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

I found chapter five to be very interesting story on Jake and how his home life was so different from his school life. I could relate to Jake wanting to emulate his father. However, there had been books in the home since Jake was little. He was read to daily and he had books to read that were on his level and books that pertained to his interest. However, in school he struggled with reading. In my opinion his parents were blinded by the fact of his gift to recall almost anything he had been told or anything that he had heard that they assumed that he could read the books. I believe that when parents overly brag on a child for their success then it puts lots of extra stress on the child. If your parents are bragging on you for being able to read are you going to go to them and tell them that you need help. In my teaching career, I have found that if a parent struggled with a specific subject or task in school then it is acceptable for their child to perform poorly. As educators I know that we all feel that there are no excuses for not putting for the their full effort. Teachers always have hope for every child and their learning ability. We never want to settle for less but we always want the most for our students. This reminded me of a child that I had my first year of teaching. He was struggling with reading and when I called the parents in for a conference to discuss the problem they honestly thought or felt that their child could read. I had to pull out his reading book and get him to read for them. The child was later tested and labeled as LD. As parents we do not want to hear that our child/children have a learning problem, but we must be there to help our children in every way that we can. As I read chapter five I have truly been able to see how the power of choice for a student can be powerful. I do give my students choices of assignments and writing topics, but after reading this next year I want to have even more choices for my students. The more a student is interested the more that he/she will learn. As I read chapter six I could not help but to think how we as educators could cause our students to lose/disregard their history that gave shape and meaning to their lives. By reading this book and the articles in this course, I have learned that language and history had a lot to do with how children react and learn in the school environment. As teachers I feel that we must try to build on the student’s home life and to not work against it. As teachers we need to take the time and effort to lean about each of our students and to try to relate to them on a level that they are use to.
Misty Mistretta

I can see that Jake was an active boy who idolized his dad and everything he portrayed. His dad was a successful man in his community and good at what he did even though he dropped out of school. His mom wanted him to go to college (p.123) but dad wants him to take over the family business. Jake is part of this conversation so he knows dad's opinion of formal education. Not a good thing, mom mom agrees with dad.
The home life reflects definite gender stereotypes of blue collar, daughters grow up to be like mom, in the home, boys like dad, follow their jobs. I learned a new expression, experiential narrative, it fits what Jake did, act out his story. This may be fine in kindergarten but students need to learn when and what is acceptable for all students to be able to learn. I am sure there were some rules at home for what and when being active was acceptable, such as bedtime, dinner, etc. He also learned, like Laurie, how to be “good” when he wanted something, good student award. He also learned how to “do school” when he chose. He didn't mind voicing what he felt was stupid or dumb. I wonder how this was handled at home.
Hybrid languages of inquiry was a more challenging read for me, I agree whole heartedly, we must value their belief system to gain their trust. “ new relationships can constitute new forms of knowledge --- some empowering, some tragic”, it takes years for children to form their autonomous cognition world, coming to school one day is not going to change all of that. We must go to them, become part of their world to transition them into ours. Not because it is “our” world but because it is where many of them will have to gain employment to be “productive” citizens. “I can only choose within the world I can see” p 151, we need to open windows for them to get a peek at the possibilities that await them once they conquer the outside world. I liked the analogy on p. 139, “a spider sitting in the middle of its web, able to feel and respond to any tug in any part of the complicated structure” this web is their home learning to which they can respond. Our middle class text books may not be the whole picture, but there needs to be some instrument of measurement to lure the children to knowledge beyond the back yard (also where knowledge is acquired). Classrooms use trade books, smart boards and so many other things now, teachers are reaching out, but we do have a curriculum that must be followed. In our writing we can woo kids into making connections, let them write about race cars like Jake did if it makes them feel comfortable. Give them space, to try out this new idea of writing instead of speaking. Teachers have heart, reading and writing are processes we are still learning (this text), we must reflect and redeem ourselves by learning our children before the curriculum. I don't ever want to stop reflecting, to remind myself of the impact I have on a child's future, before I am hard on them I need to see what can I do differently.
Grandma Cunningham

