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

“There are times in life when the question of knowing if one can think differently than one thinks, and perceive differently than one sees, is absolutely necessary if one is to go on looking and reflecting at all.” I interpret this quote to mean that people grow through reflection, and true reflection occurs when people think outside of their comfort zone or learn in a way they are not used to learning material. Through thinking outside of a comfort zone, people may develop feelings they have not experienced before, and learn from those feelings. In The Skin that we Speak, we read about students who were required to “think differently than one thinks, and perceive differently than one sees” because of their heritage or background these students entered school differently than other students from the majority group. They entered school with the responsibility to think differently than they were used to thinking and interpret things differently because of the language they speak. I agree with Foucault when he states thinking and developing new ideas of a subject through questioning is absolutely necessary. Teachers are expected to reflect everyday, as they consider how the lessons they have designed reached their students. This type of reflection is necessary, as well as reflection of literature. Especially reflecting on literature that presents ideas that test the attitude the reader has of the subject, and the literature we read in class tested my attitude towards the subjects addressed.

The literature we read in this class tested my understanding of how students from minorities feel about “thinking differently than one thinks”. By reading the literature I understand how to design instruction to fit the needs of all learners, the content and ideas represented in the literature have tested my attitude towards students of a minority group or working class family. Most importantly, while I was reading the text I questioned my own thinking and ideas and reflected on those ideas. I want to identify the important sections of the text that helped me do this.

In The Skin that We Speak, I learned about students from minority groups who were affected by the need to speak, act, and learn differently at school than they were expected to speak, act, and learn at home. They were required to think differently than one thinks, in terms of language. I read about students who questioned whether they could think differently than they were conditioned to think because of their heritage. These students were expected to develop hybrid identities if they wished to survive and excel in school. For example, Dowdy described her experience in the school system and the need to change her identity: “I invented a character that wanted to please her teachers and her dead mother”. Dowdy was different from other authors in the text, because her mother wished that she spoke a specific form of language that can be viewed as the language of intelligent people. Therefore, Dowdy experienced pressure at home and at school. Like all of the authors, I feel her experience of “thinking differently” contributed and influenced how she developed her identity. Later in life Dowdy participated in activities at work where she wrote small skits about the local people, and played their roles in the skits. Dowdy reflected on the experience: “The chains fell from around my tongue, and my brain began to feel as if it were oiled and moving along without hiccups”. She continued by stating that her life was then legitimized: “All of the shades of my existence could be called into the performance medium, and I, at last, could feel integrated”. I want all students, regardless of their background to understand that their life and feelings are legitimate. If they do not understand this before school, there are things teachers can do in school to help them understand.

I reflect on Baker’s chapter in The Skin that we Speak, because she identified one to build understanding in the classroom. Baker states that teaching students about “trilingualism” will help them build awareness of the need to develop a formal and professional language while accepting their home language. In the book she discussed how to utilize and the approach trilingualism, which I think is very important but because we have all read the information I will not include details of how to incorporate the idea into classroom instruction. Instead, I want to reiterate the main idea of “trilingualism”. In the trilingualism approach students learn about the three types of language that are important to develop: home, formal, and professional English. Baker defines the forms of language as the following: home English, or dialect, is the language most students develop at home or from peers; Formal, or academic, English is developed in school and through the text available at school; Professional English is the language that is developed in college or while working. From Bakers description in the book, I have concluded that the most important detail of the instruction of the “trilingualism” approach is to teach the students to respect each type of language in hopes the students will then be willing to use the best language form when appropriate. I feel the activities Baker identified in the chapter will enable students to question a different way of thinking and speaking. Students are also allowed the opportunity to reflect on their discussions of the different languages, which Foucault states is necessary.

As I reflected on what I have learned this semester from the texts, I realized one very important thing. These texts tested ideas and notions that I had of working-class children, and after reading the text my thoughts changed. I think differently than I thought before reading them. Before this class, my understanding of the working class children and the relationship to literacy came from being a working class student. I attended rural school systems where textbooks stayed at school because there was not enough money to replace them if students lost the books. Both of my parents were from a working class background as well, just as most of my friends’ parents were. I understood the restrictions that can be placed on a student, for example the monetary restrictions that affect the materials that are available. I also understood how the time parents have to devote to their children could affect their learning like spending time reading, and I understood that in a working-class setting parents values and goals are different. I was not aware of the specific examples that were found through research of these families that I became aware of by reading, Reading Lives: Working Class Children and Literacy Learning. For example, Hicks research identified problems Jake had with classroom instruction because of the value his father placed on learning by doing. Jake’s father states: “All they had to do was find ways to connect students’ interest with academic tasks”. Before reading the text I thought that teachers could link the material to students interest and the student would learn by reading interesting text. The ideas Hicks’ presented through research and the idea that reading and writing is a cultural and cognitive process, makes me feel that presenting interesting material is important but it is also important to develop a sense of belonging for students. I think differently than I do about the relationship of working class students and literacy, as I just described, but I want to know more. I want to understand how to teach students like Jake and Laurie because they are teachable.

All students are able to learn, and our job as teachers is to collaborate to build ideas when our own ideas do not work. We need to set a goal to attempt to think differently than one typically thinks and step outside of the box to brainstorm to meet the needs of students. Our reflection of these things will only make us stronger as teachers.

Elizabeth Griffin