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
Comments (4)
Your post made me start thinking about several things, but the one that sticks out the most is your last comment about writing about painful things. We definitely can’t force our students to write about painful things, but we can offer the opportunity to write if they choose. I think that’s the key and if we build enough trust with them, they just might be willing to let those difficult experiences out – they may not want to talk about it right away but at least in the sharing with us, they are letting go of any of their burdens just a bit. Its that moment when you open the doors to your cabinet and a stack of journals awaits you because your students wanted you to know a little bit about them, that moment when they decide they want you to hear their story (Freedom Writers scene).
Posted by Amie Snow | March 22, 2009 9:09 AM
Posted on March 22, 2009 09:09
Your comment about Americans being the only ones who do tasks individually stuck out to me. America as a whole definitely doesn't have the sense of community that other cultures do. Strangely enough, I relate this to food. When you think about it, what is America's "native" food? When people think about American food, they most likely think about fast food. It goes back to our cultural "melting pot." There are so many cultures represented in this country that no one food culture is represented and a newer, more processed way of eating has emerged as the "American way." It is similar with the community of culture. There are so many communities represented that the idea of community has been lost, unfortunately.
I'm not so good with the words, so I hope this makes sense :)
Posted by Christy Rivers | March 23, 2009 10:17 AM
Posted on March 23, 2009 10:17
I liked your comparison between the community these students belong to and the community (or lack of) students in america may experience. I think the possibility that some students feel that their immediate family is their community and do not understand or know about their family history, is one reason story telling is declining in the classroom.
Posted by Elizabeth Griffin | March 24, 2009 9:02 PM
Posted on March 24, 2009 21:02
Thank you for the connection to Noll; I had the same thought when I read both articles for the first time and then decided to put them back-to-back in the syllabus.
You've defined "acculturation" nicely and I agree with you about that being the goal of immigrants -- a much more humane treatment of their identity (and literacies).
Posted by Alecia Jackson | March 25, 2009 3:52 PM
Posted on March 25, 2009 15:52