The other afternoon I was able to spend some time at the Goshen Public Library. I generally enjoy people watching, whether it's in a mall or another public location, I find it fascinating to watch how people interact with their family and friends. In this circumstance, I thought it would be most beneficial for me to go to the children's section to watch how parents interact with their children. I discovered pretty quickly that I felt kind of creepy doing this, even though I had a perfectly good explanation if anyone were to ask me, it felt a little strange to be watching little kids.At this point in my life, I feel very disconnected from anyone who isn't of college age. Approximately 95% of my interactions take place with other college students with the other 5% taking place with my professors and family members. Going to the library and observing families was a good way for me to connect with that demographic, but also to think about how I will need to interact with my students.
One of the first interactions that caught my eye was between a father and son. There is a giant chess board and this boy who was probably 6 years old, wanted to play chess. He is obviously too young to understand the complexities of the game, but his father went along with it. His father remained pretty detached for the whole game, helping his son as necessary, but not really seeming to enjoy the interaction at all. I wondered how this interaction would be different if it were between a father and a daughter or between a mother and one of her children. Even if it's not intentional, we treat boys and girls in different ways; this is something that is crucial for teachers to be aware of.I also noticed a mother with a baby in a sling around her with at least two other children. In the period that I was down in the children's wing of the library, there were also at least two fathers with their children. Overall, I would say that I noticed lots of families with only one parent present. I wonder if that indicates a rise in the number of single parent households or if families simply tend to divide tasks, such as going to the library. Growing up, I always went to the library with my mom, never with my dad.
As I was sitting there, I realized that libraries are a place where everyone can come together. Perhaps I am naive, but I do not perceive any racial or class overtones regarding who comes to a library. People of any age, any class, and any ethnicity have an equal opportunity to make use of a library, providing there is one in their community. However, I did notice that all employees of the library were white, female, and probably over 55. However, the clientele of the library represented a much larger range. I would estimate that of the people I saw, 60-70% were white, but age and gender were fairly equally represented. I looked up some data on the demographics of Goshen and found that about 75% of the population is white and almost 20% are Latino/a. That data seems to correspond with what I observed at the Goshen Library.
Several questions were raised in my mind as I was observing. The first question was what is the primary motivation for coming to a library for most people? The two most obvious reasons would seem to be for either education or entertainment. Also the children were seemed to be at ease in this environment. Do children interact with their siblings differently in the library than they do in other public areas or at home? I also wondered how such a study at the library at my home in Pennsylvania would differ.
I think that such observation is helpful as I think about how students interact when they are with their parents versus being alone and how they behave at home versus how they behave in public. There are many aspects of behavior that could be studied by simple observation. Also, libraries can help nurture students in many different ways. They can provide a safe place to go after school, technology that may not be available at home, additional resources for papers and projects, and books to be read for pleasure. If there is a good library in the vicinity of your school, it would be to the teacher's benefit to make sure that all of the families are aware of that resource.
Website consulted:
http://www.muninetguide.com/states/indiana/municipality/Goshen.php
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