Boys and Girls Club Fieldnotes Reflection

Taking fieldnotes at the Boys and Girls Club can at times be difficult because the children are so fascinated by what outsiders are doing, especially those carefully observing them. That being said, over the semester I've been able to gather a substantial amount of fieldnotes that need summarized and reflected on. I will try and further investigate my fieldnotes from my time at the Boys and Girls Club in the blog post. I spend most of my time in the art room at the Boys and Girls Club. One thing that stood out to me was the clothing children wore during the 8 and under girls homeroom. There were three young girls in Justin Bieber shirts and another girl with a Mickey Mouse umbrella accessory, which she proceeded to show off during show and tell. I think this shows the ability of the media to influence children. They are influenced not only by multimedia devices but also clothing items, like Justin Bieber zip-up sweatshirts. I wonder how the media affects kids unknowingly and whether it works in positive or negative ways. Another important part of the art room is clean-up time. Surprisingly, the majority of the kids are not only willing to do their part in the clean-up process, they are also excited about. I noticed children fighting over who got to scrape the paint off the table and making sure their teacher, Matisse, was watching when they were the ones cleaning. Kids are rewarded by Matisse for being excellent cleaners, and, if a child doesn't receive a prize, Matisse reminds them that "tomorrow is another day." I think this sort of reminder can unknowingly influence the children in other aspects of life as well. There is an abundance of positive reinforcement used in this classroom, and, judging by the children's excitement about cleaning, it works. One day at the Boys and Girls Club, I attended a club meeting which occurs once a month. All of the children at the club gather for a variety of announcements and awards. I watched and noticed that the majority of volunteers took this opportunity to sit in the gym bleachers while the kids all sat together on the gym floor. When a volunteer chose to sit with the children on the floor, the children's affection towards the volunteer was apparent. I think this brings to light a problem. How do we get people to do more than just show up to volunteer? Volunteers need to be more interactive with the children rather than the other adults. They are at the club, after all, for the children, right? The club meeting last about an hour and by the end of the meeting kids were really starting to get antsy. One little boy was rolling around the floor crying. Another girl was telling all the kids her friend farted. Yet another girl was waving her rear end in the air while the club program director tried to speak. It seemed that these kids needed to actually do something rather than just sit. I would imagine a full day at school already affected them substantially. I would also imagine this is why they have club meetings only once a month. Another important part of the club meeting was their emphasis on calling the children "members." To me, this erases the stigma of the Boys and Girls Club being a cheap daycare or something the children might not willingly attend. By being called members, this place becomes a club that children choose to attend. I have a great amount of fieldnotes from the Boys and Girls Club. I know I am really going to miss these kids and my fellow volunteers when the semester is over. I think the club is a great place for the development of Bloomington's youth.

Symbol of a New Age: Nintendo DSi

While working in the art room of the Boys and Girls Club, I had the opportunity to sit and talk with kids between the ages of 8 and 12 about their everyday lives. We talked about various subjects: from secret crushes to favorite movies to what they learned at school that day. Some kids were more willing to talk about some subjects than others and some barely spoke at all. One subject, however, had the kids so excited they were yelling to be heard over one another's voices; even those who had seemed shy were trying to chime in. The Nintendo DSi had been brought up.

I come from an era of the Gameboy. While Gameboys were pretty fun, I know for a fact they weren't the type of toy that would have this strong of reaction. I asked the kids to tell me what made the Nintendo DSi so cool. Their biggest emphases were on the various games that could be played on it (from a pet shop game to bloody fighting games) as well its ability to text message. It seemed pretty cool to me, but I needed to do a little more research on my own. After calling a few of my younger cousins (who were shocked I knew nothing about such a cool toy) I realized what a cool item this Nintendo DSi was. The toy flips open and has two screens, a touch screen, two digital cameras, voice recording and music playing ability, and Wi-Fi connection. It comes in a wide assortment of colors and has an unbelievable amount of games that can be played with the DS system. This toy, which costs around $170, proved to be much more than what I had access to has a child.

This Nintendo DSi is a cultural artifact of today's culture of children. They all know what is and, if they don't already own one, then they want one badly. I think a new question is raised - how do we use this Nintendo DSi to help our kids grow? In a culture of violent video games, sexting, and the often dangerous internet, it's scary that a toy with access to all three of these is the hottest conversation topic among kids at an afterschool program that promotes the healthy growth and development of today's children. How do we work with toys like the Nintendo DSi to shape our children into those the Boys and Girls club aims to form? What are the positive aspects of the Nintendo DSi?