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

Perry’s research demonstrates the importance of giving students an opportunity to write for authentic purposes. The Sudanese refugees experienced horrific events that they needed to share. Perry’s findings showed that the students she interviewed felt compelled to share their story to inform the world of the atrocities happening in Sudan and to persuade others to help. But I wonder if the telling of the story was also a way to process, understand, and accept all that they had been through. I hope so.

Last year I read a book by Ishmael Beah called A Long Way Gone, Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. Ishmael became a soldier in Sierra Leone at the age of twelve. He described in detail the horrible things he first endured and then participated in as a soldier. Like the boys in Perry’s article, he too shared his story with the United Nations because he felt compelled to try and help his country. He also recognized that there is healing in the telling.

Perry’s article reminded me of another group in history who found a need and way to tell their story to the world: African Americans in the Harlem Renaissance. After surviving slavery, war, migration north, and much discrimination they told their story through poems, plays, paintings, music and drama. Like the boys from Sudan, the writing had purpose and relevance to them. This prolific cultural period produced some of our country’s greatest literary, musical, and artistic works.

We all have stories. Whether students write to entertain, inform, persuade or heal their stories have purpose and meaning. Educators must allow their students opportunities to read and write for authentic purposes.

Jayne Thompson

I had a few thoughts while reading this article about acculturation versus assimilation. It seemed that these boys had acculturated and not assimilated, which is a positive thing. When one assimilates, he or she just becomes like the others in the culture. But when one acculturates, that person retains the old culture while taking on elements of the new. These boys truly wanted to hang onto their native culture, even though it had caused them pain.

They were able to transform something (storytelling) in order to retain it in America. I found it interesting that their storytelling was very much done in community, like that in Latin America. Are Americans the only ones who think everything is an individual task??

Just as in the Noll article, literacy was important to these youth. It gave them power and a voice. I think because of their age, they were more easily able to recognize this. Another connection I made between these two articles is that the youths were more than willing to write for authentic purposes and for an authentic audience. The problem was not that they could not read or write, but finding the right motivation and the authentic task.

Finally, we cannot force kids to write about painful things. Oftentimes they do, and tell us more than we want to know. We can use those stories as windows to their lives and passions.

Ashley Catlett

It was ironic for me to read this week’s assignment after a class discussion I had in one of my other classes this week. The professor talked about how much storytelling has faded in our culture. One of the students the researcher was interviewing made a comment about how he feels about storytelling in the refugee community in the U.S.: “People tell a lot of stories, but here, now, we don’t learn,” illustrates the tension Francis feels between the Sudanese community in Africa and the community of refugees in the U.S. and shows how he positions himself in relation to those communities. In addition, his words suggest the significance of the change in storytelling over time”

My professor asked us how far back we could remember about specific details of family members, for instance great great grandmothers. It was neat to hear the discussions that were in the class because some students’ parents told them stories at bedtime instead of reading, and vice-versa. And with this discussion in mind, I couldn’t help to think as I was reading about the wars in Sudan that these boys most likely did not hear a book read to them at night or hear a story as they were trying to hide and escape the kidnappings.

This idea made me think about how different students life’s can be and the environment they grow in can vary so dramatically. Student’s language is not the only aspect that can bring diversity in the class. I think about students as they leave school. What situations do they face at home? Is it pleasant, or harmful? Someone was a teacher for the 7,000 young boys that escaped who attended the schools within the camps. And later in 2000, the students who were saved attended local high schools. This description of the nights some of these kids faced stands out to me: In the weeks and months of their journeys, traveling mostly at night to avoid being bombed from the air or captured by ground troops, lions were a constant threat. The boys began to form close-knit groups, a new sense of family following the loss of their own. They traveled across Saharan desert, into jungles, over mountains and through swamps—all studded with land mines. Think about the background knowledge these students would bring to class and the stories they could tell! No wonder the author/researcher was introduced in the community with the rationale: “She lived in Africa, so she understands”. But I think more importantly, she listened to their stories and I need to ask myself…do I listen to the “stories” students are telling me enough?

After I posted last night, I was watching Good Morning America and wanted to share about one of their stories...

Did any of you guys hear the discussion on Good Morning America this morning (Friday). About how President Obama and his wife are using language a new language to communicate a new message. Mrs. Obama was delivering a speech and at the end, she was asked questions. One of the questions she was asked was (I couldn't remember word for word) "how did you get to the point you are?" Mrs. Obama responded that in school she was identified by her peers as "talking white", but that she was getting A's. GMA only showed clips of her speech and interviewing at the end, and would flip back and forth to President Obama and Mrs. Obama. They discussed a few other things, like his language during his speech. I couldn't catch it all but I thought some of you might like to know about it, I'm sure you could find it on the GMA website. Maybe use it as a discussion in class, I've noticed in the critiques how some of ya'll are doing that.

Elizabeth Griffin

I was so excited to see that this article was about Sudanese refugees since I recently read a book called They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky by two refugees themselves. It was a powerful story (you should check out the book if you ever get a chance!) I appreciated the chance to think about the literacy side of these refugees' stories. When reading the book, I was wrapped up in the struggles overcome by the boys, by their lives and the stories they had to tell. Looking back now, I realize that I did experience their literacy. Weren't they telling their stories to me in the form of a book? Weren't they expressing thoughts, emotions, and experiences in a storytelling format? Absolutely!

Which got me to thinking...when did the art of oral storytelling transform into the written word? When (and why?) did various cultures suddenly decide that the stories told should become the stories written? And why has the written word overtaken the spoken word? Storytelling is a lost art and something that is now rare to find. There are storytelling festivals all over this country, and the mere existence of them show that it is not a common occurrence--there have to be festivals to even bring them to the public's attention.

Storytelling in general has always fascinated me because it is the original form of literacy. What can be more simple than telling a story? It's so primitive and ancestral. No matter what your culture, you can bet that, in the beginning, it all started with a story. We are all linked by the fact that our cultures have storytelling at their beginnings. African, European, Asian, Hispanic, and Indian cultures all have storytelling roots. These Sudanese refugees were linked by their stories, and it was what they brought to this country to remind them of their past. The following quote by Bok sent shivers down my spine: "My story...was all I had with me, the only remnant of my past." This is more powerful than any written word, than any book. What do these refugees have if they don't have their stories?

I would really love to start utilizing the art of writing and telling stories in my classroom. Do any of you use storytelling in your classroom? How have you done it and have you found it effective? I'd love to hear some of your ideas!

