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

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