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

I would like to begin by bringing attention to a quote that was included in the Henry article, which I found particularly valuable and powerful. “When I use the term voice, I am thinking of a strong sense of identity within an individual, an ability to express a personal point of view, and a sense of personal well-being that allows a student to respond to and become engaged with the material being studied by the other students in the classroom, and the teacher. Voice, in this sense, is having a place in the academic setting, other than just a desk and a book.” –Beverly McElroy-Johnson

My experience with minority students (as a student and a teacher) has shown me that the majority of these students actually appear ‘voiceless’ most of the time. They are the shy, timid students who do the work required, ask no questions, and usually cause no behavior problems. When comparing these students with the characteristics mentioned in the above quote, it seems that these students would be considered as ‘just a desk and a book.’ This brings me to question whether these students lack the abilities and characteristics of a voice and are indeed voiceless or do they choose not to exercise their voice, and do they know how to use their voice? My guess is that these students choose not to be heard most of the time, but they do need guidance in how to use their voice effectively. So, how do we help students identify their voice and exercise it?

To begin with, we need to help students meet the criteria above. We need to help them identify with who they are, encourage them to share their thoughts, opinions, and concerns, and expect them to actively participate in class. We can help our students achieve this by providing interesting literature, holding group discussions about ‘real’ issues, and requiring verbal/written assignments that will help students recognize their identity, express their views, and allow them to be actively engaged with material, as well as respond to material. Staples mentions that maintaining high standards for students
helps them realize their academic responsibilities. In addition, we need to encourage students to use their voice. If we welcome their voice, they will be more willing to exercise it. Students need to feel that they can freely and openly use their voice, verbally or written, to communicate with their peers and teachers.

Every child has a voice, and it is our responsibility to help them “speak up” for themselves, and “speak out” about whatever they feel necessary. Through patience, love, and encouragement we can help students find their voice. Only when their voice becomes heard, do they have a name and a place in the classroom. They are no longer a desk and a book. She is not the shy, Hispanic girl who sits in the third seat from the left on the first row and never makes a peep. She is loud, not afraid to express her feelings and thoughts, she is proud of who she is, and her name is ___________.

Lisa Beach

Staples and Henry provided fascinating insight into the way teenagers engage in literacies ‘outside of school’ and how they use these to explore social issues.
Staples discussed, as our previous readings have, the importance of ‘abolishing the great divide’. School and home should intertwine in the classroom and student backgrounds valued.

Staples article clearly explained our roles as teachers: “To carve out spaces, to inspire a sense of “not yet” and to reinvent schools and communities that are engaging for young people”. (Fine, 1997). This is not an easy task. It was clear from both Henry and Staples that the ‘classroom’ environment plays a role in creating an atmosphere that is conducive to students having a voice. Henry rightly suggests that teaches should ‘devise spaces inside of school that mirror outside spaces’. Single separate desks speak volumes to me about the level of interaction and types of cooperative discussion that can realistically take place amongst students. An environment geared for discussion that encourages cooperative learning and comfort, not silence is something we all recognize the importance of in our classrooms, irrespective of the age group. Other wise as Henry notes ’we leave them voiceless’.

The trust and freedom that Henry and Staples were able to create is also a crucial component to students having a ‘voice’. Teacher’s need to value what students have to say without judgment and understand that background shapes our diverse points of view.

It was also interesting to read about the ‘roadblocks’ that Henry encountered to students ‘coming to voice’. Henry notes it took a few weeks for the students she was working with to realize that there is never ‘one right answer” gleaming on the pages of a book. I agree with Henry who states that this is a difficult learning process for students of all backgrounds. Too often we experience teachers who expect the ‘right answer’ (I know I did growing up). These are classrooms where as Henry discusses, the teacher does all of the thinking, discussion and imposing of a correct ‘view’ or ‘voice’ and students sit silently without giving voice to their ideas.

Both articles also discussed the importance of the teacher learning to read what the students are reading. How else are we to transform the discussion process?
Staples argues that this atmosphere of trust, this creation of ‘voice’ also has to encompass positive reinforcement, acceptance of language variations, text value and collaboration. It was obvious that text engagement and text choice in the discussion process are essential. Staples explained how after reviewing the film ‘Hustle and flow’ students felt more confidence and more pride in their accomplishments because the issues being discussed mattered to them. They were also given multiple literacies to express their ‘voice’. Henry discovered that Kay used her voice more readily in writing and wrote at length when “ the topics were good” and she could ‘read the world’.

