Ryan Harris

 

Capstone Process Paper

 

For my capstone, I decided to work closely with 7^th and 8^th graders at Independence Charter School to help them create better National History Day Projects. Originally this was not my idea. My first idea was to create a class/club centered on what the children wanted to learn. I thought that this idea was perfect since it fitted perfect with what I wanted to be when I was older: a teacher. Here I could put myself into a position much like a teacher, while also engages the kids I worked with because they would learning about things they enjoyed like: sports, videos games, books, etc. After discussing the original idea with my mentor, we realized how cumbersome of a project that would be. With a project like that, I’d completely dependent on what the students wanted to learn. If they weren’t putting in any effort, I’d be out of a capstone. I would also be dedicating too much time to creating projects/lesson plans for the class every week. After discussing alternatives, we decided that I would help on existing process going on at the school: National History Day. This was definitely a better idea for me because I still got to be in a teacher-like position while having a better focus on my capstone. During the process of about 3-4 months, I learned how my capstone relates to the five core values.

With inquiry the students and myself had two major questions above our heads: “How do our NHD topics relate to the current theme of 2013?” and “If not, how can change our ideas so that they fit into this year’s topic?” Before getting into any serious work with any of the students I’d ask the kids to explain their theme and overall project in a couple sentences. This way the students can see for themselves whether they have a good idea on their hands instead of just me telling them. For research, I would try to help the students by introducing resources that can possibly collect better sources for the kids. Being that they are 7^th and 8^th graders, they collect almost that looks like a credible source. That’s where collaboration comes in. I’d be there to help distinguish between what’s “good” source and what’s a “bad” source. How something from a random website on the Internet is definitely less effective source that a source from something like an accredited newspaper. In addition to that, I also helped by showing the differences between primary and secondary sources. For many of them, it’s their first introduction into dealing with primary and secondary sources. Using my four years at SLA, I tried to demonstrate more effective ways of presentation a final product. I tried to show the students I worked with the idea of CARP (Contrast-Alignment- Repetition-Proximity), something we always try to implement in our final products at SLA.

The process of my capstone first began when I pay visit to some the students while they were in school. As introduced myself as an alumni of Independence Charter School and that I was once in their position with NHD projects. I told them about my experiences with the National History Day competition and even how my years at SLA have made much more proficient in creating projects. I tried not to come off as too demanding and that I was resource that they had the choice of using. When my mentor compiled as list of groups that wanted to work with me, it then transformed to weekly sessions where I would work with the groups. Although I was very optimistic about the process, I began to notice major issues even after the first meeting. I was just one person in a room full of kids that wanted my help. I quickly realized that I had to divide my attention between six different groups in only a relative short amount of time. Thankfully, my mentor was there to help me out. After one our meetings we decided that I would only work groups who were really invested in the process, but even that had problems. Every week I’d be meeting with a new group so there would be a constant dialogue between the students and myself. Even when I could meet with a group on a consistent basis, these groups already knew what they were doing. I couldn’t really add anything to the overall project. Also a lot of the time, I felt that input wasn’t even being taken into account. I would suggest something to a group and they either completely ignored it or just do it without even considering how it might affect their project.

I’m certainly proud of the fact that I stay with something like this. I was always ready to work with the groups even when it hindered my normal senior workload (benchmarks, projects). I also got to experience what a lot of teachers deal with on a daily basis. Most teachers, especially ones that teach grade school work with kids that are scatterbrained and don’t necessarily pay attention all the time. It’s certainly a difficult thing to deal with that I have to take into consideration when I become a teacher. If I could do this capstone all over again, I’d certainly recruit other people to also work with me so I wouldn’t be dividing my attention amongst so many different groups. I believe that SLA is better place for letting me attend because this is where I got to use all the things I learned in middle school and actually apply them to tangible and worthwhile things. I also believed it’s a better place because I became more invested in global issues and SLA has motivated me to become a much more globally minded citizen. 

Abstract: This is my Capstone. My senior project was to create a guidebook to pass down to the next classes so that they can learn how to become an effective student teacher. This guidebook was made off of my own experiences and can definitely be built upon if absolutely necessary. 

Here is a link to my annotated bibliography.

