spotlight on honors: pOVERTY & eDUCATION sEMINAR

"The poverty and education seminar has made an impact on how I think about my future employment. As a Speech-Language
 Pathology major who may eventually work in a school system, I believe that I, along with many of my peers in the education
 department, tend to romanticize the education system. We have a picture in our heads of a perfect classroom with clean, well-
 behaved children who have wonderful parents who are always available and willing to help their child. In reality,  however, many
 children grow up in an environment of poverty and do not have parents who are supportive of their education. We, as future
 educators need to be aware of this so we may provide the best services possible to these children and their families.”  
                                                                                                            –Shannon Winklepleck, Speech-Language Pathology major

OVERVIEW/PREPARATION - MARCH 2011

  Throughout the fall and spring semesters, a large group of honors students – from freshmen to senior classes, representing a wide range of majors – have been collaborating on local and cross-cultural research projects with faculty members Dr. Greg Bierly, Dr. Linda Maule, and Dr. Tonya Balch in the areas of poverty and education. The initial phase of the experience was centered around several seminars led by Bierly, Maule, and Balch. Focused on topics such as diversity, values, demographics, intercultural development, the nature of poverty, and the relationships of these factors to education, the seminars were based on a variety of readings and offered a chance for exchange of ideas with fellow participants. In recent months, the meetings have centered around planning for the next phases. In March we will arrange visits with local middle schools and the Charter School of the Dunes in Gary, Indiana, with an aim to interact with the students, teachers, and administrators to apply our ideas to community and school settings. Finally, in April we will host and coordinate activities for the inaugural visit to ISU from the students from a middle school in Pinon, Arizona. Following these events, we hope to hold a colloquium to share our findings and experiences with the ISU community.
     
  An opportunity of this nature, one that is both data-based and interactive, represents one of the main factors that drew me to ISU's Honors Program. Through the broad expertise offered by guiding faculty members in this experience, and the plurality of interests and perspectives
explored among student participants, I've encountered exciting knowledge and, most importantly, a format for collaboration and real-world
application of this knowledge with individuals who each offer unique approaches and points of view. The topics we've explored in the seminars –
achievement disparity, education policy, and cultural competence, among others – have introduced us to academic and objective perspectives on highly relevant socioeconomic issues. Entering the experiential segment, I anticipate that our correspondence with schoolchildren and their
communities will create a platform for valuable insights that the seminar participants are eager to share.

                                                                                                                                       -Morgan Mayle, Pre-Law/Political Science major
 

gary, in: charter school of the dunes - april 15, 2011 

  On April 15th the Poverty and Education seminar students went to the Charter School of the Dunes in Gary, IN.  ISU adopted the fourth grade class of this charter school and we went to visit the students.  While we were there, we helped the students with arts and crafts by making paper mache globes and t-shirts.  Then we split into small groups and read books to each other.  When the fourth graders would read to us, they would argue over how many pages each of them would read.  While we were there, the students were celebrating earth day.  One way that we celebrated earth day with them was to create an earth day rap.  We were again split into groups and each group would compete against each other to see who had the best song.  This was so much fun for the children and ISU students.

We are learning about how social, educational, and diversity issues are affecting how children learn.  It was very rewarding to observe these fourth graders receive the gifts and attention from the ISU students.  Many of these students do not get this attention because their parents do not have much time to spend with them because they have to work. 
     
  I talked with one student whose mother works at night, so this student has to spend many of their nights alone.  This is difficult for us to imagine because we always had at least one parent home at night.  This was truly a rewarding experience not just for the children, but for us because the children inspired us to go out into our community and help others by just simply being a role model.

                                                                                                                                       -Justin Todd, Political Science major
 

VISITING students from pinon, az - april 24-29, 2011

  In a cultural and educational experience spanning the week of April 24, Indiana State University and the Poverty and Education Seminar participants hosted a dynamic group of eighth and ninth grade students, members of the Navajo Nation in Pinon, Arizona. The visit, organized through collaboration with the students’ teacher and ISU alumna Kristin Monts, married the first-hand encounter of a university setting for the students with a cultural exchange for ISU. A laboratory project, an overview of ISU’s media technology, elementary education math, and small group discussions over "The Giver" characterized the hands-on engagement between the students and ISU – and that was just the first day. The rest of the week included places of interest in Terre Haute – a day at North and South high schools, and tours of the Clabber Girl, C.A.N.D.L.E.S. Holocaust Museum, the Children’s Museum, and even a ghost walk with Nan McEntire, associate professor of English at ISU.

The week’s activities were an introduction to ISU and our city, centered on the desire from the visiting students to travel to a place far from their home and, one day, attend college.
     
  From the scope of ISU’s facilities and resources, to Indiana’s geographical characteristics (“So much green!”), to the  variety in everything from our living situations and food selection, many differences were noted between our environment and that to which the students are accustomed on their reservation. In a living portrait of these differences, following a slideshow of Pinon, Arizona images, the students   presented poetry, ceremonial craft traditions and dance, and personal stories to a rapt audience in Cunningham Memorial Library the day before their departure. Despite these deep contrasts in experience and background, the interactions among the participants from Indiana State and the Pinon Middle School and High School students revealed outstanding commonalities relevant to the Seminar’s focus: educational passion, and lifelong aspirations.
                                                                                                                                       -Morgan Mayle, Pre-Law/Political Science major

view a video about the pinon students' visit to isu!

    VIDEO CREDIT: TRACY FORD, ISU COMMUNICATION & MARKETING