Clearly these experiences that we want for our students take considerable planning. I think it goes beyond simply providing the cultural texts that I have in my room. We have to know what students are truly interested in. Some themes as Henry argues are relevant to all kids and will meaningfully engage them. Others, as we have all previously discussed, need to reflect specific cultural backgrounds as well.

What resonates with me in both of these articles was the importance of planning for discussion throughout the school day. Not for the teacher to be in complete control, but for them to clearly define roles that the students will participate in. The students need to generate questions of their own in order for the group to make connections, create understanding and for all voices to feel valued. The teacher also has to deal with students who as Henry discusses ‘ come to school with real life questions that a teacher cannot always predict” or plan for. Henry’s response to Tamisha’s questions about when to begin being sexually active would have left me at a loss for words. Working in an elementary school, I would not have been equipped to deal with that type of question. However, she chose to turn that question to the group and asked them what they thought first. This choice in the spontaneous discussion maintained an atmosphere of trust and freedom that was so important to the students.

Henry summed up the needs that our students have: ‘they are anxious for spaces” and we must strive to provide them because ‘voice is identity, voice is power and a sense of purpose’.

Karen Massey-Cerda

In her efforts to explore the concept of “coming to voice” for African Caribbean girls, Henry wanted to provide students an opportunity to read and write about issues that were relevant to their own lives. To use Noll’s terminology, she wanted to create a curriculum that was culturally relevant. This was extremely important for Henry because, historically, black students and other minorities have been denied the opportunity to learn about their own culture from a critical or their own informed perspectives (Joseph, 1988). According to teacher Beverly McElroy-Johnson, we have ignored the issues in the lives of these children and have essentially left them “voiceless.”

As educators it is our responsibility and obligation to help these students find their “voice.” We must take steps to ensure that we are providing a curriculum that is relevant to their own personal experiences. Also, just as Delpit and Dowdy point out, Henry also asserts that we must have an awareness of the language and dialect interferences of these students so that we can avoid assuming that their cognitive capabilities are inferior. By accepting students’ linguistic differences and creating a curriculum that includes issues relevant to their own lives, educators can encourage students to participate in discussions and help them understand that their thoughts and ideas are important. We can help them to find their “voice.”

I found myself agreeing with Henry’s decision to ignore “errors” in the students’ writing. By doing this, she found that the students could express their feelings through writing. This is also true in my classroom. I have found that when my students respond to literature or write in their journals, they often ask, “Are you grading this? Are you going to count off if we misspell words?” They always sigh with relief when I answer no. I just want them to get their thoughts down on paper and they do this more freely when they know that I am not going to “grade” it. In this way we afford our students the opportunity to “speak up” and “speak out”.

Henry states that this is especially important for black girls who have been consistently shortchanged in the school setting. She asserts that “[b]lack females need a space for authentically reproducing themselves…” (p. 150). I associated this notion with Staples concept of “re-authoring.” “Re-authoring” is described as the self-reflective processes of naming and ascribing personhood (p. 380).

Staples referred to students who were named “disengaged,” “off-task,” “slow,” “struggling,” and “troublemaker” when they were within the confines of the classroom. Outside of the classroom these students were able to “re-author” or rename themselves. I think that teachers should really examine this concept “re-authoring.” Instead of focusing on our students’ weaknesses, we should focus on their strengths and “re-author” our own representations of our students.

These are our students, like Daniel and Zonnie, whose “school literacies belie their otherwise literacy-rich lives” (p. 379). As Staples points out, opportunities for our students to “re-author” are often missed by us as educators because we fail to see them as relevant to their literacy education (p. 380).

Again, teachers have the responsibility to help our students discover their ability to use their literacies to re-author themselves or find their voices. In order to do this, we (or at least I) need to provide our students with culturally relevant topics which allow them to "speak up" and "speak out" (Henry) and “the possibilities of new names in [their] dynamic literate lives” (Staples, p. 389).

Leslie Rothenberger

The concepts of “re-authoring” and “speaking up” and “speaking out” go hand in hand. They both are concerned with giving students a voice with which to speak and also to learn. Students who are labeled “slow,” “disengaged,” and “off task” re-author themselves outside of school and are allowed a different identity based on what their strengths and interests are. During the course of Staples’ article, the students in her groups are able to re-author themselves inside a school setting based upon their academic abilities. This should be able to happen in a regular classroom as well, not just during after school program. As teachers we should always work to see the strengths and unique abilities that our students bring to the classroom as opposed labeling them due to their weaknesses or any deficits they may have. This is extremely detrimental to the child because they catch on to that label, as well as it’s connotation, very quickly and it dictates their attitude toward school and learning for the rest of their school careers.

