RES 5530: Race, Class, and Gender in Literacy Research (Spring 2009)

How is it that we might forget to inform every pre-service and in-service student that all teachers are obliged to honor the many languages we speak? ~ (p. 212)

I always love when ‘live’ moments seemed to connect perfectly to my ‘reading’ moments. For the past few years I have struggled to put together classes that would be practical and full for the pre-service teachers that I have the pleasure to teach. The hardest part of developing the classes is getting everything in – there is an abundance of materials and knowledge that I want to share with them, but I never have enough time for it. I always have to cut something out or simply gloss over it. However, this week I had one of those moments that showed me I should no longer leave out or cut short discussions of language in the classroom. We were talking about giving the word recognition portion of an Informal Reading Inventory. As we played around with how to administer it and score it, I asked the students what they would do if a student read the word ‘wrestle’ as ‘wrastle’. This led into a student sharing a story about a piece of writing one of her students shared with her. I don’t remember what the student’s story said exactly but he had written it as if he were talking to his friends when the assignment was a report on soil so in his attempt to share the information that he had learned, there were instances of slang. I asked my student how she responded to his piece and she honestly shared that she had to ‘chuckle’ a little. So of course the rest of the class thought that the young student’s story was funny and they chuckled as well. In addition, before class started during their lunch break they watched a few you tube videos that poked fun at the uneducated in poor communities and their inability to speak correctly. While I know the program was meant to be funny and light-hearted, I just couldn’t help but think of all the implications and biases that are built from comedy skits. I realized from these moments that I needed to spend time talking to them about accepting, appreciating and respecting the languages that their students will bring to the classroom. So, I talked for just a little bit about the issues we have been discussing together. I didn’t want to ‘preach’ to them and I knew that I needed them to read a piece first before I could effectively engage them in the conversation. Needless to say, I’m assigning an article for them to read and react to this week. It’s my job to teach them how to accept the diversity in their classrooms, so these ‘missteps’ are really the best teachable moments I could ask for.

One other thing and I’ll try to keep this a little shorter! My favorite chapter from this week was chapter 12, so I apologize that my response focuses narrowly on it, but there was a passage that inspired me and I wanted to share it with all of you. It’s on page 215, 2nd paragraph. Tha paragraph itself is structures so perfectly that you feel the emotion that Wynne has brought to the piece. She questions how we can dare to leave out the voices of those who have brought our country through out most challenging times and deeply supports the notion that all of our children need to hear those stories and realize that we are all a part of that history. The lives we lead today, the lessons we teach and the lesson we learn all extend and add to the history that precedes us and our language, our stories are what make that history timeless. So, I’ll end with a part of that passage,

Those now grown-up activists who created the sit-ins of the ‘60’s, who walked in marches, who survived the jails, have told me about the power of the chants, the songs, the language to keep them alive, committed and unified in a struggle that no one thought they could win. That language and those stories belong in our children’s classroom (p.215).

Amie Snow

I had to say a big amen when I read in chapter 12 that language preference and discrimination is "based on politics, not on science." There is no perfect language. Languages are all useful and enable communication. I hear a lot of teachers comment on elementary ELL students, especially kinder age. The teachers say, "They don't know ANYTHING." Actually they do. They just might know things in another language. They might not have been read to, but a lot of English speakers don't have that luxury either. They might not know how to write their name but they might be able to change a diaper (something I never did until I was 32). All students have some sort of knowledge, whether or not it matches up with school culture. After reading chapter 12, I agree with the author that we need better conversations about language and diversity in our teacher training programs. And here in NC we need more teachers who are not white, who come from some of the same ethnic backgrounds as the students.

The other comment I would like to make is regarding chapter 9. As teachers we are quick to defend ourselves and say that we accept all children and speak to them respectfully. I liked that the author pointed out that what we say isn't necessarily interpreted the same by all children. We might think we are praising or accepting, but what is our tone? Have we made a joke previously that the students overheard? Do we make comments during a read aloud that show our prejudice? "Teaching requires listening, not merely to your students but to yourself being listened to." (159) Whenever I have taped myself teaching I have been shocked at some of the things I said or how "Southern" I sound.

Ashley Catlett

Chapter 9 grabbed my attention early on when Kohl discussed student and teacher talk. Many people outside of the education profession don't realize it, and even teachers aren't faced with this issue until they actually begin teaching, but he is absolutely right: "standing in front of a group of young people is a linguistic challenge" (pg. 147). If we actually stood back and thought through every single word that left our lips or everything we heard from our students, we would certainly learn a lot and wish we could take back many things! We have to be so careful! Yet it is so hard to screen everything that comes through. Just as Kohl states, our students listen so much more than we actually think they do. And sometimes this is a scary thought.

I can certainly relate to the story of Julia on page 148. Throughout my school years, I was the one in class who never spoke up for fear of being wrong, laughed at by my peers, or scolded by the teacher. So I kept my mouth shut, fully engaged in the lesson, but afraid to participate out loud. This kept up even until college, when in the midst of intellectuals and existential class discussions, I held back because I feared I wasn't deep enough. This can play out in the opposite manner as well; I have had many students who feel it is their duty to challenge every word I say and argue about it to the point of nonsense. Kohl has a point when he states "the hard thing is talking to a whole class when people listen differently" (pg.150). The topsy-turvy illustration was great, and it makes a lot of sense to me. This chapter will hopefully make me really think about what I say, how I could be interpreted, and what the responses of my students could be. Could I be eliciting that quiet, non-existent response from the kid in the back? or am I eliciting the loud, defiant questioning from another student? I need to be more aware of how I communicate to my students in order to make them feel more comfortable with learning in my classroom.

I appreciated Wynne's chapter primarily because she argues that all children should have a diverse education in language backgrounds. If children are taught differences in speech and language and are taught to celebrate this rather than stomp on it, then our society would come a long way. I found it fascinating to read about Rokeach's study which found that fostering prejudice stifled cognitive development. Again though, as with other chapters we've read, I wished that Wynne would branch out and talk about ALL dialects and languages rather than focusing on just Ebonics. There's a lot of prejudice going on with Appalachian dialect, and with students who are assimilating from other countries like Mexico. Children should be exposed to all of this no matter where they live. Who knows what they'll do or where they'll go after they leave our classrooms? They need to be prepared to come into contact with a variety of dialects and know that it's okay to accept them.

Christy Rivers

Kohl’s article on “Teacher Talk and Student Talk” complimented one of my assignments this week in another class where we had to tape record and transcribe a classroom discussion. It’s a tedious but eye opening task from which every teacher could benefit. I was surprised to hear myself jump in to finish my students thoughts or to suggest words for them when they hesitated. The purpose of the discussion was to encourage students to exchange ideas with one another, so I was also dismayed to hear myself judge their ideas with the tone in my voice. At times, I answered student responses with enthusiastic phrases such as “Excellent idea!” Other times I delivered a luke-warm, “Close, keep thinking.” The exercise made me reflect on how my “Teacher Talk” affects the “Student Talk” in my classroom.

Now a few thoughts on the Smitherman chapter...
I agreed with two of Smitherman’s “Three Prong Policy” statements. Yes, we should teach “Standard English”, while accepting the native tongue and yes, we should promote foreign language acquisition. However, the idea that we should promote “Mother Tongue” instruction as a “Co-equal language” is impractical. It’s not uncommon for classrooms to have students from several different language backgrounds. My first class had at least five including Hmong, Vietnamese, and Guatemalan. So just how am I supposed to deliver co-instruction in all these languages? I don’t think Smitherman was ever a classroom teacher.

I’ve been wondering how I can apply some of the ideas we’ve been discussing in this class. I found a wonderful book of poems called Hip Hop Speaks to Children, edited by Nikki Giovanni. It even comes with a CD with some poems read by their authors and others performed to hip hop and rap music. It includes well known poets such as Langston Hughes and Maya Angelo as well as authors like Nikki Giovanni, and entertainers like Queen Latifa. The language is rich, rhythmic and anything but “Standard”. My students loved it and I feel like I’ve taken a step toward validating and including some of my students’ native tongue.

I enjoyed the chapter by Herb Kohl. His thoughts on "teacher talk and student talk" really got me thinking how my language affects my students learning and behavior. Previously I would have never made a connection between the two. I will certainly pay closer attention to what I say and how I say it from now on, because like many of the examples he gave in the book, I have a "core" group that listens, while approximately 30 to 40 percent of the students are zoned out. While I have asked a student what the problem is, like the author did with Julia, that is more of the exception than the rule in my classroom. I need to work on getting feedback from my students.
Unfortunately I did not enjoy the chapter by Geneva Smitherman as much. While I agree with some of the points she made, I have trouble with some of the others. I agree with the joke about Americans only speaking one language (p173) and I think Americans have a very limited world view as a whole. However is "Black English" really a language? I believe we should accept the use of it in the classroom, but not teach it. Children should be aware of the differences and cultures in America, that make us who we are, but should learn correct grammar in order to prepare them for what may lie ahead.
The piece by Joan Wynn broke my heart. To read about intelligent students who were unable to speak out, because they "don't speak right", just seems to prove the point I just made. These students needed proper English to feel comfortable in order to particpate in the journalism awards. They were intelligent and obviously gifted students and writers, yet did not want to ask questions. And as the author stated, the others were denied hearing their voice. I feel we need to accept each childs language as valid and worthwhile, but teach them how to be correct. I do not feel that one language is superior to another, but one may more appropriate in situations than another. To put it another way, think of a formal place setting. There are three forks, two spoons, a knife and a butter spreader. Each night when I set the dinner table, I do not set the table this way. However I do know what each piece is and how to use them. You start with the outside fork for and work in- the first is salad, then dinner, then dessert. So while I don't eat dinner this way every night, if I am ever invited to dinner at the White House I will know what to do.

I agree! The issues with Standard English that were presented in these chapters were not new; the authors from the previous chapters have identified similar problems. But the authors provided new ideas and examples. Out of the three chapters I enjoyed reading chapters nine and twelve the most, but all of the chapters made me question and analyze my idea of what is appropriate for the classroom.

“Teachers are listened to more than they usually think they are, though listening, understanding and obeying are three different things all together”. I understand the difference between listening, understanding, and obeying and I understand his point, maybe teachers don’t think students are listening to them when they aren’t obeying their directions. I feel that “obeying” is a harsh way to put following directions, simply because I feel that my dog obeys what I say, and humans are on a different level. Either way, students don’t follow every direction or “obey” everything teacher’s say. I enjoyed reading the example he described of the combined K-1 classroom. But I disagree with a point Kohl makes later in the middle of the chapter. When he is presenting the idea of student talk and teacher talk he explains that both teacher talk and student talk are problematic because they have to be interpreted. The part I disagree with is when he states: “This has nothing to do with language differences. It has everything to do with the way in which language is heard and interpreted, with tone, presentation, attitude, implications, and an understanding of how to convey complex meaning in a way that is understood by the spoken-to”. (pg 151) I have always felt that body language can portray the feelings of individuals more than what they say. Therefore, I agree that tone, presentation, attitude, etc. have to be considered and understood but I feel that is part of language. To me that is a language difference, with each culture and age group there are different actions. The reason I am arguing this point is because I think it is important when you see a student laying his head on his desk and comments “there he goes again”. I am referring to one of the examples Kohl describes when visiting classrooms. I think the body language of this student is identifying his feelings much stronger than his words. He may not be lazy, he may not understand, he maybe having a bad day. I also think about the body language of the student from a later example. The student walked in and pushed a student out of his chair and accused the teacher of being racists. I’m sure his body language was very clear when he walked into the classroom. And the teacher who was being “spoken to” could have taken in the body language he was speaking and prepare herself. The most important idea I took from the chapter was: “laugh at the things you’ve said under pressure and share that laughter with your students and talk, talk, talk about how people speak and listen”.

My questions are about statements that were made in chapters ten and twelve. In chapter ten the opening passage notes a resolution that was passed by CCCC in 1974. The footnote states: “Teachers must be trained to respect diversity in order to uphold this right and preserve the heritage and dialects”. This statement and a statement made in chapter 12 made me think about the “training” I have received. I believe that most teachers cannot be instructed on how to become excellent teachers, instead information (like the topics in this book) can be presented and with discussion and problem solving teachers can be “trained”. I also want to ask teachers who are currently in the field: before you read this book were you aware of the problems with adopting Standard English as the only acceptable language? Because this is the only class I have taken that has presented these ideas, maybe there is information available once you enter the school system.

Elizabeth Griffin

It’s a funny thing how my mind works. Instead of causing me to reflect on insightful discussions and interactions in my past about language, the readings took me right back to my high school chorus days. I attended a private school that placed great emphasis on the arts and its college preparatory curriculum. I have always loved music and singing so I really enjoyed chorus. Our director had just completed graduate school and was exciting and energetic. One of the things I liked best about Mr. Manning was that he chose pieces reflecting a variety of styles. We performed classical pieces, spirituals and everything in between! But, without a doubt, our favorite pieces were the spirituals. Ain’t-a That Good News was one such piece. We worked hard to master the proper dialect—especially since we rarely heard it—there were no African Americans at my school—that’s right, none. Although I enjoyed singing the piece, I remember feeling guilty about it on several levels. It seemed hypocritical to work so hard on the dialect on top of using the word “ain’t-a” over and over again when we were NEVER even allowed to say ain’t at school under any circumstance. I also struggled with feeling as if I were making fun of someone. Although our director “educated” us about the genre, I never got over my insecurities associated with singing spirituals.

Ain’t-a that good news? No, it’s not. It was not good that I sat for thirteen years in a school not predominantly white but ALL white. I now realize that it was not good that I only heard my language from others with my same southern drawl. Maybe the reason I liked singing spirituals so much was that I experienced what Toni Morrison described when she said that language “is the thing that black people love so much—the saying of words, holding them on the tongue, experimenting with them, playing with them…” (p. 214). Maybe I liked spirituals because the language was fun! I look back and realize the lack of diversity did not serve me or my classmates well. In many ways our educational environment bred feelings of both cultural and linguistic superiority. If Rokeach’s assertion is correct that by fostering language biases we stifle students’ cognitive development (p. 209), then I find it ironic that my parents’ decision to provide what they thought to be the highest quality education available may not have rendered the desired result. While I am extremely thankful for the opportunities I have had educationally, I wonder what I have missed.

