RE_5539

I have often thought about the topics that Mrs. Hicks brings to attention. The environment that children have grown up in and the people that have been their "others" have an impact on how and what they learn in school. There have been many days where i've made or someone around me has made the comment, "I wonder if they are doing this b/c of their homelife.....or.....I wonder what happened to them this morning before school." Environment, culture, class, gender, and race affect how children learn. I'm glad that Mrs. Hicks if finally bringing attention to this heated topic.

I grew up in a working-class family. We ate a constant diet of hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, and peanut butter and jelly. I thought i was in heaven! Looking back though, i realize it was b/c we just didn't have much money. Mom has told me that we lived paycheck to paycheck. Because of this, my parents pushed me through school so i could have a different life than they had. I believe this impacted my learning. Now that i'm a teacher, i see it full circle. I see kids that have tons of parent support and love, and most of the time, they do well. The kids whose parents i never meet, whom the kids never talk about, they're the ones that struggle. Does this have to do with class? I'm not sure. Based on my first hand experience, working-class did not hold me back, it pushed me forward. I actually think success in school has more to do with the "others" in your life, but who knows, the way the "others" act could have something to do with class. Maybe this confusion is why these two chapters were difficult for me to read. I got the main idea. Children do not learn autonomously, they learn through their "attachment to others." I loved and am going to put up on my wall, the quote under the heading of Chapter 2: "Knowledge comes to form in human relationships. The world we notice is the one that someone we cared about once pointed to." I think sometimes teachers forget that they are the eye-openers...along with the student's parents. As mentioned before, some kids have no love and support at home, so teacher's may be some kids only caregivers. In this test driven society, teachers are quick to teach by the book and for the test, however, we lose many children this way. Just as mentioned in our last book, The Skin that we Speak, we have to respect children's dialect as well as their culture. I see how these two books connect.

The situation in Chapter 2 with Jake and his cousin Lee Ann made my teeth cringe. But, as a teacher, i have to realize that this IS how some kids are brought up. It may not be the way that i think is right, but it could be the student's "others" right way to think and react. So, if we automatically turn our noses to Lee Ann's reaction, we are turning our noses to her "others." This could have consequences in Lee Ann's response toward us as teachers. I look forward to reading more about Jake and Laurie's literacy experiences, home lives, and how it all fits together. I feel like after reading more of the book, i'll have a better grasp on the author's main idea.