to stay. I teach because I want to reduce math anxiety, which plagues our youth. I want to make it socially acceptable to be good at math. I felt that I really gave positive reinforcement for math.

 

I had a lack of motivated students at my first school, but I did have a positive experience coaching the softball team. And after I went to the elementary schoool, I stayed on to help with swimming and that was positive. One of my students was deathly afraid of water and by the time I left, we’d gotten him comfortable in the water and using his arms. I loved the elementary school placement. I had 6 autistic 6th graders. Parachute day was awesome for all the kids, and the autistic kids loved getting underneath the parachute. I learned that a lot of teaching is political, and gym is sometimes held ransom by the other teachers. On my last day, six classes had each written goodbye cards to me!

 

I taught music in an arts elementary school and had 800 students. There were 250 in the high school I attended, so this was a big change for me. It was really difficult at first, because I wanted to establish relationships with each student and I couldn’t. But I ended up having a range of experience, from hugs in the hallway to the day a 3rd grader brought porn to school! I loved my cooperating teacher. She was very supportive and pushed me really really hard, which I needed and appreciated. Now I feel like I can do anything. I plan to come back to Chicago to teach.

 

I started out in 6th grade, but then switched to 2nd grade gifted. I learned to have a deep appreciation for celebrating African American culture, and how to find resources that can do that best. My school had lots of young people for students to meet, which was so great — to intill in our students that they will be successful.

 

I had the opportunity to go in a teach right away because my teacher went on leave because his wife had a baby. So right away I was put into a top position, and I was happy to have the freedom to find my own style. I taught English, which gave me the opportunity to get to know my students right away, because you have conversations with them about the material and their own lives. I also learned in-depth about all the paperwork for IEP – about 30% of my kids had cognitive, behavioral or emotional difficulties. I got to work with a staff member who was very intentional about the work, a very amazing person.

 

I worked at WECAN, helping with the community garden and finding mixed income housing for residents. But after 1 month, my coworker got fired and I took over his job of teaching ex-offenders money management and how to get a job and go on an interview — things I was also learning! One of the random great things that happened was one of my clients noticed my socks had holes in the heels. The next Monday morning, there was a six-pack of socks waiting for me. Even though these were guys who were living off food stamps and looking for work, they were looking out for me.

 

I had an amazing internship working with refugees. I worked with the youth and family program, helping with youth leadership and childcare. Refugees are extremely kind and hardworking people.

 

I worked for a strategic planning, fundraising and consulting firm. I learned how a small business operates, and how to keep a small office running. It’s much more work than I had thought. I had a project to develop a professional development matrix for the staff, and I also worked on helping a small apparel company expand to the national level.

 

My clients were all emotionally disturbed, some learning disabled, most bi-polar, ADHP youth, at a day school for Lawrence Hall Youth Services. Something always happened while I was there and I often spent my day running around after kids. Most of my clients were my age. I was supposed to be there for supportive services, but often it was crisis management. Originally I wanted to work with kids in jail, but now I am leaning toward theraputic help with mentally ill kids, because there is not much out there for them.

 

I worked on the MPR (Money, Power and Respect) report and the Hip Hop Civic Engagement Project. I got to be in touch with active, politically aware, creative and other positive outlets and got to interview local artists and rappers about the Hip Hop scene. When I’m home in California I’ll still be able to do some writing and interviewing with international artists.

 

I taught 1st grade and ESL in the 4th grade. I had a really good experience at Orozco. It was the first time I was exposed to bi-lingual education. This experience really tied together my semester in Washington DC and time I spent in Mexico. My class was 100% Mexican. Teaching was very up and down — different every day and every hour. I learned to see the big picture and it was affirming.

 

Ray Elementary was an awesome school. I was in 1st grade. My principal and vice principal are retiring, so I got to be part of the candidate transition process, and got to interview candidates along with the rest of the staff. Ray has a history of top-notch principals, so those will be hard shoes to fill. My teacher is considering moving to Hyde Park because she’s seen my relationships with families and kids because I live in the neighborhood. I have learned how much the parent role makes life easier or difficult for the the teacher and have come to value the parent’s role in the student’s education.

 

Chavez is a really good school. Working with families is also something I appreciated. The school is split between 2 buildings and I was in both. There were a lot of special students in my classroom…one memory is when I was giving the Missed Cue Analysis Test. Many kids were low performing because they were constantly distracted in the classroom. But out in the hallway they were focused. It was amazing. They wanted to take the test again! Or they would do so much better with glasses…they were suprised that they could do so well.

 

I worked for Teamwork Englewood, which brings resources and uplifts the community. My first day I was made the administrator for the truancy program. I had a lot of responsibility right away. And they have offered me a job for the summer!