The first page in chapter three immediately caused me to think about just how I was socialized as a young girl. Which specific cultures had the greatest impact on me in my childhood? The author describes "process of regulation" and "culturally specific socialization." I was raised in five states ranging from the southeast to the northeast to the midwest! I was influenced by my parents' values first and foremost but the different locations in which I lived most certainly left a lasting impression on me.
Southern values and traditions played the most important role since I have spend the majority of my life in both Carolinas. However, I was also influenced by my time spent in Michigan and Kansas both of which are completely different from each other. Family traditions and cultural norms are quite different in these two states compared with life near Charlotte, NC-- not to mention language and speech differences. I feel that my childhood left me feeling that there is not one discourse that is completely dominant for me. I have an appreciation for the differences I felt by living in so many different places. It opened my eyes to the wonder of travel and adventure and for this reason, travel is one of my favorite activities. I can discover amazing places and wonderful cultures in many places in this country.
My unique life story is just as unique as anyone's elses. A person's experiences shape their identity. From the reading, I began to understand your choices along with your life circumstances including family, upbringing, gender, and linguistic background shape a person's path.
Learning to read or becoming literate is a direct result of all of these factors compiled together. From the author's point of view, learning to read is not something that is a complete and separate process from a child's unique life experiences.
As I read Frame's story I was able to relate to her even though I didn't grow up with circumstances even remotely similar to hers. As she read at a very young age she began to think of exciting stories that were inspired by stories from school textbooks. I did this all the time as a young reader/writer. I would read stories at school (textbook, novel, or otherwise) and begin to use my imagination to think of similar stories I had read or think of real experiences in life that reminded me of the story plot and characters. In my mind I was a fairly creative young author. I was using my unique life story and exposure to various social discourses to create imaginative narratives which I liked to write for fun.
In the story of Laurie, I liked the point made about mother-daughter relationships. It reminded me of my own mother and the ways that she supported my path to literacy from a very young age. She and my father both are the biggest reason that I am a literate adult, that I have an advanced degree in reading, and certainly that I am a reading teacher. While Laurie's relationship was centered around struggles in school, my relationship and my memories are focused on the academic success and excitement for school that I share with my mom.
Comments (5)
Renee,
Living in all the different places probably molded you into the person you are today. I have a student this year in second grade that is now at her fourth school. Her mother told me the last day of school that they are moving again. This little girl struggles academically. I really wonder if all the moving in her life has hindered her academics. It does not appear that yours has been hindered. She may have a learning disability that never gets tested because she moves around so much. I worry about her future in school.
Beth Rigsbee
Posted by Beth Rigsbee | June 10, 2007 1:55 PM
Posted on June 10, 2007 13:55
Renee,
I enjoying reading your post to hear a different experience of literacy learning. It seems many of us in this group were raised in the south, and it was interesting to hear from you, having been raised in many locations, could still relate to Frame's story. It makes me wonder if the similarity doesn't necessarily come from community location, but just more simply community and family values. It would be interesting to study all of our upbringings to see the connections between us all that made us have such an interest in reading.
Posted by Sarah McMillan | June 11, 2007 1:29 PM
Posted on June 11, 2007 13:29
Renee,
I think you were very lucky to have been able to have been in so many different places. I was from the South and until I got older, didn't realize that people from different cultures, States, areas, etc. shared unique and different views and ways of doing things. Because you experienced so many unique ways early in life, it I am sure, has helped you to relate to different people a lot more than if you had just been in one area. Now that I have traveled and been around more and more people from different areas, I feel I am so much richer in what I know which helps when trying to relate to students from different cultures and areas in my classroom. The challenge for educators who are not from different areas, is to find books and resources that can help them become more culturally diverse. You are so right that a person's expereiences shape their path and identity in life. Until reading this chapter, I never really thought about how our literacy knowledge is a result of our family upbringing, gender, and linguistic background all together.
I too loved to role play and use my immagination and would create "Imaginative narratives" that modeled after stories I heard or things that I experienced. I would have loved playing with you as a child!
I agree with you that our parents are huge reasons for shaping our literacy path. As an educator at a poor school, I experience a lot of students who don't get the rich literacy experiences at home as I did. For these students school is a determining factor for their success so I try to be certain I am providing experiences for my students that will help them to become successful independent adults.
Linda Younts
Posted by Linda Younts | June 11, 2007 3:30 PM
Posted on June 11, 2007 15:30
How lucky you have been to be able to incorporate so many complex cultures, discourses, and practices into your identity. I am sure that your own "situated histories" in this regard are of great benefit to your students. Your literacy learning is indeed unique to those contexts that you name. Your description reveals that we can never assume that literacy learning happens in a simple, straightforward fashion!
Posted by Prof. Alecia Jackson | June 11, 2007 9:39 PM
Posted on June 11, 2007 21:39
Renee,
It is interesting that you have lived in so many places, and yet, it did not affect you academically. Research states that when students move around a lot, they lose academically and socially. More academics than social. You are an excellent example and your story can be shared with administrators and educators. When we get a new student at our school and we are browsing through the cumulative folder, the first thing we look for is to see how many schools this child have attended since they started school and then we will look at their grades. I am not saying that research is wrong, I am only saying that when we are teaching our children, we must look at other things that may be hindering the child from learning and not the constant moving. I feel as though, the child moving from place to place should be the last thing to look at in diagnosing this child's ability to learn.
Beth, you may be right in looking in the direction of testing.
Renee, again, thank you for this sharing this story. For now on, I will not be so quick to prejudge.
Posted by Shirley Mathis | June 11, 2007 11:20 PM
Posted on June 11, 2007 23:20