Day number two at Casey brought out a whole different side to these kids than the first day had. They were able to channel their interests and focus on their thoughts and hopes for the future. Most of them were much more interested in what would be happening over at Platt rather than the future elements of the Casey building. They all, however, were very persistent on pointing out that Casey would still exist just in a new location. While they were assembling the aerial maps they vocalized their desire for Casey to remain separate from Platt. It seemed as if they didn't want to commingle with the Platt kids in any way. Some of them were even recommending barrier walls between Platt and the portables. It was very interesting watching them prioritize, especially since what they chose as most important was not what I expected the outcome to be at all.
Chelsea
01 March 2008
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Friday, February 29, 2008
The Return...
Our second day at Casey Middle School on Wednesday was very much an "adventure." The day started off a bit rough, however, it turned out to be very productive, I feel. The students in the first of my two groups were very interested and enthusiastic in expressing their ideas to us(CU Students). However, the problem with time arose with the first group having to be rushed, and many of the ideas that were expressed were very imaginative. Due to the time constraints, it felt that there wasn't enough time to cover each of the many, many ideas being offered up and try and redirect some of them towards sustainability. The opposite can be said about my second group, where there was excessive time, which was nice to be able to cover each students ideas, but once we had completed the activity the kids lost interest in "secondary" activities fairly quickly. However, overall I feel that the students enjoyed being able to express there ideas, both verbally and visually, to the CU students, and start to think about design. Additionally, both of the classes showed positivity towards the after school club starting next week. It will be interesting to see what next week holds in store.
-Ian
-Ian
Workshop Day Two
It’s always interesting to see what someone thought of you after a first meeting. For example, if they remember your name, or if they were excited to see you, well this is how I felt upon arriving at Casey for our second meeting. It was good to see all the students I had work with the first day and they were excited to see their picture and to hangout again. We all sat down and I handed out their pictures so we could discuss why they had taken them. Then we put them into categories and glued them to a big sheet of paper. The students then added their remarks to whether they liked, disliked, or wanted to bring to Platte. This went pretty well for both groups and was a good transition for the kids to start thinking about the Platte site which was the next activity. This also went well and the students had some pretty good ideas about where to place the portables and walkways at Platte. The one interesting thing about our second meeting was that one period was 50 minutes and the other was 80 minutes which made a huge difference. The shorter period was just right and we were even a little rushed for time but having too much time most of the kids lost their attention and want us to entertain them. Overall the second meeting when well.
Ben
Ben
Day Two
The second day went a lot better than I expected. The students finally realized what all their picture taking was for and they were a lot more focused. It was awesome to see how they organized their favorite places. Every single student said that they wanted to put their school sign in front of the other schools sign. Another big thing they wanted, that I'm sure everyone else picked up on, was their climbing rock moved over to the other site. The most important thing I noticed was how the kids were more involved in the project if they receive one on one instruction and dialog.
Steinmark
Steinmark
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Segundo Dia
Segundo dia en Casey Middle school
The second day at casey middle school went better than I expected. The thing that helped out a lot was that their periods were longer and they had more time to brainstorm and they had a lot more ideas to give us. The first group that we had on the second day was very hyper and did not really know what they wanted to see at Platte Middle school. This was a hard part because we did not want to influence our ideas on them, or any manipulation for what we wanted to see. My first group really started to elaborate on soccer fields, goal post, trampolines, super slides, and all these imaginable ideas that were part of an amusement park. Then we gave them a map of Platte and well they went of on that map and wanted to put the temporary building on the roof. This was very silly and it made me laugh. My second group of that day on the other hand was a lot more understanding and though of logical and realistic ideas, they placed the temporary buildings on a logical area of Platte middle school. My second group of that day also was more active and started thinking on their own without us trying to give them ideas. I believe it was because it was the second class of the day and they had been fully awake. Over all I think that this day was successful because it gave more of a visual idea of what these kids can expect once they are at Platte middle school. Although I still got responses that many students were leaving to different schools I tried to show them some of the positive things that they can expect.
Luis F Navarrete
The second day at casey middle school went better than I expected. The thing that helped out a lot was that their periods were longer and they had more time to brainstorm and they had a lot more ideas to give us. The first group that we had on the second day was very hyper and did not really know what they wanted to see at Platte Middle school. This was a hard part because we did not want to influence our ideas on them, or any manipulation for what we wanted to see. My first group really started to elaborate on soccer fields, goal post, trampolines, super slides, and all these imaginable ideas that were part of an amusement park. Then we gave them a map of Platte and well they went of on that map and wanted to put the temporary building on the roof. This was very silly and it made me laugh. My second group of that day on the other hand was a lot more understanding and though of logical and realistic ideas, they placed the temporary buildings on a logical area of Platte middle school. My second group of that day also was more active and started thinking on their own without us trying to give them ideas. I believe it was because it was the second class of the day and they had been fully awake. Over all I think that this day was successful because it gave more of a visual idea of what these kids can expect once they are at Platte middle school. Although I still got responses that many students were leaving to different schools I tried to show them some of the positive things that they can expect.
Luis F Navarrete
Day Two with Casey
After the overall success of the first activity with the Casey middle school students, I was looking forward to continuing the snapshot photo project on Wednesday. I was not sure what to expect from the students this time around because the activity was asking a bit more from them in terms of individual input, thought and communication. After the introduction in the first morning class, I felt that the students had a better understanding of why we were here asking for their input and the ways in which their participation will actively be included into the final project. In my first group there was a mixture of complete willingness and engagement with the activity to unproductive behavior with little interest in participating this time around. One girl in particular had many great things to say, incorporating her thoughts and ideas into the design project. She seemed very happy to have her ideas actually listened to and provided a lot of feedback behind each photo. I felt that the time allotted for the first group was an adequate amount to complete both activities but not too long where the students lost interest. This was not true for the second class, which had a longer time for the activities and active participation was soon lost to boredom, various distractions, and lack of new ideas. Not to say that this group did not provide great insight into the design of Casey and what they would like moved over to Platt, but towards the end the ideas had been flushed out and the students were ready for a new activity. Once again, I had a great time working with the Casey middle school students. Their input will be valuable both in their relocation to Platt with their ideas on how to make it more familiar and comfortable, along with their ideas on what the new Casey middle school should include, and also, on what should be excluded. I hope to see many of these students in the after-school program because they will be of great value to the overall success of designing a sustainable new school.
