The two articles by Staples and Henry are insight to teachers/researchers providing a way for Black youth to find their “voices.” Staples used an after-school program to encourage young Black males to pursue reading and writing with many multimedia outlets. Staples challenges educators to “carve out spaces” for young Black men in the areas of reading and writing at school and after school. Many influences determine a person’s practices in relation to literacy and the term “discourse community” is used. These are people that are bound together by the characteristics in using language. When given the opportunity the students became friends and followed a route of respect, positive reinforcement, individual freedom and acceptance. The most important aspect I found was that Staples “maintained high standards for participation.” I felt that set the stage for success in this group.
I was touched by the “Speaking Up” and “Speaking Out” article by Henry. The African Caribbean girls group was also given a space of freedom to speak their thoughts, desires and questions. Once again this study was designed to focus on literature that the students could relate to on a person level. It seemed as though Henry provided an authentic space for the girls to ask questions and discover themselves like never before. School is often not a place for this type of outlet.
Many times I will refer a student to the guidance counselor for help with issues that is personal. Sometimes I have talked to students that want to open up to me and talk. I think it is vital for students to trust me. That will open the door to future conversations and the acceptance of high expectations. Even if a student does not want to do an assignment as did Kay (who only wrote what and when she felt like writing) it is up to the educator to find a way for them to want to be involved and want to write. We can do that by providing culturally relevant materials and forming that important relationship with the student.
Comments (5)
Sorry - I forgot to link my name to my post. Finding your voice belongs to Karen Gold.
Posted by Karen Gold | June 14, 2011 8:06 AM
Posted on June 14, 2011 08:06
Karen,
I agree that we need to find a time and a way to give our students a space and the freedom to express ideas, thoughts, and feelings. I think that this is sometimes hard to do given all the constraints that we are often faced with. I sometimes don't feel as though I have time to incorporate these types of discussions into our routine because I am so focused on teaching them the grade level content. It is something that I would really like to change. As our other readings have suggested, creating and providing a culturally relevant curriculum seems to be the first step. I think next year I need to spend a great deal of time really learning about my students so that I can try to do a better job in this area. There just seems to be so much pressure to do things differently and it is sometimes hard to stand up to it!
Posted by Leslie Rothenberger | June 14, 2011 10:55 AM
Posted on June 14, 2011 10:55
With teaching 2nd grade I find that circle time is often that time that children are able to share thier thoughts with the class or even myself. some students are less likely to share so what I have developed in my classroom in morning journal writing instead of morning work. Students come in and many have a specific open topic to write about or may have a free write. I collect these journals and respond to at least one journal per student per week. This is a way we can relate and form trust.
Posted by Kara | June 14, 2011 3:03 PM
Posted on June 14, 2011 15:03
Karen, I think you are really hitting the mark when you said it's up to us teachers to find a way to make writing enjoyable for our students. Like you said, we can do this through culturally-relevant material or through building relationships with the students. I also think we can sometimes alter the type of writing assigned. For example, if students feel more comfortable writing in a journal style, they can do that. Some students may want to express their ideas through poetry or song. Whatever format the students use to express themselves... at least they're writing! Also, like Henry said in her article, I think we should concentrate on appreciating the meaning behind the writing and hold off on editing for a specific grammar lesson.
Posted by Andrea Schlobohm | June 14, 2011 9:08 PM
Posted on June 14, 2011 21:08
Nice summaries of the articles. I like that you bring up the issue of trust -- what connections can you make between the way that you foster trust and concepts such as "voice" and "re-authoring" from the research readings?
Posted by Dr. Jackson | June 16, 2011 10:30 AM
Posted on June 16, 2011 10:30