Funds of Knowledge Interview

For the purpose of keeping this interview confidential that student’s name has been changed.

Conducting an interview with Marie and her parent was a great learning experience. This

opportunity to have personal conversations gave me a new perspective on my student. It was

interesting to see how Marie and her mother’s answers aligned with one another. From the

interview I was able to get more insight on the bond that she and her mother share. Marie’s mom

has worked at every school she has attended so far. This allows her mom to keep an eye on her

and gives her a sense of comfort knowing her mom is nearby.

My case study student is an 11-year-old girl. When talking about her family, she shared

that her father is Mexican, and her mother is half Mexican and half Caucasian. She talked about

some family traditions of visiting Mexico to see her dad’s side of the family when she was

younger. She explained that she has not talked to her dad in 4 years. Marie’s mother clarified that

this is because he got into bad situations and he changed in a negative way. She says that Marie

knew it was a bad situation, she was very observant. From these experiences Marie hates conflict

and when people are mad. However, her mother says that this quality makes her daughter almost

too nice. Through all that Marie has gone through her mother said she made it through with a

smile on her face. Marie has a kind heart. Her mom is grateful that as time has gone on their

bond has only become stronger, especially when she’s seen the opposite happen with her niece

and her mother.

Now their family is in a much more positive situation. They live in a two bedroom

apartment with her step dad, mom, stepbrother (1st grade), stepsister (3rd grade) and baby sister (2

years old) . . She refers to them as her dad, brother, sister. Her mother explained how fast Marie

became attached to her stepdad. Almost immediately she asked if she could call him dad. Marie
is always with her younger siblings; they are extremely close. Marie likes to play games with her

siblings and help take care of them. Marie helps keep the apartment, in tip top shape, especially

in her shared bedroom. She loves to organize things and keep everything in order, including

color coding things in her bedroom, according to her mother.

Their immediate family is close, and they are close with the grandma on the mother’s

side of the family. Marie loves spending time with her grandma. Marie says that every time it is

someone’s birthday they get to sleep over at her grandma’s house. Marie explains that her aunt

lives around her neighborhood, she likes to visit her but more recently she has been busy with

work.

In Marie’s free time when she’s not helping her family or playing with her siblings, she

loves creating art, especially sketching things. Her mom says that Marie struggles the most with

reading and that wants to read but gets frustrated. Her mother says Marie’s favorite subjects in

school are art and math. Marie’s mom describes her as a hands-on learner visual learner. Marie’s

answered aligned with her mother’s except, she explains that her favorite subjects are grammar

and math. She likes that math is hard but the more she practices the better she gets at it. She said

she prefers in person learning much more than online learning. When she explained ghat she

likes hands-on activities she referred to our previous science experiments.

Marie loves playing Minecraft because she likes to build things and feed the animals to

help them grow. Marie came to this school as a new student this year, she has expressed how

much she loves making new friends. She always enjoys spending time playing with peers or

interacting with them. Marie loves working with other students during class, lending a helping

hand or collaborating with them.