Stevi Bratschie
Stevi Bratschie
The second session in which we posted the pictures and encouraged the children to design their own landscape with the aerial photos of Platt took two very different paths both times that I was involved. I felt that the first, on Wednesday, went very well, as the children seemed to open up to us and our conversations became much more personalized than they had been on Monday. This group seemed very realistic and easygoing, with good ideas as well. However, in contrast, Thursday did not go as well as I had hoped. Besides the fact that there were only five CU students there (to six Casey groups, causing us to have to mix them up), the exercises were noticeably less inspired and less personal. I actually ended up having the only set of photos (the only other 4363 student ended up having to fill in last minute), and the kids who had not been in my group Monday were quick to notice that the pictures they had taken were not being used at all. While this was frustrating in itself, when it came time to organize their aerial views the children were either extremely uninterested, or extremely unrealistic. Granted, I had told them to write down any idea they wanted, these ideas ended up being jet packs, demolishing Platt and replacing it with an amusement park, etc... Even more discouraging was that most of the kids that I was working with said that they were too busy with other after school activities to even consider joining the design club. As of now, with the success of Monday and Wednesday, and the disappointment of Thursday, my expectations concerning the success of Design Club are still high, given that we continue to work hard to make it something that kids will really enjoy.
Alyssa Lile
Alyssa Lile
One Productive Afternoon
Today was our second day with the Casey Middle School 6th grade class. Our objective today was to give the students a bird’s eye view of the Platt Middle School site and allow them to try to get an understanding of how the portable classrooms where they will have the majority of their classes will be arranged. Much of the discussion that my group was having was off topic towards the beginning; the kids had a set idea in their mind that they somehow would be able to have stores on the Platt site. They wanted a Starbucks, a Quiznos, and a variety of other stores where they could possibly put around their temporary new school. I told them that it was unlikely that this would happen on their new site, but maybe a portable classroom could be turned into a small student store with a café for them to hang out and work on homework before and after school. I knew that this idea most likely would be impossible but I thought that it was a good idea nonetheless. Ian Bates came to our group and brought up the idea of having vending machines that could have food as well as school supplies like the have in several parts of Asia. They liked this idea because the all don’t care for cafeteria food and because they don’t have a place to buy things like pencils and paper when they run out. They also wanted this store to sell school apparel. I thought that the design of the new Casey Middle School could possibly incorporate this into the new structure.
I realized that this was definitely moving away from the goal of this exercise, but we shifted subjects a bit and tried to get them to put scaled portables on the site plan and really establish some space where they could hang out in between classes. Other issues were in regards to keeping the athletic fields large enough for several fields, remaining close enough to the main campus area (hear the bell and keep them dry when the weather goes bad), as well as staying away from the street to prevent too much noise going to the bungalows. A very popular idea that seemed extremely possible was the chance of bringing the climbing rock (fiberglass) to the Platt Site. This structure not only is a great way for the kids to climb and get exercise, but I think that the rock is a symbol to the students. I think that by having this rock around the portable classrooms, the students would feel as if a significant part of their school is coming with them.
There were several times where the kids went off on a course that was not in the direction we were looking for, but even when some of their ideas were far fetched or impossible; our group did a good job of brining them back down to reality and shifting the subject back down to reality. I think that the transition to Platt Middle will not be an easy one. It will be challenging creating a space where the students can feel comfortable and even more difficult the students mingle and become oriented with their new fellow students. By listening to the kids and delving into their ideas, we were able to come up with a good idea of how they imagined their new school and the things that they would like to see improved in the new Casey design.
-Brett
I realized that this was definitely moving away from the goal of this exercise, but we shifted subjects a bit and tried to get them to put scaled portables on the site plan and really establish some space where they could hang out in between classes. Other issues were in regards to keeping the athletic fields large enough for several fields, remaining close enough to the main campus area (hear the bell and keep them dry when the weather goes bad), as well as staying away from the street to prevent too much noise going to the bungalows. A very popular idea that seemed extremely possible was the chance of bringing the climbing rock (fiberglass) to the Platt Site. This structure not only is a great way for the kids to climb and get exercise, but I think that the rock is a symbol to the students. I think that by having this rock around the portable classrooms, the students would feel as if a significant part of their school is coming with them.
There were several times where the kids went off on a course that was not in the direction we were looking for, but even when some of their ideas were far fetched or impossible; our group did a good job of brining them back down to reality and shifting the subject back down to reality. I think that the transition to Platt Middle will not be an easy one. It will be challenging creating a space where the students can feel comfortable and even more difficult the students mingle and become oriented with their new fellow students. By listening to the kids and delving into their ideas, we were able to come up with a good idea of how they imagined their new school and the things that they would like to see improved in the new Casey design.
-Brett
Mixed Reactions
The second session in which we posted the pictures and encouraged the children to design their own landscape with the aerial photos of Platt took two very different paths both times that I was involved. I felt that the first, on Wednesday, went very well, as the children seemed to open up to us and our conversations became much more personalized than they had been on Monday. This group seemed very realistic and easygoing, with good ideas as well. However, in contrast, Thursday did not go as well as I had hoped. Besides the fact that there were only five CU students there (to six Casey groups, causing us to have to mix them up), the exercises were noticeably less inspired and less personal. I actually ended up having the only set of photos (the only other 4363 student ended up having to fill in last minute), and the kids who had not been in my group Monday were quick to notice that the pictures they had taken were not being used at all. While this was frustrating in itself, when it came time to organize their aerial views the children were either extremely uninterested, or extremely unrealistic. Granted, I had told them to write down any idea they wanted, these ideas ended up being jet packs, demolishing Platt and replacing it with an amusement park, etc... Even more discouraging was that most of the kids that I was working with said that they were too busy with other after school activities to even consider joining the design club. As of now, with the success of Monday and Wednesday, and the disappointment of Thursday, my expectations concerning the success of Design Club are still high, given that we continue to work hard to make it something that kids will really enjoy.
