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

There were parts of this article describing our educational system that I found tremendously frustrating. One issue I had was the assumption that students have literacy deficiencies when in fact, the teachers and students often have difficulty understanding each other. Therefore, the teachers, because of their hierarchical role, judge the students to be lacking in ability when really miscommunication is the primary concern. It’s important for a teacher to look at her students and reflect about what the real problem is. If I have a whole class that does poorly on an assignment, was it the students, or was it my teaching and clarity as to the expectations of the assignment? I think many teachers blame the students for their lack of achievement when oftentimes the teacher needs to reflect on changes they could make themselves.

As seen in the remainder of this article, Daniel and Zonnie are considered average to below average students yet they have some incredible literary talents that their teachers do not recognize because they have not bothered to learn about them or their culture. If the teachers aligned their curriculum to meet the students’ interests they might see some real imagination and engagement in language arts. Daniel shared that things that he studies in school do not relate to him because they are mostly about “white man’s stuff.” Since the teachers don’t appear to show an interest in him, I believe Daniel responds by not showing an interest in school and doesn’t complete assignments that he is very capable of doing. It’s not important to him. This reminds me of one of my favorite students from 4 years ago. He left my class in 2nd grade where he was thriving and went to a 3rd grade teacher who was pretty mean to her students. I would surprisingly see Brandon in the office on numerous occasions. When I would question him he would honestly say, “Mrs. Brown, she doesn’t show me respect so why should I respect her?” I didn’t know how to respond to his insight because my heart ached for this young man who had loved to learn the year before. I learned later that he started coping by excusing himself to go to the bathroom and go and sit in my friend’s 4th grade class in the back and listen to her teach! This demonstrates that children have the innate desire to learn. Like Brandon, Daniel and Zonnie wanted to learn but turned to cultural opportunities to learn because they were not inspired by school.

Things that do inspire them, such as singing, drumming, and poetry, are activities that they engage in wholeheartedly. Is there a reason that those things can’t be incorporated into school? I found the commonality between Zonnie and Daniel, as well as most other students I’ve worked with, to be the arts. There is a reason that the Multiple Intelligence Theory is known world wide…students learn in different ways. Yet when funding is cut, what is the first to go? The Arts. Therefore, this article is another reminder that teachers need to incorporate the arts into their program. Fortunately, Zonnie and Daniel have families that promote their children’s interests and strengths. Yet there are many students whose families are not culturally involved so their children are not aware of that outlet and the only source of their education is school. That is why it is our job as teachers to involve both the arts and cultural opportunities (hopefully ones that students can make a connection with) into our teaching.

-- Carrie Brown