-Christy Rivers

This article touched me on so many levels. First, I am beginning to write my rough draft of my own action research paper, so I was very attuned to the mechanics of the paper - the layout and the specifics of each section. On this front, the thought that kept running through my mind was- I have to write a paper like this? Oh, no! However, those thoughts didn't stay in my head very long because I was soon contemplating the horror of the people of the southern Sudan. Let me take just a second to say that I am thankful I was born here in America. My life has been one of ease compared to so many around the world. I have traveled some, but my husband has been to over 40 different countries on five different continents, and when he talks about the things he has seen, I know I am truly blessed to be an American. What these three young men have seen and lived through is truly terrible yet I am thankful that they are willing to share their stories with the world. Chol's autobiography left out the horrors I believe he has experienced, but perhaps one day he will elaborate.
I liked the Wortham reference on page 323, that autobiographical stories can illustrate the ways in which a storyteller makes sense of the world. I had never thought of it quite like that before. But often writing is done to help us make sense of our world. What I found surprising was Heath's ethnographic study of literacy (page 325) where he found differences in a white working class community and a black working class community in the way each community enacted storytelling and that those in black community differed greatly from formal education. Those two groups are represented in many of our schools today.
I enjoyed reading about the contrasts in storytelling and literacy, about how stories connect generations and communities. The differences in oral and written storytelling, the purpose in tradtion and culture. I believe I enjoyed this reading more than any of the others. Although like so many of the others, it makes me think a little more than I did before.
SuSu Watson

This article was really interesting to read. It provided some insight as to how events and experiences help to mold and shape personal responses and lives. The Sudan, like many cultures before written language was developed, relied heavily on oral story telling to teach the culture and values of their tribe to the younger members. I can think of countless other cultures where this has been done, Native Americans, other African tribes, even Greek and Roman storytellers like Aesop. But, generally, as written language appeared, cultures began writing down stories and teachings in order to preserve their message. Now, as with the Sudan, these "lost boys" have begun to write, but not to preserve their culture, to remind it and the rest of the world of the horrors they have seen and experienced.
Think of how many other wonderful pieces of literature have been created through these personal experiences. I myself am fascinated with survival stories of the Holocaust and the fact that survivors are courageous enough to share the experiences impact lives. I was glad to read that one of the "lost boys" was going to write an autobiography. Yes, they may feel like they are "not learning" but that is so not true. They are meerely taking their learning to a different place then they had historically been exposed to. If anything, their new found voices will impact no just future Dinka, but hundreds of other cultures worldwide with their stories.
I really loved to that these refugees valued literacy so much. In all cases, the young men knew the importance of learning to read and write. They went on to become wonderful successful participants in a society that was not culturally theirs. And they also helped to bring culture to America by sharing their experiences.

Whitney Gilbert

As usual, the first thing to catch my eye with regards to any reading is a quote. This was also true with this reading. The moment I finished reading and processing the quote from Ochs and Capps (2001), I was engaged in the meaning of this quote. It was as follows.

“Human beings narrate to remember, instill cultural knowledge, grapple with a
problem, rethink the status quo, soothe, empathize, inspire, speculate, justify a
position, dispute, tattle, evaluate one’s and others’ identities, shame, tease, laud,
entertain, among other ends” (p. 60).

I found myself thinking of all the stories I have ever told and all the stories my children have told me. I try to place them into one of these categories. Amazingly enough, these really are the reasons we narrate. I have told stories to give others knowledge, to help myself process situations in life, to entertain others, to justify my position on a number of issues, and to do almost every other thing on this list.

However, usually we consider stories and narrating as writing. We ask our students to write almost every day. How often do we really consider that sometimes important stories can be told by simply telling. Perhaps, a child will tell a better story talking without worrying about his hand getting sore or where the next period goes in the sentence. I began to consider, really consider, the usefulness in storytelling for children. It especially reminded me of the struggles my ELL students face. At times, they can't find the words to say to tell a story, yet we expect them to write a story. Imagine being in a new culture, using a new language, and be expected to write a story using proper mechanics to a prompt that you may have no idea what it means. This is the situation some of our students are faced with almost daily.

Storytelling could also be an interesting way to build community in the classroom. As I was reading, I was already anxious to do this again one morning. Oh the stories students always have to tell. Anyone who has ever been around elementary children for long knows that these kids have plenty of stories to tell, and they actually like to hear stories from others. My students actually beg me to share a story or two from my childhood every Friday at the end of the day. They sit entranced as I talk about my sisters and I and our many trips to time out and even the hospital. They have laughed with me, and we have been saddened by the stories of our classmates. Overall, I believe storytelling is powerful. It can easily be fit into the day simply by having kids write FREE DAY journal entries and sharing them. The stories are always much better when they share them!

Brittany Guy

As I was reading this article, I was intrigued by the shift these young men had to make with storytelling. In their home community, storytelling was an oral form. As they shifted to the camp and on to America, they were "forced" to become literate. I say forced because they knew being literate meant power. And power for these young men was incredibly important. It meant freedom. Also, the example of the message board board indicates why becoming literate was essential.

It seems as though they thought they had no choice but to become literate. One said that it was important for the oral stories to be written down so that others could find them and read them if they were from the same community. Tradition and history are important to them as it identified who they were and what they came from.

After reading an article, I always think of ways I can use it in my classroom. This article confirmed what I already believe to be true. Students lives must be a part of their literacy. Without connections learning is meaningless. Oral story telling is also incredibly important. So often we get wrapped up in the whole writing process that we forget the beauty of telling stories orally. Today I listened to one of my students use a voice for a stuffed polar bear I have in my room. Her imaginative play was a way of storytelling. It was nice to hear her talk about why he wasn't cold (because of his fur and thick skin) and why he was brave. She may have just been "playing" but that was her way of connecting her knowledge.

In another course, we talked about creating "camp fires" for classes to sit around and tell stories. I think this social interaction is essential. Students need to learn how to speak to one another, in addition to learning how to write an amazing piece of work in 45 minutes.