Alyssa Lile
Alyssa Lile
Day 2
The second and final day with the Casey Middle School 6th grade class went great. The nervousness inherent in first introductions was gone, and our students were able to relax and enjoy the activity. In a 180 degree turnaround from Monday, our second group took the initiative with today’s design project. One of the students actually brought clay with him, and made a very unique 3-D model of his ideal temporary school site. Better yet, the kids seemed interested in joining us for our after school program to continue with their interests in designing their own school grounds. I would really like to see them next week! All-in-all I believe that this turned out to be a memorable experience for the kids, as well as for me. 2-36-08 Jon Bortles
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Feb 27-Aerial Photo Design
I enjoyed today’s workshop so much more than the one before. I began to feel more comfortable with the kids and I think they felt the same. One of the quietest kids from the day before opened up so much after the first fifteen minutes or so and really had some great ideas that we didn’t think he cared much about the day before. I think that this dramatic difference was because of the increase in time with the kids and also, probably in most part, due to the fact that we had continuity with the students seeing that we worked with the same students that we did the day before. It was like us coming back really meant to the kids that we were serious and that we wanted to help them have an enjoyable experience at Platte. They became more intrigued in the idea of getting to help design the site and maybe in a way from them asking us questions they even became a little more excited about going there next year since most of them hated the idea of it. I am also very excited about this project now after today’s activities. I feel like we really connected with the kids and I feel that I can learn as much if not more that what they will learn from us this semester.
In this session the kids were given printouts of the pictures they took the time before and were asked to write on them about what they liked and didn’t like about the things they took pictures of and with those pictures they glued them on a poster with two topics: Things I like and Things I Don’t Like. Afterwards the kids were given an aerial map of the Platte site to draw where they would want to place the portables and maybe any landscape additions they would also like to add. In terms of the pictures I think it was just really beneficial for us as recorders to listen to what the kids said about the things around the school and not much of a process of dividing them up because most of what the kids took pictures of was of what they liked and left half the poster pretty bare. My favorite part of the day was the aerial maps. The ideas the kids came up with blew my idea because I would never have thought about them even though they weren’t all practical. The first group all had a very cohesive idea of making them in some type of circle because they loved the idea of a Casey Community and facing each other and having this central square in the middle. I think they really were able to bring what Casey means to them to that new site because all they ever talked about was how their uniqueness as a bilingual school gave them their own sense of unity that they didn’t have at other schools and wanted to carry to Platte.
Brittany
In this session the kids were given printouts of the pictures they took the time before and were asked to write on them about what they liked and didn’t like about the things they took pictures of and with those pictures they glued them on a poster with two topics: Things I like and Things I Don’t Like. Afterwards the kids were given an aerial map of the Platte site to draw where they would want to place the portables and maybe any landscape additions they would also like to add. In terms of the pictures I think it was just really beneficial for us as recorders to listen to what the kids said about the things around the school and not much of a process of dividing them up because most of what the kids took pictures of was of what they liked and left half the poster pretty bare. My favorite part of the day was the aerial maps. The ideas the kids came up with blew my idea because I would never have thought about them even though they weren’t all practical. The first group all had a very cohesive idea of making them in some type of circle because they loved the idea of a Casey Community and facing each other and having this central square in the middle. I think they really were able to bring what Casey means to them to that new site because all they ever talked about was how their uniqueness as a bilingual school gave them their own sense of unity that they didn’t have at other schools and wanted to carry to Platte.
Brittany
A far better day!
Today was the second day of the in school workshop. The kids were shown photos of the new Platt site and its relation to Casey. They were then asked to categorize their pictures into what they liked, disliked, what they would like to see at Platt and in the new Casey. From there the middle schoolers were given an aerial map of Platt. Each one of the kids drew out their own plan for Platt given the new information.
Last week I had been very frustrated with one of my group members. but this week he did far better. Although he still did push them in a certain direction, he was a little more understanding than he had been last week. It was nice to see that the kids had warmed up to us so much already. It was evident that they were not nearly as afraid to share their opinions as they had been in the last class. I was also glad to see such a positive reaction from the kids about the workshop. I saw that many of them were truly enjoying themselves. They were comforted by the idea that they could help to design the new school they were so nervous about attending. I believe that this experience not only helped to reassure them that the move wouldn’t be so bad, but also gave them some confidence in talking with people older than themselves.
Today was far more successful than Monday, by a long shot.
Sam
Last week I had been very frustrated with one of my group members. but this week he did far better. Although he still did push them in a certain direction, he was a little more understanding than he had been last week. It was nice to see that the kids had warmed up to us so much already. It was evident that they were not nearly as afraid to share their opinions as they had been in the last class. I was also glad to see such a positive reaction from the kids about the workshop. I saw that many of them were truly enjoying themselves. They were comforted by the idea that they could help to design the new school they were so nervous about attending. I believe that this experience not only helped to reassure them that the move wouldn’t be so bad, but also gave them some confidence in talking with people older than themselves.
Today was far more successful than Monday, by a long shot.
Sam
First day at Casey
Well this wasn't really my first day but it was nice to be back at Casey working with the kids again. For me I already kind of knew how challenging things were going be since the classes were shortened and there wasn't really much time to explain to the Casey students what was going on before we just hand them a camera and off we went. Either way I think that this was a good icebreaker which was fun for the kids and was an easy way to start getting to know the Casey students. In my first group I somehow got one of the students that was a big part of the design team last year’s so this definitely helped out. I knew that this would also be somewhat awkward for the students so I gave him a high-five and asked him how winter break was to get things rolling again. This first group was also all boys and based on past experience this usually worked better. For example if there were all boys or girls including CU students this would work best, then if maybe all the Casey students were the same sex that would usually be OK also, but as soon as you get a mix of students things start to get pretty chaotic. Overall I think that this first group took some good pictures and understood how this applied to the Platte site. Again my second group was all boys and seemed to be pretty good friends so they weren't as interested in the snapshot project as the first group. This is good point when grouping kids together it is better as far as productivity is concerned to have kids who aren't good friends because they tend focus on friend things and get off track. My last group was the most challenging consisting of four girls and two boys including CU students. Maybe it was just the end of the day or one of the girls really wasn't interested either way half of the group was still very productive and got some good pictures. One of the girls was especially smart and had a lot of good things to say about the move to Platte. Overall things went pretty well for the first day and I think that things were fun for the Casey students and a bit hectic for the CU students but you will get used to it so don't get frustrated.
