Wow, how much I enjoyed this chapter, by the end of Hicks stories and descriptions,I felt I really knew Laurie. At first I was apprehensive about Hick's description of Laurie taking on a domestic role with her relationship with Nicholas. I felt Hicks was reading to much into her actions, after all the child was only in kindergarten. Yet as I continued on, I began to understand. Laurie seemed to be shaping herself around what gave her power and a place. "Taking care" of Nicholas gave her power. Being a good girl at school, pleasing her teachers, acting out at home, disconnecting from schoolwork, it all gave her power admist her working class girlhood.
I felt like the most heartbreaking moment for me reading Laurie's story, was when Hicks said during Laurie's first grade year, she "began living a dual existence as a model student who was learning how to fail". Hicks tells how Laurie began to rummage in her desk, quietly chat with her peers through out lessons, as well as stubbornly refuse to try something new. I think she simply did not want to fail. She would then lose her power. If things seemed too difficult, she would not try. Good gracious how many students I have like Laurie in this regard! The more frightening part for me is that they are middle schoolers displaying these behaviors, and they are only falling more and more behind. Just as Laurie, my students lose motivation when work or reading is too high for them. The complexities of dealing with 12 to 15 year olds all in the same room on various grade levels from 2-12 with different situated "histories" is sometimes too much to take in. Just as Hicks says, " in retrospect, a literacy program developed to suit Laurie's needs may have helped her literacy difficulties" frustrates me. I feel so many of my students needed a program like this, and still do. If we know this as educators and an educational system, why are we not doing something different? Then, as I continued to read on, how Hicks wrote that then something happened, that Laurie suddenly became interested in learning and school, I readdressed my prior thought. It was obvious Laurie was suddenly excited because she was going to have a new daddy. Hicks calls this a girlhood fantasy, I would like to think of it more as a dream. Just as easily as Laurie was excited, she was instantly disappointed. Do we really have any power over these children's literacies? After all the time Hicks spent with Laurie, the only thing that really got her excited about school was something going on a home. Can we really battle our student's home life's and win? I love when Hicks stated, "Such is the power of stories, as they assume moral weight and influence in the context of our histories". Earlier I mentioned what seemed to give Laurie power in her girlhood. The "stories" Laurie lived seemed to have complete power over her all along. Her identities continually competed between home and school. We may never completely understand the realities of our students lives, yet we can give them a chance to live fictions in our classroom and more importantly, the chance to make those fictions histories.
Comments (6)
It does seem to be a reality that Laurie's and other students home lives and histories appear to have more influence than ours as teachers. However, I could not understand why if Laurie had so many people observing her that they waited until she was failing to begin any intervention. Clearly the signs were there before the discussion of retaining her. Also the methods of the teacher the following year in second grade seemed to bolster her capability and confidence. Could it simply be method that made the difference because her homelife was the same? And what does that tell us as teachers?
Posted by Sara Joyce | June 12, 2007 10:13 PM
Posted on June 12, 2007 22:13
Sarah,
I read your comment about Laurie taking on the caregiver role with Nicholas and shook my head YES!
My Kindergarten students find a lot of joy in creative play or housekeeping as it is also called. They act out family scenarios and make believe by acting out real family situations. That is a big part of Kindergarten! We learn and study about family roles and certainly the norms of school life. I too felt that Laurie liked taking care of Nicholas because it gave her a sense of power. I don't believe there is really anything wrong with this especially for young children like Laurie. When I was young, I played many roles including teacher, doctor, veterinarian with my animals, mommy, and so on.
Posted by Renee Pagoota | June 13, 2007 8:25 AM
Posted on June 13, 2007 08:25
Sarah,
We can make a difference. I loved your last statement, “We may never completely understand the realities of our students’ lives, yet we can give them a chance to live fictions in our classroom and more importantly, the chance to make those fictions histories.” It is tough to battle their influences at home, but we can do it. If we couldn’t do it, then why even teach, right? I mean, my job would be pointless if I could not make a difference. Sometimes all a child needs is a person to be a cheerleader on the sidelines to say “You can do this! I believe in you.” We have no idea what could be going on in a student’s home-life, but we can be certain what is going on in our classroom. We can provide a secure, stable, nurturing environment for these kids to grow. I have actually had kids tell me at the end of the school day, “Mrs. Holland, I wish I could stay with you.” It breaks my heart because I don’t know what they are going home to. On crazy days where I don’t even want to be around myself or when I have worked my students really hard, I wonder, “How bad could their home-life be to want to stay with me all day?!” I’m being silly, but really? These kids have some difficult situations. Maybe my classroom is the only place where they can truly be a kid. Sad, but it is probably true more often than I even want to admit.
Written by
Heather Holland
Posted by Heather Holland | June 13, 2007 9:50 AM
Posted on June 13, 2007 09:50
I think school systems and/ or state departments of education need to make provisions for students like Laurie who can't keep up with the expected learning pace and shut down when they face work that is too difficult. There are many children in our school systems who act out in negative ways or passively avoid completing their work because their assignments make them feel weak and powerless as learners. Some of these students get tested and qualify for LD services' while many others don't qualify for anything, but instead are diagnosed to be slow learners. The acknowledgement of the fact that some students are slow learners should tell them "something". If some students are slow learners, why doesn't the state design an inclusive curriculum that accomodates the needs of these children? Why are these children expected to reach a bar that is set at a height that starts out being way over their heads and continues to rise at a rate that is so quick that they can't catch up?
Posted by Vickie Howell | June 13, 2007 10:00 PM
Posted on June 13, 2007 22:00
I too was a little leery of the relationship Laurie had with Nicholas when I first began reading. As I read on, I was relieved to find nothing more happened. By reading this chapter, you can see how the lives of parents affect their children.
It is saddening when you can see when changes take place in student's classroom behavior and they began to underachieve or become distracted. Children with high intelligence know when they are not working up to par and they began to fail. I am not sure if parents realize how much their actions and lives affect their children. Laurie's peaks and valleys in her attitude were probably similar to her mom's behavior at home. I wonder if that was the cause.
I don't think we have as much control as we think we may have in the education system, but we need to take an active role as Hicks' does.
It is saddening when you can see when changes take place in student's classroom behavior and they began to underachieve or become distracted. Children with high intelligence know when they are not working up to par and they began to fail. I am not sure if parents realize how much their actions and lives affect their children. Laurie's peaks and valleys in her attitude was probably similar to her mom's behavior at home. I wonder if that was the cause.
I don't thikn we have as much control as we think we may have in the education system, but we need to take an active role as Hicks' does.
Posted by Danielle Griffin | June 13, 2007 10:01 PM
Posted on June 13, 2007 22:01
It is hard to immediately measure the impact, control, and influence teachers have over students' lives. Sometimes those effects come many years later. I too get frustrated when I work hard with students (or even with my 2 yr old!) and don't see immediate change. Perhaps this is the result of our "instant gratification" culture. Teachers should take confidence in knowing that their influence may happen within their classrooms -- or it may occur years later, without their knowledge. Both are equally important.
Alecia
Posted by Alecia | June 14, 2007 9:49 PM
Posted on June 14, 2007 21:49