When my husband and I discuss some historical event or particular time period, he always reminds me that history is written by the victors. Not only do the spoils go to the victor but so does the language. It was good for me to be reminded by Wynne that “language has an army and a navy” (Dorset, 1997, O’Neil, 1997). I am realizing more and more how political language is and my responsibility to listen to myself—to make sure that I am not being misunderstood and thus rejected because I fail to consider what I truly communicate when I speak. While there is no national public policy on language, there is Barack Obama. He provides a connection for many of our students, a symbol of pride. I have a wonderful opportunity to bridge a gap with students as I value what President Obama brings to the Oval Office. While I may not have as many culturally diverse experiences in my past as I would like, I do have tomorrow. I do have a chance to make a difference in the classroom. Ain’t-a that good news?

Lisa Rasey

Many of the articles we have been reading continually criticize teachers for not listening to our students or trying to change our students language, knowledge, or behavior without respecting them. I was very very glad to finally find an honest author that admitted that perhaps he, at one point, did not really listen to what a teacher was saying. Herbert Kohl reflected on a time in which he, his classmates, and their families perhaps jumped the gun so to speak on a young inexperienced teacher. The situation was historically set after the Holocaust and World War II as he mentioned in his article and everyone was offended by the teacher refering to the students and parents as "you people". The community basically had her ousted for potential racial views and this teacher's career may have in fact been ruined. But think about what he said he and his classmates were doing to this teacher. Hiding all of the books, throwing things across the room, and lighting stink bombs in a class would be enough to drive any of us towards complete and utter frustration, probably to the point in which we would not necessarily sit and think about what we were going to say to parents of children that were acting in this manner. He was really upset and almost apologetic in his current time for perhaps having misunderstood the young teacher. This is the idea that I have been trying to convey. Most of these other writings have never once examined the possiblity of having misunderstood someone or some teaching. EVERYONE can be misunderstood. Words are words and sometimes, the nicest comments can be taken incorrectly. I had this happen first year teaching. One of my students had some trouble and I had written in his agenda a note to his parents. I had first written Mr. and Mrs. Norton, however, I remembered that they were not married and that the mother went by a different name. So, trying not to offend her, I crossed it out and put Mr. Norton and Ms. Owens. This was a complete effort to respect her choice and to go by what she had called herself but she took this alll wrong!! She even called my principal and said she felt like I was chastising her for not being married! I think that is the problem with most people today. We react and automatically assume someone is "racist" or "judgemental" without even looking at where the other person is coming from or giving them a chance to explain. The fact that Kohl realized this and reflected upon this was such a relief. We are not perfect in what we say and do. No one is. I do believe though, as teachers, that we try and do everything with the best of intentions and I think that quite frankly, we take a lot of heat from many people. I think if more of society went through some Topsy Turvies, we would be thriving in a better world. One where people are rational and really listen to reason.
Whitney Gilbert

Topsy-turvy. This was an interesting read indeed. I have considered this information several times as an adult but never would have thought to put it into words. I am actually someone who is incredibly aware of my words and tone. I have considered the importance of tone and perception by others since I was in high school. I do believe that all too often teachers and other professionals pay little attention to how others perceive them.

For example, in a classroom setting, a teacher might say, “Randy, I’m serious.” In reality, this is probably not a great idea. This could be easily shown in tone of voice and body language. Actually speaking these words shows the student that you are hesitating. It is almost as if saying “I’m warning you but not doing anything.” I feel that students can definitely sense weakness in a teacher’s tones and words. This is why we should all carefully consider our words and even body language.

Then, I thought the last two readings were somewhat related. They discussed the role of politics in language. With the first reading discussing national public policy and language, the author seemed to present information on the legislation and steps towards encouraging educators to accept student’s languages and dialects. Then, the second reading focused on the supremacy of Standard English in the minds of teachers.

The most interesting idea for me was that the correctness of Standard English is promoted in the classroom. This reminded me of my first observation while student-teaching. There was a section of the observation titled “Proper Use of Standard English.” When I received the compliment “displays excellent use of Standard English and proper grammar,” I sat and thought about the importance placed on Standard English. I do agree that teachers should have the ability to speak Standard English and be able to set an example of this for students. However, I could not help but consider the idea behind this on a formal observation. I suppose it is important to possess the ability and set an example, yet be able to accept other dialects and encourage students to keep their own cultural and linguistic identities. There is a fine line between the two opposing sides, and, for me, there is more gray than black or white in this situation. Perhaps someone else could shed new light on the controversy.

Brittany Guy

I am the type of person that really tries to think about what they say, especially during discussion with parents when they are concerned or I am concerned about something. However, until I read chapter nine I never really thought about how my tone/presentation might affect student or parent perception. After reading the chapter I began to wonder whether or not my students/parents could see through what my words were saying and see my true feelings about particular topics. I have on several occasions caught myself saying something that I should have worded differently or later thought about how a parent might have taken something I said the wrong way. Now I realize that I need to think past that and pay even closer attention to how I am being perceived by not only what I say but how I say it.

Kohl’s comment about how “New teachers, if they do not come from communities that are similar to those they teach in, are particularly vulnerable to miscommunication.”, hit home for me. My first year teaching I was hired at a school where 19 different countries were represented and 26 different languages were spoke. I had issues of racism come up twice that year. I remember thinking that, especially because of my military background and my parents raising me to never judge someone based on color that I was the farthest person from being racist. But now as I look back on the situations I see where my students perception of the event was completely opposite of mine. The first incident was during a spelling test. The word was brown and when I used it in a sentence I said, “I do not like the color brown.” I never thought twice about the sentence until the next day when the parent of one of my boys came to talk to me. She was not offended but wanted to let me know how upset her son was. That incident happen to be over the particular wording I used, however later in the year I had a parent go to my principal about a situation in my class that her and her daughter took great offense to and told the principal that I was not only racist but I did not respect her child as a female. I had great difficulty that year with getting my kids to put their names on their papers. I repeatedly told them that if their name was not on a paper that they would get a zero. It was April and I continuously had to guess which paper belonged to each kid based on their handwriting, especially on homework. I sat in circle with the kids and told them about my frustration. I then put the homework, without names, out in circle and told them to look through them. If one of them was theirs they were suppose to take it and throw it away. My purpose, I thought, was not to demean the students but to emphasize the importance of writing their names on their papers. This particular child did not take it that way she went home and told her mom that I threw her paper at her and told her to throw it away. Her perception of the incident had to do with how she thought I felt about her not the point I was trying to get across, to put their names on their papers. At the time I blamed the mom for not thinking through what happened. However, after reading that chapter I realize that maybe I should have been thinking more about the perception the kids were getting from my behaviors and words. They were offended, not because I gave them a zero on their homework, but because after they had worked hard on their homework and that I didn’t care.

Wynne makes a very valid point. Why is it that teachers go through the education program in so many universities, planning to be prepared to teach but yet not one course prepares us to understand the importance of our tone, presentation, implication, attitude or the acceptance and importance of children’s language. It was not until this class, an elective, that I really thought through all of these issues. It is no wonder that new teachers go into classrooms and fail. If nothing else classroom management classes should focus on the importance of these issues and have open discussions like we are having.

Amy Spade

Kohl made me think of a moment I had in high school. Moving from the Midwest to the South was not easy. I had issues fitting in with my peers, mostly due to the “language barrier”. But I was trying. I remember speaking with my favorite teacher, informally about something I had done. “Me and Jessie went to the beach.” He quickly corrected me. I remember being confused. I felt comfortable enough with him, and I thought he respected me. Why is he correcting me, when I am just trying to fit in? After that I was very hesitant about talking with him. I was always afraid I wasn't going to say the right thing. I even became quieter in class. He meant no harm but I couldn’t get past the fact that he didn’t understand me. In turn, I think about the damage I may be causing my students. I try everyday to give them the respect that they deserve, but I wonder if I am doing enough. I tell students that I am not understanding what they say when they answer me, and I tell them to explain it in another way. Is this hurting them?

This chapter also got me thinking about the way I use mannerisms and my own language when teaching. I will tell you that my first two years teaching were awful. And a lot of it has to do with the fact that students weren’t hearing me. And it wasn’t because they had the volume turned down. I wasn’t speaking to them I was speaking AT them. And with their behavior constantly annoying me, I am sure my tone was not great. I’m sure it was awful. Things have changed this year because I went into it with a positive attitude. I also told the students that I wanted our classroom community to be a family. And it truly is. Of course it didn’t start that way; we put a lot of effort into it. But the students are hearing me this year. They are listening. And I am speaking WITH them. I suppose over the summer I had a topsy-turvy experience. I thought long and hard about where I wanted to be in 5 years and where I had come from. I realized that teaching IS for me, and I needed to do some things to change who I was as a teacher to benefit the children.

The other two chapters also bring out many thoughts that I am having. For example, Smitherman motivates me. She makes me want to go out and do something about this issue of language in the classroom. And Wynne is even more inspiring with the reference to the 60s and the power of words. She questions the universities and the knowledge of its preservice teachers. I have no doubt that preservice teachers are not getting what they need. It is shocking to think that some universities are pumping out teachers who think that people who speak Ebonics are inferior. Maybe I am taking that to an extreme. But I do wish I had read this book when I was getting my BA. It seems so much more profound that anything I had read as an undergrad.

Sarah Feinman

"The question is not what you look at, but what you see." -Henry David Thoreau
These twelve words have been etched on my brain since I first read them last week. I wanted to reference them in my post last week, but knew I had to address those chapters first. These words were a swift kick in my posterior. I believe there has been some deep crevasses of dissonance between what I look at and what I really should see in students. My vision has been rather cloudy in terms of some of my students. My teacher talk to them has not addressed potential, but rather echoed ineptness or lack of a desired outcome. In the place of patience, short-temperedness and low expectation may have taken up residence. How are my words really heard by my students? Do they walk in knowing there is universal acceptance, or do they pick up on an edge in my tone towards certain students? I struggle mightily with one of my students this year. He has not undergone formal testing, but exhibits behaviors that some suggest lend themselves towards Asberger's Syndrome. I do not see that, but rather I see a sneaky, lack of effort attitude that I believe he is very well able to control. He is also an only child who has never been given much responsibility outside of school. I know I speak to him differently than my other students. I do not "get" him. I think I need a topsy-turvy. This student is definitely the epitome of Kohl's quote," They often ignore the words and listen for the tone." I believe his parents, while willing to listen to my suggestions and observations, rather expect our school to "fix" him.
I start our year focusing on the power of our words, we begin on day one with examples of positive and negative words in literature, in real life examples, anywhere we can find them. So, while this is such a backbone of our environment, I as the teacher, struggle with the power of my words in the life of this student. So, instead of damaging words, I have found myself fall into the luxury of silence, offering no enthusiastic praise or corrective instruction.
This quote just hit me off my feet in regards to this student. I have been so focused on "looking" at his faults or struggles, that I have been neglecting to see the total child. That has been my focus this week. I want to truly "see" this child, to build connection, to exchange communication that will enhance his learning experience and our learning environment. Well, it is the end of my first week and it is full of promise. While our week was only three and a half days long due to snow, I am encouraged. My boy recalled a detail from Frecklejuice yesterday! Previously, I have been concerned with his comprehension and connecting the words into intelligent thoughts. This boy provided an answer unsolicited, he blurted out! Yes, he was not just a body mass occupying space. This outburst, if you will, may be the result of extra attention greeting him in the morning and attempting to accentuate the positive I see in him. Not false praise, but genuine acknowledgement of a desired outcome. This student is part of my attunement as a teacher. It is easy when the class is motivated and engaged. It is teaching when practice, thought, and deliberate action is necessary each moment. The Kohl chapter was a huge wake up call to me, this student hasn't changed since the first day of school, but I believe my vision of him is starting to. Clouds are lifting in front of me, my nearsightedness is diminishing and clear vision is rapidly approaching.
Stefoni Shaw

“When I was four years old they tried to test my IQ, they showed me this picture of three oranges and a pear. They asked me which one is different and does not belong, they taught me different was wrong.”

Every year, on the first day of class, we have a discussion regarding tolerance. I always present the kids with this quote. I believe that it corresponds nicely to what Kahl was discussing in chapter nine. Sometimes, as teachers, we do not realize the implications of our word choices. Whether we realize it or not, our inner feelings and attitudes are on full display in our language. Our kids can tell when we are having a bad day, or, even, how we feel about certain people or topics. I believe that it takes a conscience effort to eliminate bias from our words.

As part of the discussion on tolerance, I ask the kids what they believe people are prejudiced toward. Most of them mention race, religion, and gender. However, I also get “the way people talk.” Nine times out of ten, this response comes from one of my minority students. When I ask them to elaborate, they continue by saying, “you know…some people judge you because you don’t talk right.” As I read chapter twelve, I could not help but think of this class discussion. Often, it is really difficult to get several of my minority students to speak--even the ones who are identified academically gifted. The only thing that holds them back (in my opinion) is their insecurity with their language.

Something else that I really had to learn my first year of teaching was how to simplify my word choice. I would present the students with directions, and, even though they listened, they would have no clue what I was saying. Even this year, I have written things on assignments that were perfectly clear to me, but not to the majority of my students. Sometimes, it is difficult to determine how simple to make the assignment. I have some kids that are pretty low; however, they will receive the same EOG as every other student in the state. I don’t want to short-change them by “dumbing down” assignments. What I have finally learned to do is give the original assignment, but go over questionable directions together--often asking the class if anyone knows what it means.

One aspect of chapter ten that I agree with is that children should be exposed to a second language. A great deal of developed countries around the world require their kids to speak two or, sometimes, three languages (especially English). I think that it is time for our kids to become global citizens. With the onset of global trade and, eventually, the internet, our world is more closely connected and interdependent than ever before. Future generations are going to have to know how to survive in an interconnected world. A goal of mine for my seventh graders is to impress upon them the need to understand their world around them. I believe that it is imperative for them to understand how decisions made in Africa, Asia, and other continents affect them and their families.