The concept of voice was very prevalent in Henry’s article as well. During the course of the study, the African Caribbean girls learned to speak their minds about a subject because, as they learned, “there is never only one ‘right answer’ gleaming on the pages of a book” (p. 241). Too often students today are too concerned with getting the “right” answer. I know I was as an elementary and high school student. I would rehearse my answers over and over making sure I had the exact right answer before raising my hand in class but by the time I was sure enough about my answer someone else would have already said it, so most of the time I ended up hardly ever saying anything unless I was called on. In both Henry and Staples’ articles, trust was an important issue to build among the students before serious learning could happen. Students need to be able to trust that their teachers as well as their peers won’t judge and ridicule them for what they say, or how they say it, for that matter.

Kim Strzelecki

I remember well when our public schools in North Carolina began the integrating process. I was approximately eleven years old and in the fifth grade. I was not stranger to blacks and lived close to many in the Piney Ridge area in Randolph County. To see them come into the school was not a shcok for me but I am sure it was for them. This was also the first year that girls could wear pants to school. I did not think of this at the time, but I wonder how long before we had a book adoption year that would also incorporate black history into social studies and reading. I do not remember one reading book that depicted black culture. All our readers were based on white middle class living, no divorced parents, no dysfunctional families, no same sex marriages, no disabled people and no blacks. The only book I can remember as multicultural was Little Black Sambo.
In all my years in school through highschool I only had one black teacher. Not only did the black student population suffer but also the disabled kids at this time. There were no special curriculum and no other classes. I also remember being embarrassed in the social studies lessons when we studied negative black history and the slave market. I would always peek a glance at my black peers and wonder if they were embarrassed or angry.
In a predominately white school with white teachers and administration, no efforts were made to include the black culture in discussions or topics of interest. My black peers never talked and habitually looked down or at the floor.
I really can not remember a push for multicultural literature in the classrooms until the 1990's. I had been out of the school system awhile and went back into the school system in 1994. I still observed predominately white teachers and white students. I can
understand in Henry's research her quest for answers from the perspective of Black African Carribean females. Not only are blacks oppressed through history but black women received a double dose of the oppression.
Our multicultural world and classrooms should reflect positive cultural values of all races through our textbooks and assignments and discussions.
I find it disconcerting that Henry feels she needs to refer to her studies and concerns as a "take back control" approach. I wish we could all plan a curriculum based on our student's needs without distinguishing one group or another but this has not happened in the past so the "take control" approach may be the only way to accomplish this.
Staples research in Hustle and Flow reiterate much of Henry's but in the life of black males. She says that black males are instantly stereotyped into categories of ignorance, criminality, gangs, murderers and thieves. We see this type of stereotyping attitude daily. If something criminal happens and the name or face of the perpertrator is not immediately available the comment is always, "must of been a black man". have we pushed them to this end?
I had the pleasure of having several black male students in one of my highschools classes recently. We used journaling as a means of mentoring. In their work it was amazing how many of them would write about the way people snubbed them and talked about them. In the perspective of white counterparts, these young black men were accussed of being drug dealers, girl friend beaters and gang members. Given them a voice or an opportunity to express them selves through their own cultural studies may instill pride and a reason to help change stereotypes and perceptions.
However, I feel it is our duty to instill pride in these girls and boys through our teaching and help them discover themselves and us.
I can't help but recall in the movie "The Breakfast Club' that the students were able to tell the teacher his perception of each of them even though unspoken.

"Dear Mr. Vernon, We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong. What we did *was* wrong. But we think you're crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we are. What do you care? You see us as you want to see us - in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. You see us as a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess and a criminal. Correct? That's the way we saw each other at 7:00 this morning. We were brainwashed. "

Candy Kee

After reading both articles, I felt that Henry summed it up best by saying that when educators ignore the issues that are important to the lives of minority students, we are leaving them “voiceless,” meaning that they are unable to identify or relate to the material or school in order to help them create their own identities. Both research models display the importance for giving students the opportunity to write, read, listen, and speak authentic, meaningful texts. Though I know there was a little more leniency given to the setting of the Staples article where students participated in literacy groups during an afterschool group, the insight provided from these meetings display the need to allow students to choose topics, books, etc. that are important to them. By doing this, educators are bridging their backgrounds and interests, regardless of race, gender, class, and power, with the educational community. Even in Henry’s article, the curriculum of the workshop was designed as a student-focused curriculum, where Henry would integrate and add articles, etc. that appealed to the interests and situations of the girls within her small group. By allowing students choice or incorporating material that they can relate to reveals to them that they are valued and important, empowering them with academic confidence and success.