Ben
Ben
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Casey: Day 1
On the first day with the Casey students we dealt with an interesting variety of students. My first group involved three very talkative and interested girls; they seemed to truly want to give us a tour around their school, and they had actual opinions as to what they would like to take with them to the Platt site. On the other hand, my second group seemed to lack any real enthusiasm. One student lagged behind and seemed to have no desire to add anything to the process, while the other two participated, but not with an exceptional amount of interest. We certainly had a productive day, receiving valuable input about the giant climbing rock, basketball courts, bench areas, and more; however, I think it is important to point out how one of the big issues involved in our process was perhaps a lack of understanding: the students seemed somewhat confused as to why we were there and what we were doing. The students enjoyed showing us parts of the school interior they enjoyed the most that they wanted to take with them, which was not meant to be the purpose of our visit. Additionally, I feel that we certainly included some students in this process essentially against their will, which affected our final results due to some lack of enthusiasm and interest. It is important to note, though, that it did bring out some opinions of students who would probably had no part in the process had it not been during a required class period. This unfortunately goes against the participatory design criteria of it being voluntary, while the issue of miscommunication caused a rift in our overall attempt at transparency.
Overall, I think our process was effective in soliciting the opinions of students concerning the design of the new Platt site. While there were certainly some flaws and issues involved in the process, they will likely be alleviated during the second day once much of the confusion and anxiety of the first time are gone. Hopefully we can take the successes and failures of Monday’s work and finish the week’s project on a high note, with a final, successful product. If the enthusiasm and interest of a select few is any evidence of things to come, it is clear that we can look forward to a successful program beginning soon with a hopefully dedicated and excited group of students.
~Austin Rice~
Overall, I think our process was effective in soliciting the opinions of students concerning the design of the new Platt site. While there were certainly some flaws and issues involved in the process, they will likely be alleviated during the second day once much of the confusion and anxiety of the first time are gone. Hopefully we can take the successes and failures of Monday’s work and finish the week’s project on a high note, with a final, successful product. If the enthusiasm and interest of a select few is any evidence of things to come, it is clear that we can look forward to a successful program beginning soon with a hopefully dedicated and excited group of students.
~Austin Rice~
First Day @ Casey
We worked with the Casey students for the first day, and overall I feel like we got them interested in the after school program that we will be holding next week. I myself was able to participate with three groups of students, the first two with three kids and the last group with five. I bring this up for two reasons. One is that it became apparent quickly that the students require a constant interaction when involved in the participation process, or else become easily distracted from the task at hand. Additionally, the five person group became hard to control due to the more than double ratio of student to CU student in the group. There was also an issue with one of the students feeling out of place in the group, which brought about the challenge to encourage that particular student’s participation. However, I feel that all three of the groups are now prepared for Wednesday’s activities, and are able to start thinking about what aspects of Casey they most enjoy as well as design(in its most basic sense).
In the first group I feel that the major issue was breaking the barrier of “first time” instructing. It felt that as the day went along, it became a little more comfortable. The first set of students, while being strongly attracted to the exterior norms, such as the buildings features and the fields/sledding hill, also pointed out that they equally enjoyed the decorative artwork that fills the school. There was also an insight that I found intriguing, which was to bring the tile murals that line the walls inside Casey to the site at Platte. The idea behind this turned out to be two-fold, in that a part of Casey would come with the students to Platte. Upon returning to Casey after the rebuild, the site at Platte would be able to keep the murals/tile as a memorial and then allow for the new students at Casey to participate in filling the school with new artwork. In the second group, many of the same features were visited on our routine “opener” tour of the school grounds, which we preformed all three times. The rock feature seemed to be the most important aspect of the immediate outside area, which is one of the few spaces the students can go during recess and lunch. I found it very interesting that the students in group two enjoyed the front sign the most. The students had a uniform “pride” in their school, saying that they enjoyed seeing their school name and it made them happy to be apart of Casey. It was also pointed out that the sign has been used in the past to pay respect to members of Casey that have passed away. The final group of the day was more of a challenge to keep on track simply due to having more students to deal with, and only two CU students to instruct. However, through the challenges, I feel like we were able to get all three groups to participate in the activity, although some repetition occurred.
From the activity, I have come to believe that the students, at least from what my groups comprise of the student body, desire an outdoor area to be both socially and physically active. There was also a strong tie to the school sign out front of Casey, which could be important for the Platte site to allow the Casey students to keep their identity at a new place. The sledding hill is also heavily imbedded within the students lives, and should not be looked past in the upcoming activity, where the students can be encouraged to help design the landscape at the new Platte site. I feel this activity worked out nicely, and should transition accordingly with the proceeding activity on Wednesday.
-Ian Gregory
In the first group I feel that the major issue was breaking the barrier of “first time” instructing. It felt that as the day went along, it became a little more comfortable. The first set of students, while being strongly attracted to the exterior norms, such as the buildings features and the fields/sledding hill, also pointed out that they equally enjoyed the decorative artwork that fills the school. There was also an insight that I found intriguing, which was to bring the tile murals that line the walls inside Casey to the site at Platte. The idea behind this turned out to be two-fold, in that a part of Casey would come with the students to Platte. Upon returning to Casey after the rebuild, the site at Platte would be able to keep the murals/tile as a memorial and then allow for the new students at Casey to participate in filling the school with new artwork. In the second group, many of the same features were visited on our routine “opener” tour of the school grounds, which we preformed all three times. The rock feature seemed to be the most important aspect of the immediate outside area, which is one of the few spaces the students can go during recess and lunch. I found it very interesting that the students in group two enjoyed the front sign the most. The students had a uniform “pride” in their school, saying that they enjoyed seeing their school name and it made them happy to be apart of Casey. It was also pointed out that the sign has been used in the past to pay respect to members of Casey that have passed away. The final group of the day was more of a challenge to keep on track simply due to having more students to deal with, and only two CU students to instruct. However, through the challenges, I feel like we were able to get all three groups to participate in the activity, although some repetition occurred.
