Children become who they are through their senses by what they feel, do, see, smell, hear, and even taste. What we experience as people, shapes our language and even affects what we believe and how we act. I agree with the statement Hicks makes, "Language is not simply a communicative tool; it is imbued with, drenched by, the particular relations and feelings that children experience as they learn language and as they move on from there to develop literacy."
In the Overview written by Hicks she explains the research she has conducted, who she researches, when, and for how long her research takes place. Hicks writes about the history of two children and how such history shapes literacy experiences in children. Her goal was to research the life experiences of these children so that it could help educate educators and enhance the learning that takes place in their classrooms. Hicks engaged in a three year research project where she could explore the affects of literacy on children that come from working class families. The two students remained in the same classroom so that research could be conducted on the same day. Her hope is by researching these students it can possibly create educational change.
Reading this book really opened my eyes to how quickly we are shaped in our thinking and learning and even beliefs of ourselves just in a matter of time from the experiences we are placed in. Hicks gives and example from MCCullers, "The Member of the Wedding", on how Frankie had a new sense of social belonging just from the changes that were taking place right before her brother's wedding. At the wedding Frankie found herself out of place without a sense of belonging. The two students that Hicks researches, Laurie and Jake, just like Frankie needed to find a way to belong in school. They had to learn to write and live a different way in the classroom. Thinking about Laurie and Jake has really has opening my eyes to being more understanding to how children must feel that have to struggle through writing when their dialect is different.
I could relate to Hicks statement about how teachers feel pressured to make sure that children are meeting grade-level expectations. This does make it difficult and frustrating for both the teachers and students when they are pressured to learn at a pace and level that is not right or comfortable to them. I too like Hicks connect my evolving work in the classroom to the reflections of my past. Yes, the past does shape who we are. I think that we can bring rich experiences, values, or beliefs to our classroom just from the things we have experienced in our lives. I too remember reading the Golden Books and still have this collection now in my self-selected reading library. The immagination I learned as a child helps me to be creative in my classroom. This is the type of research Hicks refers to. In her research she investigates how the ways of everyday life shape our language and learning.
In chapter 2 Hicks agrues that literacy learning in part comes from moments that the children are playing at home or at school. She gives an example where Jake is playing with boxes when Lee Ann calls him a chicken so he pushes her down. The family sides with Lee Ann and tells her to kick Jake's butt and jump on the boxes he is on. I totally didn't agree with the way Jake was disciplined. Jake could have been hurt really bad if the box would have crushed when they jumped on him. Also, Lee Ann and Jake have learned that it is ok to hit back. In a school setting, Lee Ann would have been in a lot of trouble for kicking or hitting him back, but these are their ways of being, knowing, talking, acting, and feeling. I can totally see how this type of oral language learning would have an impact in school and their literacy learning. This example did make me think and helped me to come to a better understanding about why some students don't come to us with the same social skills we as teachers would require from them. It makes sense that knowing how to feel and act are part of the modeling of language people have been exposed to.
The book talks about how Roadville children learn community ways of learning and talking that contradict the schools approach to stories. Reading this really opened my eyes and has really helped me to better understand the whys when trying to understand why students act the way they do. The shaping of what children know, also comes from the media, stories, film, comic books, and talk.
Hicks writes, "The specificities of history, locality, and class can sometimes be oddly missing from educational discourses that strive toward getting students to read and write critically." I do believe that the history and background knowledge of all of our students are things that we as educators don't know about each of our students. I do believe that if we knew more about our students, we could possibly understand the best ways to help them attain a better literacy education. My question is now how do you find the time to learn more about each of your students and what are other ways to do this? There are parents that come in frequently and those are the students it becomes easy to learn more about, but what about the students whose parents don't come to conferences, won't send in the background information survey, don't send back notes, or even Keeping-In-Touch folders? Many times these are the students that don't speak up either. I do feel home visits would be helpful, but now you have administrative officials informing staff members not to visit homes without witnesses for safety reasons. Such safety issues makes it even more difficult to connect with the histories of our students. I have realized that I am going to have to be certain I set up more times during my day, like during morning meeting, to learn about my students histories and who they are by letting them talk. The challenges as an educator will be to incorporate so many different learning styles to meet each individual student's learning needs with each having such a wide variety of experiences that they have learned their oral language skills from.
Linda Younts
Comments (19)
Hi Linda,
Your question: “How do you find the time to learn more about each of your students and what are other ways to do this?” is the question that we all ask ourselves constantly. I work at a Title I school where parent participation and involvement rarely ever occurs. I have 2 parents that I never even met or talked to during the entire 2006-2007 school year. Therefore, all I knew about several of my students was what I observed in the classroom. It would be nice to have more information about our students’ home lives. The idea of home visits makes me very nervous because you do not know what type of situation you might wind up in. I try keep in touch with parents through newsletters, phone calls, and conferences; however, I am now beginning to wonder if this is enough.