Both articles helped me to realize that literacy flourishes in a range of settings through a range of methods. These literacies occur both in and outside of the classroom, and they don’t just consist of reading and writing but verbal discussions, technological texts, media texts, etc. Though I knew literacy carried different forms, my eyes were opened as to how these different forms become useful and effective when reaching students based on race, gender, class, and power. Educational instruction too often uses the unidirectional model (Henry) where the teacher things, knows, talks, and decides within the classroom while the students sit, comply, and regurgitate what has been delivered to them by the instructor. When will this approach begin to change? If we know that critical thinking is an important skill for our students to acquire, then we need to do more than just model and actually allow students to apply it by stepping back and giving them some choice and free reign where they aren’t criticized for the way they deliver their literacy knowledge. It was evident in both articles that standard English wasn’t exactly the standard for the students in the studies, especially in Henry’s article where the participants were ESL/ELL students. However, when reading the Henry article, there was a comment made by one of the participants who received the donuts for her birthday where she corrected her home language with standard English and chagrin. This disclosed to me that the issue was not whether these students could use standard English correctly but our approaches in teaching them when and how to code-switch. The fact that this particular student expressed some embarrassment at the beginning of the study suggests that she had been reprimanded in the past for her home language usage within the classroom. I think that teachers need to be aware in how we teach students to speak and write correctly in the standard language. They need to see it done with such love, care, and respect so that they will trust the school community and so that the students aren’t failed by the schools (Staples). This care requires planning that uses multiple types of literacy that appeal to the interests and abilities of our students.

Melissa Riley

Staples article on “re-authoring” and behavior in separate worlds was interesting. While reading, I thought of one of my students, Shamek, who is one of the sweetest children you could ever meet. He’s a well-behaved, hard-worker with a laid back personality when he is in my guided reading group. But when he associates with his best buddy, Clay, the two are fighting other students and the next thing you know he’s suspended from school again. It is truly hard for me to believe that he behaves this way around his peers. Shamek needs to "re-author on the outside" as Staples would say. I wonder how seeing African American men portrayed in a negative way in the media affects the African American male?

It was intriguing to read how Staples engaged students by giving them opportunities to work on their weaknesses in literacy through areas that interest them. As Staples states, “students who had trouble decoding print were able to forefront their abilities to talk, write, or deconstruct images while they gained practice interrogating documents.” Providing choice seems to be a prevalent strategy in education today, along with multiple modes of literacy learning (visual, auditory, kinesthetic, journals, storytelling, media and technology). Including students in the decision-making on what material to read, gets them involved and helps them to take ownership in their learning.

The community respect that developed was of great consequence, especially with these older students who normally refused to participate in the lesson. Having students agree to respect one another in the group (no ridiculing) helped to create a safe environment, so the students could take risks in areas where they struggle. Reassurance and praise from the teacher can positively affect struggling students who may just need a confidence booster to encourage them to put forth an effort.

Modeling standardized English, while allowing language variations the students were accustomed in using, reminded me of my ESL students’ pronunciations of certain words no matter how many times we go over it. I have mentioned this in a previous post, but they always pronounce “mudder” for mother, because they are so used to saying it that way. The pronunciation of this particular word, along with several others, must be engrained in their vocabulary permanently.

The use of roles in cooperative grouping made the assignments seem more manageable and less daunting for the students. I have noticed that my students enjoy being responsible for their part in a group assignment. I recently had a group of six 5th graders work in two groups of three. We read an informational text on reptiles. The group roles were Note-taker, Artist and Summarizer. As we read the text, the note-taker would write important information about an animal and the artist would draw a graphic representation to go with the note. After reading, the summarizer wrote a paragraph about reptiles and their characteristics. The students collaborated and discussed each part of the project even though they had group roles. The students were totally engaged in the group project.

I feel very fortunate that my position allows me to work with small groups of students. We are able to have discussions that sometimes reveal personal information that would never be mentioned in a whole group setting. Because of the small group setting, I learn things about students that their classroom teachers do not and, it is certainly easier to meet the needs of the students. For the students, I believe it is easier for them to express themselves in a small group setting.