From the activity, I have come to believe that the students, at least from what my groups comprise of the student body, desire an outdoor area to be both socially and physically active. There was also a strong tie to the school sign out front of Casey, which could be important for the Platte site to allow the Casey students to keep their identity at a new place. The sledding hill is also heavily imbedded within the students lives, and should not be looked past in the upcoming activity, where the students can be encouraged to help design the landscape at the new Platte site. I feel this activity worked out nicely, and should transition accordingly with the proceeding activity on Wednesday.
-Ian Gregory
Primer Dia @ Casey MS
The first day at Casey Middle school was very surprising. I went to that school expecting the kids to know everything that was going on and what they were expected to do. But it resulted to be that these kids had no idea of what to do. I felt very surprised at first because I did not know what to expect from these kids at first. I did not know if they were going to be excited to work with us or if they were not going to care at all. At first it started a bit awkward because these students were expected to talk to us and show us around as if they had met us before. Because of this these kids were shy and silent. Then as we attempted to talk to them they slowly warmed to us and started talking to us. This made me very happy that they started to converse and associate with us. I liked the fact that they showed us around showing us what they liked and what they thought the administration should change. Some of the things that the students liked about their landscape is the large fields that they had and the fact that they were able to run around them. I was also very surprised that they like the rock; this was very exciting for me because they invited my group to climb it and jump off, and this was fun and reminded me of my sixth grade days. Another thing that they liked was the fact that they were able to sled down the steep hill that they have on the other side of the baseball field.
Some of the things that these students did not like were the tennis courts. This surprised me because most of their responses were that no one played on them. They also talked about how a lot of them did not play on the basketball field. A lot of them also talked about how they were not ready to transition to the other middle school. They talked about how many of the kids in the school were not going to like these students because they did not belong there, and how they also considered them haters. I personally felt a bit bothered because these students like this school and they did not want to leave. I also heard a lot of students talking about how they were moving to other schools because of this whole transition. I also thought that they should consider the fact that students want to play chess during the lunch or when they are outside. Also since they are not allowed to go to the other field, then the other school should invest in field goals so that these kids could play some football.
Over all I had a great time hanging out with these kids. I felt a lot that they wanted to see in the other school. I fell that this is a great way for the landscaping architects to get ideas of what to put at the other school. For example the rock, and incorporate large fields with field goals for some fun sporting events and all of that.
Luis F Navarrete
Some of the things that these students did not like were the tennis courts. This surprised me because most of their responses were that no one played on them. They also talked about how a lot of them did not play on the basketball field. A lot of them also talked about how they were not ready to transition to the other middle school. They talked about how many of the kids in the school were not going to like these students because they did not belong there, and how they also considered them haters. I personally felt a bit bothered because these students like this school and they did not want to leave. I also heard a lot of students talking about how they were moving to other schools because of this whole transition. I also thought that they should consider the fact that students want to play chess during the lunch or when they are outside. Also since they are not allowed to go to the other field, then the other school should invest in field goals so that these kids could play some football.
Over all I had a great time hanging out with these kids. I felt a lot that they wanted to see in the other school. I fell that this is a great way for the landscaping architects to get ideas of what to put at the other school. For example the rock, and incorporate large fields with field goals for some fun sporting events and all of that.
Luis F Navarrete
First Day at Casey
The first day at Casey Middle School was an interesting experience for me. I am the youngest of 3 kids so I never really played or was placed in environments with younger kids than I. I felt that the kids were all very high energy in the first group, and mainly interested in playing outside rather than finding things they really did like about their school. One kid climbed onto the roof that I’m sure was off limits and was running around while the other boys were egging him on. The girls however were very sweet and more into finding aspects of the school that they did really like. Most all of the kids loved the climbing rock outside, the sledding hill, and the kickball field. They said that nobody used the four square courts because it was too hard to decide on the right rules for everyone to abide by. In the end we didn’t really have time to conclude our session because it was hard to get the kids back together and maintain their attention.
The second group was a lot more cooperative and into the project at hand. They enjoyed the sledding hill; mosaic tiled benches, the rock, and the kickball field. This group seemed a lot more artistic and into the things in their school that added character, color, and art. They liked all of the tiles throughout the school and wanted to take them to Platt. They also really like the murals and any sort of artwork painted within the building.
I think that this process went well for a test run and had a good time interacting with the kids. Some I felt just wanted to go off and be with their friends outside, and others were more interested with the project at hand. The cameras were definitely a good way to keep everyone interested on the project because they all wanted to use the camera at some point.
-Kaley
The second group was a lot more cooperative and into the project at hand. They enjoyed the sledding hill; mosaic tiled benches, the rock, and the kickball field. This group seemed a lot more artistic and into the things in their school that added character, color, and art. They liked all of the tiles throughout the school and wanted to take them to Platt. They also really like the murals and any sort of artwork painted within the building.
I think that this process went well for a test run and had a good time interacting with the kids. Some I felt just wanted to go off and be with their friends outside, and others were more interested with the project at hand. The cameras were definitely a good way to keep everyone interested on the project because they all wanted to use the camera at some point.
-Kaley
Beneficial Chaos
02.25.08
As I was walking into the school, I figured that the day would be a normal day of working with younger kids. I volunteered at an elementary school, teaching advanced math to first graders, so I thought that this would be easy because the students were older and more mature. In some cases I was wrong. My first group of students was awesome. They took the camera and led us, me and my two partners, on an actual tour of their school. They would not stop talking about certain areas they liked and disliked about the school. It was incredible to see how their though process was and how they loved their school so much. We had no problem getting them to stay focused and take pictures. In fact, it was hard for us to keep up with the students around the school. Once our first session was over, I figured that the rest of the day would be just as easy and actually fun.
The next two groups were vastly different than the first. All the students that participated in all sessions were good students, it just so happens to be that the second and third batch of kids were a lot to handle. The second group was very shy about the activity. It was hard to get them to explain why certain things were their favorite. They were interested in the activity, but were not as enthusiastic as the first group. The third session turned out to be the hardest. It was extremely difficult to keep the kids on topic and focused on the activity. The hardest part about this third set of kids was that they were mostly all Spanish speaking and my partner and I did not have a clue on what they were saying. They new English but because they were with their friends, they mostly spoke Spanish. Once that group went outside, it was chaos. Although this group was very rambunctious, it made me realize one very important thing: we are here for them. We are not there just because it is an assignment that our teacher signed us up for. We are there to help them grow and gain knowledge. It is a privilege that we get to actually get to go and hangout and teach middle school kids about sustainable design. We must not forget that they need to have fun while doing these activities; otherwise there will be no learning.