Sarah Feinman

This article helped me see myself in a new light. I am a border patrol agent. I am constantly on the lookout to see who is going to cross over into my country. My role is a bit different than the agents currently on patrol between the U.S. and Mexico. See, I practice open borders, and welcome anyone coming in from a foreign land. Which, when I look around the desks in my classroom, I do not recognize any natives.
Early in the article, those two words"border-crossing" have stuck with me all week. This term refers to the process of "importing and exporting practices from different contexts." This is how a child's literacy is influenced, shaped, grown. It is not based on just one environment or one circumstance, but a fluid movement between the many environments, circumstances, and experiences one has. Visitation to new territories is encouraged, passports are not required, there is freedom to move about these new lands. The gentlemen in this article bear witness to this. They traveled through dangerous places, encountered the enemy, lost those close to them, and settled in a new environment with purpose. They took all their eyes, ears, and minds had witnessed and desired to share it with the rest of us. These young lads were experimenting with their voice and the result is profound. Their stories of survival, of tradition, and of identity are powerful. This is what I would like to witness in my classroom. The power of storytelling, relating to others the experiences of life. Perhaps I will not have a refugee from a war torn country, but I may have a child from a ravaged home life, or a painfully shy child waiting for an outlet to express all that is tucked so deeply down inside.
I love this article and how it is knit to the others we have read, examined, and sought to embrace in our own classrooms. Again, it testifies to the power of our words. Chol, Ezra, and Francis may have been termed "lost boys" because of the painful experiences of their life in Africa. However, they have certainly found what to do with those memories. They tell others what they endured. They bring into the light the atrocities of darkness, the traditions of their ancestors, and the hope for future generations.
It's time to hold a festival! A storytelling festival! Let's allow our children to practice their voice, to share orally and in written form the events of their lives. If we allow their experiences from all the borders they cross to be heard and read we are building a strong foundation for literacy. There is no worry of deportment, everyone is welcome, no story is too small too tell. Let's fill our classrooms with the stories of the travelers that have crossed our borders; sought to stay and discover the treasures our land has to offer.
Stefoni Shaw

As I read this week’s article I was reminded of several different experiences that I have had over the past several years. The first thing that came to mind was a conversation I has with my grandmother this past Christmas. Our family has been going through a difficult time so any time we spend together has taken on a new level of importance for me. As I visited with my grandmother, she began to tell me stories of her time as a child in Germany. She literally came alive as she told me of her grandmother and how hard she worked to take care of her and their family. I couldn’t help but be a little upset with myself as I listened to her because I realized that my grandmother has always told me stories but I wasn’t always willing to really hear them. Now I have this feeling of fear every time I finish a visit with my grandmother – will this be my last visit with her? Are those the last of the stories I will hear? I can tell that she wants me to know as much about her as possible. I’m her oldest grandchild and her youngest grandchild will be born in October, so in some ways I now see it as my responsibility, my honor, to carry on her memory when she does leave us.

This piece also reminded me of the power of purpose. When we teach our students to read and write for purpose, when we give meaning to the reading and writing that we ask them to do, our students engage in authentic, learning experiences. The Lost Boys learned to write and tell their students so that they could show the world what they lived through in the Sudan. They realized that through story they could encourage others to act on behalf of all those who were left behind. Our students have so many stories to tell. My hope is that none of them have stories as difficult as the Lost Boys, but no matter the hardships you have had, they are hardships all the same. Our students need to feel comfortable enough to share their stories and confident enough to know that their audience will appreciate the story they tell. I think this piece makes a nice connection with many of the other pieces we have read because it again stresses the importance of giving our students a chance to find their voice. In telling their own story, their voice is the voice that knows it best. It only takes one teacher to help a student open up and begin to share their story. Once the Lost Boys realized the power of their story, they used it to make a difference. They used it to educate our world so that there will be an end to genocide and hate. The used it because they had a little bit of hope that their voice telling their story just might make life better for someone else. In my opinion the story of the Lost Boys provides a perfect example of the power of literacy. It begins with words on the page and then we tell the story and it becomes an agent for change – I only hope that the Lost Boys continue to write and tell their stories and that more of us begin to listen.
Amie Snow

Wow, what a great article to read! I found it to be inspiring and a reality check. As I read I not only recognized the importance of storytelling in our classrooms, as well as the inspiration to motivate minority students through storytelling, writing, reading, etc. but it was also a reminder of how fortunate we are to live in a relatively safe country.

I think we all too often forget, especially when times get rough, that the issues we face are not all that devastating when you look at other countries and what they face every day for years upon years. I also think our children are not exposed or taught enough about the true trials and tribulations that are out there in our country, but especially in other countries. I loved that just a few weeks ago we had two teachers that had gone on a mission trip this year, hold an assembly to talk to the student body about the town they visited. They talked about and showed pictures the portrayed how life is for the children in this particular community. This community does not have running water so the school is raising money to send to their schools to help get them running water.

Personally, I never really thought about the power of using storytelling in the classroom. The participants in this article really emphasized the importance of it to their identity and culture. After reading this article I realized not only the influence it can have on all students but specifically for our minority students. It is a tool that can empower the most reluctant writers. Not only does it eliminate the barrier of having to write, but it can give students a chance to share their culture, history and traditions. It also gives the rest of the class a chance to learn stories, fables, etc. that may not be written in the books we have today. In addition, it heightens their listening skills and builds their memory. Emphasizing storytelling would not only offer an important way of passing along cultural and historical information, but it would also provide a meaningful context for literacy learning. Learning how to tell stories involves many of the same skills that we teach during reading but gives students another means to learn the content of the stories, as well as understanding that stories often contained morals or teaching points.

Amy Spade

This was my favorite reading thus far. The article presents, yet again, a new idea of literacy. Storytelling is, in my opinion, one of the great lost arts. I think that with the emergence of technology, oral traditions slowly started to disappear in the United States. Instead of listening to their parents tell wonderful stories about times past, kids play video games or watch T.V. This, in one aspect, connects to what Perry mentions in the article regarding the relationship between marginalized groups and oral traditions. He mentioned that, historically, groups that have been kept at a disadvantage often place more emphasis on oral tradition. As a very wealthy country, the United States (for the most part) has been one of the world leaders in technological advancement. While our children are interacting with this on a daily basis, kids in third world countries are not; therefore, they are often entertained by great stories. The Sudanese boys reiterated this point when they said that “...in Africa, there's not a lot of work, so people gather to tell stories.”

Historically, a great example of a marginalized group within the U.S. affected by this phenomenon is slaves. This first group of African immigrants kept their dignity and traditions alive through oral storytelling. Because most of them were forced to remain illiterate, they passed down stories of family and tragedy and hope through story.