I felt as if I could have written the inserts about Jake myself. I live with a Jake every day, grew up with one and gave birth to two. I felt Jake’s difficulties in school were not so much a problem of class, but more a problem of gender. He was all boy... very much like my boys and my brother. If my son’s teacher could teach every subject in school through baseball or basketball, I might not hear, “I hate school” already from a soon to be third grader. Like Jake, Tanner is always on task, it just may not be the task his teacher wants. However, Tanner has to learn to “be good” in school. He has to learn how to play “the game of school” in order to succeed. He is only one of many children his teacher needs to get to know and I cannot fault her alone if he fails in the classroom. Family and school must work together to meet the needs of the child. When Tanner has difficulty in comprehension, I expect his teacher to work on it, as well as myself. It doesn’t take long in education to figure out, not all parents feel this way. For example, Jake’s dad was sure Jake could learn in school if only educators would find a way to interest his son. True, we have to find ways to motivate, engage, and get our students to care about school. However (let me play devils advocate), we have to push them also to engage in activities they sometimes don’t LOVE. That is the real world beyond school.
Jake was considered independent and gifted at home AND he was. He was engaged in something he cared about and was interested in, something his father valued. The task of building that bridge between home and school discourses is overwhelming. The 20-25 students we have in our classrooms can have 20-25 different histories to mesh into one classroom. There is no quick and easy way for us to do this. Hicks advocate responsive schooling - valuing the values and language of the learners - not just the culture in general, but the particular community and families of that school or classroom.
One of the sections that spoke to me was when Bakhtin describes how a child develops his individuality. “The child receives all initial determinations of himself and of his body from his mother’s lips and from the lips of those who are close to him (147). He said they develop their personalities from the outside. The task of mothering just became even more daunting. Once children come to school, teacher’s also become someone who contributes to these little personalities. The weight on my shoulders in the classroom is heavy.
Tamera Wilson

(second post - having lots of connecting issues after the power outage)

As I was reading Chapter 5 and learning more about Jake, initially I thought, what’s so special or out of the ordinary about this kid. He appears to be ADHD, and/or possibly a typical boy who isn’t interested in reading & writing. But as I continued to read and noticed how Jake strongly believed, accepted and demonstrated the typical roles, men in his life, were costumed to working, then I began to understand a little more about Jake. His histories, although it included literacy, just wasn’t as important as being like his Dad, cousins, or even a race car driver (which he was fixated on in my opinion). Jake appeared to be a little boy who enjoyed doing what he wanted to do, especially in his own social surroundings. But again doesn’t that describe quite a few boys we’ve had in our classrooms? Jake, who was totally the wild child at home and a little subdued at school…still doesn’t that sound like a child who appears to get his way at home, but when they enter a classroom, they are expected to adhere to rule, & regulations. Even though Jake did try very hard, his efforts received him an award for following the “ABC rules” being a “good boy”. This still wasn’t enough for him to increase his reading comprehension. Jake continued to struggle in school with his reading practices. Like I mentioned earlier, having boys who struggle is so different. What I’ve find to work for me is to find their interest…which is what was told to Hicks by Jake’s Mom, mom-mom, & Dad, and once you find that, try meeting the students there; at that place where it is a comfort zone for him. For a student I’ve had in the past in was Elvis. He absolutely loved Elvis Pressley. He drew pictures of him all the time; during any type of writing assignment somehow he managed to bring Elvis into his story, during classroom discussion of any type, he would bring up Elvis Pressley. So after speaking with the student, and sure enough his passion for Elvis continue to exude throughout our conversation, I decided to make a conscience decision to purposely integrate Elvis in this students’ learning. It paid off, the student was engaged, on task, and his level of interest in all things going on in the classroom increased. He was happy with his growth in reading, I was happy that he tried so much harder to apply himself, and we saw positive results, and his parents were happy that he came home daily with positive things to share about school, and they were pleased with his whole new outlook on school. Ultimately I had to meet my student, not only linguistics, but also cultural, and gender needs. I’ll admit, I did have to step out of my comfort zone in order to help by student with his reading literacy because at that time, I knew nothing about Elvis Pressley.
Toni Wheeler