I thought that the photo activity was a success for the most part. It was good to have a soft opening of the activity before we implement it into the after school program. I feel that we need to make the activity more individual based. For example, we should let each student have a turn with the camera to narrate their journey to their favorite/least favorite spot on their campus. I also need to learn more from what they are saying and base questions on their comments to engage them into putting more thought into their places and pictures.
Steinmark
As I was walking into the school, I figured that the day would be a normal day of working with younger kids. I volunteered at an elementary school, teaching advanced math to first graders, so I thought that this would be easy because the students were older and more mature. In some cases I was wrong. My first group of students was awesome. They took the camera and led us, me and my two partners, on an actual tour of their school. They would not stop talking about certain areas they liked and disliked about the school. It was incredible to see how their though process was and how they loved their school so much. We had no problem getting them to stay focused and take pictures. In fact, it was hard for us to keep up with the students around the school. Once our first session was over, I figured that the rest of the day would be just as easy and actually fun.
The next two groups were vastly different than the first. All the students that participated in all sessions were good students, it just so happens to be that the second and third batch of kids were a lot to handle. The second group was very shy about the activity. It was hard to get them to explain why certain things were their favorite. They were interested in the activity, but were not as enthusiastic as the first group. The third session turned out to be the hardest. It was extremely difficult to keep the kids on topic and focused on the activity. The hardest part about this third set of kids was that they were mostly all Spanish speaking and my partner and I did not have a clue on what they were saying. They new English but because they were with their friends, they mostly spoke Spanish. Once that group went outside, it was chaos. Although this group was very rambunctious, it made me realize one very important thing: we are here for them. We are not there just because it is an assignment that our teacher signed us up for. We are there to help them grow and gain knowledge. It is a privilege that we get to actually get to go and hangout and teach middle school kids about sustainable design. We must not forget that they need to have fun while doing these activities; otherwise there will be no learning.
I thought that the photo activity was a success for the most part. It was good to have a soft opening of the activity before we implement it into the after school program. I feel that we need to make the activity more individual based. For example, we should let each student have a turn with the camera to narrate their journey to their favorite/least favorite spot on their campus. I also need to learn more from what they are saying and base questions on their comments to engage them into putting more thought into their places and pictures.
Steinmark
Fun First Day
Today at Casey Middle School we tried to break the ice with the twenty or so students from about 3 different sixth grade classes. These students will not be able to go to school at the new Casey Middle that will potentially be finished 2 years from the fall. When I asked a few young girls how they were feeling about the change to Platt Middle School they told me that they were sad that they were not going to be able to go to the new school. They said that it is unfair that their ideas will only benefit younger generations. This did not take away from their contributions to our cause. One of these great ideas that a young girl named Sarah told me was that all of the art from the walls of the current Casey Middle School should be taken to Platt Middle and left there. She thought that the students that will transfer to Platt Middle for the 2 years or so should leave their impression on the school because they will make up a significant portion of the student population there. Another reason she thought that the art should be left there and not taken back to the reopened Casey, was that the new students there could start fresh with their new school.
The students before lunch were practically bouncing off the walls. They were so excited to be breaking away from the PowerPoints that they had been working on. Getting outside and allowing these energetic kids to take some pictures of the things about their current school that they either loved or despised. Many of the ideas that the students consistently agreed on were their appeal for the small, intricate spaces that could really allow them to have their own space. The “Secret Stairs” were a small staircase on the backside of the school that I was told was off limits for the most part. I think that the appeal to this area was partially due to the fact that they weren’t allowed to go to this space. The backstage area in the auditorium was also one of these places were every student had to take us on their tour.
I had a great time getting to know all of the students that walked us around, they all wanted to help us improve their school, but they also enjoyed telling us about components of Casey that they would like to see brought over to Platt. We discovered that there are several spaces in the current school design that are extremely successful as well as many places that did not function well. Outdoor play areas were by far the most popular, probably because running around outdoors and climbing on the rock are obvious favorites. A problematic space was the auditorium seating. Every group told us how much they hated being sixth graders because they can never sit at assemblies until they go on to grades seven and eight. This limitation on seating does not seem very welcoming and I think that they would feel much more important to the school if they had a seat. Another popular response that we got was that they did not want to leave Casey in the 1st place which is understandable. Hopefully through this process the students will understand how their current school is unsustainable and how their new school will improve on these fundamental issues.
Brett
The students before lunch were practically bouncing off the walls. They were so excited to be breaking away from the PowerPoints that they had been working on. Getting outside and allowing these energetic kids to take some pictures of the things about their current school that they either loved or despised. Many of the ideas that the students consistently agreed on were their appeal for the small, intricate spaces that could really allow them to have their own space. The “Secret Stairs” were a small staircase on the backside of the school that I was told was off limits for the most part. I think that the appeal to this area was partially due to the fact that they weren’t allowed to go to this space. The backstage area in the auditorium was also one of these places were every student had to take us on their tour.
I had a great time getting to know all of the students that walked us around, they all wanted to help us improve their school, but they also enjoyed telling us about components of Casey that they would like to see brought over to Platt. We discovered that there are several spaces in the current school design that are extremely successful as well as many places that did not function well. Outdoor play areas were by far the most popular, probably because running around outdoors and climbing on the rock are obvious favorites. A problematic space was the auditorium seating. Every group told us how much they hated being sixth graders because they can never sit at assemblies until they go on to grades seven and eight. This limitation on seating does not seem very welcoming and I think that they would feel much more important to the school if they had a seat. Another popular response that we got was that they did not want to leave Casey in the 1st place which is understandable. Hopefully through this process the students will understand how their current school is unsustainable and how their new school will improve on these fundamental issues.
Brett
First Reaction
The first day of participatory planning and design at Casey Middle School went well. To be honest, I had absolutely no idea what to expect. In some ways I was nervous that maybe the kids would not “buy in” to what we were doing. In another way, I was excited to get raw and candid responses from the children because I knew it would be invaluable to our class objective. The interesting thing is that both of these premonitions turned out to be true.
