Reading about Jake, I was thinking about so many boys that I have had in my own classroom. I recall many conferences with parents where they claim, “But he’s an excellent reader at home!” Jake’s story gave me insight as to what might be happening at home vs. school in innumerable homes across the nation.
Jake appears to be a typical boy, who idolizes his father and learns from experience, especially by making mistakes. He’s very active and takes interest in primarily masculine activities. The literacy activities he takes part in at home involve informative reading and constructive action, things that are “real” to him. He has difficulty making the connection to many of the books that are available to him in school.
This discrepancy between home and school is understandable, yet it negatively influenced Jake’s motivation towards school. Students are going to take more of an interest in things that are relevant to what is happening in their lives. As Iris Murdoch states, “I can only choose within the world I can see…” (p. 151) That is why it is our job as teachers to get to know our students and know what drives them. I wish that Jake’s first grade teacher had introduced him to books that might interest him. I do think that you can learn a lot from a student by reading their writing. Jake’s writing in particular, and the fact that he was always engaged at writing center should have been a clue to the teacher that Jake felt constricted in other activities and excelled in that center because it was the least restrictive.
Like we read earlier in the Delpit/Dowdy article, in chapter 6 Hicks also admits to wanting to slough off her girlhood discourse, in order to be an academic and pursue a life of psychology, linguistics, and philosophy. But then she realizes the importance of those young experiences and the relationships that shaped her. Jake should be entitled to embrace his own interests and cultural background, instead of being “good” and conforming to his teacher’s expectations of what is right. I’m not saying that he shouldn’t behave. We all KNOW how important good behavior is to learning. I just think Jake’s strengths and interests, such as writing or NASCAR, can be turned into learning opportunities instead of ignored.
-- Carrie Brown
Comments (5)
Carrie,
I agree with you about Jake's writing and reading experiences. He typically always wrote about action stories with himself as the central character and about his family experiences. Reading Jake's journal would have given the teacher a clear window into his literacies at home and a basis for meaningful conversations that would have made sense to Jake. The teacher could have taken him to many places: book making, poetry etc that was an extension of his personal stories.
The teacher coud very quickly have found texts that appealed to him based around his interests as model texts for writing about NASCAR and race stories.
Posted by Karen Massey-Cerda | June 29, 2011 2:53 PM
Posted on June 29, 2011 14:53
I agree with you when you stated that it is our job as teachers to get to know our students and discover what drives them. This is so important for all readers but especially good readers who have little or no prior knowledge about reading. If we can instill a love of reading in a young student, it is more likely that they will become lifelong readers/learners. If educators do not make an effort to find out their students’ interests and give them engaging books, students may begin to develop the thought that reading is not something that they are interested in. I thought that you made a great point when you mentioned how we can gain a lot of insight about our students’ interests by reading their writing. This is a simple, yet effective method.
Posted by Stacy Durham | June 29, 2011 3:12 PM
Posted on June 29, 2011 15:12
Carrie,
Today we have an almost unlimited amount of resources at our disposal. We have numerous books about numerous topics at all levels. I agree that we have to acknowledge our students' interests to motivate them to learn. In the future, I will make an earnest effort to increase my classroom library to appeal to the discourses that my students bring to the classroom.
Holly Lawson
Posted by Holly Lawson | June 29, 2011 7:23 PM
Posted on June 29, 2011 19:23
When reflecting upon your statement about Jake having difficulties in connecting to the readings offered within school, I can't help but think about the other courses I've taken that emphasized the importance of giving students a choice in reading selections and base these choices upon the interests of the students. Perhaps that could be part of a missing piece in helping Jake achieve enthusiasm toward school literacies. He obviously has demonstrated connections with home through writing where he mentions his likes and interests. These writings should be used as a guide in matching him with appropriate-leveled books that pique his interest and curiosity.
Posted by Melissa Riley | June 30, 2011 3:14 AM
Posted on June 30, 2011 03:14
Candy Kee
Carrie, How right you are. Jake was so involved in his father's world and I am sure he idolized him and the work and masculine activities he did. All of a sudden Jake finds himself in an alternate world and the only thing he knows to do is mimick what he has learned. How sad it is that our curriculum does ot embrace diversity within races and gender as well as diversity in general. Our classrooms should be packed with books and activities for all interest levels and cultures. I worry now because money has been cut when we need it most.
Posted by candace kee | June 30, 2011 9:44 AM
Posted on June 30, 2011 09:44