Wow!!! Finally, something I can really connect to and enjoyed reading. I have 3 sons: Kyle is dyslexic and has ADD; Ross is autistic; and Seth is “typical.” Needless to say, I know boys and Jake, to me, in school, was all boy (at the beginning). He wasn’t interested in drawing, writing, or reading while he enjoyed puzzles and blocks (100). When I was a sub, I can remember a first grade class, and one boy stuck out – he could not sit still; he could not stay focused; and most of all he did not like to color, write, or draw. Boy, if I knew then what I know now, I wonder if I could have done something different.

While I was reading this, I could not help thinking about a boy, “John,” I had in class last year. John lives with an older couple (friends of his grandmother) on a farm. John takes care of the animals and helps his paw paw tremendously around the house. Paw paw cannot read or write that well so John has to go to the grocery store and fill out the checks. John has to go to the doctor’s office with paw paw. Therefore, John misses school more than most. When I read that Jake’s dad took him to a job in the middle of the night, a light bulb went off in my head, because John’s paw paw does the same thing in a different way (102). Jake and John are learning so much in life’s skills, but not so much in education. This is where I struggle. I just cannot fathom why a grown person would do this. Then it hit me. They probably had a bad experience in school, and they love their children so much that they don’t want this to happen to them. Hence, they feel that they have done just fine without that high school education. However, what they do not realize because of lack of education is that, in today’s world, a job is hard to find without a college degree let alone a high school diploma. Again, this is where I struggle. How do I fix this? How do I help these boys?

I loved reading the section on “Negotiating class identities in school” (132-135). Hicks said that “children from working-class communities have to gain access to the discourses of middle-class institutions.” Again, another light bulb! This makes perfect sense. I just never thought of it that way. I understand, completely, how these children feel; the way I felt while reading some of the assignments. I couldn’t imagine having to sit through class after class reading and responding to these types of literacies. I would lose interest and lose motivation to learn. Hick’s states that “his problems lay more in conflicts between an institutional system of middle-class practices and the life worlds he embraces as a boy. For his opportunities to change in school, a deeper process of change would be required” (134). All that I can say is – AMEN!!!

Teaching is a romance (144). What a clever metaphor. We have to woo our students and invite them into our relationship to gain knowledge. We also have to “woo” our parents, but how? For the last couple of years, in our school improvement plan has been parent involvement. We have done several things – Donuts for Dads, Muffins for Moms, and Goodies for Grandparents. Yes, some parents come. We also have to have 100% parent conferences; therefore, I have made several trips to my students’ homes to meet with parents, because they do not come to their child’s classroom. Again, I struggle.

Loren Van De Griek

Nothing in chapter five surprised me. Jake seems like my mental image of a young male learner. At the moment, I am sitting in my parents’ backyard waiting for my nephews to get here for some silly time at the pool. (We are most definitely a middle class family…the pool did not add to or subtract from the value of the house; they moved last year because of job loss.) Mom and I already moved any objects that can be turned into deadly projectiles, have an overload of towels ready, and have juice boxes prepared for hungry mouths. Why? Because my nephews are ALL BOY! I realize this chapter mentions some of the socialized roles of masculinity, such as the games on Sega that encourage young men to be warriors, victors, and powerful. However, I know that my one year old nephew has never seen a video game, is exposed to all realms of gender roles, and still loves to engage in “fix-it” tasks, anything athletic, and enjoys a good tussle with his 5-year-old big brother. At the same time, he is incredibly gentle, loves animals, and loves hugs. So, did we socialize him to be that way, or some of it just genetic? I go with genetics.

As I was reading chapter 5, I kept thinking that Jake was a small version of a lot of the boys I teach. Actually, I had one young man who liked to growl at us in frustration this year, so maybe not unlike Jake, at all. We’ve long known that boys and girls learn differently, so classrooms that are run primarily by middle class women most likely will not be ideal environments for boys—of whatever class. We’ve got to build movement, motivation, and a sense of purpose into our instruction in order for boys to buy in.