The first group of 6th graders were very enthusiastic and excited to show us what parts of their school they liked. Despite explaining our mission was to observe the outside portion of their school, they still insisted on showing us the indoor aspects of the school which they liked. A common theme that I noticed was that they were particularly proud of their individualized artwork around the building. Anything that made the area seem unique was vocalized immediately.
In a stark contrast to our first group, the second group remained quiet. Though trying to allow the children to guide our conversations and tour, this set of kids was unresponsive. Despite many prompts and guidance, the children really did not seem to embrace the purpose of the activity. At one point, one of the boys said “here, you take the camera. I don’t want it.” Luckily, he had already shown us which areas he liked. However, I was disappointed to see the lack of interest in our activity.
In both situations, I believe that I gained valuable insight. In the first period, the kids taught me that branding their own signature on the new school location is very important. In the second period, I learned that some of the children may not completely understand what is going to happen to their school. Perhaps further engagement with the quieter students on Wednesday will allow me to find out what they envision for the next two years of middle school. Jon Bortles~2/26/08
The first group of 6th graders were very enthusiastic and excited to show us what parts of their school they liked. Despite explaining our mission was to observe the outside portion of their school, they still insisted on showing us the indoor aspects of the school which they liked. A common theme that I noticed was that they were particularly proud of their individualized artwork around the building. Anything that made the area seem unique was vocalized immediately.
In a stark contrast to our first group, the second group remained quiet. Though trying to allow the children to guide our conversations and tour, this set of kids was unresponsive. Despite many prompts and guidance, the children really did not seem to embrace the purpose of the activity. At one point, one of the boys said “here, you take the camera. I don’t want it.” Luckily, he had already shown us which areas he liked. However, I was disappointed to see the lack of interest in our activity.
In both situations, I believe that I gained valuable insight. In the first period, the kids taught me that branding their own signature on the new school location is very important. In the second period, I learned that some of the children may not completely understand what is going to happen to their school. Perhaps further engagement with the quieter students on Wednesday will allow me to find out what they envision for the next two years of middle school. Jon Bortles~2/26/08
The first day of interaction with the Casey Middle School students was filled with excitement, apprehension, and finally relief after all had gone surprisingly smooth with the snapshot survery. Considering the amount of time we had to prepare for the first activity I thought that the overall process went as smooth as it could have. When I first entered Casey I tried to remember what it was like to be in 6th grade and how I would react to college students coming to work with me on a design project. Walking into the 6th grade classroom I felt that there was a good amount of energy and enthusiasm from the students with a bit of nervousness mixed in. My first group seemed to very interested in helping us understand what they liked the most or least about their school. They initiated conversations about why they liked or disliked something and were always ready to show us a new place of interest. The three students had similar thoughts of what they would like to see in their new school with their favorite areas being places of social interaction and play. One of the students, who attempted to be in every photo, explained that what was most important to him to bring over to Platt were the teachers and friends he had here at Casey. This brought to mind the concern many of the students might have in moving over to a new middle school and the apprehension behind this big change. This made it seem all the more important to incorporate as much of the students input as possible to make the transition a bit more bearable and exciting.
The second group of students were not as talkative as the first but were still interested in relaying to us what they thought were the best parts of Casey. I felt that they did not have a full understanding of why we were doing these activities and were a bit shy in discussing in great detail their feelings about the move to a new school. Overall, I feel that the first activity was a success and positively encouraged the students to become involved more in the process of creating their new middle school. For next time it might be beneficial to describe, once again, why and how we are doing this process and in what ways their voices will be included into the final project.
Stevi Bratschie
The second group of students were not as talkative as the first but were still interested in relaying to us what they thought were the best parts of Casey. I felt that they did not have a full understanding of why we were doing these activities and were a bit shy in discussing in great detail their feelings about the move to a new school. Overall, I feel that the first activity was a success and positively encouraged the students to become involved more in the process of creating their new middle school. For next time it might be beneficial to describe, once again, why and how we are doing this process and in what ways their voices will be included into the final project.
Stevi Bratschie
Monday, February 25, 2008
Casey: Day 1
For being a "first day scenario", today's experience at Casey went over startlingly well! After working with the two groups of sixth graders, I had the chance to reflect during my drive home, over my cup of tea, during my Spanish class, and throughout the entire day. It consumed my thoughts. My reflection process ambled its way over to what the kids' perception of today was, rather than my own for the majority of the time. Being taken out of their normal day and asked to run around and take pictures with a bunch of college kids must have seemed like a great way to spend geography class! I found that the girls I worked with understood why they were taking pictures and made a great attempt to really point out what was important, while the boys I worked with just wanted to take pictures of each other rolling down the sledding hill. These are definitely two different ways of expressing importance, however. Even if the boys didn't realize that they were actually using the exercise in the way we hoed, the pictures they took show just how much fun they have with certain elements of Casey. Rather than just showing what they like, they show why they like it.
I was thinking of how important it is to relate, and how these kids made it so easy to do so just by thief enthusiasm to get out of the classroom and do something new. Relating to my first group was very simple due to the group being made up of two girls: one outgoing, energetic and one shyer and amazingly sweet. Both girls honed in on the artistic elements that Casey has to offer. While this was a great thing to lean, what was more interesting were their expressions of the fears developing over moving to Platt that they divulged once comfortable with us. My first revelation was that they were sharing these fears so readily when, as a society, we are taught to hide our fears away. Then I remembered back to being a sixth grader and how every time I got the opportunity to interact with a girl of college stature, I wanted to share as much about myself to them in order to feel a greater sense of connection with this older person. I was not surprised to hear that these girls are NOT excited at all about the upcoming move. Understandably so, they are at the age when social groups are forming, best friends are becoming more important than anything, and everyone outside of your social group seems slightly alien. They both expressed the sense that they expect this to be a problem next year, although one of them vocalized it with more angst by calling the Platt kids "haters".