In Annette Henry’s article, “Speaking Up” and “Speaking Out,” she mentions that her “objectives were shaped by research showing that reading and writing activities together promote greater learning than when they are treated as separate subjects” (Staton, 1989; Tierney, 1990). When my students respond to literature in their reading logs, they know that the most important thing is to think about what they have read and respond in writing. They know that I will not correct grammatical mistakes, so they are free to get their ideas written. This quote by Henry (1999), “Black girls may ‘learn’ to be silent or complacent in classrooms, they, indeed, have a lot to say,” made me think of a student named JaNyah. I was pleasantly surprised when JaNyah journaled an entire page about a portion of text we had read. She included lots of questions which revealed that she had given the reading much thought. Was I surprised at her lengthy response because she is black? My surprise did not lie in her ethnic background; rather, my surprise was based on the length of responses I usually get from this group of struggling readers. I mentioned her ethnicity because of the research that is sited in the article. Hale (1982) claims that black girls “are invisible to teachers as serious learners.” I’m curious to know how the researchers came to this conclusion. As a teacher of African American girls in K-5, I certainly disagree with that finding. However, that research is nearly 3 decades old and education has changed a lot since then. I have high expectations for every student, no matter the color of their skin.

Carol Holt

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.

Staples article Hustle and Flow (re-authoring representation for Black masculinity)
Henry’s article Speaking Out (African Caribbean girls)

As I read the Staples study and the Henry study the thought that struck me over and over again was the importance of connecting with students. In both studies the students who were involved were ones we would characterize as under-achievers. They were clearly not connecting with what was being taught at school, nor did they indicate that they connecting with their teachers and the subjects they were being taught. I found it interesting that Henry noted “It took those first few weeks to convince them that there is never only one ‘right answer’ gleaming on the pages of a book.” (p. 241) I couldn’t help but wonder how these students had gotten to this point in their schooling without having anyone actually listen to what they were saying, or to help them understand that their thoughts were worth listening to. This seems to be a prevalent occurrence in the articles we have read – it certainly worries me that we, as educators across the nation, appear to be failing so many of our students simply by not making an effort to understand – and appreciate the relevance of - their backgrounds.

It seemed, again in both articles, that the students’ lives outside of school were totally separated from their lives in school. This, too, concerns me. I have always thought of education as preparation for my life, believing that, for the most part, what we learned in school would be relevant in my life. Generally speaking, I have found that to be the truth. It seems, however, that for these students, school was just something to get through until they could really live their lives outside of school. As lacking in relevance as their school experience appears, it is no wonder so many drop out of school before they graduate!

One technique which Henry used as a tool for self-expression was drama. I couldn’t help but think, as I read that section, how will the budgetary issues affect those students whose forms of self-expression are the arts? In the age of “No Child Left Behind” and “Race to the Top” are we allowing monetary issues to cut us off at the knees as we seek to help these students learn through these different learning styles?

It is evident that these students could learn. Staples’ interviews with the teachers after the conclusion of Youth Leadership showed that, as did Henry’s experiences in her study. It seems that what they needed was to be taught, with material that was relevant to them, how to use the “processes of engaging media texts” (Staples, p., 388), and to know that their efforts would be supported rather than disparaged as inadequate. I thought Staples’ recommendation for working with “urban adolescents of color who appreciate popular cultural narratives” (p. 388) were insightful, and that they could be applied to many educational settings, including school settings where other minorities - American Indians, Hispanics, etc. – are in the population.

It is evident that we in education have a lot to learn!

Marlee Wright

Our voice is important and as teachers we express our voice daily, but often we don’t allow our children to express their voice freely. We often silence student voice because we feel it in inappropriate or not the right time. As state in Henry’s study students “need opportunities to read, discuss, write, and express themselves in a safe, private context. It is our job as teachers to provide this opportunity to our students. Students often times don’t get the opportunity to express themselves because of their age and often times they have something very valuable to bring to the table. We have a job as teacher’s to help students to author themselves to find their own voice. Students need to learn to express themselves not matter if writing or public speaking is their strength of weakness. Often time’s students use not having a voice as a defense to slide through the cracks without being noticed that they do need help academically or emotionally. If we integrate writing into everything we teach as a reflection model then students will be able to give their voice in one form or another knowing it is safe to share their thoughts.

In Staples article students were able to re-author themselves in an after school program. It was argued that in the classroom these students were often “off task”, “slow”, “troublemaker”, or “struggling”, but when they were in the after school program they were able to “re-author” themselves. To some this concept should come as common knowledge and what everyone should be doing in the regular classroom. Meeting student’s interest and needs based on their abilities. This is not always easy to do, but a good teacher will make every attempt to make sure that it happens. When students are actively engaged then the terms of “troublemaker” or “struggling” can be change to successful as students are engage at their ability and interest. We did a gender study this year at my elementary school and as I got into the research and started applying some of the strategies within my own classroom there were drastic changes in the way boys and girls responded to literature. Their behaviors and attitudes also changed. Maybe it’s the teachers that need to”re-author” themselves instead of the students.