Heather Coe

I learned at an early age that your tone of voice and your body language overpowers the words that flow from your mouth. My parents and my grandmother made sure that I knew that. "It's not what you say, it's how you say it" was the difference between me getting grounded or not. I am glad that they taught me that lesson. It is a lesson that I carry with me everyday of my life and it has saved me a lot of heartache in my teaching career. Students are sensitive and parents are sensitive about their children.

One thing that struck me about my own teaching while reading chapter 9, is that I "talk" with my white students differently than I do with my black and hispanic students. Although I use standard english when conversing with both groups, I wonder if my white students think that I am "sincere". If you know anything about the two minority cultures, it's that we believe and hold on to our extended family. A lot of times this "privilege" extends to close friends and people that we spend a lot of time around. Being that I am the latter, because of my position, I often become extended family to many of the minority students in my classroom. I talk to them like I would my own children and they'll even make comments like, "I know you love me, because you sound just like my momma." When I have a conference with their parents it's like sitting down to a cup of tea with one of my cousins. It is not the same when I am engaging in talk with my white students. It's not that I care about them or love them any less, but I do not talk to my white students like they are a part of my family. I am very careful about how I say things around them. Funny enough I am NOT cautious like that around any of my white friends or their children. If they are close friends they get "adopted" into my family too, and from there anything goes.

The 11th chapter intrigued me for Tanya and I have much in common. I remember being one of four black students in my 11th grade AP Literature class and my teacher telling my parents that "she was surprised at how eloquent I was and that my writing was so impressive". I also remember my mom asking her if she was surprised with all "eloquent, impressive writers" in her class or just me, and if my skin color had anything to do with her impression. I have yet to find a tomato as red as her face turned that day. I went on to attend UNCG where I in my education classes I became the "spokesman" for the Black culture (please note that I did not apply for this job). Pretty soon I was "fired" from my position because I was outspoken and did not let ignorant comments like the one made by my 11th grade english teacher go unchallenged. Unlike Tanya I was not insecure nor ashamed of my people's language. I am proud of my black sisters and brothers whether they choose Standard English or not. A lot of it has to do with the fact that I know my history and my heritage. I know that my descendants discovered, invented, and founded a lot of stuff. Harriet Tubman in her genius was able to sneak countless slaves to the north without getting caught and I am willing to bet that she didn't speak proper english. When we as a (black) people realize who we are, where we came from, and the significance of our history on American history, will we not let language be the tool that builds the feeling of inferiority.

As educators we can destroy that inferiority tool. I am definitely not saying teach Ebonics in the classroom, but expose all children to black poems and literature. Teach children that words are powerful and the context that the words are used in can take away or add to the power. I will never forget an exercise that my AP Language teacher (he was awesome) did with my 12th grade class (where again I was one of four black students in the class). He gave us a poem written in Black English.After we discussed the poem and it's literary elements, we were to translate the poem into Proper English. What we learned from the assigment was that when the poem was translated it lost it's power. The strong feelings were diminished, the tone different, and the images very altered. His goal was not to teach us Black English, but to view it as a language that should be valued in it's own right.

Cherrita Hayden-McMillan

This week's readings were hefty! I really did not enjoy the Hinchman article so I am focusing on the Moller and Allen article, which I found very interesting. The fact that thinking can be transformed through speech, wow. The response development zone allows for this and for the safe space to have strong emotions. These girls who had never been invited into literary discussions of this kind really had a meaningful experience tied to literacy! They actually shifted from spectators to "actors" in the course of the discussions. They were engaged and made connections to historical and present day issues.

I found "engaged resisting" to be a familiar concept, but one for which I did not have a name. The girls were obvioulsy very involved in the story, putting themselves in the characters' positions and saying, "I would have..." One girl had to pull back when the material was too painful or scary for her. This makes me think of how I watch cops shows on tv like Law and Order. I cover my eyes for the first scene when they find the body. It is too real and scary for me. But then I want to get into the story and see how the crime is solved. As readers we sometimes cringe and "cover our eyes" only to be drawn back in by our attachment to a character. Low readers need to have this feeling too!

I loved the statement that struggling readers need to focus on meaning, not just decoding and isolated skills. I have a RAP group this year, part of a county-wide program from the Hill Center. It teaches skills in isolation and is supposedly for struggling readers who are below grade level. I really struggle with this class because it goes against my ASU ideology. I think this article is proof that even low readers need to be in meaningful, motivational text.

Ashley Catlett

I really appreciated the podcast and would have loved the instruction and insight when I took my Action Research class. The podcast and outline were clear and concise in the description of qualitative research.
The Moller and Allen article conjured up some thoughts while I was reading. First, I need to purchase the book by Mildred Taylor. I read Lincoln's Way by Patricia Polacco to my class yesterday and I think there are some similarities between the books. The Friendship is definitely for the older grades,while the Polacco book tackles racism for a younger audience. My class listened intently as I read and we had a discussion afterwards that was okay. I sensed some hesitation about the topic. The topic of racism or prejudice is uncomfortable to talk about, even in second grade when some of the students' inhabitions are low. I love that a book will not always illicit comfortable conversation. The girls in the article struggled with fear as they pressed on in the application of The Friendship to life around them and their personal experiences. The book had become more than a collection of words transcribed on pages, it had become a revelation of life to these four young ladies. It was a revelation that was difficult to comprehend, yet they pressed on. They allowed themselves to connect this literature with situations from their own lives. They moved from a narrow, obstructed view of factual recall from the details of a book to building connection with its themes and characters to their very own lives. The Friendship had freed them from word analysis and reading rates and opened a door to engaged reading. The focus on meaning rather than a set of isolated skills drew the girls in to the pages of a book. Sim Bishop sums it up this way,"The main purpose of a literay work...is to encourage its readers to reflect on the human condition." These girls did that, this purpose was accomplished. This is also my purpose in introducing literature in my classroom. It is to expose the commonalities of life between the characters in a story with the real life events surrounding us on a daily basis. When the focus is on the connection, or the building of meaning, EVERY student can participate and find success. EVERY student comes with their own set of circumstances and life shaping events that will affect their processing of a piece of literature. When I read Lincoln's Way yesterday, my student who reads at a preprimer level didn't feel shut out or "dumb". He is always the first one to participate in the discussion. He may not grasp many of the words, but he deeply understands the themes and meanings of our stories. Perhaps my favorite part of the article was Tamika's poem. She found a way to express her reaction, her connection to this powerful book. While this study was conducted over a period of 5 sessions, the impact will continue on with these girls over a lifetime. They were sitting on a runway in their classrooms, just taxing around in isolated skills waiting for the tower to give them the go ahead to take off. Karla gathered them together, allowed them to press on their accelerators, and soar up into the atmosphere of meaning. These girls, I have a feeling are still circling about up there, blazing new trails in the skies.
Stefoni Shaw

In my first week of teaching, I began assessing students and planning reading groups for reading instruction. On Thursday, after I had completed IRIs with most of my students, I began to explain what our reading groups would entail for the year. One of the children in my class said, "It's okay. We usually read out of the textbook. We're in the low class." Not knowing how to respond, I simply said, "Well, we are going to try some new things in reading class this 6 weeks and see how they work out." I was completely devastated. The classes are ability-grouped for reading at my school. However, the students are not told of their abilities or why they are in the class that they are. This is when I learned that students can easily make inferences about their placements and their ranking among their peers.

"The central prerequisite for advancing the teaching of reading is to grasp the process of learning to read through the nonreader's eyes and ears - we must understand what it is like not be able to read." --Hinchman

This quote from Hinchman resonated strongly with me. After reading it once, I returned to read it once more for a better meaning in the way a beginning reader would. We must understand what it is like not to be able to read. I think this is a tough idea for most teachers. Because we are teachers and studying at the masters level, it would probably be a safe guess that most of us were natural readers or possibly teachable readers. For the most part, we did not struggle to the point of frustration year after year. I believe that to really understand children and the type of instruction they need, we should talk to them and gather information about how it feels to struggle with different aspects of reading instruction. It is easier to find out exactly what my students want or need if I ask them. Assessment scores can give a lot of data; however, they cannot provide why the student failed or how they felt about the assessment task.

The next piece of this article I would like to address was the topic of quantitative versus qualitative assessment. Quantitative assessment can provide numbers and percentages of correct problems; however, it does not assess the types of mistakes the student made. An example of the importance of analyzing the type of mistake students make took place in my own classroom this year. On a spelling assessment, two students made Fs, both in the 60s. This would suggest that they are near the same level in spelling instruction. However, student #1 spelled bench B-A-N-C-H. Student #2 spelling bench B-A-C-H-T. A qualitative analysis would suggest that the first student was actually higher than the second. The substitution of A for E is a common short-vowel substitution. The student also recognized initial consonant, a nasal, and a final digraph. The student was pretty successful in spelling the word. However, the second student only mastered initial consonant. This is one example of a time when quantitative analysis is not enough. The quality of the mistakes made a world of difference for these two students and the type of instruction they required.

Finally, I also enjoyed the talk of investigating social issues through children's literature in the second reading. I think incorporating history and social issues in literature is a superb way to engage students and interest them in reading instruction. In my last internship while at ASU, I did a literature study with 6th graders and the novel Number the Stars. I quickly learned that although some struggled with the tough concepts in the book, they really enjoyed the history and social issues because it was a part of a story that they were able to read. Students were interested in continuing reading the book and learning more in social studies about WWII and the Holocaust because of the integration of the material into their reading instruction. I think this can be very effective when students are given the opportunity to express their opinions and feelings in a structured open environment, like a classroom.

Brittany Guy

I must say, I had a hard time getting through these readings! I totally understand the need for research, both quantitative and qualitative, but I don't enjoy reading about them. However, the one point that truly jumped out at me is one that others have already written about: "The central prerequisite for advancing the teaching of reading is to grasp the process of learning to read through the nonreader's eyes and ears - we must understand what it is like not be able to read" (Hinchman). There are probably many reading teachers who got into the profession because of a negative experience with reading in their past, and they want to help students overcome the same issue. But many of us were probably good readers in school, never having a problem with reading and never needing extra help. This isn't a bragging right, but a reality--I can't ever remember having issues with reading. It just came naturally to me, so to get inside a child's mentality who is having trouble is difficult. This is why qualitative research is so important. To be able to not only look at the numbers, which, of course, is important, but look at what is going on in a child's environment to try to get a feel for how he or she is feeling is the real goal. I loved Jason's thought at the beginning of the Hinchman article. Yes, Jason understands a certain process. He can't put it into adult words, but he understands nonetheless. This, paired with numerical data, statistics, and years of studies, is what garners results in the reading field. In my mind, you can't have one without the other.

I really enjoyed the Moller & Allen article. It is so true that bringing a piece of social and political literature, at any age range, is going to spark different responses in different children. In my opinion, this doesn't necessarily have to be a multicultural work either. For example, in my English III classes, we read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Many of my students approach this work as if it were a "kids" book--when in fact it is the complete opposite. While they relate to the character of Huck, they aren't prepared for Mark Twain's social commentary, and they all come away from reading the book with a different outlook. I've seen, however, that each student's outlook is different--just like Moller and Allen argue--based on their background. I loved when they stated, "there is no such thing as an individual reader. We are each a product of our interpretive communities and of our ethnic and cultural backgrounds." I think the whole of this argument can be summed up by another statement that stood out to me (I underlined AND highlighted this one): "children's literature can be a powerful, positive force in the lives of children. It can make them less innocent. It can make them conscious that there is more than one way of being normal." (emphasis added) Gosh, I get chills at the thought of how powerful this can be for our young people today. How much could this snowball into changing our world?

Christy Rivers

When I started teaching, I was placed in a kindergarten classroom. I went to all of these new teacher orientation meetings, had countless hours of training on teaching literacy, but at the end of the day, no one could tell me how to get someone that has never seen print to read. The trainings focused mostly on children who were all ready reading. When I asked all of these "gurus" in the county, they mostly replied "it just happens". Luckily for me, my first year I had an extremely advanced class. And they did seem to just read. We focused on learning the letter sounds and putting these sounds together to make words and I did A LOT of read alouds. I also did leveled reading but it was a little bit disjointed. All in all though, that class did great. I had 2 5 year olds reading on 3rd grade level, 4 on 2nd grade level, and the rest on middle of the year 1st grade level. For me, this was a big achievement.
My next year, we pretty much ability grouped. My principal knew that I spoke Spanish so I got all of the ESL students and the "low" kids. Well, I had learned some more about reading and felt a little more confident. So, I proceeded like I did before and taught my class in English and in Spanish. Only this time, I saw that about half of the class wasn't comprehending the stories we were reading. I was puzzled at this. I mean, why had the class before had such success? So I looked at the socioeconomic make up of the class. My first year class was filled with parents who were active in their child's schooling. Many were educated and had well respected jobs in the community. My second year class was the complete opposite. Many of these children were very poor, had uneducated families, or were being raised by grandmas and grandpas that did their best, but who had been out of school for a long time. This made me wonder about what they were understanding. When I did read a louds, only a handful commented. So one day, I decided to take each student back individually and ask them about a book. It was a simple book about a little girl going to the grocery store with her dad. What I found was remarkable! Many of the students, the non-ESL students, had no idea where the story was taking place. They didn't know the vegetables or the fruit. They referred to the man as an uncle, grandpa, or friend. They had no experiences to base the text on. So, in order to help the children, I started to bring in simple items and pictures to help build their vocabulary and experience bank. I read a lot of non-fiction texts to try and broaden their horizon. We did a lesson on the supermarket and I showed them fruits and vegetables and let them taste them so that they could understand. Until then, I had never thought about what it would be like to not have experienced these things. How could I describe a banana if I had never tasted one in my life? How could I write about the beach if I had never seen one or discussed one?
For me, this rationalization shows why standardized testing is so grossly unfair. If you only use these quantitative measures to measure what a child knows, than you won't get a very good response from a child who hasn't had enough experiences in life. Present them with a topic that they have been exposed to, or have lived through, you can get anything you need out of them. That is why I now try to use a lot of books with very vivid pictures. This really helps a child connect. Like for black history month, we wer talking about segregation. Now, most of my children have never experienced this, but they do know what it is like to be singled out and be mistreated. So, I used this experience to help show the pain that African Americans went through during segregation and explained that they suffered only because of their skin color. Boy, that helped them to assimilate their experiences. Many were pretty much outraged and the discussion that came out of that was so powerful and moving. I think if we connected more topics to the personal experiences of our children, quantitative or qualitative, the outcome would be much better.

