Implementation
The Open House for the ESOL students and families was planned for the afternoons of March 15th and 16th to coincide with the afternoons of conferences. We had three families come to the event. As the students and parents arrived, they were offered refreshments. We sat at tables to talk with the families concerning their view of the Media Center and what they knew about the Media Center. A fifth grade student, who was formerly in ESOL himself, acted as our interpreter. Most of this introductory discussion was done in the form of prompting students to share what they knew and liked about the Media Center with their parents. We would then take it a step further and share other services that the Media Center could offer.
We also took some time to find out more about these families. Most of them have some computer access at home. Both parents work in two of the three families. Most of them live close to the school. All of the parents were very interested in learning about the Media Center by listening to their child share their knowledge and interests.
After ‘breaking the ice” with the parents, we asked the students to show their parents the computers in the Media Center. We were able to show them the county website and the county sponsored sites that they could access from home. Of course, merely having a computer at home does not necessarily mean that these students are technologically savvy or that the technological tools they have in their home are accessible or user-friendly. In at least one case, the parent mentioned something about broken equipment. However, knowing this piece of their life gives us fuel to try to address the "human and social systems that must also change for technology to make a difference" (Warschauer, 2002, p. 4).
We reviewed the procedure for accessing and learning about Accelerated Reader tests. We had the students show the parents how they can find their favorite book. After locating it on Web Safari, we used a map and found the book on the shelf. We stayed with the families as they went through the process, offering to answer any questions or provide assistance whenever needed. Ultimately, the children were orienting their parents, with us acting as extenders of knowledge. Our intention was that by letting the students take the lead, it would increase their confidence in using the Media Center.
We had a couple of bilingual books on the table, and asked parents if they would volunteer to come in and read to classes in Spanish. We had one parent express interest in doing this and plan to follow up on this in the future. All of the parents were somewhat surprised and glad to see bilingual materials and hoped that we were planning to purchase more of these in the future. By including materials that represent their language and culture, as well as asking parents to bring parts of that culture into our Media Center, we "validate their beliefs that their culture has important information to contribute to society" (Noel, 2000, p. 172), an ideal which is derived from Noel's most basic goal of Multicultural Education, that students gain an awareness of their own cultural backgrounds (Noel, 2000).
Having a snack at the table, discussing ideas about schools and the "biblioteca."
An array of refreshments for our guests.
A student showing his Mother how to locate his favorite books in the online catalog.
He then showed her where they were on the shelf.
Mrs. Cheshire showing students and their Father how to access the online catalog from home.
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