I love the common sense wisdom that Jake’s parents add to the piece. His Dad explains that school could easily teach the same curricular concepts that they are required to teach, but with a focus that would make the courses interesting and relevant for boys. Of course! His Mom and Maw Maw worked to read to Jake, help him see the importance of education, etc., yet for Jake, school was just another task to do. A task he may or may not decide to engage in.

I did my inquiry project in children’s lit about motivating adolescent boys to read. If any of you are interested in middle school boys and reading motivation, I would highly recommend two books. You can pick & choose the chapters you focus on, but both include interesting field data, book lists, and practical suggestions for improving male friendly literacy opportunities in your classroom. Both are also written by male researchers/authors, so they take into account the male perspective. ASU has both in their library. William Brozo’s To be a Boy, To be a Reader (2002) and Smith & Wilhelm (2002) Reading Don’t Fix No Chevys.

The final chapter gave some further insight into the thinking behind research. I highlighted several quotes that seemed to point to the ideas of relational literacy—meaning relationships between people, within specific class groups, and defined by specific geographic locations. My favorite quote from chapter six is found on page 154; it sums up the “irks” I’ve had while reading these essays and reading through blogs and responses from our class, “This is not so much a set of general theories about “what works” for working-class children (or girls, boys, Latino children, etc.). Rather it is an effort to learn about this community, this neighborhood, this family.” I appreciate Hicks’ intention of looking at the specific cultural and familial situations of Jake & Leslie, not just at a subgroup, as a whole.

I feel like we, as a culture, have the tendency to want to group things. (That’s our naturalist and logical/mathematical intelligences kicking in.) However, there is a danger in always trying to clump things—be it people, animals, or whatever else. In the two case studies Hicks includes, both children come from families that are vastly different, but both representative of working-class families. While their school careers seem to be taking a similar root, Hicks lets us know that the reason behind their lag in education, are likely different from one another.

I’ve enjoyed reading through this book, even though Hicks had me re-reading and making all sorts of questions in the margins throughout. I feel like reading her first and last chapters gave me a glimpse into what defines her as an academic and scholar & also gives me a jump-off point if I need to delve further into the issues of class and literacy.

Ruth Johnson

If I had a dime for every student and family I have had in my class like Jake and his family, I would be a very rich lady. My school has many of them, it is "easy" to reach those kids like Jake when you have at most 5, but when you have 25 in a class of 27 who are just like Jake, and it gets a little more difficult. Not every child likes NASCAR and not everything can be connected to the things one child likes. You have to find a middle ground. Children have to understand at an early age that not everything they do is going to be fun or absolutely the most interesting topic to them. As a child I hated certain subjects, but I knew I didn't have a choice but to learn them.

I have a student whose father manages a restaurant. Because he is a single father, this means this child spends many late nights at the restaurant while her father works to close the restaurant. This child comes to school day after day, exhausted and uncooperative. She shows up without her glasses and while she will be in 3rd grade next year, she still does not know all of her letters. Last year was her first year at my school and we did test her to se if she qualifies for EC services which she does. We worked with DSS to get the father a list of people who would come into his home in order to provide child care at a reasonable rate while he was at work so his daughter could get a good night's sleep, but he refused.

I asked her to tell me some of the things she likes so that I could better get a gage of what kind of things she is interested in, all she likes, according to what she told me, is TV. At times dealing with children like this and their families is very frustrating. I think about families like Jake's and wonder if, in today's economy, there is even a family business for Jake to take over now. I know at my school, students have seen a family business that they thought they would grow up and work at too, go under.

While most of us probably cannot fathom having a parent who tells us we don't need to go to college, and I find most of my students have parents who really want them to go to college. The reason most ELL students have parents who came to the US was to give their children a better life. Most of my ELL students want to be doctors, teachers, lawyers, or other professions for which a college education is mandatory.

I find, at least at my school with my students, that college is now a goal for more students than it was even 5 years ago. This is not to say that college is a goal for every student and every family, but it isincreasing in importance with a number of families.