Here is a link to my process paper.

Taina Rosario- Cover Page

My mentors for my capstone were Srta. Manuel, and my grandmother Señora Iris. I chose Srta. Manuel because of her connection to the Hispanic community through her Spanish classes, and because of her bright energetic mood that pushed me to do my best. My second mentor was chosen was because my grandmother is an inspirational woman who made learning to cook not only a learning experience but enjoyable as well.

 My Capstone was about learning to cook. I decided to learn how to recreate recipes that have been passed down through the generations of my family. In this project, I hoped to enhance my cultural awareness by surrounding myself with facts about my heritage. The main idea of my project was for me to learn how to recreate older recipes and in the future pass them down to the next generations. Also this gave me the chance that I’ve needed to learn how to cook in general

My Capstone was a deeper look into Puerto Rican Cuisine I spent the time that we were given for our capstone on learning recipes from my grandmother that have been passed down the generational lines. For my capstone I spent every week working on my capstone with my out-of-school mentor, I edited my photos that documented the process, and even recorded interviews with Latinas of my generation. To showcase my project I create a website that become the home for my process. 

Link to my Website

Annotative Bibliography:

Primary-

1) These are all photos I took while cooking, they are ingredients, processes, and products of my learning. The photos were taken over the span of three months. Many of the hands in these photos are of my mentor, or my own. These will be used on my website as proof of my process. The reason they are so important is because these are primary sources that do not give away the recipes of my family.

Canned Ingredients, Kitchen. Personal photograph by author. 2012.

Organic Ingredients, Kitchen. Personal photograph by author. 2012.

Frying Nanicletas, Kitchen. Personal photograph by author. 2012.

Displayed Nanicletas, Kitchen. Personal photograph by author. 2012.

Handmade Sofrito, Kitchen. Personal photograph by author. 2012.

Measuring Rice, Kitchen. Personal photograph by author. 2012.

Beans and Sofrito, Kitchen. Personal photograph by author. 2012.

Mixing Rice, Beans, and Sofrito, Kitchen. Personal photograph by author. 2012.

Guineos, Kitchen. Personal photograph by author. 2012.

Yautia, Kitchen. Personal photograph by author. 2012.

Calabaza y Yautia, Kitchen. Personal photograph by author. 2012.

Guineos without peels, Kitchen. Personal photograph by author. 2012.

Red peppers, Onions, and Sofrito , Kitchen. Personal photograph by author. 2012.

Red peppers, Onions, and Sofrito 2, Kitchen. Personal photograph by author. 2012.

Mixing ingredients, Kitchen. Personal photograph by author. 2012.

Calabaza y Guineos , Kitchen. Personal photograph by author. 2012.

Washing the Calabaza y Guineos, Kitchen. Personal photograph by author. 2012.

Cutting Olives, Kitchen. Personal photograph by author. 2012.

Base/Masa, Kitchen. Personal photograph by author. 2012.

Pork Stew, Kitchen. Personal photograph by author. 2012.

Rice Cooking, Kitchen. Personal photograph by author. 2012.

Unwrapped Pastele, Kitchen. Personal photograph by author. 2012.

Masa, and Pork, Kitchen. Personal photograph by author. 2012.

Wrapped Juntas, Kitchen. Personal photograph by author. 2012.

Inside a Pastele, Kitchen. Personal photograph by author. 2012.

Diced Calabaza, Kitchen. Personal photograph by author. 2012.

Mashed Cooked Calabaza, Kitchen. Personal photograph by author. 2012.

Adding Flour to the Calabaza, Kitchen. Personal photograph by author. 2012.

Adding Flour to the Calabaza 2, Kitchen. Personal photograph by author. 2012.

Mixing Calabaza and Flour, Kitchen. Personal photograph by author. 2012.

Mixing Calabaza and Flour 2, Kitchen. Personal photograph by author. 2012.

Frying Tortitas de Calabaza, Kitchen. Personal photograph by author. 2012.

Drying the Tortitas, Kitchen. Personal photograph by author. 2012.

Rice Ingredients, Kitchen. Personal photograph by author. 2013.

Oil and Sazon, Kitchen. Personal photograph by author. 2013.

