My search for a research site has brought me to various establishments, but choosing one that allows me to observe without any feelings of violations towards any individual is very tricky. My first few chosen sites felt uncomfortable, these were at a park (children playground), a bus stop, and a bank. Yes, I know. These places made me felt as if, I was the one being watched. My other places (ones that I didn’t get a chance to entertain were, a library, Dave and Busters, and a public train.
However, after noticing a group of children walking with assistance heading towards a daycare located on Hempstead Avenue in Queens village, I decided to enquire about the daycare. At first I wasn’t able to see the director, but after making an appointment and explaining my intention to the director I was granted permission and introduced to the children (after the beginning of the observation aspect started). The name of the daycare is Alpha Fundamental Pre-school, which has an after school service. The neighborhood has a majority of Haitian living in it, which alpha has a student population that is close to 60% that attends.
The daycare is actually made up of two buildings. Both buildings has daycare classes during the day, on one side are younger age children, the other has pre-k children that are a year away from attending public school and start first grade. The entire daycare has on an uniform that is similar to Public School 34 (the public school that is closest to the daycare). Alpha Fundamental has been in business for over twenty years with a committed staff that’s been part of the day care for almost as long as the daycare been established. During my first observational time at Alpha Fundamental Pre-School, the after-school students seem xcited with high temperament, and engagingly involved with each other’s conversation.
The situation seemed overwhelming at times, with the witnessing of groups (actually two) intensely interacting with each other. After a few hours and being familiar with the after school student’s normal activity at Alpha Fundamental, factors explaining the high-energy of the afterschool students includes: coming out of seven hours of educational institute (which may or may not involves exercise): a brief break at lunch time and another break for traveling two blocks to Alpha Fundamental: and finally a moment to eat snack before starting homework.
At the same time you can say, the after school students are given more than enough time to adapt and adjust to the limits and rules of Alpha Fundamental PreSchool. In any case my proposition for this qualitative research is: after-school students are affected by the lack of extra curriculum activity or exercise which causes these students to engage in a high-energy behavior. Due to this high-energy behavior, after-school students have a hard time concentrating and completing their homework assignments efficiently and in a timely manner.
It seems to me that the best way to formulate a problem Alpha Fundamental is having with the after-school students is to emphasize their high energy behavior. Problems such as staying in their chair, stopping after school students from running, talking continuously loud, and the occasional temper tantrums are all hyperactive symptoms. The suitable candidates to interview for this qualitative research would be the after-school students and one of Public School 34 fourth of fifth grade teacher (seen that the students observed where fourth and fifth graders).
The questions I am asking the students are basic informational question. These are merely stepping stones to prove or disprove the reasoning for Alpha Fundamental after-school student’s high energy behavior. While conducting survey questions, the most significant are due to the nature of my research, the fundamental factors are the answers received. The question of breaks given in class has resulted in a split; this inconsistency shows the lack of any constant, uniform, or dependable routine. The time given for recess and option for bad weather days is also in question (my third survey question).
As quoted from student (2) from answering question three. “Yes, we have recess outside in the yard every day before lunch. Bad weather days we watch movies in the auditorium, and when the screens are not working we stay in the lunch room, where we are allowed to sit next to friends and play cards. ” Even though this answer doesn’t show the child emotions, a shrug of a shoulder after stating the options, shows that there is a lack of enthusiasm for bad weather days (which also includes cold days).
After analyzing the substitution options for outside activity and recollecting the reaction of the participants from question three (noticeable shrug), indicates that the time limit for recess is too short and, and the alternate option for bad weather days seemed pointless. So the answer to our high energy student during cold winter months in New York for recess are, watching a movie in the auditorium and hope nothing goes wrong with the entertainment system. Or for the second options, staying in the lunchroom and converse with classmate with a chance to play cards this is hardly enough to exert a child’s built-up energy.
None of these options has the children playing or exercising (which is the main problem) In my view, the most satisfactory explanation comes from my interview with the fourth grade teacher from Public School 34. The answer for the question of what is done to better manage the high energy of her class is as quoted: “There are good days and bad days, some days it seems crazy throughout the day. Some days, the students are sluggish in the mornings and then they get busy after lunch. Of course, most of the time this is caused by lack of sleep.
The handling of each child varies throughout the year. But yes, in general the hyperactive behavior is a problem at times. To break the majority out of this, there are a few techniques that teacher use, I may announce prizes for best behavior, or just asking the class to stand up and stretch. Every day it’s a process and every day there’s a different situation that needs a different solution. ” The participant of the teacher has pointed out that the class has its ups and down days, which interprets as having vase factors for the high energy students.
The teacher’s stretching exercises and reward system shows that the recess break on an average school year is insufficient, and by injecting techniques (such as stretching) in the everyday routine is an attempt to fix or offset the lack of effort to correct high energy behavior children in her class. The third answer to the question of noticing a difference in behavior after gym or recess also helps to show the positive effect of daily exercise for young children. The results of being able to get the concentration level of her students to rise after gym and recess has strengthened my thoughts and analytical analyst of this research.
Over the course of my qualitative research I have experienced different behavioral acts from after-school students who were extremely active, in an academicals setting. The high energy behavior has similar traits as hyperactive or ADHD. The cause of this high energy behavior seems to stem from multiple factors, but the most apparent factor seems to come from lack of exercise from the daily grind of the daily public school. The Northern atmosphere seems to be a main helping factor in the lackluster opportunity in the daily exercise of our public school children.
