Final Version May 5 07

339
Visit to XXXX School Age Program
March 11, 2004
As I walked down the corridor and into the busy, double classroom my first thought
evolves around the realization that I have entered into an unfamiliar domain; this is a
school age program! In the classroom to the left, the junior school age children reside. In
the classroom I entered the older children gather after a full day of ‘regular’ school. The
second thing that strikes me is of the comfort level in the room. The children and the
teachers seem relaxed and happy to be there. The noise level while not overly obnoxious
registers high on my tolerance scale.
The children are engaged in various pursuits. At first the focus is on homework. Rose, my
research participant asks a number of children “did you finish your homework?” Some,
rather reluctantly retrieve their workbooks from their bags. Rose sits with the children as
they go through the pages. At least one of the workbooks is in French as this program
incorporates children from an English stream and French immersion stream. A quick
glance at the books and I feel uncomfortable. The tasks seem difficult, abstract and
developmentally inappropriate. This is their homework from school and the children
tackle the chore without question. Rose sits with them. She does not interfere but offers
support. She seems confident to do so much more than I would perhaps this stems from
fluency in both languages.
While these children carry on with their homework dutifully, three other boys are
sprawled on the carpet playing cards. A few girls are engaged in an open ended art
activity. There are at least two tables set up that are related to the project topic: snakes. At
one table a large plastic snake rests beside a multitude of books on snakes. At another, a
bin of water is set up with pebbles and small plastic snakes. One boy spins the large
snake around in his hand while another leafs through the books. The conversation at the