Race, Class, and Gender in Literacy Research (Summer 2011)

This discussion of “complex childhood histories situated within hybrid identities and sometimes conflicted relations with others “(p. 52) is always shaped by our relationships and experiences with reading and writing.

What struck me in these chapters was the power of narratives in our situated histories. Hicks notes that in kindergarten Laurie had a strong sense of story, and her mother read with her every night. In first grade freedom to write her own narrative was replaced with a ‘once size fits all’ curriculum. This served to suffocate the brazenness and power Laurie had demonstrated in kindergarten. In trying to regain empowerment in her life she focuses on becoming the ‘good girl’.

I was interested in, yet saddened by Hick’s descriptions of Laurie’s shifting discourse and identity both at home and school. : “She was starting to live between the contradictory social spaces of unnoticed fumblings in her desk, and rewards for being good” (p. 75). The powerlessness she feels at school is transformed at home into open resistance against her mother. Hicks shrewdly observes, “ She was also clearly in need- but in need of what?” (p. 75). We have experienced this disconnect with students and asked ourselves this question many times in our classrooms. The reconnections come when there is powerful change. One student that I had was instantly more engaged as he counted down to his father’s release from prison. The change was profound to him and he literally joined the class. This would change again later in the year when his father went out of his life again. As a teacher I often feel helpless in these situations. You just have to keep trying.

Laurie’s participation in narrative practices changed dramatically during the period of time when she discussed the arrival of a new daddy. Changes at home and complexities in school have the effect of this ‘dual lens’ that Hicks discusses. Laurie’s engagement was again evident with the appearance of a new man in her mother’s life and her narratives again reflected this new hope of a happy ending. Stories, real and imagined affect our histories and vice versa. As Hicks notes Davies description: “we live them” (p. 85).

Laurie’s later interests in writing and drawing about horses, magical places, and fairies and mythical creatures demonstrate the importance of narrative to her: to recreate the life that she wanted to live. The wonderful second grade teacher is somewhat able to bring her out of her imagined spaces in the classroom. The idea of a whole child being nurtured by narrative is evident here with this teacher, the remediation she receives and the tutoring and friendship with Hicks. Writing served to transform her needs at home and school into a magical, powerful, happy ending. However as she lived out her complex life through elaborate fantasy stories it was clear that the words were still not enough. She remained disconnected.

Laurie struggled, as many of our students do with competing identities that are shaped by literary. Again the readings reinforced the necessity of a curriculum that encompasses what truly matters to the students we teach. She suggests more focus on media, literary texts, and social events may have helped Laurie as she moved between her two worlds. A differentiated literacy curriculum, with daily writer’s workshops can engage many children as they write about their experiences. Hicks reflected that deeper exploration of Laurie’s stories may have aided Laurie and further built her confidence. It is certainly not a simple process to understand the multiplicity of our students’ lives. However, I know we cannot let the demands of the curriculum day prevent us from trying because it could mean changing a narrative like Laurie’s into something entirely different for a child.