RES 5535: Race, Class, and Gender in Literacy Research (summer 2009)

Dana, I agree that it's so sad what some of our students must go through at home. Surely situations like we read of about Jake and LeeAnn are purely fiction! Unfortunatly, there has been such a downward spiral in the security of family and a stable homelife that the behaviour of our students is reflecting this shift in American culture. Teachers have, unfortunately, had to take on that role of "parent." I do wonder where we'll go from here? Is the family unit going to continue to "dissolve" and is public school going to have to continue this trend of parenting? Or, have we hit the "bottom?" If we've hit bottom, that means we can only go up from here. God only knows. I'm certainly praying for a total paradigm change in our education system. I think this is going to be the way to get America back on its feet and families back together. I believe the paradigm shift needs to come in the vehicle of a Charlotte Mason education, and I'm working hard in my little community to pursue it.

I always teach my students that there are some rules that are school rules and some that are home rules. For example, to many first graders "dumb" is a seriously bad word. However, some kids say it at home all the time and sometimes bring it to school. Other kids tattle on them and it causes big drama! I explain that while home rules are different for everyone and some kids may be able to say "dumb" at home, it's not a word we can say at school. This is also true for hitting, interrupting, tattling, etc.

You can definitely tell a difference between those students who are worked with at home and those who are not. These students have a clear advantage and head start over the students who do not receive help. It is almost like starting kindergarten a step behind. I try to turn situations such as Jake and Lee Ann's into a teaching moment as well. I know that often times parents tell their children to fight back. But could you imagine adults coming to blows everytime something was done to them that was underhanded and they took the advice to "fight back". I feel as if we teach students social rules as well as literacy rules.

You certainly can tell when a child comes from a family. Unfortunately at my school the number of families who do NOT work with their children far outnumbers the number of families who do work with their children.
May children do have to learn how to survive situations and things that most adults wouldn't have a clue how to survive.
We have a hard time convincing children to "snitch" on another child who has hurt someone because snitching causes such a problem in their neighborhoods.
While we can tell them the rules at school are different from the rules at home, but many times it is a battle to keep issues from the neighborhood from trickling into school, and vice versa.

I seem to be reading a repeat of the same opinions. I am glad to know that I am not the only one who feels frustrated at being held accountable for more and more as a teacher. When is somebody going to hold parents accountable? I know as an elementary teacher, I have to help mold the children and help teach them proper behavior and what is acceptable and what is not. It just seems that lately I am having to do way too much parenting which isn’t leaving me with enough time for teaching, which is really what my job is. I don’t want to be a psychiatrist, a nurse, a social worker, or a nanny. I want to teach, but if parents are not doing their job at home, then I am responsible for picking up the slack. It’s not fair. Children learn very quickly about limitations, and they will push these as far as they can. They know how to get what they want from the adults in charge of them, and if those adults are not firm and consistent, then the child will end up being the one in charge very quickly. It drives me insane to be in a store and hear a child whine on and on because he wants a toy or candy, and then after 20 minutes or more of being told no, mom gives in just to get him to be quiet. This same attitude affects the child’s success in school. What happens in this home when the child cries and doesn’t want to do his homework or his nightly reading? I imagine the parents give in on that too and just sign the paper anyway. I can’t tell you how many times I have asked a child if he read the night before only to be told no, and yet the reading log is signed. Our society has changed so much since I was a little girl in school. I don’t know what it was like prior to that, but when I was young kids did what they were told in school. If they got in trouble or didn’t do their homework, there were consequences. Parents didn’t come down to the school threatening lawsuits when their child got in trouble.

Our family units have dissolved; kids come from such messy family situations that it’s no wonder they act like they do. It’s not fair to think that we as teachers can overcome these issues. We simply can’t. I think that so many parents just aren’t doing their job, which makes our jobs really difficult. There should be some way (although I don’t know how to do it) of making parents be more accountable for having their child ready for school and being supportive for their children who are in school.

Lorie Hedrick

Exactly, good or bad, these children all come with a history of social behaviors and academic readiness. Even at kindergarten there is a big difference seen in the classroom. Expectations are different and must be taught. Just as an ESL student would have to learn the language of the classroom so do children of different social classes. Teachers have a great responsibility in meshing all these different backgrounds into one nice classroom community where students feel welcomed and able to learn exactly the same curriculum despite their different backgrounds.

I do teach kindergarten and you are exactly right that it is easy to spot the students who have been exposed to print at home. It is also very easy to tell which students have experiences and interactions that help them grow and which ones have just been placed in front of a tv. And, as the text discussed, all of this contributes toward how they acquire literacy.

Jessica Jackson

I am also a kindergarten teacher at a Title I school and I see which children come in have been worked with by their parents and which haven't. Most of my students come in not knowing their letters or numbers. Even once the school year gets started parents still may not work with their students. It is so frustraiting to me as a teacher because I feel they are setting bad examples for their children. They are telling them that school is not important and that it doesn't matter in society. I as the teacher am the one that has to try to show them how important it is and that it will affect their lives in a negative way if they do not work hard. I also think that as a teacher I try to set a good example for students and show them how to treat others no matter what their parents say at home. If parents do not show their children how important it is to suceed in their life then if we don't who would?