Personally, I can fully relate to the importance of oral stories. Some of my fondest memories involving my grandparents revolve around tales that they shared with me. I learned a great deal in school about WWII, the Great Depression, and Vietnam; however, I never fully grasped the “reality” of it all until I heard about it from the perspective of a person who lived through it. For example, my grandfather would tell me about our country's immediate response to the attack on Pearl Harbor. He said that he remembered being out working in the fields when plane after plane would fly over—for two-three days at a time. These stories allowed me to “connect” to what I had learned. Also, like some of the African tribes, religious stories are an important part of my life—this is one area of my life today that storytelling still exists.

As for storytelling in the classroom, I believe that it creates a wonderful “diversified” learning environment. By creating their own narrative or drama on a topic, kids include bits and pieces of their lives. Recently, I had my seventh graders create a fictional narrative about time traveling to ancient China. They had to discuss which time periods they would travel to, what they would do, and who they would see. Aside from the basic elements that I wanted them to include, the kids stories were full of a variety of supplemental information. For example, I have several Asian children in my classes. They incorporated family religious traditions into various parts of their story (three of which have Buddhist traditions practiced in their homes; they are 2nd generation Americans).

Although I was already aware of the atrocities that have been taking place in Sudan over the past several years, the stories of these youth allowed me to fully connect to the young person's experience there. Hopefully, these boys voices will continue to be heard so that people across the world can personally connect to what is happening there.

Heather Coe

I was so excited to read this article! Last month I attended a seminar at the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching and the topic was "Oral Storytelling". We spent a week discussing oral storytelling and the significant impact it could have on students if it was brought back into the classroom, especially for minority students. The most important thing that I took for this seminar is that everybody has a story and it's important to share our stories with one another. In this seminar, David Holt talked a lot about using storytelling to give minority students a voice in school since "generally speaking minority students are really underrepresented in the literacy part of education". Diffferent storytellers were brought in to illustrate the importance of storytelling and how to use it effectively in our classrooms and in our personal lives. We also practiced telling our own stories all week. We chose our favorite and story to share around the fire and not a soul could leave Cullowhee without typing that story out. They took our stories, combined them and made it a "class" book.

I'd already been thinking a lot about how to bring storytelling into my own classroom since the seminar, but reading this article has really inspired me to take stop thinking about bringing it and just do it. I know that my students would benefit so much from this opportunity to share their stories with one another. It's just one of those things were you know it would make for better quality writing, increased vocabulary, and could bring a sense of community. I also think about the impact storytelling would have on reading. Think about all of the text-to-self or text-to-world connections that would be made more often when a child reads a book. Comprehension just went through the roof, because if you can relate to something then you understand it better.

Ezra, Chol, and Francis have reminded me why we need to bring storytelling back. It provides more students that chance of exceling in the world of literacy.

I will always remember my grandmother’s seventy-fifth birthday. My mom and I were busy with last minute preparations before the rest of my dad’s family arrived when we heard music coming from the living room. Who was playing the piano? Since I was the only one in my family who played the piano, my mom and I exchanged puzzled looks and cautiously approached the living room door. I recognized the familiar form of my grandmother, but at that moment I realized she was a stranger. I had no idea my grandmother played the piano. And I was not alone—neither my dad nor his siblings knew until that day that my grandmother had taken piano lessons throughout her childhood. I thought my grandmother was from a very poor family. Surely they could not have afforded piano lessons? I remember wondering, “What’s the rest of Grandma’s story?” and deciding that I must know.

Perry referenced Salman Rushdie’s (2005) argument that becoming part of the family involves learning the family’s stories just as becoming part of a community necessitates learning the stories of that group (p. 323). I was not just shocked that my grandmother played the piano, I felt left out because I did not KNOW my grandmother’s story. I did not really know MY story. As we have discussed the importance of bringing children to voice and valuing their cultures, I have begun to realize that our children will not have anything to voice or value if they do not know their own stories. One of the most personally fulfilling assignments I have completed in graduate school was to write my own version of George Ella Lyon’s poem Where I’m From. As I evaluated why I found that assignment so gratifying, I concluded it was the empowerment I received from putting my life into words. I told my story. Perry states, “Because it reflects culture and shapes identity, storytelling embodies a powerful form of sense-making.” (p. 323). Our ability to be entertained by much more complex means than storytelling may have robbed us not just of creativity but of our ability to make sense of ourselves and the world in which we live.

On May 29, 2009, my grandmother will celebrate her 100th birthday. The song she played twenty-five years ago truly became a prelude to an interesting journey as I have learned my grandmother's story. She was not from a poor family. But she did, according to her parents, make the critical mistake of marrying "beneath" her. I began to make sense of this complex woman who never discussed her feelings or her past--the one who gave birth to thirteen children and washed diapers on a washboard for more than twenty-two consecutive years. Just as hers has not always been a fairy tale, the stories of my students will take many twists and turns. I want to look for authentic ways to allow my students the opportunity to tell their stories. I want them to see the value in passing on their own cultures. I want them to know that each has a story to tell.

Lisa Rasey

There were two topics that resonated with me from chapter two of Reading Lives. I disagreed with Hicks' ideas about the “myth that children are autonomous learners,” while I found some common ground with her regarding her stance on critical literacy. This was a difficult text for me to understand, so I welcome your interpretations and thoughts!

When Hicks referred to the “myth that children approach literacy as autonomous learners...”, (p15)I understood her to say that teachers and researchers don’t recognize or acknowledge the different ethnic, social and economic backgrounds from which our students come.

I can’t speak for researchers, but teachers certainly know that students come to us with huge discrepancies in their life experiences which either help or hinder their literacy learning. Children who come from literate homes where learning is valued and books are plentiful have a huge advantage over those students who come to us never having heard a book! They come with greater vocabulary, life experiences, and basic world knowledge.

Student background and experience has a tremendous impact on literacy: it determines early literacy instruction. As educators we know that students who have not been exposed to print need to be taught the very basics about concepts of print. We know that we can’t assume anything and we begin by showing them how to hold the book and which way to go. We also know that we need to spend a lot of time building general background knowledge because these same kids have not been exposed to many concepts and words. The reality of a student’s background influences our instruction and their learning.

I did agree with Hicks when she quoted Barbara Comber about the need for critical literacy (p32). It is important for teachers to have meaningful conversations with their students about the influence text has whether positive or negative. It is also necessary for teachers to look for texts that reflect the social, ethnic and economic background of our students. I’ve noticed that there are many books available now that positively portray women and African Americans; however, we still lack good resources that include Asian and Hispanic people. Teachers have a responsibility to order texts that reflect the background of our students. It is important for them to be able to relate to and connect with the books they read.

