RE_5539

Michel Foucault says, "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." As an educator, this quote is meaningful to me because if you can think differently than you once thought about things and perceive differently than you once saw, then you enrich other's lives and yours, too. This is necessary to do if we are going to cross cultural boundaries with our students and parents. If we are able to do this it will broaden our horizons as educators.

After taking this course, "Race, Class and Gender in Literacy Learning," I think and perceive things differently. I hadn't given much thought about how students' race, class and gender affect literacy learning in the classroom. I see there are different ways that we can help students to achieve in our classrooms. Before, I looked mainly at the traditional approach to teaching but now I see that we have to take other factors into consideration and may have to change our teaching approach. We need to help students feel comfortable and welcome in the classroom so they will be motivated to learn.

One factor I look at differently is language. There are so many languages and dialects that we encounter in the classrooms of America today. We have Standard English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Ebonics, Southern slang, etc. For students to succeed we can not rule out the "home language." The "home language" is the language the students feel comfortable with and value. We need to allow the diversity of languages and cultures in our classrooms and build on them to teach Standard English. If we do not allow this, there is a possibility the students may struggle and not learn Standard English. The story of Maya, in "The Skin That We Speak", is a good example of how children feel comfortable around their language. When Maya went to a start-up public charter school with 98% African American children who spoke her language her self-esteem soared. Children can be caught betweeen two worlds. There is the home culture and the school culture. We as teachers have to realize this and respond appropriately to students so they can learn. An incident occurred in my classroom a few weeks ago with a kindergarten boy sitting at the table saying a curse word during a conversation. One of the girls ran up to my assistant and said that he said a "bad" word. This is the language he heard from home and he didn't realize this was inappropriate for the school culture. I truly believe he didn't know others considered it a "bad" word because it was probably used in everyday language in his home. The boy became upset and began crying. I have learned with incidents like these not to punish a child and make him feel bad about himself or his home life but to talk with the child about appropriate and inappropriate language at school. We as teachers have to move beyond our biases. If we do not, children may shut down and we may not be able to connect with them. We have to value the child with the language so he will feel accepted.

Another factor that I reflect on is that teachers and students may come from different social classes. Deborah Hicks says, "Our relationship, which by that time was one of mutual caring and acceptance, helped to make such movement between practices possible. Though we were living our lives in different class settings, we were in this moment of teaching and learning able to move between and across those disparate locations." She also goes on to say that this is possible in classrooms but it can be difficult. When Hicks did the research on Laurie and Jake she was able to move between these disparate locations and connect with these students. As a teacher, I need to learn about families in my classroom. Families may not have the same philosophy or come from the same social class but it is important for me to learn about them so I can connect with them. Deborah Hicks says that it's not just learning new pedagogies but it is a willingness to see those who are different than us. It is crucial to cross boundaries to reach the poor and working-class children. I currently teach these children and will need to make every effort to reach them. If we understand children's situated histories then we can move toward literacy practices in the classroom.

A factor that I continue to look at is gender in the classroom and how it affects literacy. It is amazing how boys and girls are so different in many ways such as the way they think or the way they learn. The research that was done on Jake said that he needed to have a task that made sense or a task that needed to be done. Girls don't necessarily need tasks that make sense. I need to be aware as a female classroom teacher how boys think and learn and try to find ways to connect with them and accommodate them in the classroom.

I also think differently about my classroom's identity. If I feel that it is best for a procedure, for example, to become the "norm" in my classroom then I will make it a part of the classroom culture. I feel comfortable establishing a procedure or activity as the "norm."

In conclusion, we as teachers need to be knowledgeable of race, class and gender in literacy learning. If we are open-minded, willing to learn and think and perceive differently, then we will be better teachers.