While the boys didn't vocalize deep fears and uncertainties with going to Platt, they did give some thought to the matter. At the start of working with them, all I saw was a noisy blur running across the schoolyard, leaping over fences. I realized I had to quickly find a new completely different approach than the one I had used with the girls. One of the boys stopped to look at something away from the group so I started talking to him. He seemed to take a liking to me because he suddenly went from loud and inattentive to helping me rally his friends to answer my (slightly modified) questions about... everything. The general consensus for moving to Platt for most of them was excitement because it was closer to one thing or another, be it a parent or a cool path they heard of. They weren't expressing social fears as the girls had, which points out the age gap between sixth grade boys and sixth grade girls. They were really excited to talk, however, when it came to the story about how Mr. Casey had died in the gym. It was four boys all yelling at me with fifty different explanations of how he died each, none of which seemed all that likely. It was a vastly different experience than that I had had earlier in the day, resulting in a completely different variety of information that was definitely of equal value of importance in our exploration.
I learned a lot more today than I thought I would. I learned not to expect the same results from any two groups of kids and that with this process, we're all going to have to be on our toes one hundred percent of the time. I learned that these kids are so easily excited to be with us and that that excitement is contagious and fun and that we should use it to our benefit. These kids are awesome and the connections that have already been made in only half an hour of skewed conversation prove to me that once we have a steady group of kids, what we can accomplish will be great.
Chelsea
25 February 2008
Feb 25 In-Class Snapshot Survey
Today we participated in a snapshot survey, the first activity we have worked with the Casey students. I met with two different 6th grade classes for about a half hour each. I think that the hardest part about working with the kids today was that we has such a short amount of time to work with them. I felt that some of the kids felt a little shy about talking to us and walking us around since we had not had time to spend getting to them and making some type of connection with the kids before we got started. However having three Casey kids to three CU students worked very well because we were able to work more one on one and each CU student was able to really narrow in on one Casey student’s ideas and opinions. I also felt that it was really difficult to get some of the kids really involved in taking the right kind of pictures or in taking the activity seriously. Many of the students only took a few and some to very irrelevant pictures and enjoyed just being out of the class room instead of working with us.
One thing that I thought was the most interesting was that every one of the kids that we worked with hated the idea of going to Platte Middle School. Many didn’t like the idea of going to a school so far away from their homes and one student in particular decided he was going to a different school entirely because he didn’t want to go to Platte. When asked what the loved about Casey most and what they wanted to have at Platte to feel like their old school one of the most frequent responses was that they loved all of the art around the school (individual tiles, murals, and class projects hung on the wall) and how that made them feel more unified as a school. One student even said that he liked having a bilingual school because he felt that it was nice to bring together a mixture of cultures into one school environment.
Some other things that many of the students liked about the site was the climbing rock and the different areas that they could just hang out with friends. Because of this not many said that they wish they had more activities to do on their free time because they just enjoyed being social. However they felt that the site was more visual appealing in terms of landscape with more trees and better up keep of the grass as to keep from the field getting so muddy. Most of what the kids loved about the school was the interior and in my opinion it is because they felt as if they have personalized it by adding their little signs and drawings all over.
Brittany
One thing that I thought was the most interesting was that every one of the kids that we worked with hated the idea of going to Platte Middle School. Many didn’t like the idea of going to a school so far away from their homes and one student in particular decided he was going to a different school entirely because he didn’t want to go to Platte. When asked what the loved about Casey most and what they wanted to have at Platte to feel like their old school one of the most frequent responses was that they loved all of the art around the school (individual tiles, murals, and class projects hung on the wall) and how that made them feel more unified as a school. One student even said that he liked having a bilingual school because he felt that it was nice to bring together a mixture of cultures into one school environment.
Some other things that many of the students liked about the site was the climbing rock and the different areas that they could just hang out with friends. Because of this not many said that they wish they had more activities to do on their free time because they just enjoyed being social. However they felt that the site was more visual appealing in terms of landscape with more trees and better up keep of the grass as to keep from the field getting so muddy. Most of what the kids loved about the school was the interior and in my opinion it is because they felt as if they have personalized it by adding their little signs and drawings all over.
Brittany
all-day workshop, 2.25.08
I came away from this first workshop feeling that one of our top priorities should be figuring out how to inspire the children to be truly interested in the participatory process we are trying to promote. Many of the children seemed more interested in taking random pictures and not having to be in class than in actually taking an interest in the reason they were taking the pictures. However, as this is understandable due to their age, I think we need put an emphasis on really getting the kids excited about what we are trying to do. I think that one way to do this might be to give kids a look into how influential and important their ideas can be (realistically, of course). Another idea that we might want to try would be to give the kids an idea of exactly what kind of activities we would be participating in in the after school program. If we have ideas that are appealing to them, they will be more likely to not only get involved, but be excited about their involvement.
As for the workshop itself, there were a few things that the children seemed to consistently agree on. Every child loved the big rock, and when asked what their favorite outdoor characteristic of Casey was, the general consensus seemed to be the rock. Kids liked that they could climb on it, jump off of it, not to mention the distinctive touch that it gives to Casey's surrounding site. Another thing the kids liked was the open field and basketball courts. These places provide kids with a place to play a variety of sports, and also open places just to run, or congregate. However, in contrast to wanting open space, almost all of the children expressed a desire for natural shade. To me this indicates a need for a balance between the two. Overall, while the children were responsive about what they liked and didn't like, they were unspecific about the distinctive Casey characteristics (minus the big rock). In response to this I think that we need to form more personal relationships with the children in order to get more in depth responses and suggestions from them.
Alyssa
Participate, don't lead
Today was our first day at Casey Middle School. We were supposed to have the kids take pictures of the things they would like to see at their new school/take with them to Platt. I thought it went pretty well, but some changes were needed. I was a little frustrated when working with a landscape students. I felt as though he was telling the kids what to say, rather than them coming up with ideas on their own. He kept asking if they would like to see one thing or another. Because they are kids they said yes, regardless of if they really felt that way. One of the girls in my group expressed she really liked the shade under the library. He then called it ugly and cold; she immediately took her opinion back. It made me feel as though he wasn’t looking to design the school for the kids, but for himself. I felt as though it would have been better if he allowed the Casey kids to tell us themselves what they liked and if he disagreed he should have kept it to himself. This way we get a more genuine, accurate answer from the kids. The kids will also get a lot more out of the experience if they feel as though their opinion matters, and not that they have bad taste.
Sam
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