As I read the chapters in Reading Lives by Deborah Hicks and listened to Dr. Jackson’s podcast, the point that resonated most with me was that literacy was not a school-based, individualized activity. Rather, literacy is a social and cultural activity, much more than just reading and writing. According to Hicks, “the ways in which students’ [engage] with literacies – or institutional modes of talking, reading, and writing - are connected with their own histories, formed with others whom they value and love” (p. 1). While I know that a child’s early literacy experiences are crucial to their literacy development, I think that I have been guilty of forgetting this cultural aspect of literacy development once they enter my classroom.
Hicks asserts that students “come to be and know with others as they engage in discourse practices fully saturated with cultural meanings” (p. 23). The problems for many children, like the working-class poor who are indeed viewed negatively in middle-class classrooms, arise when they enter school and encounter discourses and cultural practices that differ greatly from that of the home. The knowledge these children have constructed at home is the foundation of their identity. Once at school, these children must make shifts as they practice different discourses and different types of knowing. Hicks refers to this notion as “hybrid” ways of acting, talking and knowing (p. 21).
This idea of “hybridization,” for me, is the sum of all of our previous readings. Whether we call it code switching, helping them find their voice, or building a bridge between home and school literacies, this “hybridization” is key into today’s classrooms. Educators must create, respect, and maintain a balance between a child’s discourses. We have to create “classroom spaces where students [can] begin to move between cultural discourses without giving up the richness of their community experiences and language practices” (p. 25).
This is no small feat for educators. We are faced with many constraints in the classroom, especially the standard curriculum we are required to teach. We have to be innovative and creative. We must facilitate lessons that celebrate these different cultures and discourses. I felt that Hicks made an important point when she said that teachers needed to “confront their own racisms and classisms before they [can] see the richness of children’s culturally saturated lives” (p. 26). I know I have a lot of work to still do in this area. While I feel that I am taking positive steps in the right direction, I still have much to learn.
I am reminded of an article I was just reading in my hometown newspaper. The article was referring to a speech made by one of the graduating seniors. In his speech he was reminding his classmates to be proud of who they are and where they come from; their cultural identities. He said, “Wherever you go, wherever you are, don’t forget to say ‘y’all’ and ‘you’ns’.” Maybe his teachers got it right!
Leslie Rothenberger
Comments (6)
I’m glad you pointed out how important “hybridization” is in today’s classrooms in your post. I wholeheartedly agree with you on that point, as well as on the fact that it’s easier said than done. Teachers do have a lot of excess constraints in the classroom today, but if it’s as important as we say it is, we must find some way to fit it in!
Posted by Kim Strzelecki | June 21, 2011 10:29 PM
Posted on June 21, 2011 22:29
Leslie,
I agree that we have to face our own racism and predjudice feelings. I grew up in a time and place where we were not encouraged to get to know the person and judgements were made by the way you looked or where you lived. I think that comes from the racism and predudice feelings that my parents were taught. Until a person goes outside of what they know, they may never learn about different cultures. As educators we have the privilege of getting to know a diverse population and have the means to educate our students about getting to know the person. The students then have to find a way to get along at home with family and get along at school with peers, therefore, they become hybrid. Which is what I do as well when I am with my parents.
Posted by Karen Gold | June 22, 2011 10:26 AM
Posted on June 22, 2011 10:26
Leslie, I thought you started with an important statement " literacy is a social and cultural activity, much more than just reading and writing". You made many good points that when we break down our own barriers and take a look at our children as a whole and not just the students in our classess, then we can take them so much further with literacy. Now we allknow this is easier said than done as we face so many challenges in our classroom these days, but this class is definetly giving us a new lense to look through.
Posted by Kara S | June 22, 2011 5:39 PM
Posted on June 22, 2011 17:39
I liked the quotation you used from page 25, talking about creating classrooms that allow students to move between their different discourses without giving up their own rich cultural background. I think that is, perhaps, one of the most difficult tasks for us as teachers, as you mentioned, too. There are so many aspects of education competing for our time and attention – yet, as we have seen in all of the articles we have read, without this appreciation of students and their discourses, we have little or no hope of reaching them and achieving our goals. And when you think about it, if we don’t create that kind of accepting atmosphere, we must accept the risk of failure, also evidenced by those same articles.
Posted by Marlee Wright | June 22, 2011 6:20 PM
Posted on June 22, 2011 18:20
I like that you brought out the quote stating that teachers need to address their own racism and classism issues. It made me think about the fact that we need to extend our acceptance and embrace of all classes to our lives outside of the classroom as well. Just saying that we will celebrate all aspects of the child's life is not enough. Children are pretty good judges of people. They often know when we are trying to pull one over on them. They are aware when we are just pleasant to them and their families because they are in our classroom. When a child is in your classroom you usually can't help forming a bond of affection and acceptance with them. I think we need to extend that bond outside of the classroom to encompass their community as well. That is the only way children will feel truly appreciated in our classrooms.
Posted by Andrea Schlobohm | June 22, 2011 10:20 PM
Posted on June 22, 2011 22:20
Very smart connection between the prior readings and concepts and Hicks' "hybridity". This is a lovely, insightful post, Leslie!
Posted by Dr. Jackson | June 23, 2011 10:06 AM
Posted on June 23, 2011 10:06