Sharing the Story of Your Own
Community
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Classroom Resources: Immigration /Political Cartoons/Satire
Anti-Bias Domain: Action
[Subject: Reading and Language Arts
Overview:
You’ve seen the Need to Know election special, “America by the Numbers [8],”
which focuses on the small Georgia town of Clarkston. Like many
communities across the nation, Clarkston is changing. As little as three
decades ago, its residents were nearly all white. Now, they include immigrants
from 40 different nations. In fact, says host Maria Hinojosa, we’re living during
the largest demographic change in history. That change has already begun to
affect the electoral map, and political parties are now courting people of all
different cultures, faiths and family structures.
The filmmakers have developed an ethnography of Clarkston—a field study
that includes research into its history and demographic data, as well as
interviews with people who make up its leadership, business community and
various cultures. Now you, too, will act as an ethnographer to analyze your
own community and decide how it and its priorities fit into a changing America.
In addition, you will use your findings to help predict the choice its voters will
make in November.
Objectives:
Students will:
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Understand the role of an ethnographer
Know how to research and analyze U.S. Census information
Prepare for and conduct an interview
Collect various forms of information into one project
Share information with a wider audience
Make a prediction about November’s elections
Essential Questions:
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What are the advantages and tradeoffs of a changing community?
How might demographic changes affect local and state politics?
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How might local demographic changes affect the national electoral
map?
Discussion Questions
· What is an ethnography? What does it include?
· What do we know about our community’s citizens?
· How might we find that information?
· What form do we want our research to take?
· How can we use our research to make predictions about the fall elections?
Exploring Census Data
1. Much of the film’s demographic data for Clarkston likely came from the U.S.
Census Bureau. In addition to counting the nation’s residents every 10 years,
the government agency also gathers data that tell a story about our economy
and its people. Data about each community can be found at the bureau’s
online American FactFinder [9]. In small groups, use the search terms on the
site to locate the data for Clarkston. What data confirms what you saw in
“America by the Numbers”? What additional data do you find? As a class,
share any information you found that helps round out your knowledge about
Clarkston and its residents.
2. You will now use to begin an ethnography of your own community. (Note:
Assign each of the small groups one of the following topics to research: age,
sex, household relationships, households and housing, race and ethnic
groups, language, employment, income and earnings, poverty and population
change. Pair or group the students evenly to cover each topic.) Within your
group, use the home page to choose your community, define your terms and
narrow your search results for the topic you’ve been assigned. After studying
your findings, download the tables or record the findings on paper or in a
separate Word document.
3. As a class, share your findings and have one student—or your teacher—
record them on a white board or chart paper for discussion. With these
statistics, you’ve begun to form a narrative about your community and its
residents. Discuss:
· Do any of these statistics surprise you? What are they? Why are they
surprising?
· How are these statistics reflected in your neighborhoods? Your school?
· What data would you still like to find? How would you find it?
4. Back in your groups, use American FactFinder to find the same statistics for
the year 2000 (define “Year” and then choose the year 2000). Again, share
your findings with the class. What changes do you discover between 2000
and 2010? Are you surprised by them? How have these changes been
reflected in the community? Record these statistical changes as part of your
ethnography.
The Voices of the Community
In “America by the Numbers,” we heard from both old and new residents of
Clarkston: the mayor, who grew up as a disenfranchised member of the town;
a longtime resident who longs to return to the Clarkston of earlier years;
business owners who are adjusting to the changing population; and refugees
anxious to participate in the economic growth and political voice of the
community. All of these voices help flesh out the demographic data and give
us a fuller picture of Clarkston, its history and its potential future.
1. As a class, brainstorm which voices might provide you with both historical
and present-day descriptions of your own community’s demographics.
Consider people who could provide various points of view. Some ideas: The
mayor or City Council chairman, a city librarian, a bus driver, a mail-delivery
worker, a longtime business owner or a Chamber of Commerce member, the
curator of a city museum, a factory worker, a person studying to become a
U.S. citizen, a teenager, a retiree, a restaurant worker, a local college
professor of sociology. Narrow down your list and divide into groups—with
each group choosing a person it wants to interview.
2. Within your group, write a letter or e-mail to your potential interview subject.
Describe the ethnography project and its purpose, explain how your subject
will fit into the project, and ask for his or her participation. Offer to explain
further or answer any questions your subject might have. Organize a date to
interview your subject in person.
3. Before you interview your subject, plan and write a series of questions you
will ask. Your questions may jump off from the demographic data you’ve
already collected. You also will want to ask for comparisons between past and
present, anecdotes that help flesh out the data and the subject’s own personal
stories. Here are some ideas:
○ How long have you lived here?
○ Describe what the community was like when you arrived.
○ Is it different now? How is it different?
○ How are you the same as other residents? How are you different?
○ What is your profession? Have your customers changed over time? How?
○ How have you changed the way you do business for your customers?
○ What do you think are the most important issues for our community?
○ What do you think are the most important issues for our nation?
4. Conduct your interview. If your subject is willing, record the interview with a
video camera. Supplement the recording with written notes and a still photo.
5. Back in the classroom, share what you’ve gathered and discuss the
interviews as a class. Do they back up the statistical data you’ve found? What
new information did your subjects provide? Collect your statistical data and
interviews in an electronic portfolio, in a research paper, or in a computergenerated video.
6. Share your ethnography with a wider audience. You might write a story for
the school newspaper or share the information at a Family Night gathering or
even a City Council meeting.
Local Election 2014
“America by the Numbers” makes the point that we can’t “pigeonhole” diverse
communities; concerns about the economy, jobs, foreign affairs and social
issues aren’t necessarily determined by skin color, economic level, profession
or age. What example of this diversity of opinion is seen in the film?
Based on the demographic data and interviews your classroom has gathered,
predict your community’s voting trends and the local outcome of the 2012
presidential election. (Note: An accompanying handout [10] leads students
through this process.) On what did you base your prediction? Was it correct?
Share your prediction process and its outcomes in a school newspaper
editorial or on an ongoing blog.
Common Core State Standards [11]
CCSS: R.1, R.10, W.1, W.2, W.9, SL.1, SL.2, SL.3, SL.4, L.1, L.2