My Visit to Newark to Start my Research

Method of Research

I started my research project by reviewing several articles that covered similar is-sues of the importance about teaching science in urban schools. I needed to start to be-come familiar with the community and get an idea of where the schools were located. I went to the Newark Broad of Education web site to print a list of schools and their ad-dresses. While I was on the website, I wanted to know what the district philosophy is for the science curriculum. I continue to glance at some other locations on the web site. I needed to get the address of a schools that I could visit while I was in the area. I printed the addresses of all of the schools so that I could put them in my GPS system.
I went to the area of the website that would tell me what type of materials were used in the classroom. I discovered that FOSS curriculum (Full Option Science System) materials were listed on the web site and when I do my interviews I will ask the teachers about the materials. I started my Research at the Newark Museum. I wanted to see what cultural activity’s there were in the area that a science teacher might take a field trip to. I had heard about the Newark museum from others and then I was reading the news-paper and spotted information about an exhibit that was there.
After my visit to Newark, I had lots of questions. My next steps was to talk to some teachers working in the middle school and ask questions about the curriculum, the material used and the lack of green space in the area. I needed to go back on line and
this time I started to look through the Star Ledger newspaper for articles on communities in Newark using or creating green spaces. I went to the web to research an organi-zation that donates fruit trees to schools and though that may be a future project. This organization prepares activities on gardening and creating food by growing plants.

Working on My Reflections and Conclusions

I am still work on my conclusion and reflection because I am trying to come to a decision about the information I have gathered.

I went to Newark to the museum to start my tour of Newark. I have not been in the area for more then 12 yrs. As soon as I arrived there, I traveled off the highway and headed to downtown area. I started to see some familiar site, like the path train and the prudential building. I noticed that much of the area had newly constructed buildings and roads.
The down town area reminded me of Harlem 125th street. The street in certain areas had lots of people walking. There were lots of police present. After my visit to the museum I travel to Shabazz High School. You could clearly see the area was changing. There was new apartments and new home amongst the older building, churches, and business in the area. I notice a supermarket chain that is very common in urban communities. C town is a chain of supermarkets that I grew up with in my urban communities. I have not seen that chain since I move out of Harlem. The down town area had a Sports arena, NJ Pac, pawnshops, banks and some fast foods.
I looked for places that provided healthcare however I did not notice any doctor office or health clinics. I through that was strange. Were would people in the community receive care? The ER is there community healthcare provider. I did notice a hospital sign right outside of the grounds of Shabazz.
Shabazz HS had a gated entrance. The school looks new and there are other schools located on the grounds I started taking pictures of the new football field. The school is located among homes and apartments. I was very surprise to see the school located in this area. It was very nice, but I felt like I was in a concrete city. There were very little trees and plant life. Where are the trees and the parks? The nearest restaurant was McDonald. My visit was very nice, it remind me of where I grow up in Harlem. I discover that schools in this community play a very important role in the life of the students. Much of the students learning take place in school. The school is a place where children will receive support when they are struggling in their subjects. School is also a place where the community will also rely on. It is a place to conduct business and pro-vide activity and events for the community. The roles of the teacher in this community will be a difficult one.

My Visit to Newark

I have been thinking about my inquire project. I needed to start to gather information to do my research. I decided to go to Newark to take a look at what was in the area. I had several questions about how I was going to do my research and collect data on HIV. I had information on the types of programs that provided treatment to Aids patient in the community. I had researched how much federal money was given yearly through the Ryan White foundation. I went to the Newark website and I was still trying to make the connection of HIV and Adolescents in an urban community. I did not notice any healthcare services and it was not until I arrived at Shabazz HS that I saw my first hospital sign.
Once I started to do my walking tour in Newark, I decided that I wanted to change my topic and gather information that would help me to understand what my role would be as a teacher in Newark. Once I arrived home, I kept thinking about what I observed today and I wanted to get to know the community and then I can revisit my original topic of how does HIV affect Adolescents in an Urban Community?