Whitney Gilbert

I decided to center my critique on the first article we read and the methodology of qualitative research.

The Pod-cast was very helpful for me, especially learning about the layout of qualitative research papers and the details about each component. I have not learned much about qualitative research until now.

I agree and understand why qualitative research is primary in education. Or education primary uses qualitative research. The methodology of qualitative research, from what I understand from the pod-cast, is a description of who the people are that are involved in the research (who the researcher is watching/observing), the setting of the research, and who the researcher is. I also understand the methodology link to qualitative research, and the reason why it is not important for qualitative research to be generalized or replicated. From what I understand, the importance thing for the reader to understand in qualitative research is the methodology, so the reader can determine if they have an appropriate setting to apply the suggestions that are made in a paper.

The first article by Hinchman beings with a quote: “Reading is looking for the little words in the big words, and knowing enough words. Hey you know I’m the third worst reader in my class. I know, because the other kids read books with more pages in them than I do”. I think this is a very powerful way to begin a paper, and gives the reader an insight of what is happening. As I was reading the article I was trying to identify the specific components of a qualitative research article, that were identified in the pod-cast. The methodological section of the paper was easily identified and Hinchman wrote about the classroom study she completed by collaborating with a social studies teacher. I think the points she made in the article were similar to the points that the authors in The Skin We Speak were making.

There was one comment Hinchman made regarding the small groups of students and the collaboration of teachers: “we continue to see youth choosing to engage only sometimes and for some teachers”. I wonder if it is the characteristic traits the students bring to school that make them feel more comfortable with teachers, or if it is an environmental characteristic that the teacher can control to a certain degree to make the students feel that they can always be engaged with the teachers and their peers in the classroom.

Elizabeth Griffin

First of all, thank you for the outline, it was helpful as I listened to the podcast. I was particulary interested in the podcast, because I am currently taking the class Teacher as Researcher with another professor. It confirmed everything that I am learning in that class. Prior to this semester I had never even heard of Qualitative Research and here I am not only reading about it but beginning to do it. So while I will use the outline and information to help with my own action research project, I am overwhelmed to think that I am actually going to writing my own article.
I have not read Mildred Taylors "The Friendship" but read "Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry" and did a project with it in my undergrad. I know it may difficult for my students, but would like to try something like this with my class. My school is currently going through redistricting and next year our population will be completely different- the majority of the school will be minorities.
The Hinchman piece was not as interesting for me, but I could still relate to Jasons quote at the beginning of the article. My third graders know without me saying a word who the "good readers" are and who struggles. Heck they knew before I did. I have guided reading groups where students are about on the same reading level and other groups where I mix them up-some high, med and low. I praise all students for their progress but try not to place emphasis on the groups, but rather the individuals. I have seen confidence growing in my "low group" and nothing pleases me more. Confidence leads to success and success leads to confidence and that leads to comprehension which leads to success. Now thats what call a good "vicious circle".
SuSu Watson

I think what Hinchman is saying in her article is that researchers and policy makers need to talk to the students and teachers to get their perspectives on the literacy programs in which they participate. I understand her to say that you can’t just interpret the data (quantitative research) alone. A complete representation should include participant thoughts and feelings (qualitative research.) I imagine that this is especially true when researching race, class and gender. I kept this in mind as I read the second article, by Moller and Allen.

Quantitative research could never begin to touch the depth of the emotions uncovered in this qualitative research piece, where struggling students responded to Mildred Taylor’s, The Friendship. Sure, quantitative studies can show that meaning based classrooms produce high test scores. However, a qualitative study helps us understand the children behind the numbers. It helps us to see why struggling students need the quality literature that stimulates thoughtful discussion, deep reflection, and emotional connection. The girls in the research study showed us the real life possibilities a good book like The Friendship, offers struggling readers.

I wondered what a policy maker might take from Moller and Allen’s research. I hope that they would see the important role meaning plays in the development of struggling readers. As a result, perhaps they would grant teachers and students the time and freedom to explore important social themes in their classrooms. I feel like schools are too data driven. It seems that all we hear about are test scores. School board members and law makers need qualitative research to help them know and understand our students and the issues that affect them. After all, we teach children not numbers.

Jayne Thompson

Working on my dissertation this year has been a huge task. It’s even bigger than I ever imagined it would be. There are many days that I feel that I am in the middle of a huge sandpit of data that I will never be able to claw out of, but there are other days where I am amazed at the beauty of the data. The way the data tells the story of a classroom, a teacher and her students in a way that others many not ever be able to see. I’m working in a first grade classroom with a teacher who is 110% dedicated to her students and goes above and beyond the call of duty each day to ensure that her instruction is worthwhile. It’s refreshing to be in her classroom so that I can celebrate the teaching and learning in her classroom. As I collect data I’m collecting both quantitative measures and qualitative measures. Before beginning I didn’t realize what a tremendous impact the qualitative pieces would be to my study. It hit me the hardest as I looked at the student’s spelling. At the beginning of the year the quantitative numbers would have told me NOTHING about each student’s spelling ability because at that point few of them could spell any of the words on the list – so their scores were 0%, 5% and 10% correct. However, as soon as you look at their spellings and qualitatively analyze each one, you can see how much the first graders actually know. They know beginning consonants; they can mark that long vowel – even if it’s not done correctly. For example, I had one student spell the word 'thirsty' as 'thrsty'. Quantitatively it's wrong but qualitatively it's absolutely beautiful. If only we could get more policymakers to see that the qualitative research can take us toward a more complete curriculum. It can give us the insight we need to plan a curriculum that meets the needs of our students because many times it gives us the description that the numbers are unable to provide. Hinchman’s piece was easy for me to connect to because I see the value in teaching our students to think about their own learning. If we want students to learn from the sake of learning, to become life long learners, then we have to help them realize the power that comes from being directly involved in the learning process. It’s more than listening to your teacher and completing your assignments. It’s listening to your teacher, making connections to other learning you have experienced and extending that learning in new directions. For this to happen we have to listen to the students and I think Hinchman makes this point well.

I also appreciate Hinchman’s call for ‘varied research methodologies’. There are so many different ways to collect and represent data and each offers a new layer of knowledge and curiosity. It can only help our students to expose ourselves to different ways of learning because then we are still pushing ourselves to learn. We may not feel comfortable trying a new research methodology or reading in a new discipline, but that challenge can only make us better teachers. The challenge of something new encourages deep thought and pushes us to go beyond what we know so real learning can happen. If we allow ourselves to go through this process on a regular basis, I think we will also be better able to offer the same experiences to our students.

Amie Snow

Everyday I hear the words "research based". Most of the research that we use in school is quantitative research. This is also what I used for my research course at ASU. I never thought about the implications that qualitative research could bring about. Right now, there is a huge issue with the grades of second grade students and their performance the following year on the third grade pretest. There is a discrepancy. And a rather large one at that. Our principal asked us in a meeting, why we thought this was happening. And this isn't anything new. K2 typically performs better than 3-5. Wouldn't it be great to jump in and do a qualitative research project to find out some answers? Is there a problem with the test? Is there something happening to boys and girls at this age? I wonder what the students are thinking. And I wonder what the parents are thinking. What happens from second grade to third grade? Or, can we select a small number of students, give them an intervention and see what happens? In the meeting, I mentioned tutoring second grade students over the summer. What if we selected a small group of students to do this with? We could follow them from the beginning of second grade to the beginning of third grade. We could give them the extra support, tutor them, monitor them. I bet we would find out something interesting things that can happen to an 8 or 9 year old over the summer that would have an effect on their performance.

I think we are always trying to get students to fit into these perfect square pegs. I think it is important to really take the time to get to know students. I would like to see more qualitative research done in schools. I am not seeing enough of it. Especially with No Child Left Behind. What are some implications of this? And how are students really being helped? Are we ready for yet another shift in education?
Sarah Feinman

My learning curve has been quite steep this week as I have contemplated qualitative research. While the Moller & Allen article provided an example of qualitative research, I focused more on the Hinchman article in order to process what is involved in this type of research. Hinchman states, “One needs time and energy to read widely, discern compelling questions, develop worthwhile theoretical groundings, gather and transcribe interviews or observational field notes, analyze data in ways that are thorough and consistent with theoretical groundings, and write” (p. 101).

As I read both articles in light of our previous readings and discussions, I was struck with Hinchman’s section on theorizing meaning. If I simply considered the process of qualitative research and did not consider the importance of perspective and how one constructs meaning, I would be unprepared for engaging in this type of research. “What I bring to the table”—all of my personal baggage, past learning experiences, and biases—will impact my qualitative research. Hinchman asserts, “We know that the theories that we develop to explain others’ experiences are colored by our own histories, values, and structures of meaning, only some of which are within our awareness” (p. 103). It is the very last part of this quote that troubles me. As hard as I might try to be objective, my personal history has been built on experiences, some of which are completely beyond my control. I am the sum total of these, and, at times, am completely unaware of how much I have been shaped by these.

Even though I am just beginning to learn about the processes involved in qualitative research, I already see the great value of member checks, peer review, and honest self-reflection. While member checks may be about “getting it right”, peer reviews and self-reflection may be more important in providing an accurate representation of the data.

Lisa Rasey

First of all, I would like to state that I thoroughly enjoyed “Connecting, Resisting, and Searching for Safer Places.” As Moller and Allen point out, it is important that we allow children to experience and reflect on social issues--often through the medium of text. As a social studies teacher, I understand this concept extremely well. My kids are thirsting for a knowledge of their society and how it has “developed.” We discuss current events bi-monthly, and these issues are often addressed. While studying Islam, we read two articles on the practice of hijab among Muslim women. One article was written from the perspective of a self-described liberal American 20-something who criticized the practice as demeaning to women. The other article was written by a female Muslim who defended the practice as “liberating.” We used the articles to form discussion groups--I purposely mixed the groups to contain two people who totally disagree, and one neutral person. Using points from the article, the groups debated the topics. It was an amazing experience! The kids learned a great deal about Islamic society, and some of the misconceptions that are associated with their social practices.

On the other hand, when kids read stories about groups or individuals that they are “emotionally” connected to, things are a little different. For example, when our English classes read racially charged novels, some of the African American students are very uncomfortable with the topic. For example, when the kids read Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry this past Fall, we had parents who visited the principal regarding the novel. Moller and Allen clearly point this idea out by stating, “Children’s emotional responses to literature dealing with social and political issues will not always be comfortable.” Even though our kids were fine discussing the norms of Islam (a culture which is not represented in our entire school), reading about racial injustices and African American stereotypes stirred too many emotions for several of our students.

On the same token, we also see “engaged resisting” from the white children. Many of them don’t want to believe that the white racist characters that they read about in novels are related to them. I am not suggesting that our white kids are racists, but that they don’t want to be associated with those that they read about. Not only do they disconnect themselves, but they rewrite the story to include themselves. Instead of just accepting the story with its racist characters, they “retell” story, stating what they would have done differently (similar to the girl’s reaction to The Friendship).

Even with all of its discomfort, I still agree that addressing and discussing these social issues is crucial. The world, itself, is not a classless, unbiased, “raceless,” and unfriendly place. In order for kids to understand their world around them, they need to learn about it in a neutral environment. Often, school is the only place of this nature that exists for them.

Heather Coe

When I was an undergrad student at UNCG I remember my Reading Methods instructor telling us that it was our duty to teach "good" literature. She defined good literature as "literature that evoked change, or at the very least makes one feel with strong emotion". I am the first to admit that I am quite guilty for not following her instructions. I cannot count how many times I explore "safe" literature with my students simply because it is a lot less emotionally draining for me (and my students). Although I will willingly go down the road of controversial topics, it is by no means my favorite thing to do. As a matter of fact, I can only count three times in my teaching career that I made that venture and I ran into "complications" each time. My first two experiences were when I taught 4th grade, first as a student teacher then as the commander of my very own classroom. Both times my students were reading To Kill a Mockingbird and of course we delved into the history behind the story, etc. When I was student teaching the demographic make-up of my class was primarily white. The entire time we were reading this novel I felt like my students thought I was accusing them, no, making them feel guilty for being white. My cooperating teacher (a white lady and the one who suggested that I explore the novel with the students) assured me that I was "doing no such thing" and that it was important for them to know American history, all of it. Needless to say I was thrilled when we finished the novel, and I am almost positive that we read something light and fun like Stuart Littleafterwards.
The next school year I was in my own classroom with a very diverse demographic make-up and since I already had the unit, why not? Well about half way into the novel I was called into the office to have a meeting with my principal, one of my students, and their parents. The student (one of the most compassionate kids I''ve ever met) took it upon her self to call her great-grandpa for the express purpose of finding out if their family ever owned slaves. His answer upset her, she gave him a tongue lashing, and officially declared to her family that she was ashamed to share their last name. As you can imagine that meeting did not go well.
I guess the more you do it the better it gets. The third time that I dealt with controversial issues using literature was in my 2nd grade classroom last school year. This time I was doing an assignment for my Advanced Children's Literature class with Dr. Green. This time I got three notes from three different parents (two black parents and one white) that reprimanded me for teaching their children about slavery and racism and pretty much they just wanted their children to know that Martin Luther King Jr. changed all of that. Despite the parent notes, I continued my unit and finished the project with my students.