Jayne Thompson

There are a majority of working class children in the school that I teach at. My student teaching took place in a school with a population of upper-middle class children. There is a clear distinction between these two schools in my mind. I don't feel as though I need to go into those differences, but they are there, and always present. I get the feeling that many things that happen in this school district are governed by the things that happen in the upper-middle class schools. I watch the news everyday, morning and night. My school has been mentioned once in the three years that I have lived here. Other schools are mentioned many times. There are a variety of reasons for this. But clearly the other schools get more media attention. And I think this effects many things that happen in our school district.

Where am I going with all of this?

I suppose my frustration is coming from the district or government or politics in education in general. Clearly (as this class has presented), children come from different cultures. Many times these cultures are different from teachers', administrators', and superintendents' cultures. And because of that, some children are at an advantage and some are at a disadvantage. If we know that, then why aren't we being more supportive of these struggling schools? (Don't you want the best teachers and the best administrators working not and day to ensure these students get an education?) You can send me to 10 workshops about reading strategies and math strategies. But how do I teach it to these working class children? How do I make it meaningful for them? How do I convince them that sequence is more important than mom not having a job? It is really frustrating. We know where these kids are coming from and yet, as a school, we get no support from the district. "You need to expect this. You need to have high expectations." Then why are you giving me a classroom library with no female protagonists, no Latino characters, no working class families, and no minorities (and if they are minorities, it is a joke)? Why do you allow our school to be inaccessible by wheel chair? How do you expect me to reach these children that have so many needs?

I could go on my rant forever. But I think you understand where I am coming from. :) I am excited to be reading about working-class children and literacy learning. This topic hits home for me. I hope to gain even more insight in the lives of children that I am trying to reach.

The idea of discourse being not just print and oral literacy was not lost on me. I immediately think of the story Beloved by Toni Morrison. The theme of identity runs rampant through this novel. By connecting discourse to this novel, I am able to think about how learning and growing happen in every facet of one's life.
Sarah Feinman

This was quite a challenging text. I felt like I was trudging through mud both times I read it!

There are three stars I made in the text while reading. First, on page 20, Hicks talks about ways of knowing and becoming that affect schooling. I was struck by the statement that it is not only contact with books and stories that are important for a preschooler. All the other things the child learns, and the WAY she learns, will affect her ability to engage with the culture of school. This is deep. If we recognize that there is a culture of poverty that does not mesh with the culture of school, what steps can we take? (The culture of the rich doesn't mesh either, but they have the means to search for options to public school.)

On page 22 Hicks reiterates that all learning involves some sort of relationship and attachment to another. I suppose she is going further to break down the myth of the autonomous learner. Finally, on page 31 I marked the quotation from Comber. Critical literacy asks the question, who is getting the shaft here and who has the power? Reading texts is "always politically infused," Hicks writes. I feel this so strongly when I read to my daughter. All the fairy tales she loves involve a princess dreaming about a prince. Her end goal is to get married. I hate reading these books because I don't want my daughter to believe this is the way life is. I even talk to her about the fact that these stories are made-up and are not like real life. If I use the tales to educate her, is that better than refusing to read them to her?

When I read from her child's Bible story book, we notice that all the people are white. The people in the middle east are not pasty white, by the way. We talk about how people are all colors and how nice it is to see pictures of all of us. I hope that in these small ways I can let her love the stories while always practicing "emancipatory literacy education."

Ashley Catlett

In the doctoral program (which I encourage ALL of you to consider) we took a class where we looked at race, class, and gender in education. One of our readings was Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed, which is mentioned in Hicks' work. As I read Hicks I thought of Freire several times. One of the most important things that I got from him is that teachers do not own the material that they teach. The knowledge that a teacher has to share with her students does not belong only to her. By teaching in a "I lecture, you listen" format, teachers are owning the curriculum because little attention is given to what the students bring to the classroom. The quote I share as my title speaks to the ultimate envirnoment where teachers share what they know, students share what they know and together they try to make meaning of it within the context of their respective backgrounds and experiences. Hicks' discussions on critical literacy connected with Freire because he also saw the need for teachers and students to critically analyze the curriculum to find its value and worth. I wonder if anyone has ever sat down and critically analyzed the North Carolina Course of Study or even more importantly the programs that promise complete academic success to every student?

I also think that we have to work to create more critical thinkers in our classroom. I think the days of simply accepting the authority of a textbook are gone and the days of teaching our students how to critically judge and evaluate their resources is here. As teachers and masters students we are asked to do that on a regular basis and I have to be honest that it has been a struggle for me to get to the point I am now. It took many growing pains for me to learn how to not accept the printed word as absolute truth and to find the justified means for evaluting that same printed word. While I completely honor my teachers and I am grateful for all that they have done for me, I wonder if some of my struggle came from what I didn't have in school. I was the student who just wanted to get the right answer and while that worked well for me in elementary, middle, and high school, it didn't work as well in college or graduate school. I was asked to look for all of the answers and more importantly to analyze why those would be right or if those would be right, etc. Creating critical thinkers is difficult. It means giving up control because the students are playing an active role in their learning, but the most important thing is that THE STUDENTS ARE PLAYING AN ACTIVE ROLE. I'm looking forward to getting more into this book because I know that a critical look at the education of working-class children will help me become more aware of my own teaching, whether in a K-12 classroom or in an undergradute classroom, I need to remember that all of my students come from different backgrounds but all of them deserve the same chance to succeed and learn.

Amie Snow

I agree that this chapter was hard to trudge through. Psychology always confused me in undergraduate school, and this was pretty psych heavy. Whew! I'm not even sure if I "got" the points at all, but I'll try to make some sense of this post :)

Even though this reading was difficult, the part that stood out the most to me was the passage about crayons: "We learn about color with crayons. We learn to tell the difference between white and pink and a color they call Flesh...Flesh we know has no relationship to our skin, for we are brown and brown like all good things (pg. 17).

You know, like many topics in this class, this is one that hit me smack in the face. It is one that I don't think I've ever devoted much time to thinking about, probably because I'm white and it has never affected me negatively like it has with those with different colored "fleshes."

In my pathetic attempt to relate, I thought about my everyday issues with being a left-handed writer. This world is very much geared toward those who are right-handed. Many things that righties take for granted are very frustrating for us southpaws. Door handles are placed to be convenient for the right-handed, notebook spirals hurt our hands as they rest on the left side of the page. Some school desks have the table part on the right hand side, forcing lefties to twist our bodies awkwardly to be able to write. The frustrations build up, not enough to make me act out on it or get cranky, but then again, these issues are petty and minute.