Beans before rice adding, Kitchen. Personal photograph by author. 2013.

Coming to a boil, Kitchen. Personal photograph by author. 2013.

2) This book was found in the Library of Philadelphia. This book was chosen because within it I found a section about Puerto Rican Culture. This source is useful because not only is it primary, but it also had a good amount of information about the Puerto Rican culture. I will be using this to understand further about the food and why there are certain ingredients.

Ember, Carol R. "Puerto Rico." Countries and Their Cultures. By Melvin Ember. Vol. 3. N.p.: Macmillan Reference, 2001. N. pag. Print.

3) This book was found in the Library of Philadelphia. This book was chosen because within it I found a section about Puerto Rican Culture. This source is useful because not only is it primary, but it also explained in high detail about why certain traditions and lifestyles are only in Puerto Rico. I will be using this to understand further about the food, and to learn amount more traditional meals.

Gall, Timothy L. "Puerto Rico." Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture and Daily Life. Vol. 2. N.p.: Cengage Gale, 1997. N. pag. Print.

4) This book was given to me by my mentor. The book is about the indigenous people of Puerto Rico and how they came to be colonized and the culture. I used this book to understand parts of the culture I had yet to dig into deeply.

Rouse, Irving. The Tainos: Rise and Decline of the People Who Greeted Columbus. London: Yale UP, n.d. Print.

5) This book was also given to me by my mentor. The book is about the original culture of the indigenous people of Puerto Rico and how they came to be colonized. This book was used in my development of understanding my original culture and why some traditions are still in place now.

Bercht, Fatima, Estrellita Brodsky, John A. Farmer, and Dicey Taylor, eds. Taino: Pre-Columbian Art and Culture from the Caribbean. New York: Monacelli, 1998. Print.

Secondary-

1) This source is a web page/blog that a woman has created to explain Puerto Rican Culture. Within this site, I found a page that is dedicated to traditional food and drinks. I will be using the information from this site as inquiry to understand further the Traditional dishes of Puerto Rican culture.

Rivera, Magaly. "Food and Drinks." Puerto Rico Culture:. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Feb. 2013.

2) This source is a web page/ Journal on Fox News Latino. Within it there is an explanation of how multicultural children, or children raised in a different culture are less exposed to the primary culture. I used this to understand why I was never taught how to cook spanish food, or highly immersed in my culture.

Edwards, Melanie. "5 Traditional Puerto Rican Foods I Wish My Daughter Ate."Lifestyle (n.d.): n. pag. Fox News Latino. 29 May 2012. Web. 01 Feb. 2013.

3) The source below is a online snippet of a Magazine, El Boriqua. The article that this leads to is about all different types of recipes from Puerto Rican Culture. I used this site as an idea creature for some of the many recipes I later began to learn.

Figueroa, Ivonne. "Recipes." El Boricua, Un Poquito De Todo. El Boricua, n.d. Web. 01 Feb. 2013.

4) This source is a total synopsis of the Puerto Rican Culture. They touch on the Ethics, Geography, Settlement, and even food. This source is useful because it has a lot of information that I needed to understand my culture further. I used this source in furthering my understanding of the Island, the culture, and even why some foods are seasonal.

"Countries and Their Cultures." Culture of Puerto Rico. Advameg, Inc., n.d. Web. 01 Feb. 2013.

5) This website has an interactive chart that shows certain festivals that are still celebrates in Puerto Rico. Also on the site is information about traditions, and cultures which food is a part of. This information is used to understand when, why, and where certain dishes are served.

"About Puerto Rico." Puerto Rico Culture:Visiting Puerto Rico|Puerto Rico Festivals|Puerto Rico Music. Puerto Rico Tourism Company, n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2013.

6) This site explained many of the cultures that have influenced the Puerto Rican Culture and Cooking. The site shows a photos and explains one of the dishes I learned now to create. I used this information to dig deeply into the cultures that create the melting pot that is the Puerto Rican Kitchen.

Figueroa, Ivonne. "History of Puerto Rican Cooking." History of Puerto Rican Cooking. Marknet Group Inc, n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2013.

