I was immediately drawn into this chapter. The scene Hicks describes of time spent in Vacation Bible School could be one borrowed from my own life. Few are my childhood memories that are not situated around church. While I credit my parents’ diligence to provide a language-rich home environment as the key to my readiness for school, I must admit that many of my first experiences with reading and writing were in a Sunday School classroom. I can remember learning Bible verses printed on large posters for my classmates and me to read together. I loved each Sunday School paper adorned with cotton ball clouds. I was intrigued with the flannelgraph board and the colorful figures that told “…the old, old story—of Jesus and His love.”
Hicks states, “My teachers in Vacation Bible School were formative others, too, but their gaze, their touch did not have the special meaning of someone whose connection with me involved a loving value context.” When I read this statement I was immediately saddened. Although there are similarities between Hicks’s girlhood church experience and mine, I cannot relate to her conclusion. This stark difference between us is probably not just the result of differences in what we were taught but in how we were socialized in this discourse. As I evaluate how Hicks and I could arrive at points so opposite of one another, I realize the uniqueness of my discourse and hers. Although similar, they are not the same and cannot be the same by virtue of how our identities have been shaped. I am not just the product of a religious system. Hicks asserts, “Such are the histories of knowing and knowers. We never engage in cultural experiences as sponges, simply appropriating cultural meanings or being positioned in power relations. Rather, learning also entails small and at times imperceptible, moments of shading, valuing, and imaginative reconstruction” (p. 36).
It is the knowledge that my experience can be so different from Hicks’s that reminds me that I must truly read the lives of my students. I can read my students like a book—or can I? I can make predictions, anticipate twists, discover themes, and even read between the lines. But can I really know all that has shaped that book? I must make a decision to read each one individually and not to assume if I have read one I have read them all. Even if my students and I share similar backgrounds and interests, it is important for me to remember the individuality of discourse. I need to work on my own reading skills. Reading lives may be the hardest of all literacies to develop.
Lisa Rasey
Comments (7)
Lisa, I love your book metaphor. It is so important to remember the individuality of discourse. I think you could carry the metaphor a step further when you consdider the interaction that takes place between the author and each individual reader. The connections we make with text are as varied as our individual backgrounds. We might all read the same book, but the message is different for each of us. Like many things in life, there is no right answer, just our own response.
Posted by Jayne Thompson | April 4, 2009 11:54 AM
Posted on April 4, 2009 11:54
I also liked your book metaphor. If more teachers took your approach to understanding their students, the world of education would be different. No kids are exactly alike, and no one kid will react the same way to every situation. Similarly, I think that different teachers will get a different "version" of the same student. Every year, I have students that are great for me, but do poorly in otehr classes. Sometimes, we have to really read into our students before we make judgements.
Posted by Heather Coe | April 5, 2009 11:35 PM
Posted on April 5, 2009 23:35
You mentioned that you were saddened by Hicks comment about Vaction Bible School and her reaction. I was too. Although I did not go to VBS growing up, I have taught it for about 18 years and I hope the children that I taught over the years felt warm and love coming from me. That is also my wish for my third graders. My sixteen year old son, was one who was constantly in trouble at school during his early years. Every day in Kindergarten, First and Second grade he got into trouble. He loved school in kindergarten and second grade yet hated school in first grade. The difference? He knew that his Kindergarten and second grade teachers loved/liked him just not the things he did, but the attitude from his first grade teacher was completely different. My son thought she hated him. She was not able to show him how much she cared. I try to remember this everyday in my own classroom.
Posted by SuSu Watson | April 6, 2009 3:29 PM
Posted on April 6, 2009 15:29
Lisa,
Your comment reminded me of a time I went to church with a friend of mine. Growing up, my mother and I went to several different churches. We were always trying to find the right "fit". We never did settle on one. My father is also Jewish. So as a child, I was very confused, religiously speaking.
But on that Sunday morning when I went to church with my friend, I allowed myself to make my own opinions. Not that my mother's were wrong or negative...I was just able to be a little more independent. I remember sitting in Sunday school and each of us were to read a section of the bible aloud and talk about how we related to it. What?! In all the churches I had ever been to, this NEVER happened. Children didn't read the bible, they did crafts. Because I was a visitor I was told I could just listen if I wanted to. For the first time I realized that church was not all about crafts and coloring. There was something more to it. And listening to my peers talk about God and their feelings I was in awe. I wanted to believe and feel what they did. (I wish I could remember what kind of church it was and why I never went back to it...)
So your post has reminded me of yet another important aspect of reading. Religion. What would we do without text? It would be a very different world...
Posted by Sarah Feinman | April 6, 2009 6:07 PM
Posted on April 6, 2009 18:07
Lisa, I think it is really good that you realized and acknowledged the difference in your conclusion and experience in church as compared to Hicks. I think this helps us to understand that even though our kids may be in similar situations, they may not always handle it the same or see things eye to eye. I think this is always important to remember and also to remember that each student, like yourself, is unique and what one person may take from an experience, another may look at it completely differently.
Posted by Whitney Gilbert | April 6, 2009 9:09 PM
Posted on April 6, 2009 21:09
Lisa,
I was so wrapped up in all of the connections I could make with the reading, I hadn't considered what it might be like to have no connection. I really enjoyed your metaphor relating to your children and books. It is true that we have to get to know every child because we may have no connection to their lives at all. Every child comes from a different home life, family type, social circle, socioeconomic status, and religion. This makes for great differences among those in our classrooms. It is true that we should try to understand and relate to each and every child in our classes.
Posted by Brittany Guy | April 6, 2009 9:22 PM
Posted on April 6, 2009 21:22
You wrote:
Reading lives may be the hardest of all literacies to develop.
Wow -- what a smart statement! We're only on the second chapter, and you've already pinned down one of the major findings of the research. You'll see this continue to unfold as we get deeper into Laurie's story.
Posted by Alecia Jackson | April 8, 2009 10:26 PM
Posted on April 8, 2009 22:26