Kara Scott

The research conducted by Annette Henry with adolescent African Caribbean girls and by Jeanine Staples with African American urban adolescents illustrated how young readers can create meaning when the text is engaging and the environment is free of judgment from the authority figure. Getting to know your students seems to be a necessity for reaching students socially, academically, and culturally when interacting with text. The relevant, real-world connections made by these researchers in a non-threatening atmosphere enabled the students to bring their own voice and identity to the text giving it a sense of purpose that is often not found in the traditionally structured classroom environment. When we have a multicultural population, it often leaves some students without voice, and as one junior high school teacher explained to Henry, voice is power. It empowers students to express their ideas in a productive and positive way. Both studies note the importance of creating independent and critical thinkers by constructing language and communications skills among their peers.
As a teacher in the elementary grades, I understand the need to provide opportunities for students to find value and relevance in their classroom work. When provided with a more flexible after-school setting, the ability to use engaging forms of media to build voice and thinking skills appeared more acceptable than the traditional school setting now accountable for standardized test scores as an indication of achievement in reading. I feel these small groups gave the students stronger voice and identity when expressing and articulating their views but I am skeptical about the extent that this could be modeled in a classroom of twenty multicultural students. As stated in Henry’s research, “school is rarely a place for explicit discussions of private discourses” as described in these studies. The skills acquired by these students when using culturally relevant text in their small groups gave them confidence and critical thinking skills that fortunately carried over into their classroom work. While some of the material in these studies would not be appropriate for classroom text, I feel there are literary works that deal with similar issues our students face on a regular basis outside of school that would help build those connections and provide a stronger voice.
I think the bottom line of these studies is for educators to allow students the ability find their voice through culturally relevant media and by allowing them to express their voice in a safe and non-threatening environment where they are given freedom and cooperative authority about the program structure and text value. I am not saying this is an easy task, but with a willingness to get to know our students and to learn what is relevant in their lives, we can create critical thinkers who feel accepted and valued in their school community.

Michelle Carlson

I admire educators who are willingly to allow students to have input into their own education. In both of these readings each group had a positive outcome. I believe that this was a direct result of students having ownership in the programs and a sense of trust. We all know that students will not learn as much or be as successful as possible; if they do not feel safe within their surroundings. The students in these groups did feel safe. This was evident when students asked personal and in depth questions. The students also regularly contributed to discussions, made suggestions, and voiced concerns. Kay, Alice, Tamisha, and Nadia were finally given a safe place to ask questions that were important to them. I think educators often forget that we may be the only person in our students’ lives that is willingly to listen and respond to their thoughts and ideas.

While reading the Hustle & Flow article, I thought that Staples did an excellent job incorporating a variety of media texts. This is something that needs to be integrated much more into my own classroom. All students respond differently to various media texts. If I am only using one or two I am not meeting the needs of all my students. My school is finally purchasing SmartBoards for each classroom. This will hopefully be a useful resource and allow my students to view other forms of media texts.

My students are much more engaged when I make them a part of the decision making process. I keep thinking about the beginning of each school year. My students and I sit down to make our classroom rules. It is also humorous to me when they create rules that are much more harsh than I would ever be. I always have to reel them back in a little because we can’t have children going to the principal’s office for forgetting their homework (this was a suggestion from one of my first graders last year). They students do remember the rules better when they have input creating them.

In first grade they can not have an extremely organized discussion on a topic but they can express their thoughts and ideas through other outlets. In math, students could choose to work with a partner or small group. They had to create a math game and teach it to the rest of the class. I was simply amazed at the thought that went into their games, not to mention to attention to detail while explaining the rules to their peers. I must admit that this project was given to the students with only two days left of school and this was not a planned activity. However, it turned out wonderful and I will definitely use it again next year. I believe that it turned out so well because of the simple fact that the students had a sense of ownership. This is something that I know I am guilty of. I do not give my students an ample amount of time engaged in activities that they suggest, create, and/or drive on their own. Sometimes I feel as if they are too young but that simply isn’t true. I need to release my own sense of ownership and give it to my students.