7) This page of a bigger site is about the seasonings, and main components of Puerto Rican dishes. This page has information about Sazon, Sofrito, and even Adobo. Many of the seasonings on this page were used at least once during my span of learning. I used the information on this page to also learn about seasoning that I had not used yet.

Jones, Sarah. "Ingredients for Your Traditional Puerto Rican Meal." Ingredients for Your Traditional Puerto Rican Meal. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2013.

8) This article on the New York Times website is highly insightful, yet a bite snide as well. While it explains the cultural mixing that lead to the Puerto Rican Cocina Criolla, it also looks down on the now trending Latino-Asian food mixing that has been seen in some restaurants. I used this sight to understand some of the views on Puerto Rican dishes.

Apply, R. W., Jr. "On Puerto Rico, a History of Tastes." New York Times: Travel. The New York Times Company, 23 Feb. 2005. Web. 3 Feb. 2013.

9) This article is all about Puerto Rican foods. The site explains how the three main cultures in Puerto Rico influences and created the diversity in the cuisine. This site was helpful because it not only had information about the other cultures that influenced Puerto Rico, but also the Indigenous aspects that Puerto Rico was rooted.

Meléndez-Klinger, Sylvia. "Country Cuisine Profile -€“ Puerto Rico." Hispanic Nutrition. Wordpress, 21 Sep. 2009. Web. 03 Feb. 2013.

10) This site has information about the musical aspect of the Puerto Rican culture. On this page, much like my other sites, there is an explanation of the cultural mixes that lead to Puerto Rico’s diversity. I used this site to help with understanding other aspects of the culture, and for finding music for my webpage.

"Arts: History of Puerto Rican Music." Puerto Rico Encyclopedia. Fundación Puertorriqueña De Las Humanidades, 2012. Web. 03 Feb. 2013.

Process Paper---

Introduction:

For my capstone I decided to learn the recipes of my native culture. I did this by having my out-of-school mentor be my grandmother, who on countless times has offered her assistance in teaching me those recipes. There are many reasons as to why I chose cooking for my capstone. My first reason was to enhance my cultural awareness. My second reasoning was to conquer my uneasy feelings towards cooking. My last reason for learning about my heritage was to be able to pass it down to my future children, while learning from and spending time with my Grandmother. When it comes to the SLA core values I believe that simply wishing to broaden my understanding of Puerto Rican cuisines I has shown inquiry. I have shown research and collaboration through speaking with and learning from my grandmother, but also by interviewing other Latinas of my generation. My presentation and reflections were visible though the amount of work I have put in this project as well as the finished product I have created.

Process:

For this capstone I conversed with both of my mentors to understand what I would need to accomplish for this project. I took the time to figure out what kind of schedule I would need and what exactly my process over the months would look like. I also received some point from my advisor as to what would be more visually appealing while still showcasing all of the information I had gathered. The last person, but also one of the most important in my process was my mother. My mother never let me skip out on meetings with my mentor, nor did she let down her expectations of my work. Every week, like clockwork, she would ask me about my project, how far I was, and what I had to do next. My only obstacles was having all of the ingredients at the time, and weekly having our meetings rather than leaving it to chance. My main resources were my grandmother, some books on Puerto Rican heritage, and a few websites that I found useful. Since every family changed the recipe there were not many outside resources that I could have used unless I was trying to understand the basics.

Reflection:

Through out this whole project I can say that I am most proud of the fact that I actually took the time to learn certain recipes and that after being put in an uncomfortable situation I am now more adjusted to cooking. I have even become accustomed to making things from a recipe that is written, and adding in my own decisions. Through this project I have learned that it takes time to become even moderate at any task. I have also learned that some of the best memories are the ones were you are sharing stories with your love ones over food. If I could do this project over again I would want to show how much fun, I had with my family as I learned to make the recipes that have stuck with them through the years. My feelings towards SLA, as my school, have changed only a little over the years. At first when I was asked how SLA would be made a better place by my presence I thought that I would be the one changing more than the school. At this moment in time, after four full years here, I feel that SLA was a better place by my presence because I made friends and filled the building with the laugher and passion that drives us all. I never knew that I could be so close to people until I experience what its like to be looked up to and seen as an equal by my peers.