MicroSociety Shows Us the Bigger Picture Beyond Afterschool
Posted by Sheltering Arms on
September 14, 2015 in Afterschool
The scene is tense in the court room: the sanitation workers union is accused of using public money for private indulgences at
restaurants and shops, for which they now owe significant debts according to the prosecution. Accusations of perjury fly as a
restaurant manager denies ever seeing a sanitation worker on her premises and claims she never took a break from her post in
four straight days. “But you’re taking a break right now!” shouts a lawyer, who is immediately squashed by objections for
speaking out of turn. The judge yells for order and a juror hangs his head, overwhelmed.
The only difference between the events here and those in any other City courtroom is that the professionals are elementary
school students: first
through fifth graders
who take their jobs very
seriously, even if their
courtrooms,
restaurants, and
sanitation departments
are all housed in a public
school building in Far
Rockaway. Our PS 105
Afterschool Program is
one of four summer/afterschool learning programs in an economically depressed section of the isolated Rockaway peninsula.
There is no local industry save a few nursing homes, a gas station, and a deli, leaving students with limited experience of
economic opportunity or future career paths. So the staff at our PS 105 Afterschool Program are bringing the economy to the
students. The project is called MicroSociety – an international model for exposing children to real-life socioeconomic forces, and
empowering them to drive their own learning by giving them adult responsibilities. Students apply for jobs (judge, mayor,
policeman, banker, sanitation worker, warehouse manager) for which they receive salaries and accrue experience on their
resumes. They can spend their paper cash on school supplies at the store or food at the restaurant, which are also operated by
students. Children can also be cited by student police for creating unsafe conditions in the classroom and can lose their jobs if
they rack up too many tickets. Naturally, disputes arise over unpaid debts or unwarranted police action, resulting in court cases
that almost exactly resemble recent controversies which have made local and national news.
After the sanitation workers’ case is settled, a second grader comes bounding down the hallway shouting, “We beat the case!
We beat the case!” When asked what he learned from going to court, he explains how important it is to ask for receipts and
track one’s spending so that you don’t have to rely on character witnesses if you’re ever called into question. It’s a lesson that
many adults wish they had learned in the second grade, perhaps before being audited by the IRS. Even more striking than his
knowledge of balancing a checkbook or maintaining good references for a resume is how readily he applies himself to sweeping
up the classroom as soon as he’s out of court. He takes pride in his job as a sanitation worker. In Microsociety, students
voluntarily apply themselves to everything from math to mopping, tasks which are often completed begrudgingly if at all when
assigned by teachers during the regular school day.
As children take charge of their learning, making connections between
math, language, and future careers, program leaders are freed to
concentrate on long term strategies to benefit student achievement.
The site’s director, Imtiaz Choudhari, affectionately known by students and
parents as Mr. C., has set his focus for the year on integrating STEM
(Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) concepts into his curricula in
order to close gaps in student mastery. MicroSociety now has a science lab
where students are currently demonstrating which materials do and do not
conduct electricity by touching a charged wire to a battery and to various
materials and seeing whether a light bulb turns on.
Mr. C. has just earned several prestigious honors for his leadership.
MicroSociety International and Policy Studies Associates, Inc. recognized
him with their 2015 International MicroSociety George Award for
Outstanding After School. The program at PS 105 was also the only one in
the City to receive four stars, the highest rating one can receive for a
MicroSociety program.
“Mr. C understands that high quality after school programs can change
expectations of students’ competencies including the development of
character, identity, an understanding of one’s role in society, and key
affective outcomes, such as resiliency. His students learn social and
emotional skills, support one another and work collaboratively to complete
tasks with confidence. For him, student engagement is key and is based
around real life experiences,” said Carolynn King Richmond, President and
CEO of MicroSociety International.
The outcomes Carolynn describes would be valuable for any student to
master, but are even more impressive and important considering the
specific challenges students face in Southeast Queens. Graduation rates are
as low as 40% at the local high schools, much lower than the average in
more affluent areas. The local 101st Precinct also has one of the highest
rates of gang activity and gun violence in the City, making it a hostile
environment for children after school. MicroSociety provides a safe,
structured environment for children whose parents are still at work. Even
as a simplified microcosm for society, the program has macro implications.
Students learn about their civic duty at a young age. As they enter the “real
world” they’re prepared academically, but also have the entrepreneurship
and leadership skills to make real changes in their community, and build the
type of Far Rockaway they’ve dreamed of from the ground up.