There is no doubt that home had a profound influence on literacy and attitude about school and education. If you come from a home like Jake’s where you are receiving mixed messages, one from mom saying you need to go to college and one from dad saying college is not needed, you are going to come into school confused as to the importance of education held by the people closest to you.

Caroline Walker

I could immediately connect Jake to some of the boys I have encountered in my classroom. When first reading about this boy, it didn't seem as if there was anything out of the ordinary asside from not being able to focus on specific tasks. He was a typical boy of this age. But at which point does it become important to quit being "all boy" and accept that there are things that have to be done in life regardless of gender or class? Jake really seemed to grasp onto the social norms of male figures he has encountered, although his mother and grandmother did their parts to introduce Jake to a variety of characters through literature. Jake was just all around not interested in reading and writing at all. How many times have we had students in our own classes that have been the same way? I had a student this previous year who absolutely HATED writing and actually reading books (he could look at Waldo books for days). He was very rambunctious, defying, and aggrevating to some students. However, when this child was doing something that he actually wanted to do, he was an angel. I can't begin to tell you of the fabulous stories this boy could write when he was the one choosing the topic. Once I took the time to get to know this student on a personal level, I was more able to recommend books that I thought he would enjoy. After choosing a book himself that looked interesting to him (The War with Grandpa) it was as if the book were like a magnet. I couldn't get him to put it down! Overall, I think the best thing that we can do as teachers for students such as Jake is to really reach out and find their interests. I know that this is often hard with overloaded class sizes and not always having enough assistance. One thing I have done in the past is let students fill out a survey that takes no more than five minutes to let me know their likes and dislikes. I think it could be a good idea to share these with parents (like Jake's mother and grandmother that read to him) so that they could get a better handle on what motivates their students. Another thing I think students like Jake need is a positive male role model. For the most part, all teachers I know are middle class ladies. We need to somehow get men into the schools to show students how important an education is to fitting in with society. One thing I tried last year was to get some of the boys from the high schools football and basketball teams to come read stories to my students and then talk to them about what kinds of students they need to be in order to be in the athletes position someday. For the boys in my class, the high schoolers were idols! For about a month, my boys like Jake remembered what they said and really tried their best. The improvements lasted just long enough until the next athlete came in.

Erica Spicer

Many characteristics of Jake’s situation are all too familiar to me. Many would say that “oh, Jake is just all boy.” What people don’t realize is that all aspects of a child’s life, especially home life, where his identity has been created, has such a lasting impact on everything else the child does in life, especially his literacy learning. Sad to say, Jake probably will continue to lack motivation in the classroom throughout the remaining years of his schooling. This doesn’t mean Jake won’t be successful in life(he’ll probably work with his dad and be able to provide for his family), but school will be an ongoing struggle that continues to build anger, and could result in the child dropping out. Then his children will probably do the same, and the cycle continues. For this reason, the way teachers teach is so very important. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out all children don’t learn the same. Teachers should be individualizing and differentiating to meet the various needs students in our classrooms have. That’s not the problem. I feel the problem for teachers is that we lack in resources and help. Jake’s situation is not surprising for me, probably since I work in a school that is full of Jakes and Lauries. Since the middle class are a minority at my school, it is not hard for these kids to “fit in.” What I find hard is how to sometimes make them tick, finding creative ways to teach them in the ways that they learn best (all my students), and how to break the cycle. I do want to note that there are probably more people hired in working class jobs that jobs that require a degree. On that note, working class people help the world go round. I’m thankful there are people that don’t mind picking up my garbage and cleaning public restrooms. I think we need to step back and not look at these people as failures (not that I ever have, but I think some educators try to instill in our children that college is a must). For some of our severely mentally challenged students, working at McDonalds, or any job for that matter, would be considered a miracle and a huge success.
In chapter 6, several things stuck out to me. First, children’s feelings are vital to the success of students. How they feel and are valued can make or break a child’s learning in school. Another incident that left an impression on me was the working class student, who was doing poorly in school. Then, teachers realized his records had been mixed up and he should have been in a higher class. Once he was moved, he began to do well. This makes me question some educator’s expectations for students. Regardless of how high or low we view our students we should have high expectations for them. In my opinion, we don’t value our students if we just let them fail, and that’s what we are doing if we expect nothing out of them, other than what they can already do. I have seen many working class students, who have never seen success, rise to success, because of my demanding and high expectations. In addition, of course, I showed them love, affection, attention, and made them feel valued, as that is my goal for every child in my class. So, what can help teachers move toward responsive types of literacy practices with these children? According to Hicks, “understandings of the particulars of community life seems crucial.” She is exactly right. We have to dig deeper, get to know the community, neighborhoods, and individual families. This means giving more time to go to ballgames, birthday parties, making phone calls, attending baptisms, ect…(whatever our kids ask us to do). I have to remind myself (when I am tired and think I cannot teach another year or let alone another day) that teaching is not a job. It is a mission that God has sent me on. What we do is so…hard, but in the long run, if we are planting seeds and making differences, it will be all worth it.
Heather Houston