It must be the same with those of a different skin color than the majority. They go through life in a world that is geared toward those of another skin color, and those frustrations that build up are much bigger than the ones I mentioned previously. We don't realize how these small things, like crayon colors, are affecting our fellow humans.

Christy Rivers

Since Dr. Jackson offered this as an “open” post, I want to make a connection and ask for clarification.

After reading the second chapter twice I am beginning to understand this new-to-me meaning of discourse. Perhaps my most meaningful connection at this moment is how I navigate my own life. Until now, I simply characterized this movement as wearing many "hats"—my wife hat, my mom hat, my church member hat, my employee hat, my graduate student hat, my daughter hat, and my friend hat. (I am sure I left out more than one additional hat that I wear, but I figure that is fine since I cannot keep them all on my head at one time anyway.) I am realizing that these hats may be discursive in nature and thus provide a framework for my interpretation of the world around me. Even as I typed the words I felt the obligation to put them in the “right” order. One might ask, “Is there a right order?” While I believe I know the answer to that question, if I understand this reading I am being challenged to consider such notions of rightness.

Without a doubt philosophy is at the core of this discussion, and one’s life philosophy will be the sieve through which the information and opinions are filtered. I am not sure that it is possible for a person to completely separate oneself from her life philosophy in order to be truly objective. The best I can hope for me is that I will situate myself in such a way to be more willing to move from one discourse to another in order to understand my students and meet their needs.

I do need more information as I embark on the adventure of this text. What are "poststructuralist" theories? I am not familiar with the concept of poststructuralism (if I have derived the correct term) and do not want to rely totally on the context to construct meaning.

Lisa Rasey

Wow, this was a difficult reading. I struggled with it. Thanks for the podcast though, I believe it helped. The excerpt of Jake and Leeann was not surprising to me, I have evidenced such things for myself. However I was blown away by the discourse of Sean and Terry. I can't imagine preschoolers talking/behaving in that way. I am a southern lady as Dr. Jackson said and have not been exposed to preschoolers being that vulgar. What was even more shocking was the teachers lack of response.
I highlighted the quote on page 33, "We have small lives, easily lost in foreign droughts or famines." I can totally relate to this quote, I often feel that my own life or things that I have done are meaningless in the big picture. However as the text alluded to is there anything so small that it doesn't make a difference, to someone or somewhere?
The text also made me think about the way I think about literacy. I must admit that Hicks points out things that I had not thought about that so much of literacy is social and cultural. I think I knew the two were related just not the extent that the author suggests. I also like the idea of shifting. I don't always think of things shifting but everything shifts. Everytime I read another article my ideas and views are shifted.
Again I thought this was a difficult text but it certainly makes me think.
SuSu Watson

By reading Hicks’ overview in chapter one, I could easily identify her passion for the subject. She writes about her study in a very compassionate way, which hopefully will mean that we will learn a great amount from Reading Lives. But I wonder about her passion and attitude, and if it could change the outcome of her research. For example the authors states the following: “ feeling can guide teachers and researchers to knowing in ways that are more fully responsive to the particulars of how working-class students engage with middle-class literacy practices”. I agree with Hicks, but as I continued to read about the overview of her research I found it interesting when she said this: “ When it became clear in first grade that Laurie was not making it in school, I began adopting a somewhat different research role with her. I became Laurie’s tutor, as Laurie and I tried to figure out together how she was going to learn to read and write in school”. I found this interesting because I feel at that point Hicks’ role in the research changed. Would that affect the outcome and information she gathers from the research, and how would the information she gathers compare to the information that could be gathered by someone who has not stepped into the teaching role like Hicks did? Hicks states: “I was not viewed by the children as a regular teacher, but neither did I attempt to step into the role of peer or family member”. I feel like she may have taken on these roles more than she thinks, and how would this affect her research if she did take on these roles?

I also understand that when a person or things is placed into an environment, the environment changes. For example, the students were followed over a three-year time span and in the second grade were enrolled in the same classroom. The teachers had to be aware of her research, did this change their teaching? And if it did would it change the affect Hicks is trying to measure?

At the end of the podcast, she suggested focusing on the various types of discourse. By focusing on the three types of discourse she identified, I was able to relate some of the comments from the two research articles Hicks was discussing to possible situations I may encounter in classes. My undergraduate degree is in special education, so I find it interesting that the word “label” is used to talk about the type of discourse you may belong to. The labels that are placed on students that I work with require the school system to provide services, but it also links them to a discourse within the school system. It is different from the discourse Hicks talks about because most of the discussion is about the discourse students belong to or follow outside of the school settings. On page 24 the author mentions the Roadville students who are used to oral stories, which made me think of Zonnie from the article we just read. It was helpful for me to think about Zonnie when reading about discourses, because I was easily able to think of the possible conflicts the author discusses from students inability to be “hybrid”.

After reading chapter two, I thought of a possible answer to the question I had for chapter 1. Both Hicks and Walkerdine stated they came from a working-class family. Therefore, they were connected to the students by having the same discourse as the students they were researching. I do feel their connection to the students through living with a similar discourse would make their findings different from someone else who researched the same students. I understand discourse to mean the language process, values, and beliefs that characterize a certain group; consequently, wouldn’t they be one step ahead of someone who hasn’t experienced the need to be hybrid within the school system? The following quote leads me to think the above would be true: “…we reflect on the cultural regularities of community life and wonder perhaps about the feelings, knowing, and belongings, of subjects within discourses”. It would seem that because of this connection they didn’t need to wonder about the feelings, knowing, and belongings of the discourses the students belonged to. Which makes me think, would teachers who belong to the same discourse of students in their classes reach the students better than a teacher who does not belong to the same discourse? Or would it be more effective for a teacher who does not belong to the same discourse to teach the students to be hybrid as Health taught teachers to “construct more permeable, or culturally hybrid classroom spaces”. Another possibility is that it may not matter because Hicks states, “practices shape individuated subjectivities”.

Elizabeth Griffin

Wow! There were so many instances where I just could not follow the author as I read through chapters 1 and 2. There were some interesting ideas that the author touched on that I would like to respond to. What I did take from the article was Hick's frustration with the public school system. The frustration that the public school institution was not created for all students. Most educators all ready know that to be a fact and we are frustrated with that knowledge as well. The one thing that I never really considered is that poor White children are included with the minority children that get left behind. In my experience it’s just never brought up, not even once in the many disaggregated data meetings that I have to attend. Usually all we ever hear about is the huge achievement gaps in black males. When we look at test data the “Caucasian” category is not broken down in to rich Caucasian, middle-class Caucasian, and poor Caucasian. So what happens is that we assume that all White children are doing well in school, even though we know that this is not true. So what are we going to do about it?