The Moller and Allen article has challenged me to be the responsible teacher of literature that my undergrad professor commanded me to be. I am not doing my students any favors by keeping the truth hidden from them. Frankly, it is a teacher's duty to give children the truth no matter how bad or ugly it may be. Of course there is a proper way to teach the truth and Karla Moller did just that. What struck me as I was reading the article is that she did not lead the children to draw any conclusions. She did not start asking the four girls questions until they began making their own connections and drawing their own conclusions about the characters and situations in the story. Only once the girls stumbled upon the right conclusions did she ask them probing/leading questions. She also did not "shelter" the conversation. She allowed the girls to express their feelings/comments/concerns regardless of how deep the conversation went or how uncomfortable it became. She provided a space where these students could discuss social issues and confront real fears. The depth of knowledge that these girls acquired over this short time period is far more promising than test data scores on any given day.

Cherrita Hayden-McMillan

Prior to this week I didn’t realize truly how valuable qualitative research is, especially in education. Between the podcast and Hinchman’s article I really started to think about how more qualitative research and less quantitative is needed to truly understand what is going on in education. The few times that I have done research or looked at studies, I have mostly looked at quantitative research. I guess I never really thought about how I was only getting a generalization not a real answer to the problem. I would have to agree with Hinchman in that if we want to really focus on why kids aren’t performing they way that we would like then we need to do more qualitative research to pinpoint the problem.

I was moved by the Moller and Allen's article. It really made me think about the fact that as teachers we stray away from topics that might be controversial or topics that may lead to a conversation that might take us out of our comfort zone. We fear what others might think and especially what parents might say. But we forget about whose needs we should really be thinking about, the children. Even as parents we try to “protect” our children from the real world. The truth is that so often they already know about the things we are “protecting” them from. Inevitably we are only hurting them by not giving them the opportunity to share their feelings and interpretations. As parents and educators we need to remember how important literature that discusses social issues and discussions about them is in helping our children grow and have a deeper understanding of the world. As Moller and Allen stated, “ If we pretend that we live in a world where these things do not happen, we not only reveal ourselves as dishonest to children, who often know more than we give them credit for , but we also fail to prepare them for the world that we and they must work together to change.” We need to work towards being proactive in helping our children understand the situations they face daily and the world around them. Moller and Allen’s article was a great reminder of this, they did not chose the book The Friendship haphazardly. Although Moller had no sure way to know which way the kids would go with the book and topics within it, she strategically planned to have multiple ways to address the topics as well as offered teacher support as needed. Moller also did not plan on a deep conversation to arise right from the beginning. However, she intended and did help guide them from a more textual and contextual guidance to more emotional guidance. So often we cut the kids off when they get to the point where emotional guidance is needed. Instead we need to embrace these types of conversations and support them as needed.

Amy Spade

It always upsets me when I read research piece after research piece that shows the value of giving students a voice, of giving students purpose in their reading and writing assignments. I’m not upset because the research shows that with carefully crafted lessons built on student’s experiences and interest, students find their voice and see the power and value of reading and writing. I’m upset because so many of the people that make curriculum decisions seem to completely ignore the research – especially if that research is qualitative. It’s almost sloppy to me to ignore or choose to not read research that had the potential for making our classrooms mean something to our students. In Henry’s article I saw several young girls, who before the implementation of the workshops thought that they weren’t important and what they had to say was even less important, transform into individuals with their own thoughts and emotions. Real learning to me comes in moments when we can be as attached to the materials as these young students were able to do. It also comes in moments when we believe we are truly being heard and respected for what we are able to share. These students were making attempts to share their experiences with one another so that they could learn more about themselves as well as more about each other. Beyond that they were making connections to the texts that allowed them to be active, engaged readers.

I wish this piece would have shared more about how the teacher/researcher went about leading the sessions. There were some descriptions of the dialogue between the girls and teacher, but I’d have liked to see more about the literature used and more extensive feedback from the students, however I understand the space constraints for journals and I’m sure that that had a great deal to do with how much was put into this piece. A second part to this research could be information for other teachers to bring this type of book club into their own classrooms.

Amie Snow

I was most intrigued by the use of writing as a tool to analyze an event. Kay, an ELL student, was a reluctant writer to begin with. When she found a topic that interested her and that touched on her own experiences of race, gender and class, she wrote more freely and at length. Not only was the topic interesting to her, she felt safe and valued in her small group. I was reminded that I need to provide time and place for my students to "speak out" in writing.

The idea that each student needs to develop her own voice really applies to my teaching area, ESL. When learning a second language, it is hard to express feelings and opinions in that second language even when you are a very proficient speaker. There is just something about that heart language and it is almost always easier to communicate in your first language. How can I provide more opportunities for these students to find their voice, their power?Do they need more assignments in which they write or do they need more discussion groups? When I have done units on immigration we have had lively discussions and very strong opinions. Do I need more units that challenge them in that way? Can dialogue journals really increase language and cognitive abilities as the article promises?

The Henry article also reminds us that it is not good enough just to include multicultural literature in our classes. We must be purposeful in how we weave them into discussions about important issues.

I did have one question. I did not understand "transgressive speech" in this context. Can anyone help me?

Ashley Catlett

I wonder how easy it would be to replicate this study. I think that the environment Henry created was so specialized that it may be difficult to generalize it to other situations. She created an ideal situation where she worked with a homogeneous cultural and gender group, African Caribbean teenage girls, using literature about the same group and led by an African Caribbean woman with similar background experiences. I think the power of this last factor, was under estimated by the researcher. I imagine that these girls saw her not as a teacher or even a researcher, but as their friend. This really changes the dynamic significantly. By lowering the affective filter, this group of girls felt comfortable enough to share intimate details in their writing and their discussions.

Although I don’t think that it is realistic to replicate all of these circumstances, there are some concepts that we can generalize from this study:

1)Students respond when they see themselves reflected in the literature.
2)Small homogeneous grouping by gender and cultural background helps students feel comfortable. Students may choose to do this in a classroom where the teacher uses literature circles and students self select the book. However, I don’t think it would be well received if the teacher grouped students by cultural background.
3)Same gender lowers student self-consciousness. Several school districts across the United States are experimenting with same gender classrooms and have found great success.
4)Students need to feel safe in order to learn.

I think this last point is the most relevant for me. We all need to give voice to our ideas, thoughts and feelings and know that we are safe. I work hard to create a classroom environment where students feel free to take risks in their learning. As teachers, we can control how we respond, but we can’t predict how other students will react. Although we have a huge influence on how our students treat one another in our classroom, we can’t always keep it a safe place.
Jayne Thompson

I was reminded of the importance of qualitative research as I read this article. We miss out on so many of the details when we only look at the numbers.

As I read the first part of this article it made me think about how so many teachers don’t realize the opportunities that we are missing out on with our minority students. And for the ones that do realize it, they don’t know what to do to help these students. During my undergrad my professors stressed having multicultural literature available in the classroom. However, we never really discussed how to reach the students that are depicted in these stories and the struggles that these students may have in school.

Although, I do feel that university programs need to have a component that addresses and helps develop strategies, as well as, gives prospective teachers an opportunity to volunteer in schools to specifically work with minority students, I also feel that individual schools need to take a role in helping teachers help their students find their voice. Through workshops and resources the schools can help teachers develop lessons that are geared towards the specific cultures in their school. Schools are so focused on the test and workshops geared towards improving test scores, instead of realizing that direct needs of their students and teachers.

So often we scare kids away from writing and sharing their ideas because they didn’t write it correctly or say it correctly. If instead we would pick topics that interest them or that they can relate to (which may mean having more than one topic that you are discussing at once) and pay attention to the content and power of what they are trying to say we would have students that were eager to write and talk which would lead to greater success. I think Kay’s statement about writing reflects what many of our students think about writing and joining in during discussions: “If I’m in the mood, I’ll write good; if I’m not, I’ll just write anything. If the topics are good, I’ll concentrate and write.” I also loved what Henry said about how she decided not to look at the mechanics of the students writing but the actual writing itself: Thus, I ignored “errors,” particularly in the writing of Alice and Kay, working rather from my assumptions, based on current research literature, that fluency, control of syntax, writing skills, and self-expressivity would be increased through the use of personally engaging and culturally responsive literature and activities with specific themes for girls of this age; and that the use of group talk and journal writing would enhance language and thinking skills (Golden & Handloff, 1993; Pappas et al., 1995; Staton, 1989; Tierney, 1990). We become so tied up in the mechanics that we often miss the message of our students writing.

Amy Spade

Wow, what do you do when a child says this? I had to figure that out this year. I had a little one tell me this horrifying fact and I didn't know what to do. I referred this child to the counselor of course, but what do you do to help that child function in everyday life? I had been wondering why this child was so physical with others, but I was not prepared for this. Who would be? I had grown up in a very stable society with both parents their to support me. When I moved to my school, it was like moving to Mars. Sure, we received some training on inner city schools and the things inner city students went through, but that seemed so foreign to me until I moved to Burke County to teach.
My world was now filled with children who had nothing to eat, were homeless, and unfortunately suffered mental and physical abuse daily. In order to orient myself and some of the other new first year teachers to the reality of our "little country school", my principal, whom I now consider a genious, had us ride the bus routes so that we could see what our children lived through daily.
This realization right here is why I dislike and distrust quantitative tests. Now, don't get me wrong, I believe every child can learn, it's just that other children have to put their minds at ease with street stuff or home stuff before they can learn school stuff. How can one say that a children whose power may have been cut off every other week or moved 5 times in a school year can perform at the level of a child to two working and educated parents?
Since this child, and some of the other sad and heartbreaking things I have seen and heard, I focused my teachings around a secure and loving environment full of structure and care. I do value education, that's why I am a teacher. but I realize that I have to gain the trust of these children in the process if I ever want to see any progress. I have included in my class library many books about grief, pain, emotions, and trust. Racial issues are not as much as a problem; moreso the poverty stricken broken homes.
It is hard some days. I take so much of this home. I worry about these children, want to bring them home and care for them, get so frustrated at these "parents" that have no time for these little minds eager to learn and be loved. I really wish college had taught me how to better prepare for this. Sometimes I wonder how long I can be in this profession and see children thrown away or not appreciated. But, I remind myself that I am making a differnce. As small as it may seem. I don't have all of the answers or the cure alls, but I try to help. I respect these children for what they bring to the table and acknowledge the fact that they may have had to find food the night before as opposed to studying for their spelling test.
These children do need education and I bust my butt to help them succeed, realizing that it may be the only way out for some of them who live in an actual hell. But, unlike these benchmark tests that say they should be here or there, I strive to be patient and honest, telling them why I push education so much, so that they can be anything they want to be.
Whitney gilbert

I found the perspective of this article pretty interesting, coming from a Black Feminist point of view, but I wish Henry had gone into more detail about the differences between "womanism" and "feminism." After her brief description I still had no clue about what makes them different terms. It seems like an interesting concept though, and one I'd like to learn more about. Henry's explanation for research is something I really appreciated though; on page 235, she mentions how research can be something "violent" or "humanizing." She then goes on to clarify that her purpose was to be mindful of social change and to take an active role in inquiring about this subject. To me, this shows a little bit of her nature--that she is sensitive to the needs of her research subjects but that she is truly interested in researching to help them and other students.

When I think that many minority students are denied having a voice because teacher or school system doesn't teach about their culture (a point Henry makes on page 236), it really does make me sad. The United States is known as the "melting pot" of the world, and has been for a long time, yet our curriculum is focused on the European roots of our culture. Take, for instance, "world literature" which is taught in the 10th grade at my school. Julius Caesar is a major work taught in this grade, and it's British literature! There's hardly any Asian, Hispanic, African, or any other culture represented. There's so much good literature out there that would represent these cultures, and we're not taking full advantage of it.

To be quite honest, I spent the most time with this article thinking about the first thing I saw: the title. I asked myself, "what is the difference between speaking up and speaking out, if anything?" To me, "speaking up" is the first step someone takes after forming an opinion. You "speak up" instead of keeping silent about it and voice an opinion that may either be welcomed or not. "Speaking out" seems like more of an action; instead of just voicing an opinion, you go OUT and do something about it (hence the term speaking OUT). In my classroom, one of the biggest goals I have is to get everyone involved and to hear everyone's "voice" at some point. (This is actually kind of funny to think about since I was that student who sat in the classroom quiet as can be!) To me, my goal is to get everyone speaking up, but then to inspire and encourage my students to then go speak out on their own, in a non-confrontational way, of course. I'd love to hear other's thoughts on this question; I think we'd hear some very different and enlightening ideas.

Christy Rivers

"Whether a class is large or small, I try to talk with all students individually or in small groups so that I have a sense of their needs. How can we transform consciousness if we do not have some sense of where the students are intellectually, psychically?"

This quote on only the second page of the article "Speaking Up" and "Speaking Out" really spoke to me. It reminded me of the idea of a good teacher and a great teacher. A good teacher cares about all of her students and talks to them as a class to get to know them. A great teacher talks to every child one on one as much as possible until she knows every home situation, struggle, and strength of all her students.

This has been a struggle for me so far in my teaching career. I have attempted to get to know all of my students; however, it seems that sometimes there are situations that I am left unaware of either because the student was shy or did not share his life or the constraint of time in a day. Although I have the intention to speak to every child each day, sometimes in the hustle of life and school, time ellapses, and they are on the bus for home.

In the article, a great amount of emphasis is placed on the idea of voice and speaking. I agree that society often teaches people, especially females, to be reserved rather than always speak. However, I think that a key way to encourage females to use their voices is to show them that you care about what they have to say. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this article and the quote regarding relationships with students. I think building positive relationships with students can make any teacher more successful. Students who feel like you care are more likely to try, speak, and behave in the classroom setting.

On the next page, the author further explained voice as "a strong sense of identity within an individual." Throughout my own life, I have found that the more I "found" myself and my own identity, the more I had to share with others. I think this is true of all human beings including our own young students. As you encourage them in their intelligence and show them that you truly care about them, they will have a drive and desire to continue to figure out who exactly they are and what they would like to do with life. Almost every day, I look a student and think of the opportunities they will have in life and the potential they have to succeed. Although we see this potential, they may not and may have no one else who encourages them at all. This is why our relationships with them are so very important.

