Journal Table #1
Column 1: Clinical Sight Background
Analyses
My placement is at the Winona Middle
School which is located at 1570 Homer Rd,
Winona, MN 55987. The middle school lies
just a half mile or so behind sugar loaf. The
school is technologically progressive with
chrome books for the kids and smart boards
in classrooms. I have been placed in a 8th
grade tutoring classroom that is not the
typical classroom with funky chairs such as
tires or stools to sit on and tables at different
hights.
The median household income in Winona is
$40,113 with a population of estimated
50,948 from 2016 government census data.
The average age within Winona is 29. 40% of
people in Winona over the age of 15 are
married.
I have been working with specifically 8th
graders in an AVID tutoring program. More
than 90% of the classroom is Caucasian. I
have noticed that most students in the
program have a lack of respect for the
teacher as well as they are what are
considered by the educational community as
middle of the road students. This meaning
that these students are not low achieving or
high achieving but the students that slide by
under the radar usually with the average GPA
of 2.0. This program is an elective and these
students do not have to take it, that being
said they do the bare minimum to pass which
I have found interesting because they
selected specifically to take this course.
Column 2 EDFD 460/461 and EDFD 400/401
Content
B) How do Personal/Cultural Knowledge or
Popular Knowledge shape the racialization
of the white student(s) you will be working
with in your clinical setting?
Racialization is described in the social
constructs of difference graphic as, the
expectations, assumptions, perceptions,
stereotypes, and fears we have of select
racial groups. Our own personal experiences
and knowledge is constantly adding to how
individuals are racialized throughout the
world. It is a fact that all people can be
racialized not just one specific race or
ethnicity. Often as young people do, they
find their knowledge through popular media
outlets and external sources. This is not just
true for students and young individuals, it
applies to most individuals. The portrayal of
white individuals by the media is often
immensely positive where a character that is
white is seen as the nice white kid or often
white students are perceived as economically
fortunate even before an individual may
know his or her background. This being said,
it is not a secret that the society we live in
still heavily favors individuals of lighter skin
tone, this is simply a fact.
C) How can the racialization of the
student(s) you will be working with be
reinforced or challenged by any of
his/her/their other demographic
characteristics?
When looking at enforcing and challenging
racialization of select students it is important
to take into account certain demographic
characteristics from the intersectionality

Additionally, this school acts like many other
middle schools I have visited with policies
such as no phones or gum, however
specifically at this middle school they allow
for food in the classroom which has turned
out to be quite a large distraction for over
half the students attending. Other common
issues are that they are allowed to have
laptops in the classroom and when given
work time many students encourage one
another to play games. The school has done
an exceptional job of blocking inappropriate
sites and searches so that the students
cannot access what they should not.
Overall the experience has been enjoyable
and quite interesting to see the eighth
graders interact with one another. The way
these individuals act and behave is intriguing
seeing how they will do anything for their
peers approval. These learners have also
taken a special liking to me and want to know
everything about me and what I did in middle
school. I hope that as the weeks go by I can
build stronger relationships with these
learners through investigating their funds of
knowledge and devoting more of my
attention to their specific needs.
graphic such as race, ethnicity, faith, sexual
identity, language, and socioeconomic status
to name a few. When looking specifically at
the students I have been working with many
of these factors cannot be viewed visually
such as faith, sexual identity, or even
socioeconomic status. Because of these non-
visible factors, personally, I find it very
important to just how diverse each classroom
can be. From what I have viewed many of
these kids work to challenge the racialization
of how they have been profiled. For example,
an African American student that I work with,
challenges the racialization against her race
by overachieving and making a point to call
out if someone is making a judgment toward
her. Furthermore, these students are at the
age where they are incredibly susceptible to
the opinions and criticism of their peers.
D) How can the Funds of Knowledge
approach help you see a students cultural
background as an asset to his or her
learning?
The funds of knowledge approach can be
beneficial to picture a students background
as an asset to the student because it focuses
on the positives and what the specific
knowledge bases the student can bring to the
classroom. This is beneficial opposed to if you
focused on the negatives or what problems
the student may cause in class. Using the
activates to investigate funds of knowledge I
believe it would be beneficial to ask the
students about their cultural practices and
traditions because I feel as if I now have a
more personal relationship with my learners
and we have developed a form of trust with
one another. The funds of knowledge
approach is beneficial in the fact that it can
make connections with other learners as well
as bring various skills from various
backgrounds. This, I find, can be a positive
way for me to connect more with my
learners and get a deeper insight to their
specific lives and what is going on not only
academically but socially and at home for
them. The funds of knowledge should not be
overlooked for any student, because each
student brings a unique perspective on life
with them to the classroom. We can learn a
lot from one another as humans simply by
taking the time to actually listen. We should
not force our opinions or view points on one
another but work toward understanding by
asking questions and ultimately working on
active listening.

E) Discuss the possible Activities to

Investigate Funds of Knowledge that you
will possibly use to identify the Funds of
Knowledge (assets, strengths, resources)
possessed by your student(s) you choose to
study and F) DISCUSS the EDFD 400/401
Developmental and/or Learning theorists
who you can use to give a rationale for your
choice of said activities.

A possible activity I would want to use would

be number 3 because I have always been a
major social individual who loves athletics, so
if I can be engaged with a student about their
family or something they are passionate
about I can get a better insight into their
world. If I can make the connection with the
learner and we can bond together over
something of shared love we can build our
relationship but I can also see just where
their background lies and what extra
information they can bring to the table.
Bandura, in his studies was big on the term of
modeling and if I can see what parent or
individual is responsible for a chore in the
house I can see if the student works to model
how the family member executes the chore.
An additional activity I would consider is
number 7 asking the learners about their
culture and traditions. Like I explained
earlier, this one is interesting because you do
need to have trust built up with an individual
to ask them about their culture or traditions.
Knowing the traditions of a student can help
the teacher and learning environment to
know the tendencies and behaviors and
really understand them better.