Stacy Durham

Those students that are "disengaged" as readers and writers are often not encouraged in literacy engagements. Finding out the interests of the students and allowing them to be a part of the decision making for the out of school time studies was a great way to bring them together and help them to see they do have something to say and give. The use of "popular culture narratives" was great motivation. Through the use of alternative contexts (like films, Internet, and popular periodicals) students were able to interact with literacy. This is one way that our schools fail our students. We do not allow our students choices within multiple contexts. Students need to be encouraged and engaged through means that inspire them. When this happens they find a voice and in this type of environment it was very non-threatening and encouraging. If teachers would allow students to work with multi-media context (with guidelines and choices) students would have a sense of freedom about what they are reading and writing about. By allowing them to "re-author" themselves through new/different media students will reveal their desires and intelligences.
We (educators) need to be aware that we teach "culturally relevant" literacy. Not everyone is from the same culture and we need to be mindful of that when we are teaching. Our identities and ideas of cultural norms are very different. That's why it is so important for all students to have a voice. Re-shaping our curriculum by choosing themes that are culturally engaging for our students is best practice. Students want to see themselves somewhere in their learning and it is our job to ensure they do, to prevent disengagement. When our students become actively involved in the curriculum and are allowed to have a voice, their voice, not the voice of the majority of the group. Our minority groups need to feel they can speak up to help bridge the gap, and they will only do that if we encourage them. We must allow them opportunities to integrate who they are outside the classroom into the classroom.

Karin Scott

What I liked most about the Staples and Henry articles was that both workshops developed into something that the students enjoyed and were proud to participate in. In the beginning of Henry’s workshop, many of the girls had adopted passive female roles and Kay was hesitant to write because she did not feel she had what it takes to be a “good writer”: spelling and concentration. Likewise, in the Staples workshop, students were used to being identified as troublemakers or lazy students. Henry’s participants changed by developing a voice in connecting to and analyzing literacy. They were proud to use that voice to share their opinions and point-of-view. Staples’ participants developed the ability to critique texts on their own terms and look at themselves in a new way. By the end of both workshops, I felt that the students in both groups had succeeded in re-authoring themselves.

Through both workshops there was a thread of diversity and acceptance. Students were allowed to journal privately, act out publicly, and/or share thoughts in a small group. Henry did not focus on correcting the girls’ spelling and grammar mistakes, and Henry allowed the student group to use whatever language they deemed necessary to get their point across in discussions. I believe that this acceptance and variety of options for expression are what made these programs so effective for the students. Staples identifies “positive reinforcement,” “community respect,” and “individual freedom” as key elements in assisting adolescents in re-authoring themselves. Integration of these policies into the general classroom would benefit all students and would lead to more than just better class participation. I bet it would also lead to less school violence and bullying, because students would feel that they are all getting to express their voice and they would know their voice has been heard.

Henry stated it may be difficult to take these small group discussions and achieve the same results with a large heterogeneous group, and I agree with her. However, I believe that integrating Staples’ suggested strategies (p.382) is a step toward making these small group results a reality in the larger classroom setting. As educators, we do want all students to have “a place in the academic setting”, and that place should not be sitting silently at their desks.

Andrea Schlobohm

These were two extremely powerful and aggressive studies, tackling not only race and gender but also addressing the search for identity and acceptance in and out of school. Finding your voice and taking a stand on topics can be quite complicated if you do not feel your opinion will be valued. Annette Henry also points out in her study, the lack of material used in schools that directly relate to women, presenting the issue we have read about before- interest. Students often ask themselves, why should I care about this? or how does this apply to my life?

Henry utilized readings that she knew would appeal to the girls in her study, helping them connect and relate to their own lives. Through writing and encouragement they were able to gain confidence in order to “speak up and speak from their own experiences.” I think Henry provided a vital component for the girls when she helped them realize there isn’t a “right answer.” After all, everyone has their interpretations and can relate differently no matter how similar backgrounds or home life may be. These views are felt but only when they are voiced can the individual be validated, reassured, and feel acceptance. I think Henry provided a great example of helping students find their voice and self-value in the classroom by using real-life examples. Jeanine M. Staples also utilized specific and controversial material to peak the interest of students labeled as “disengaged” in order to help them learn to “re-author” or find their voice.

I see both of these studies as examples of the importance of looking at the whole student. Not just grouping them as boys, girls, black, white but rather noticing their home and in school strengths, weaknesses, and interests. Even at a young age children find they are valued and have a place at home but struggle to find that same significance in the classroom setting. Using more material based on their interests and providing extra time and additional avenues for them to express their feelings will be a good start.

On a very simple scale I have helped my kindergarten students begin to find/develop their voice through journals. After drawing/writing on a specific topic or free-write we would come to the carpet together and have a sharing time several times a week. During this time students were giving the opportunity to share their work with the class. It was an important exercise for building confidence, acceptance, and voice. As a participating audience member the students also had to develop respect and patience for the presenter. The discussions are some of my favorite times from this past year. Just think what we could learn from kids and they could learn from each other, if we all took turns and listened.