Kelly Mabe
Posted by Kelly Mabe | June 6, 2007 9:53 AM
Posted on June 6, 2007 09:53
Linda,
Your comments made me think about the communities of which we teach. I remember when I taught high school, I did not live in the community of which I taught. I think many times this is the case. I wonder if many of your parents would come to a pot-luck picnic in the beginning of the school year or even before it begins? It seems the way to get parents into the school may be to relieve some of their fears of government and institutions as a whole. Most parents do care about their children and want the best for them. Perhaps they do not send notes because they are insecure about their own writing, or they may not come in because their language skills. A pot-luck picnic may help relieve their fears and help you to get to know them. If you do not live in the community where you work, you may be looked upon as an outsider. You are a guest working in their community. Some kind of informal recreational activity may help you make connections with people in the community. They have to accept you.
Laura Wollpert
Posted by Laura Wollpert | June 6, 2007 10:15 AM
Posted on June 6, 2007 10:15
Linda,
In response to your question about how we can find time to learn about each of our students, is one I think about often. I have approximately 100 7th graders and some I feel I know on a deep level and others I don't. The distance between some of our students home communities is a a great amount from our school. We have discussed at our school hosting several parent nights, one at school and then another in our students' communities. We thought if we could hold our parent night at a community center or a church, provide food and child care, that perhaps the busy working-trying-to get by parent may could attend. If we want to learn about our kids, we have to involve their families. Often to win over a student's trust, we have to win over their parent's trust. I know it is easier said than done, but this thought has been in my mind lately.
Sarah McMillan
Posted by Sarah McMillan | June 6, 2007 4:06 PM
Posted on June 6, 2007 16:06
Linda,
As I read your account of Jake playing with the box, and the reactions of the adults supervising that play, I recalled the play I've observed recently on the playground at my school (school of poverty). My 4th graders have recently been engaging in imaginative play in which they pretend to be "families" (siblings, cousins, etc.). I've noticed that they pretend to fight with one another a great deal(hitting and screaming) during this play which has given me insight into what they may experience at home. When I've asked them not to "hit" they respond that they're just pretending to fight, just playing.I often observed children at my former school (upper midddle class students) engage in some imaginative "fighting" but it was primarily boys and resembled wrestling. This play involved both boys and girls, with some of them pretending to be parents.
Perhaps this is another example of how play can reflect gender, class and even cultural biases.
Betsy Baldwin
Posted by Betsy Baldwin | June 6, 2007 6:35 PM
Posted on June 6, 2007 18:35
Betsy,
In response to your question, “How do you find the time to learn more about each of your students and what are other ways to do this?” This is a million-dollar question, which may take some time and some strategic planning in finding the time to learn more about our students getting our parents involved in their child's education. I am employed at a Title 1 Equity+ School and we have very little parental participation and involvement. The answer to this question is greater than you or I to take on the challenge to mend. I believe it has something to do with the economy. In order to maintain a household, parent(s) are forced to work two jobs. Some of my parents work in shifts due to our struggling economy, businesses closing, and jobs transferring to other countries. How can we find the time to learn more about our students when some of us must work two jobs and are enrolled in two classes? I must work two jobs. I am a single parent. My husband is deceased and my daughter is grown. If I had small children today, it would be very difficult for me to be involved or supportive of the school and my child due to the slow economy. Parents are placed in a situation where they must be employed at a place where they cannot participate in activies at their child's school. They must work on jobs that take them away from home during a time that will hinder them from being involved in their child's education as they would like to be and there are times when parents are supportive of the school that will affect their employment. I remember talking to a kindergarten teacher at school and she was really upset about information a parent shared with her. It was during Christmas time, and the father came in and told her, he had lost his job. He shared with her the reason he became unemployed. He told her that his supervisor released him because the school called him off his job one time too many because of his son’s behavior. He did not blame her for his unemployment, however, he asked her, “how can I keep a job and help my son and support the school at the same time?” It is difficult when he and his ex-wife has joint custody and when the son returns to his household, there are some behaviors that needs modification. He asked her, what do you do when you are doing the best you can? The teacher told me that in the future, she would think twice before she call another parent from work to attend to their child’s behavior. This is one example of what can happen when we are rushed to removing the student, instead of talking it out and listening to the child to understand why he is behavior warrants your attention. It is so much, we as educators, do not think about what will happen to this child and his homelife when we call the parents on their job about their child. This is why I say, you pose a million-dollar question that involves a plan that is bigger than you and I.
Posted by Shirley Mathis | June 6, 2007 7:51 PM
Posted on June 6, 2007 19:51
Linda,
I do agree with you that history and background knowledge of our students play a role in educating them. If we knew more about our kids, we maybe could become more effective. You asked the question about how can we possibly find out more about our students. I have found that journal writing is a great way to learn about your students lives. Kids find it sometimes easier to write out their frustrations and problems at home on paper. I have learned so much about my students from this. Good luck. It is a challenge but all you can do it try and give it you best effort.
Written by
Heather Holland
Posted by Heather Holland | June 7, 2007 12:00 AM
Posted on June 7, 2007 00:00
Linda,
I think you'll find some answers later in the text about how to find out more about students' lives. Certainly home visits and family nights help, but one thing that Hicks writes about later is the importance of different genres of literacy practices that allow students to reveal more of their autobiography -- that is, through art, drama, etc. I am glad that you are attuned to the importance of this.
Alecia
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Posted on June 10, 2007 21:55
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