Finally, I also encourage my students to find their voice through writing. As mentioned in the section Literacy, Race, and Gender, students can speak volumes about themselves through journaling. For this reason, I begin every single day with a journal entry. Students are able to express their own ideas about themselves and their desires in life through prompted and unprompted entries. There are some students that have told me more in their journals than they have in person. Anyone who has not used journaling with students, I would definitely encourage it as a way to improve writing skills and to build relationships with students.
Brittany Guy

Black students and other students of color are often denied the right to learn about their own cultures from critical or their own informed perspectives (Joseph, 1988

I remember in school learning about slavery, the black students were rarely given the opportunity to discuss their feeling of the issue. I remember feeling like the teachers tried to speed through instruction of that point in history, and I felt like the pace of the lecture was to limit conversation of the issues. The author continues to explain the perspective of a Junior High school teacher who feels ignoring the students and issues they are facing, whether it is in a historical perspective or current issues, leaves them voiceless. I feel anytime we limit the opportunity to discuss an issue, if we are the student or the teacher, we are limiting the amount of growth a person can have. The teacher continues by stating: “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.” Doesn’t that mean if we limit their opportunity we are weakening their voice, and based on what the article says in order for students to feel important they must feel a sense of pride when they discuss the issues in a coherent way.

I think there are several ways to group students who need more instruction in reading in writing. We have learned about black students through this article and many other articles, who have not received fair education because of their home language. In this article, the author expands on the notion of black students who are being limited because of the judgments in the school systems, and talks specifically about female black students and the problems they are experiencing with literature. At the beginning of the article Henry state that her feelings and values came from a black feminist perception, and there is one point in the article where I disagree with a point she makes. She includes a statement from a study of 11th grade minority girls: “they need opportunities to read, discuss, write, and express themselves in safe, private contexts. Boys may not outnumber girls, but their concerns frequently override those of young girls.” She continues by stating that girls betray their voices, when I read this I immediately think of all of the male adolescents who are betraying their voices. I understand that she wrote the paper because she was working with adolescent black female students, but I disagree with the comments that were made in the study because I recently read about the struggles young adolescent males face when reading and writing. Like I said there are several ways to divide a classroom based on strengths and the levels the students are on, and I feel that too often we focus too much on that. Yes, you need to find the instructional levels for your students, and teachers should be aware of what each student brings to the table based on their gender and race. But sometimes I feel that people are very focused on identify a group that needs more help than others, instead of finding a way to help. I do not mean to make anyone feel that I am saying that it is not important to be aware of the race and gender issues, because I have enjoyed learning more about them. Instead I am identifying important characteristic in qualitative research, we are now getting suggestions for the problems, which we were not always getting through The Skin that We Speak.

Although I disagreed with one point the author made, I find her patience and ability to focus only on the positive aspects in the students writing inspirational. I think her effort to truly except the ability level of the students, led to their success. I think it is really hard for teachers to accept the best students do, because there are times their best falls below the standards. I thought about Kay today as I visited the school where I student taught last semester. While I student taught I worked with students in grades K-5 who had disabilities, most were learning disabilities. I think there is so much pressure for teachers to move the students to a certain point, a goal that is set by someone in the system, that it is too hard to truly accept the student’s present level of performance and base instruction from there. I feel that we are setting students up for some kind of failure when we force them on certain levels of instruction, when they are not there. Henry allowed Kay to make any kind of mistake she needed to make in order to get her point across. Instead of the student making all of the effort, Henry made the effort to dissect what the student wrote about OJ Simpson, in a way that Henry could understand it. She accepted the level Kay was on, and based instruction/interaction from there.

I also admire the way Henry summarized the personal information that she gained through the research. At the end she questioned how to address the political and ethical questions that arise through the research, I feel that she respected the students by disclosing certain information, but not all.

Elizabeth Griffin

One of the most important values that any child, regardless of ethnicity, should acquire in school is the recognition of their “own voice.” Throughout the year, I attempt to make my kids think as critically as possible about social issues, in order for them to form their own opinions about the world. As teachers, we can teach them all of the names, dates, numbers, and rules that we want, but unless our kids know how to acquire new knowledge and form unique thoughts, they will never be life-long learners.

I thought Kay’s story fell in line with other articles/readings that we have had this semester. Like Henry suggests, kids are constantly looking for ways to share their views and ask questions about the world around them. Even if they don’t watch the news every night, they hear adult conversation, and make observations--kids are very perceptive. At first, she was reluctant to express herself in writing, but once she finally found a topic that she could relate to, the writing came. This reminded me of a boy that I have in one of my classes. He is what educators might call a “hard case.” He comes from a troubled, broken home, with no real support system. In my class, kids can do anchor activities if they complete their assignments and have free time. Well, his activity instructed him to write about what he thought the earth would look like in 200 years. At first, he was very reluctant, but once I told him that he could turn it into a song (even a rap), he got excited. Within a couple of minutes, he had completed the first two lines. I think we just have to find that “connection” with children.

To take this one step further, I also agree that we not only have to provide our kids with a “voice,” but also give them confidence in their voice. If I ask for a student’s opinion on the War in Iraq, for example, and then immediately tell them that they are wrong, then I am doing them an injustice. Even though we may not always agree with our students, we need to allow them to express themselves (without them worrying about being chastised). I always tell my students that it is important that people have different opinions, and that the world would be a boring place without them. Kids need “room to grow” emotionally and mentally. With our encouragement, they will continue to form hypotheses until they grown into their own adult person.

Heather Coe

Wow...I am reminded of how lucky I am.Reading about these girls and the things that they had to go through...
I was struck by the quote by Annie Rogers on page 235 of the article : that she talks with all students individually or small groups so that she would be aware of their needs. How often do I take the time to do that?
I have one particular student at this point, that I do this with now. He is a foster child and has been taken from this mother several times. He is in his ninth school in three years. Studies show for every move, a child regresses four months. So you can imagine what he is like. He is one student that I try to spend as much individual time with as I can. He is a student that makes me wish my class size was waay smaller. He is also the reason I enjoy teaching so much.
Each year there are one or two that I get to know...yet I know that this is not enough. I have been to the hospital to visit a parent of one of my students, but I need to make the effort to reach all students. For my action research project, we are going to writing every day. I hope that this will open some doors for communication between my students and myself.
One thing I can say about this class and it's readings, is that is has made me question my teaching and is forcing me to reevalute myself constantly.

SuSu Watson

I enjoy the articles we have been reading. While I enjoy the research aspect, it is the application into my own classroom that keeps me reading. So, Henry's article of course, focuses my attention on VOICE. Beverly McElroy-Johnson eloquently explained in this article, "Voice is identity, a sense of self, a sense of relationship to others, and a sense of purpose. Voice is power, power to express connections, power to direct and shape an individual life towards a productive and positive fulfillment for self, family, community, nation, and the world." Once again, I am struck by a quote. When have I felt powerless, fearful, or anxious? I felt those differing emotions when I was not in a place where I could voice my thoughts, feelings, or opinions. The release would have been the ability for me to communicate all that was stuffed within either through verbal words or words written on a page. My next thought is the context of a classroom. Am I creating an environment where sharing one's voice is allowed, encouraged, and accepted? Are foundations being laid right now in our early grades enabling children to express all that is within them, or do we neglect the "messy" because of a lack of time. There is a schedule to keep, test scores to raise, there simply isn't time to develop voice in our work today. May I never buy into that attitude where the option of remaining silent becomes the norm. May I constantly find pockets of time where I do not know all the answers my students ask, but by golly, they are inquiring and sharing from the deepest parts of themselves. Comfort is apparent and they feel empowered to ask anything, there is no question too little or too big. What space do our students occupy in our rooms? Is it just a physical presence centered around their desk, chair, and personal belongings. Or is it a presence that may not necessarily operate in the physical realm, yet holds a place in the construction of the atmosphere of the classroom. When a child feels secure and accepted, there is no stopping them. As I read the quote from McElroy-Johnson I made a note in my margin , "when voice is apparent in a classroom, it is inserting color into an otherwise black and white picture." Voice is the allowance of individuality. It is the statement to a student which acknowledges their background, their language, their worth. May I continue to commit my community of learners to conversations in which we learn more about ourselves, each other, and the world around us because of the twists and turns our conversations take. While our article referenced, The Diary, I will again reference a book we read this week. We are finishing our author study of Patricia Polacco, and took several days to digest The Butterfly. Last week , our story took on the topic of racism. This week, we explored a different kind of oppression, life under Nazi rule. We had to break this book into several days because of our discussion. There were so many questions, so many thoughts. WOW, their minds brought tears to my eyes. We were attempting to "read the world". How sad it would have been if after each page I read, I look up into the blank faces of my students who had been conditioned to be seen yet not heard. Thankfully, rich dialogue and questions beyond my own years were offered and we closed the back cover still formulating an understanding of life during this dark time. The atmosphere of our room was full of the echo from our voices, hopefully left to linger and reverberate when we enter back in Monday morning.

Disclaimer: While I revel in the discussions our literature takes us to, I am just hungry to learn more. I question myself everyday and these articles help direct my self questioning and focus. I hope I never come across as preachy. I am just in awe of the blooming that occurs when a child is given the opportunity. Just like us; I think each of us is blooming as we explore topics we perhaps have not marinated on. I learn so much from your blog posts.
Stefoni Shaw

After reading the Hinchman article last week, my greatest concern about qualitative research was how the researcher constructs meaning. While I recognize the tremendous benefit of a qualitative approach to provide insight for why some students struggle with literacy, I can understand why some decision makers reject this type of research deeming it too subjective to truly be used as a guide for program direction. Although it has been stated that qualitative inquiry requires the researcher to state her own biases or perspective, when I read Henry’s declaration that her “outsearch” was framed from a critical Black feminist perspective I wondered how much her own agenda would drive the process and influence the students. I am coming to realize that to some degree both actions are acceptable. But I also consider Maher and Tetreault’s (1994) assertion “that in the classroom voices are ‘fashioned’ not ‘found,’ from ongoing conversations with each other.” Would Henry really allow these young women to “speak up” and “speak out?”

In the section about Nadia and Alice, Henry states that she “tried to raise Black feminist questions and issues throughout the course of the workshop.” I wish some of the excerpts of the transcripts were included in this article. However, Henry’s inclusion of the play Nadia and Alice created demonstrates a commitment to allow these students to truly express themselves even if the researcher desires a different “voice” for the students.

For me, Henry’s greatest demonstration of respect for these young women was her willingness to follow Tamisha’s instructions to “Turn that thing off!” Tamisha spoke out, perhaps in a more literal way than Henry intended, and Tamisha found a voice. Henry's literacy research became exactly what she envisioned--social activism--as these students were allowed to transgress. Just as Henry was willing to allow these girls to discuss what mattered most to them at that moment, it is when I am willing to venture away from the task at hand in order to seize a teachable moment that I may teach more than at any other time. It is at that moment that I allow my students to “speak up” and may inspire them to “speak out.”

I really appreciated Henry’s concluding remarks and came away from my reading convinced that I, too, can approach qualitative inquiry from my own perspective and still be true to myself and my students. Henry’s comment that “a commitment to students’ voices and to collective curricular and pedagogical decisions necessitates a willingness to allow our researcher aims and agendas to be reshaped or even die off” resonates with me as I consider her willingness not to count her project as academic research. Henry is truly a teacher at heart! And yet, her decisions also make her a more credible researcher. Henry would rather sacrifice the research than the student. I wonder how many times good teachers are forced to sacrifice students because of research—not theirs, but research that comes to them in the forms of expectations based upon test scores and not students. The more I learn about qualitative research and realize the benefits of it, the more I cannot understand why its findings would not be given more consideration in guiding educational policy. After all, we are teaching people. If their voices are not heard, why would they ever speak up or speak out?

Lisa Rasey

While reading this article I had that overwhelming "When am I going to get it all done?" feeling. I kept picturing the girls in my classroom (2 black, 2 white, and 3 hispanic) and questioning whether or not I give them enough time in an environment that allows them to freely "discover" their voice. All but one of my girls are very quiet, usually compliant, and content to fall behind the scenes in classroom conversations. The fact is, all seven of these girls deal with stuff that 8 and 9 year olds in a "normal" world wouldn't even know about. As an adult that genuinely loves and cares about them, I really want to give them the literature that reflects their life and help them work through some of the discord that is present in their lives.

In the article, Henry states that in the traditional model of teaching and learning the students are passive compliers and regurgitators of knowledge. The girls in this study were definitely not passive nor were they simply regurgitating what they read. These girls were synthesizing new information and using this to make evaluations about themselves, characters in the book, and real world situations. They felt safe to discuss, explore, and be "real" with one another. The conversations continued no matter how taboo the topic and the girls were able to write without the stumbling block of Standard English, hence they wrote something.

The most important piece that I took from this article was the last paragraph on page 244: "Students come to class with real-life questions that a teacher cannot always predict, and that students who may be labeled as "low" or "poor" readers are constantly reading the world and anxious for spaces to express their heartfelt views." How can I meet test requirements and still make sure that all of my students, no matter what, have the opportunity to debrief about what is happening in their life and in the world?

Cherrita Hayden-McMillan

As I was reading this article, the gender aspect kept pulling at my heart. I have always wrestled with the idea of gender based curricula. The idea of separating the boy from the girls was a difficult one for me to understand. This is probably because I was raised by an independent single woman. I loved being in competition with boys in school. And I loved it when I was "smarter" then them.

There are schools in this nation that do have gender specific classrooms. I think that is an extreme measure to meet the needs of students. This article opened my eyes to the possibilities of creating "workshops" that are gender specific. I loved how these girls were able to open up, and "speak out" in these sessions.

