Two communities linked by English course Decatur students interact with students from South Carolina school

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

DECATUR -- What do Decatur and Greenville, S.C., have in common? Two educators with the desire to expose their students to different cultures, different mind sets and different points of view.

That was the idea of James Garner, Decatur High School teacher, and Rachel Stokes, Greenville High Academy for Law, Finance and Business teacher, when they put together a plan to get their Advanced Placement English classes to interact.

"Our initial purpose for implementing this project was to provide students with a collaborative educational experience in an online setting, much like what they will experience when they go to college and/or enter the work force," Stokes said. "We wanted to prepare them for that, especially if they don't have access to the Internet at home."

Garner and Stokes met during an Advanced Placement reader's session in Louisville, Ky. AP teachers from across the U.S. gathered to read and score tests for students in the program. While on a lunch break, Stokes brought up the idea for a new online project that would bring together students from different socioeconomic backgrounds.

"Wouldn't it be interesting if they could talk, being 1,000 miles apart, about literature?" Garner said.

The AP English program involves both classes reading the same literary classic, currently the George Orwell book, "Nineteen Eighty-Four." Once the students have completed the reading assignment, they break into small discussion groups. Each group partners with one from the other school.

"The students are able to work together, her students and my students, to read novels at the same time and answer questions in a program called Edmodo," Garner said. Edmodo is similar to other social media programs like Facebook. The difference is Edmodo is very secure.

The demographics of Decatur and Greenville are on opposite ends of the cultural spectrum.

The student population of Greenville High is 1,359 -- which is 340 less than the total population of Decatur, 1,699. The student population of Decatur High School (grades 7-12) is only 230.

The population of Greenville (according to the 2012 census) is 60,709. The makeup of the population is 61 percent white, 31 percent black, 5 percent Hispanic, and 1.5 percent Asian. In stark contrast, Decatur's population is comprised of 72 percent white, 19 percent Hispanic, 2 percent black and 0.3 percent Asian.

Another interesting difference in the sizes of both communities is in the number of convenience stores selling gas. In Greenville, there are 198 stores; the number in Decatur is three.

The wide divisions in the socioeconomic makeup of both communities lead to a difference in upbringing and a wider range of ideas and options.

"We had several instances where these differences came to light, where because of these cultural differences they thought different things about the literature as they were reading it," Garner said. "It was really exciting to see that happen."

The project is working very well. It is interesting that two groups of students from almost completely different backgrounds can make points about their assignments that maybe the others haven't thought about.

Both Garner and Stokes noticed something going on with their students during their interactions.

"When the students are in the online setting and writing responses to the literature and to one another, we're finding that they really become cognizant of what they say and how they say it -- they don't want to appear dumb or uneducated to students in another part of the country, so the whole level of academic discourse rises as a result," Stokes said. "We never anticipated that kind of writing awareness from this project when we started."

The students in Garner's class confirmed Stokes' observations. They feel intimidated sometimes, relating to the cultural differences of Greenville. Lacy Jo Barrett, a student in Garner's AP class, feels this intimidation as she relates to her peers in Greenville.

"They are a lot more high class, so their English and literature is way ahead of our level in the way they speak and write and type. It's beyond fantastic; it's kind of mind-blowing," Barrett said. "When they tell us stuff, you have to stop and think about what you are typing before you actually respond."

One of Barrett's classmates, Samantha Goble, sometimes feels like she is in a different world when she communicates with her peers in Greenville.

"Their language is so different because of where they live. A lot of words that we wouldn't use and wouldn't think about them in everyday language they use a lot," Goble said. "How they word stuff is a lot different than how we word stuff. It's really cool to see the difference."

Both Barrett and Goble agree they get self-conscious when they communicate with their Greenville partners. They, along with their classmates, try to sound smart by choosing words that they believe the Greenville students would use. They review each response carefully, sometimes rewriting it several times before posting it on Edmodo.

"What are these people going to think and say after we post it," Barrett said. "They are going to think we are total hillbillies!"

Both Barrett and Goble were surprised to learn that their Greenville counterparts often feel the same about the Decatur students when they post.

"That makes me feel better!" Goble said.

The end result for both classes is the ability to think smarter and choose their phrases more carefully. These skills will better prepare students for the challenge each will face after graduation. They will write smarter, enabling them to produce professional-grade essays for both scholarship applications, as well as for resumes and cover letters for job applications should they decide to enter the work force after graduation. Barrett sees this as a leap forward in building her professional skills.

"(It is) a proper way of broadcasting our thoughts and ideas across the public media," Barrett relates.

Goble has already displayed the lessons she learned through Garner's AP course. She co-authored a bill that the governor of Arkansas selected to put before state legislators.

This is the type of result that both Garner and Stokes were hoping for when they put the program together three years ago.

The duo continues to refine the program as it evolves through the years.

In the last two years, word has spread of this program throughout the English teaching profession. Garner and Stokes were asked by organizers of the National Council for Teachers of English to submit a proposal for their program and present it during their convention. After their initial presentation, several other organizations asked them to submit the proposal for presentation at their conventions.

In July 2013, Garner and Stokes gave an update on the project to the AP National Convention. The title of the presentation was "Achieving Equality for Minority AP Students Through Technology."

Several other schools are developing similar programs for their AP students.

General News on 01/29/2014