I agree that the “larger educational and social constraints” need to be dealt with. The reality is that (most) teachers want to deal with them and are ready for change. The other reality is that we are not lawmakers/politicians, and although we would love to redefine traditional values and teaching practices our country’s “No Child Left Untested” motto leaves little room for a change upheaval. The way we are operating right now is “if you don’t get it, you lose out and you will be lost forever”. How fair is that? And like Hick's mentioned we do have progressive pedagogies like writer’s workshop (and also reading workshop) that allow more students to feel successful, but those pedagogies are far and few between. By no means am I saying let’s rid ourselves of accountability, but let’s find a better way to do it. If you talk to a teacher we already have great ideas on how to accomplish this, but hey, who asked us?

Just like with minority children, poor White children are being failed by our educational system. Good teachers know that,and do everything possible within the (little) freedom we have in our classrooms to produce fewer failures and more success stories. If every teacher just takes one disadvantaged child and makes him/her a success story, how long would it take before American schools became a learning environment for all students?

Cherrita Hayden-McMillan

Like several other readings this semester, the chapters by Dr. Hicks suggests that literacy is a word that encompasses several meanings. She suggests that it not only represents the psychological aspect of learning to read, but also takes into account a person’s socioeconomic background and surroundings. First of all, I completely agree that socioeconomics plays a crucial role in a child’s level of literacy. A kid that comes from a middle class background will most likely be surrounded by books and educated people. He will not only begin “prereading” before he enters school, but he will have a large knowledge base on which to build--a knowledge about society and the world around him. It will be much easier for this child to make the transition into school. On the other hand, a child who comes from a working class family will most likely not be exposed to the world of “middle class literacy;” therefore, when he enters the classroom for the first time, the transition will be a more difficult one.

By the time these children reach me in Middle School, they have become adept at this transition from home life to school life, and “code switching.” What I see, however, is that often these kids are resistant to that change. Like Dr. Jackson mentioned in the pod cast, these working class children may have more power at home, and therefore, do not want to transition to the school environment where they feel threatened. This reminds me of one our earlier readings that discussed how some African American students feel the need to “act black.” Often, kids from low socioeconomic status do not want to abandon their peer group (the group that they fit in with). Therefore, they may act like they don’t care or resist positive behavior in school. Similar to what Heath stated, I have also experienced some “conflict” with these children when it comes to activities where they have to use prior experiences. My middle class children have traveled and experienced numerous things, whereas my poorer kids have not had the same opportunities. This is most evident in writing assignments and discussion.

Personally, I can relate to Dr. Jackson’s discourse example in the pod cast. I didn’t realize exactly how many codes that I had internalized until I went to college. Immediately, my basic way of talking began to change. Now that all of my sisters have either graduated, or are in college, we often have academic conversations. Lots of times, family members (who are not college educated) will get lost in our conversation. Sometimes, I feel that in order to preserve their feelings, we should talk more at their level of understanding. It is not that they are ignorant, but my sisters and I are using a different discourse. As difficult as this is for me, I can only imagine how arduous it is for my students.

Heather Coe

I will admit this week's chapters stretched me! I read with great anticipation of inspiration buried in our readings that will rise up and grab me. This week, inspiration is there, but it was more difficult to find. I first had to dig through some layers to appreciate its beauty. This is quite similar to building literacy in our classrooms. Sometimes, it is not readily apparent with our students. It seems we are communicating on two diffferent planes, our words are not connecting with each other, there is a large crevasse between us. It requires us to read our world in a different way. It is developing an understanding of the complex relationships between language practices. When children enter our classrooms they are packing buckets of knowledge specific to their cultures, their home environments, their prior experiences. When they enter, we should carefully ask to see their full buckets, allow them to unpack all that is within their bucket. Then, we take out our bucket and begin to show them all we have packed inside ours.This is the beginning of a literacy show and tell. We first begin with the history of our experiences outside of school and then bring revelation of how school can connect and grow what they have encountered. They practice moving between these differing cultural worlds. The more practice, the more permanent the language and literacy exchange and acquisition will become. A discourse will develop that encompasses complicated questions about power and social positioning. As we tackle these harder topics, we begin to introduce the development of critical literacy thinking, broadening our literacy understandings beyond the classroom and into the community. It is almost cyclical. We take their culture in the beginning, integrate with our school interests, and then use the combination to build an understanding of the world beyond the school walls. So, this week I thought about becoming deliberate in discovering what my students are packing in their buckets. Practicing exchange and acquisition will lead to permanence and relevance in the world beyond daily schooling. Perhaps the title of this new book is summation enough--Reading Lives is our goal!
Stefoni Shaw

I found this book an interesting but difficult read. I found the podcast extremely helpful but I still had to read the text twice. The difficulty of the text really made me think about how kids are able or not able to interrupt text that we ask them to read. This text was difficult for me because of my lack of exposure and experience with research. I think that more often than we know it kids in our classes have these same struggles.
It was definitely thought provoking and made me wonder about things I hadn’t really thought about before. .

Thinking about discourse and how many discourses even a young child has is mind boggling to me. I have always known that many of my children home lives are often different than their school lives but I never really thought about it being a struggle or how much of an impact it can have on literacy. Is there a way we can ease this transition or has it just become a fact of life?

Hicks comment about preschool really hit home for me since I teach the little ones right now. She said, “ It’s not just the children’s preschool engagements with written text per se that make a difference once they enter school, nor even their engagements with stories and other types of oral literacies. Rather it is the entire cultural web- a cat’s cradle, if you will-of language practices and identities that so importantly has an impact on school learning, including literacy learning.” As a teacher it really made me think about my goals. One of my main goals each year is to introduce my kids to the world of literature. Many of them are not read to or have had limited exposure to a vast amount of exphttp://blogs.rcoe.appstate.edu/admin/mt.cgi?__mode=view&_type=entry&blog_id=120#eriences. I work to create these experiences, expand vocabulary and build a love for literature. Hicks comment made me think through is that really enough? We know that our parents have the most influence on our children and what they know, however sometimes this influence is not a positive one, for instance with Sean and Terry. It was obvious that somewhere in their home environment they were learning language practices and identities that are less than ideal. At school I find myself trying to “resculpt” these kid’s experiences. But can I really do that? And based on what Hicks has said should I? Or am I just creating another discourse for them?