One of Henry's research perspectives says, "Black girls are expected to adopt “female” roles of passivity and complacency; they are invisible to teachers as serious learners; they receive less encouragement and rewards; they are assessed for their social skills rather than academic achievement; they are evaluated by their physical characteristics such as hair texture and skin color; they are considered sex objects as they mature (Evans, 1992; Grant, 1984; Okazawa-Rey, Robinson, & Ward, 1987). This makes me think about some of the girls that I have in my class now. Typically they are very reserved and quiet. I never have discipline problems with them, and they always "comply". During whole group activities I rarely get responses from them. However, this quarter they are all in the same reading group, with no boys. I noticed a few weeks ago that I could not get them to stop talking, in order for me to ask comprehension questions. I quickly realized that I didn't need to ask questions, as they were proposing them on their own and discussing and understanding the text. I am not sure if it is because they were in a small group, or a small group with no boys, or just around each other that made them open up. Or even if it is the texts that I am supplying. I am glad that they have opened up. It is been very rewarding. This is something that I want to take a closer look at. Maybe in the next few weeks I can bring in texts that are more relevant to them. I would like to have a moment with this group, like Henry did with Tamisha; "turn that thing off!"

Sarah Feinman

The quote from the Noll article, "Zonnie is just kind of there" broke my heart. At first I was infuriated with this teacher and then I realized any one of us could have said that. In fact, we probably have said things like that. "She's so quiet, I just don't know what is going on in her head." "He never speaks out in class so I don't know if he understands or not." We feel so overwhelmed with the majority that we cannot focus on the minority.

Speaking of minority, the thought that minorities are treated and viewed as a set of numbers is something to ponder. Think of the subgroups of students who must meet testing requirements. They are numbers that we must improve. I don't think there is a category called "rich white kids who have had plenty of help at home." How do we change the way we view minorities as members of the majority culture? Will we have to wait until we are truly in the minority?

I was struck by how important literacy was in the home to these two students. They had been read to and they did writing on their own. However, their home culture was rejected by society and teachers assumed that these children were not very literate. Their funds of knowledge were not recognized and drawn from in the school culture. These students probably spent more time outside school (especially Zonnie) writing than their Caucasion peers!

The application for me is with my ELL students. They also have a home culture that is rejected by society. They try so hard to be part of mainstream culture, or find a gang in which to feel a part. School culture does not draw on their experiences and funds of knowledge. How can I permit them to "be Latino", encourage their literacy, and not see them as a number.

Ashley Catlett

Perhaps I have missed the entire point of this article. Please correct me if I have. I commend Elizabeth Noll for her insight into the lives of Daniel and Zonnie. I would love for their teachers to read this research article to see the potential that occupied their classrooms, but was left untapped. I was sad at the tone of dismissal in the teachers' comments towards Daniel and Zonnie. Daniel was referred to as "capable" but "totally disorganized". Zonnie had a penchant for writing poetry, but was pretty much left alone by her teachers. Her reading teacher, who Zonnie had a fondness for, didn't even know what her Zonnie liked to read. REALLY??? Is something wrong with this picture? If I notice a student struggling in an area, I try to assist them. They may not get it after the initial assistance, I may need to attune my instruction to meet their needs. Isn't that what teachers do? If Daniel struggled so mightily with disorganization, shouldn't there be some persistence on the teacher's end attempting new strategies for organization? Zonnie was walking around with a book of poetry waiting to be published and a hard life waiting to be shared, yet no one really took the time to know her.
Aren't our classrooms full of children similar to these two who simply desire to be known? Isn't that a central piece to building classroom community? In the Native American communities, Daniel and Zonnie were known. Their love of their culture, their dancing, their music was all well reported by their families. They knew what their children had a passion for. What about the teachers? Sadly, they were pretty much in the dark about their students. Daniel's teacher even commented how she saw him participate at the pow wows, yet made no attempt to connect that with his schooling.
Education at its best cannot be separated from all the other aspects of life. Instead, education thrives when it is intertwined, integrated,and woven into all the various aspects and details of a student's life. To keep school separate from life at home is a grievous error. Haven't we learned scaffolding information is a strong method for retention. The same is true with scaffolding a student's interests outside of school with what is occurring inside of the school. A bunch of adages are flooding my mind..."You can catch more flies with honey....", "They don't care how much you know until they know how much you care".....
In order to provide meaningful instruction, a teacher must analyze as much about her students as she can. Otherwise her voice will sound like an echo bouncing around unable to be absorbed by her students.
May I never fall into the trap of putting curriculum over personal relationship. May I commit every year to fulfilling the hope of each student to be made known while they are in my class. May my instruction and general atmosphere of my classroom be inclusive and geared towards success for each individual. May my eyes see beautiful uniqueness as I welcome each child each day. May my words convey familiarity and interest.
May I allow myself and my students room to grow and adapt to varying situations.
May I continue to be stretched and pulled at what the role of a teacher is.
Stefoni Shaw

I’ve always found qualitative literature so easy to fall into – I get quickly wrapped up in reading about others and the stories of their life. This piece was no different - I just wish I could have read more about Daniel and Zonnie. One of the most glaring things that seemed to come up over and over again is how the schools seemed to miss out on significant pieces of their students’ lives. Noticing this made me think about how often this happens. How often do we as teachers look at a student’s academic ability and assume that they are ‘mediocre’ underachievers? How often do we fail to really learn about our students and the beautiful qualities that they bring to our classroom and school? An article like this one really makes you think about taking the time to just be with our students, to learn about them, to talk to them, to be human with them. To know a student we have to be willing to take time out of our busy day to show them we want to know them by asking questions and allowing them the time to share with us.

This piece also made me think about the purpose of schooling and how I believe that there are times when we pull away from what we as teachers are meant to do. Our job should be t help our students become life-long learners. We want our students to leave our classrooms wanting to learn more and actually take the initiative to learn more. Daniel and Zonnie both had interests outside the classroom that they wanted to learn more about. Daniel’s love of music and Zonnie talent for poetry became their reason for interacting with language. When they saw purpose in using language, they used it. In school, they had a hard time finding reason behind the assignments. They didn’t see the purpose of completing an arbitrary worksheet because the only product that resulted was another grade for the grade book. Yet, when they knew their product would be a new poem or a new musical score, they worked hard to create it. Thinking about this made me realize that we as educators may need to reevaluate our curriculum and find ways to develop authentic learning that will make a difference in our students’ lives. We need to show them the why and how so they can see the reason behind the work we ask them to try.

Amie Snow

Until last semester I do not think I have ever critically considered the definition of literacy. My traditional rather simple definition of literacy—the ability to read and write—had never truly been challenged before. I suppose I have been guilty of compartmentalizing the whole concept and never considering the notion that one’s ability to construct meaning through other forms of expression may constitute literacy as Noll asserts (p. 211).

As I read the case study of Daniel, I began to understand why Noll’s definition of literacy was reshaped. While Daniel seemed disorganized and uninterested in school, he excelled in his culture outside of school as a competent member who served as a role model for other Native American children. But at school…where his talents “don’t come out…” as his civics teacher explained, Daniel was a source of frustration. Is there any wonder that Daniel may have been disorganized with all things academic? These activities did not provide opportunity for Daniel to truly construct meaning in the way the flute, drum, and saxophone did. Daniel “got” music and his place in his culture. I completely marveled at both his interpretation of American Indian music and the connection he made between learning to read print and learning to read music. But Daniel made no connections in his civics class. Was this his fault? Daniel wanted more than permission to bring in articles from Indian Country Today, he wanted to be validated as a person—a Native American.

Why would Daniel possibly better position himself for academic success when he was completely disconnected with the educational material and the process as a whole? As I consider our students today, I wonder if that question should be asked of many. Perhaps, as Daniel, our students choose “…to leave school at school…” because it seems so irrelevant to take it home! Maybe we need to allow more of home to come to school. Although appearing early in the article, the quote from Phillips on p. 206 really caught my attention: “It is primarily by virtue of the teacher’s position and authority that the students and not the teacher come to be defined as the ones who do not understand” (Phillips, 1983, p. 129). Is a mechanic, plumber, and seamstress literate in ways that I am not? The literacies taught in school simply provide the framework for other literacies to be learned beyond the classroom. I must allow my definition of literacy to be reshaped as I consider each child as an individual. I must allow my definition of literacy to be reshaped as I consider a world that is so much bigger than school. And so, when I allow my students to see me embrace other literacies, the literacies they may bring from rich cultural backgrounds, I truly teach what it means to be literate.

Lisa Rasey

I really enjoyed this article because I find Native American culture so fascinating. Daniel and Zonnie’s stories were heart wrenching, especially when they both talk of the discrimination they faced, and I think I finally caught on to the point of qualitative research. When you get pulled into a story like these, you can’t help but become interested in what becomes of them and how their stories can help others.

Daniel’s story was the one that pulled me in the most. Out of the two students, he seemed to be the most involved in his native culture, and that really showed through in his actions. I really related to his love for music. While I don’t play an instrument, I am attached to music. It is always around me and influences me in a way that other things cannot. Daniel surely taught me that music is a type of literacy, and I’d never thought of this concept. Of course it is! Daniel’s statement about this subject was powerful: “Singing the songs…was like telling a story about something” & “Every note is like a letter or a word. And when you talk…[the music] is just like a phrase…like a sentence or something” (page 214). As I think back on this, I can see that I actually have used music as literacy in my own classroom. Every semester, no matter what I’m teaching, music makes its way into my lessons. I find songs that are similar to poems we read; I play music that has similes and metaphors when I’m teaching those particular literary elements. But had I actually thought of music as literacy? Not really. The same goes with dance. I am not and never will be a dancer, but I know that there are certain types of dance, if not all, that tell a story. This is also literacy in its own right, and perhaps an even more powerful type than we realize. I really loved how Noll included cultural aspects of these children’s lives to prove that, while in the eyes of quantitative research, their race may not be the most successful, quantitatively, they actually are.

I actually got kind of incensed when I read Daniel’s thoughts on the school’s Civics curriculum. We can apply this to any school in the country. What would happen if whites were the minority, and say…Hispanics became the majority. Would we still teach Euro-American history? And if Hispanic history was taught instead, would we find it unfair that white students were forced to learn about it? It comes back to the somewhat egotistical view that many whites have, which has been discussed in this class before. Because whites are the majority, we feel that any minority should have our culture forced upon them. As Daniel stated, “What are politics anyway?...Politics, all that stuff, doesn’t really go with the Indian ways.”

Christy Rivers

Zonnie and Danny felt “hard feelings out loud”, but who listened? Zonnie used poems to express her thoughts and feelings, and Danny used music with drumbeats and lyrics. What inspired them, affected them, and motivated them?

We first learned about Zonnie and Daniel’s knowledge of the Indian tradition: “ Zonnie and Daniel spoke Lokota or Dakota but most were knowledgeable about and participated in traditional Indian customs”. (208). Noll began the research article by identifying how important the Indian customs were to the two students. Next the author identified the purpose of conducting the research and writing the paper: “ I need to gain entry into the conceptual world of my participants, to capture the meaning that they confer on what they do and on the way other people react to what they do”. I tried to pinpoint specific information that helped me understand what inspired Zonnie and Danny, as well as how other treated them.

I feel Zonnie was inspired by love, and Danny was inspired by his heritage. I think both were affected by their heritage, but I felt that you could identify the importance of heritage to Danny more than Zonnie. In the second paragraph of the author describing Danny, three words or phrases really stood out to me: “symbolizing Indian power”, “full-blooded”, and “separated”. Literally Danny wore his emotions on his sleeve; the badge represented Indian power and the fact that he “started wearing an American Indian Movement (AIM) badge” and did not wear it the entire time made me think that Danny was experiencing strong emotion with his heritage. Something, or someone, made him feel like he needed to add it to his wardrobe. Also, the way he identified his family as “full-blooded” was an attempt to show his pride of his strong connection to the American Indian culture. Daniel and his family lived in a neighborhood that was “separated from the rest of town by a bluff that runs along the southern edge”. People separate themselves for many reasons. I couldn’t identify the reasons Danny’s family separated themselves, but I feel it might be a way to preserve their tradition and heritage. Heritage and preserving tradition seemed important to Zonnie’s family, but to her I think the love she felt for her family inspired and motivated her more. Noll states the following about Zonnie and the strong emotion she identifies within her writing and story telling: “Zonnie’s relationship with both her friends and her family influenced, at least in part, the role of writing, art, and dance in her life”. I think the love within the relationship greatly influenced Zonnie. The interesting point is that her main form of communication at school was through written expression. It was how she communicated the ideas she felt the strongest about. Zonnie sent her father poems when he was in prison. In the article she comments about sending them to her father: “they really like my poems because it reminds them of what love used to be”. Danny did not have a good relationship with his peers at school, out of school seemed to be different. He was treated poorly and called a “prairie nigger” at school. Zonnie’s experience with her peers was different but they did not understand the relationship she had with her family.

Through the case studies I was able to understand what the students felt strongly towards, as well as the specific background knowledge the teachers could use to build instruction with Zonnie and Danny. But why did their teachers not see it, and were they considered average students because of the C grades they were earning? To me their understanding of their heritage and emotions could be used to guide them into above average students. I also have a hard time understanding how Danny’s teacher could not see how eager he was for her to read his story. He turned in four pages of work when he usually turns in a small amount of work, how is that not a sign to the teacher?

Elizabeth Griffin

I enjoyed reading this article. It was very straightforward...and I only had to pull out the dictionary once..."phenomenological interviewing". Took me a few minutes to wrap my brain around that one. However, I was struck by the fact that Native American's do not do as well as White students on performance tests, when there is clearly an abundance of literacy at home. And it also appeared, in the case of Daniel and Zonnie, that their families were committed to their education. I quickly discovered the reason for this, which I want to address later.

I was disappointed in Zonnie's parents. They are happy with C's and B's? WHY?! If they say they are committed to her education, shouldn't they be pushing her more? The same with Daniel's parent's...D's? Hello?! It seems to me that this wonderful father who teaches his children so much would jump in and do something about it. But again...I quickly realize the fault is not on the parents or the students.

It seemed that for Daniel's school experience, there were NO connections to his cultural background. Oh wait, there was that report from a Native American perspective. That seems lazy to me. I know that I dig deep to find things that can connect to my students' lives. And not just one assignment, it is something that I strive for DAILY. And the same goes for Zonnie's experience. Yes, she had teachers that she could bond with over poetry, but where was the connection to her personal life? How was this school making anything relevant for these students?

