Global Perspective Project
Jamaicans have a long history of immigration to the United States, especially since the end of World War Two. Most immigrant from Jamaica settled in New York, and in Queens particularly. When Jenny and her family arrived in New York, they were greeted by a flourishing Jamaican community with deep roots. Moreover, Jenny's relatives had moved there five years earlier and sponsored them for American residency. Jenny started preschool immediately after arriving; her mother works both at Jenny's junior high school and at JFK international airport; and her father is a cook at a Queens-area rehabilitation center. The family struggles but they make ends meet. They passionately support Jenny's education and value her academic achievement. Jenny herself is highly motivated both in school and in extra-curricular activities, especially sports. She runs track formally in school and jogs with her father nearly every day at a local park.When investigating Jenny's funds of knowledge, it is important to reflect on her Jamaican heritage. Both her parents speak Patois, which they use to converse with their relatives and with other Jamaicans in the community. Jenny understands Patois and occasionally uses it at home or in the Jamaican community but
As her math teacher, I have assessed funds of knowledge from meeting Jenny outside of school and interacting with her parents. As her mother attained at least a partial higher education, Jenny understands that women can and do reach high levels of educational and career attainment. Jenny is curious about her heritage and therefore interested in participating more in the local Jamaican community. Her mother's educational aspirations were cut short during pregnancy, when complications forced her to leave school. She will be able to actively co-create the curriculum according to her interests and talents. does not speak it as much as her parents because unlike her parents, Jenny has lived in Brooklyn since she was two years old. Jenny could initiate research projects on women she admired or interview other Jamaican women in her community. Evoking their fond memories of Jamaica might be tremendously helpful in drawing upon Jenny's funds of knowledge. I have devised four constructive ways of working with Jenny's funds of knowledge toward the ultimate goal of teaching for social justice. From near Spanish Town in Jamaica, her parents were high school sweethearts. Jenny should be able to come up with some project ideas of her own, as she has consistently shown herself to be a self-motivated learner. Her father was an avid basketball player when he was in high school in Jamaica and her mother was a track runner. An extant Jamaican community also helped Jenny's family maintain social ties and create funds of knowledge. Her cousins and her aunt play important roles in her life and should be included in the classroom model referred to by Moll, Amanti & Neff.
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Acceptance Essays