Ruth Ann Timmons

Having taught 2nd grade for 7 years, reading these articles came as surprising for me initially. In the 2nd grade, girls are not that shy at sharing their feelings. I believe that the security blanket that guards girls from sharing naturally gets unleashed as a defense as the girls get older and have more personal experiences. They aren’t sure what is allowed to be shared and what they should keep to themselves. In this respect, it is wonderful that there are people such as Annette Henry who encourage teenagers to feel comfortable to share openly and provide them the opportunity to do so. I remember a few years ago, I did have one student who was extremely quiet. She rarely voiced her opinion in class, and she was an observer, always allowing others to take the lead in discussions. Towards the end of the year, she started raising her hand during discussions. I tried to contain my surprise and immediately called on her. Obviously, she needed time to feel trust and confidence in her immediate world. She needed to know that she was not going to be putting herself at risk by sharing. I respect the time it took Miriam to open up. Sometimes people are not as easy to crack as others. People need time to feel self-confident. This experience taught me the value of patience as a teacher.

Regardless of gender, the relationship that you form with a child will be a first step to open any open door. We have a 3rd grade African American girl at my school who has discovered this year that she is behind all of her peers in learning. That realization, of the possibility of failing in front of her friends, or getting critiqued by the teacher for things she is unable to do, has paralyzed her. She gets herself up in the morning due to her mother going to work early. Alexis decides when she wants to go to school. She has a tutor who she works with twice a week and she shared privately with her tutor her new understandings. She shared how she “planned to be absent from school next week because [she] didn’t want to take the End of Quarter tests.” Her tutor shared this insight with me but was very concerned with the way that we handled the situation because it was important that Alexis knew she could continue to confide in her tutor. This experience taught me the value of relationships in teaching and how they are key in building the trust and opportunity to get to really know a child.

Another example these articles reminded me of was the story of the teacher, Erin Gruell, and her “Freedom Writers,” that was made into a movie. Those students were given a piece of paper and told that they could write whatever they want without the fear of being scrutinized and when they thought their ideas were completely private, they came clean, their writing somewhat like poetry in it’s nature. In my opinion, writing can be a form of private discussion without the concern over getting in front of an audience. In Henry’s article she points out the very important point that school can create a fear of public speaking, especially if they have to speak a language which is not their primary tongue. Writing provides them the opportunity to share without the fear of getting ridiculed. Since “school” can be that one factor that continues to keep students from sharing openly, I loved the project that Jeanine Staples began after school. Since students did not associate their writing with “school” and being evaluated, they were more openly expressing themselves…especially when they were reinventing themselves as authors.
This taught me the important lesson of letting students create for themselves a new author, that is separate from their own academic personality. I have learned the value of freedom when it comes to writing in the classroom. Students need to be able to feel free to become who they want to be, and write as they want to. As a teacher, I need to give them that freedom.
-- Carrie Brown

Literacy can be interpreted in so many different ways. These interpretations are directly affected by race, class, and gender. In Hustle and Flow, Staples discusses the act of “reauthoring” and its role in enabling African American males to identify with various literacies
outside the context of school. Through reading this article, I began to understand the value of
redefining oneself in order to draw meaning from technology and media texts. While school
may fail to include literacy experiences connected to diverse cultures, ‘popular culture
narratives’ provide these individual students with opportunities to connect with texts using
their own unique perspectives. As a result of these provisions, they are able to maintain
a genuine level of engagement. They use their experiences and knowledge of their worlds to
interpret and create meaning. Perspective is everything, and the students’ contributions are
key. Ownership is crucial in literacy education, and we need to factor this idea into our
instruction. True learning occurs when students are able to draw their own conclusions,
critically evaluate using their own prior knowledge, and express their ideas using their own
language. As teachers, we are always asking students to pull from their own experiences and
background knowledge to help students comprehend what they read or view. With that being
said, we have to remember that diverse backgrounds do not readily lend themselves to all
texts. We would not expect our English-speaking students to be able to draw meaning from a
French text so why do we expect all students to understand texts on the same level or to the
same depth?
With regards to “Speaking Up” and “Speaking Out”, the idea of leaving minority
students ‘voiceless’ is a sobering reality. Every day there are students who feel that their issues are being ignored. Like everyone else, these African American and African Carribean girls have ideas and thoughts they want to share. It is okay if they share in their own languages and dialects. I do believe that their messages may be altered or even lost when they are “avoiding their mother tongues and dialects.” (Henry 237) By choosing texts that minority students can relate to, teachers are treating an inviting atmosphere and forming relationships with these students. We should strive not to “squelch student creativity and expression.” (Henry 243) On the contrary, it is our job to celebrate diversity and welcome each child’s contribution to each learning experience. Equally important is the acknowledgment of social issues pertinent to their culture and gender.