And now I come to my point. One teacher of Daniel's said that Daniel left school at school. He wasn't bringing school to his home. But isn't it true that the school wasn't bringing school to his home? A bridge is needed for these students. The school has to put forth an effort to pull the parents in and the parents should put forth an effort to pull the school in. What about a monthly attendance to a powwow...involving staff and students? I can't even begin to list the possible literacy activities that could come out of that. Even if the Native American students are only 5% of their school....it shouldn't matter. NO Child Left Behind, right? There should be a bridge, a nice, strong, clean, sturdy bridge between school and home.

-Sarah Feinman

PS. I recently purchased multiple copies of "I Love My Hair"- Natasha Anastasia Tarpley (Author), E.B. Lewis for my group of girls. I am waiting (somewhat) patiently for it to arrive. I will keep every updated about the discussions this brings about. Can anyone recommend any other books? 1st-2nd grade level? I could even do a read aloud with them...

My first idea while reading the article was the part about the presentation of quantitative research findings on the achievement of Native Americans in America's schools. After gaining a better understanding of the two types of research in the articles in past weeks, I was able to understand the author of this article. So often, we look at reports of what findings suggest about minorities; however, these are often reports filled with bias. In the article, an example is given of the 57 point average difference on the verbal section of the SAT between Native Americans and Caucasian students. This is simply a number. What does the qualitative research show? Is it possible that the tests are somewhat biased? Could it be that the vocabulary or stories used are more familiar to people of a different culture? So often, we only look at numbers but forget to truly analyze the "why" behind these numbers.

Then, the idea of forcing American Indians to assimilate by teaching them only English reminded me of several previous conversations during the semester thus far. The article stated:

Early Indian schools were established to suppress native languages in favor of English
(Lazarus, 1991; McCarty, 1994) and “to ‘civilize’ and assimilate Indians into the
mainstream of the dominant culture” (Reyhner, 1992, p. 35). Although these
policies are no longer carried out through abusive practices, their underlying
Eurocentric orientation continues to be reflected in the schooling of Indian students,
who thus experience a sense of cultural incongruence.

This is so true of our education systems and several minorities across the country. Although we do not directly discriminate in today's policies, discrimination and forced assimilation still happens every day. It reminds me of our previous conversations about African Americans in our classrooms. We have asked them to lose parts of their own identity in speaking only standard English. In an even more severe case, we have suppressed the Native Americans' own native language and taught them only English. I can definitely see how students can begin to question their own identity and culture in these cases.

Finally, I also felt moved by the change in definition for literacy. The author said:

I came to view literacy as the construction of meaning through language and other forms of expression or, as Eisner (1994) wrote, as “the ability to encode or decode meaning in any of the
forms of representation used in the culture to convey or express meaning”

This was an interesting view of literacy. If I were asked to present a definition of literacy, I would have definitely stated that it was an ability to read and write. This definition is much broader and encompasses ideas about meaning and culture that I would not have included. I immediately noticed my narrow definition and wondered how others had thought of literacy before reading this article. By including these other aspects, we allow students who may have problems in writing or reading due to barriers dealing with language and culture to still fit into the definition of being literate.

Brittany Guy

I think that multiple literacies play an important role in any adolescent classroom regardless of race, gender or cultural background. The teenagers that I know are very similar to Daniel and Zonnie in that they have many interests outside of the classroom as well as feeling that school is out of touch with the things that are important to them in their lives. I think that most teachers, including Daniel’s, search for ways to make learning relevant. She gave all of her students the opportunity to write about a historical event from different points of view, including the Sioux perspective. It is just good teaching to make learning relevant and to recognize that students use literature in a variety of ways, including music, dance and art. So I wonder, who is Noll’s intended audience for this piece? Policy makers perhaps?

Noll commented in the beginning that “children are viewed and defined by the numbers rather than the activities and experiences of their lives.” Again, this is true of all children, regardless of race, gender, or cultural background. If the intended audience is policy makers, than I don’t understand Noll’s choice of numbers: only 66% of American Indians graduate. Both Daniel and Zonnie are surely part of that 66% who will graduate. I would have been more interested in a study from students in the 33% who don’t graduate. I feel that this would shed some light on the concerns and needs of the disenfranchised population.

Compared to the other articles that we have read, I didn’t find anything new or important in this study. It seems to me that the study discussed issues that are typical for most adolescents and shared concerns that most teachers try to address in their classrooms. As the saying goes, Noll was just “preaching to the choir.”

Jayne Thompson

The opening pages of this article clearly demonstrate the importance of qualitative testing, rather than relying on quantitative testing alone. I thought the most provocative quote was that qualitative research allows us to learn from “those whose voices are not normally heard.” Too often teachers are forced to focus on the mainstream, simply because we do not have the time to “deal” with the more difficult cases. Every year, thousands of kids are being pushed to the side--children like Danny, for instance. He was full of life--possessing several interesting hobbies and talents that a teacher might never discover. After reading about these cases, I started to wonder how many truly insightful kids that I missed out on.

As the article points out, American Indians have been forced to “mainstream” their language and practices since the onset of Native American schools. They were forced to cut their hair, adopt a new religion, wear more “civilized” clothing, and speak English. Every time that I look at one of the photographs of these children from the 19th century, it saddens me. They look completely lifeless--no expression of happiness on their faces at all. Even though this was over a century ago, I can’t help but to think that children across the United States are facing these same emotions. In an attempt to standardize everything, we are, in fact, leaving many children behind. Minority students, especially, are being stripped of their culture, for the sake of being “civilized.” Although America is often called the “melting pot,” I think that we should take offense to that. The melting pot idea suggests that we take everyone and make one final uniform product. Is this really what we want and need? I don’t know about anyone else, but the ideal place does not include a group of people with exactly the same interests, dialects, religions, etc. I am afraid that educational policies in the United States today are steering our country in that direction.

I believe that the “slogan” that our country should use is that we are the “salad bowl” of the world. We have our unique lettuces, cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, cheese, etc. Each of these kinds of characters adds to the value of our “salad”--rather than taking value away from it. We need to promote the idea that children should be true to themselves, and find their own path in this world. Sometimes we need that really crazy pickle to pull our salad together.

Heather Coe

Anytime we hear about the numbers from testing we naturally react to them in the way that the general public does. I was guilty of it just this week. My principal was talking about how low the third graders scores were on the pre-EOG in our school, across the county, and in the state. With my son being in third grade I was curious to hear more and I wanted to know when they were “releasing” the scores. She explained to me that they were trying to write a letter that would explain the reasoning behind such low scores, i.e. that it is a new test, and it was given within the first ten days of schools, etc. so parents and the public would not become so concerned. I think the letter is a good idea trying to give the public an explanation of what is going on versus just numbers but it is frustrating to know that much of that will be completely overlooked as people naturally focus just on the numbers and what that says about the students and schools.

This article presented the same alarming news, in the beginning, which we often hear about with testing, minorities groups scoring significantly below the majority-white population. When we look at the numbers people generally start making assumptions as to why this is without knowing anything about the population or situations in that community. For instance, one might assume that the Native American population does not provide many literacy rich opportunities or that English is not spoken in the home. When in fact this was not the case with either child observed during this research. When in fact both kids came from homes where reading to the kids was a priority and English was spoken in the home. In addition, the families were involved with their children and felt that education was extremely important. It was at school that they had fallen between the cracks. The teacher’s blinded view of these students kept them from seeing their true potential and from helping them find the meaning behind learning at school. Yes, they were given opportunities to do a few assignments throughout the year that gave them choice and the opportunity to learn and share about their culture. But obviously this wasn’t enough because both students had hidden talents and potential that was not recognized at school. I do not think this is because the teachers didn’t care, because in order to teach you really have to care. But instead I feel that we have became such a test and curriculum driven society that teachers are afraid to teach outside of the box or that they wont get to something that they have to. I would have liked to know more about what the teachers thought about the results from this research and the implications that come from it. So although I feel that quantitative research gives a biased opinion I also feel that that the qualitative was biased also.

This article made me really think about what great responsibility teachers have taken on and how truly important we are in each and every one of our kid’s lives and their future as life long learners. It also made me think about how hard it can be when you think you are doing all that you can, when in reality they may be something or someone you are missing.

Amy Spade

This was one of the BEST articles I have read yet!! I think it really hit the nail on the head with the idea that children can be extremely literate and not perform well in school. I think for Daniel's case, it was because the lessons being taught in school didn't appeal to him or affect his life in any manner. No one really took an interest in his heritage or wanted to learn his traditions and even ridiculed him and harassed him for being Native American. So why would anyone want to learn about a culture that did that to you? Zonnie did not have as much of a problem fitting in but was not a stellar student even though she clearly understood literary styles and techniques as shown through her poetry. These were both highly capable and literate children who were just turned off to school and marked as "mediocre" because they didn't complete a certain assignment or do well enough.

So often, teachers do not take the time to find out what interests their students. Choices are completely limited and when a child thinks that something isn't going to help them in their real life or doesn't appeal to them, they simply won't do it and will have very little enthusiasm in the process. I think this is why it is so important for teachers to allow choice and to assign meaningful tasks while expressing HOW completing something can help you later on in life. I look at myself for example. I hated math growing up. I could not stand it, but I did the work and was in honors courses. I remember my senior year when I was taking pre-cal thinking "when am I ever going to have to measure a parabolic angle"? I knew I would never use that stuff, so I did the minimum and got by with a C. I simply didn't care because it had no relevance in my life.

I could guarantee you that if Zonnie took a poetry course, and Daniel, a creative writing course centered on Horror stories, they would both be extremely successful. Unfortunately, public schooling does not work this way and to these two Native Americans, whose roots are seeded in so many other culturally important lessons, value "school education" with little regard. And the thing is that teachers should be asking their students "why"? "Why aren't you doing your work?" I think if students were asked "why" more often, they would tell you and then a teacher could begin to help that student find success.

To say that Daniel and Zonnie aren't literate because they didn't perform well enough on a standardized test is ridiculous. Clearly, they are more literate than some graduates we all know and this shows the problem with standardized quantitative data. We now allow seniors to complete a senior project which shows their learning on a topic they pick and a topic that is important to them, and I say that this is a better judge of knowledge than a bubble in the dot test. The reason for this is because the project is important to that student. If Daniel went and met the writers of the standardized test, or even really talked to his teachers that just assigned book work, he would blow them away with his intelligence and deep knowledge of his culture and his surroundings. Zonnie does it through her music and poetry. Give them an assignment where they actually get to showcase their talents and present on a topic that has deep meaning to them and one would see how intelligent they really are. Teachers would no longer be "unaware of the multiple literacies" that Daniel and Zonnie possess.
Whitney Gilbert

What struck me the most about this article was the abundance of reading materials in Danielle's and Zonnie's house, their interested parents, and their interest in writing, yet they still struggled in school. How many children in my class actually like to read and write, but the work they produce or their test scores do not reflect this?

What I took from this article is that Danielle and Zonnie do not have a sense of belonging at their school. This is key to understanding their attitude towards school. Although they liked to read and liked to write, only Zonnie was appreciated for her poetry writing. I had to take a step back when Danielle's (student) teacher kept passing over his Halloween story. He was so proud of his story and it wasn't appreciated. I wonder how many of my students have felt devalued because I did not read their story. I am not sure why his teacher did not read his story, maybe mispellings, maybe it was sloppy, or maybe she didn't value him as a "real" writer. What I am sure of is that this incident will stay with him for a long time. This is why I love writer's workshop. Every child gets to share what they are working on every week. Danielle wold have been able to share his "masterpiece" and would've perhaps felt like he was an important member of his class.

This two Native American children did not have a voice in their school environment, which is the theme in all of the articles that we have read. As an educator I can see how minority children feel that school is not a place intended for them. I understand the disconnection and the lack of motivation. Why do something that you are not connected to? Children are not like (most) adults, they don't live for the future, they live for the right now. And right now, for many minority children, is going to a school where they don't have a place. We (educators) have to find ways to include all students before we can even begin to look at improving grades/test scores. When all children are brought into the learning experience they will and can achieve.

Cherrita Hayden-McMillan

As I was reading the article I was thinking we only have one American Indian at our school ( to my knowledge). However as I continued to mull over my thoughts, would many of these same concepts and misconceptions not carry over to other cultures? Do we assume that because a child does not turn in an assigment that they are lazy? Do we assume because a child does not excel reading there are no books, or materials to read at home? Or that their parents do not promote literacy in the home? Do these students not have an interest in learning? These are assumptions that someone (meaning me) could come to if Daniel and Zonnie had been in my classroom. However this case study showed just the opposite to be true. Daniel and Zonnie both had an interest in learning, just not in their current course offerings. Hopefully when they got to high school they could find something that would interest them. Yet therein lies one of the major problems, why is that students have to wait unitl high school to choose their own course of study? For many students it is too late, they have given up and quit school or have zoned out and do the minimum amout to get out. I try to give my students choices whenever possible. For example we are doing biographies now, and for their project they can either dress up as that person and give a "first person" account, create a newspaper about that person including ads or create a poster and timeline of their person. And of course students were able to chose thier own books. I realize this is just one thing, but I try to include choice whenever possible.
My heart broke for Daniel when the teacher passed his paper and chose not read it. This was an assignment he obviously worked hard on and was proud of. The next time an assignment was given he was probably thinking "Why bother? She won't read it anyway." The reading of that one paper could have been a turning point for Daniel and the teacher, in reguards to that particular class. How many times have I made the same mistake. Passed over a students paper because I didn't think it was good enough to read to the class.
Zonnie was an avid writer. I imagine if she had a poetry class she would have excelled. I think how many "good" readers and writers don't like poetry and Zonnie loved it. For many students poetry is a struggle yet not for Zonnie. I found it enlightening to hear what Zonnie's teacher thought of her. As a mediocre student because of her "C" average. Do we base everything on grades and test scores? Why? When the obvious is right in front of us, we need to reach every child... find a way, so they will succeed. I need to broaden my definition of success, I need to find ways to reach every child.
SuSu Watson