Amy Spade

Similar to some other responses, I found that this week's reading assignment was a bit more difficult to become fully engaged in than some previous ones. I did however find a couple of excerpts that inspired me to think more critically about education and the students I teach.

First of all, within the first five sentences on page one, I found a sentence that says volumes simply standing alone. "Students' searches for social belonging are as much a part of learning in school as anything that might be described as cognitive or even discursive." As I have many times looked at each and every one of my fourth graders, I have noticed just this to be true. Education and learning mean much more than the standards we are expected to teach our children. Our students come to us and are trying to master our content while dealing with the happenings in their own lives. Students are constantly attempting to fit in with some social group. They do not want to be the child who is bullied or teased for not having friends. This social belonging can even interfere with the child's formal education.

Then, I also really enjoyed the story of Frankie. Having a name and an outline of a child to fit into the ideology is helpful. Being able to hear or read the thoughts that Frankie is processing reminds me of the things I thought about when I was 12 or 13. Although the problems were different, the way of thinking was the same. This reminded me that although some children seem better fitted and socially adjusted, all children are battling and dealing with their own social dilemmas, especially from 4th grade and older.

Finally, I also thought the nature of the book to be interesting in that ways of thinking about children and learning can be addressed from different approaches. For example, teachers wishing to learn more about working-class children might concentrate on Chapters 4 and 5. This finally leads to thoughts about socioeconomic status, which can also play a major role in a child's education and literacy. I hope there is a great deal of focus on socioeconomic status throughout the book as I am intrigued by the differences in status and apparent abilities in school.

The reading of the overview did encourage me to begin to question my own class a bit more. It encourages you to consider questions. What are they talking about when I call them down? Are they trying to make or keep friends? Have they been bullied or teased by others? What types of things do they see at home? Has anyone ever read a bedtime story to them? As I consider these questions, I begin to explore how these might influence my on instruction. I hope to gain a better understanding of the research done and learn how to apply it to my own ideas and methods of instruction.

Brittany Guy

Ok, so yeah this reading was rather difficult. I found myself reading passages over and over and still getting nowhere in some parts of this text. Page 17, the paragraph from Code COMPLETELY LOST ME. I couldn't make any sense of it! Thankfully though, there were some parts from which I was able to connect to some of the other readings.
The excerpts from Heath were really interesting to me. It seemed almost like the idea we had previously discussed in the class, the idea of Code switching and having multiple voices for various settings. The difference here though was an entire different personality that the child from Roadville had to assume in order to function appropriately in school and not be punished or chastised for creating make believe or "lies" at home. This really got me thinking about some of my students and the lives they come from. I mean, what if in one's home, females are completely inferior and education is not valued, a woman's place is solely in the kitchen and taking care of babies. I mean, everyday on tv, I see things that completely shock me. For instance, that poligamist group that was exposed last year. I was outraged by what was happening, but what if I one day got one of those students in my class? Could I effectively provide a more "culturally responsive pedagogy" (p. 25) in my classroom for these students? I honestly right now don't know. I mean, what do you do with families who aren't supportive of a curriculum? I did have a child once who was Morman and couldn't celebrate holidays. For me, this was a big dilemma as I was teaching kindergarten and the study of various cultures and the way they celebrate holidays is a part of the curriculum. I simply had the child complete different activities then what the rest of us were doing and we missed out on many celebrations. This was also my first year, so I think I would handle it better now, but that was a whole year lost.
I am very excited about learning how to better integrate students' ouside beliefs and practices into the classroom, so I think that this text will help me to better understand how to do this.
As for Walkerdine, I don't quite grasp what her work was doing. I understand that she was observing working class mothers, but her input and excerpts didn't quite make sense to me. I wasn't exactly sure what we were suppose to get out of the discussion on pg. 29 between the two students harassing the teacher, other than I would never allow that to happen and language like that isn't acceptable to me. I mean, I understand that children are brought up in lots of different situations, but I still think there is a line between acceptable beliefs or behaviors and completely inexcusable beliefs and behaviors like those two preschoolers.
I am very eager to continue reading this book to see what theories emerge. I think it is going to be an interesting journey.
Whtiney Gilbert

“Child learners come to be and know with others as they engage in discourse practices fully saturated with cultural meanings” (p. 23). This beginning quote comes from chapter 2 of Reading Lives, but I feel like it fits perfectly with what I just finished reading in chapter 3. Hicks wrote this quote in her discussion of Heath’s work, Ways with Words, where she studied the literacy and language practices of children and adults from 2 different communities in the Piedmont area. This quote speaks, for me, to something that we take for granted as teachers. Our students are learning to know themselves and one another through the daily practices that occur within their culture. At the same time learning to read and write occurs within a child’s situated history, their literacy development is connected to their lives and in many ways can become a way to deal with, work through and grow up in their communities.

I found myself connecting many times in this chapter. I too learned quickly how to be the ‘good’ student and wanted so badly to be liked by my teachers. I worked hard, studied harder, and tried my best to do everything that I was asked. (However, I consistently got suggestions on my report card to work on excessive talking. I probably still need to work on that.) I think I fell in love with school and reading because of my teachers and school was one of the most important things in my house. My dad read ALL the time and my mom read to us ALL the time. I always saw my dad as the scholar because he would go through books at lightening speed and I rarely saw my mom read for her own enjoyment or knowledge until my brother and I were older. Now that I look back I’m pretty sure that was because my mom worked full time as a teacher’s assistant and then took care of us the rest of the day. My dad, while a hard worker, worked third shift so we didn’t really know him like we knew mom. When my dad was awake with us, he took us to the library and helped us check out books. It was what he knew so it was his way to connect with us. I remember one trip to the library in Rural Hall, NC. I was in the Beverly Cleary section on my way to the L.M. Montgomery section and my beloved Ann of Green Gables books, when my dad found me. He asked me to walk with him into the adult section and there he proceeded to pull out Moby Dick. I looked at it and then I looked at him like he was crazy. I remember him asking me to just give it a try, so I went up to the desk, pulled out my library card, and checked out Moby Dick. The librarian just gave me a quick grin but my dad couldn’t stop talking about how interesting and well written the book would be. I never did finish it that time, but I think my dad was just looking for a way to connect with me, to share in my literary history – whether he knew it or not.

Amie Snow