I couldn’t help but feel saddened by Jake’s school experience. Last year I taught 7th grade, and I had class of mostly boys who were all labeled struggling readers. I could imagine any one of these young men in Jake’s position in the primary grades. Many of them came from working class families, and many of their parents owned their own businesses. Many of these boys had expressed that they helped their dads with work on the weekend. They seemed to be able to do what was asked of them at home, but were unable to in the school setting.
After reading about Jake, I can’t help but wonder if he will be written off as he progresses forward in school. He is a bright boy who is eager to learn, but not in the way kids are expected to learn in school. We are trying to make successful people come out of school, and mostly we do a good job at it. But, just like anything else, the same shoe doesn’t fit for everyone. Jake is a unique learner who needs to approach things from a practical point of view. He needs to be able to do something with what he learns and preferably do something active while he learns.

“The stories voiced about us , by those whom we most love and value, shape our identities in ways more powerful than even the most authoritative institutional systems of social regulation” (123). This statement is very powerful. To me, it shows that we, as educators, need to be very sensitive to the messages children hear about themselves at home. We cannot change everything about them in one year of class. We must work with what they bring to us, and hope that at least they can become a better them then they were upon entering the classroom.

Throughout all of the reading we have done in this class I have been stretched to think beyond standard practice to reach students. Each reading has offered insight into what it means to look through life, and school, with a different lens. We must begin to look at teaching through a different lens if we are going to reach and teach all children that we are entrusted with.

Shannon Keough

I think we can all relate to Jake and his story in some way or another. I don't think his home life has a lot to do with his issues. He obviously has grown up in an environment that is rich with literacy and his mother had tried desperately to foster a love of reading in him.

I really hate gender stereotypes. But there is a reason for them. I'm not going to say that all or even most kids fall into the gender stereotypes, but I think enough of them do and that's why they exist. Jake's just a "typical boy." Unfortunately school really caters to the typical girl personality. I find that in my classroom most of my girls really want to learn to read. They all want to be the most well-behaved and most successful child in my classroom. And this is already their desire in the first grade. Very few of my girls seem disinterested in reading, and school in general. And they don't care what the topic is... they're going to participate! They continue to try their hardest even when they're not finding it easy. One of the cutest things I see my girls do is during SSR... they'll get a book and sit in my big rocking chair and hold it just like I do and they'll pretend that they're reading to our class. They love playing teacher... both when I give them the opportunity to do it and for playtime, and about three-quarters of them say they're going to be teachers when they grow up. Now I realize this isn't going to happen, but they just love the school environment so much and can thrive in it.

For boys it is very different. I do have many boys that fit into that same category I just described with my girls, but not nearly as strong. It only seems to be true for the boys who find school easy... meaning they come to first grade already knowing how to read and pick up on the new concepts quickly and easily. And even still, none of these boys enjoy playing school or say that they're going to be teachers when they grow up. Other boys expect to learn to read on the first day of school, and then when they don't they give up. They don't want to have to work hard for it. I work very hard to find books that I know my boys will find interesting. Luckily my school has sets of National Geographic and Time for Kids Readers so this is easy to do. If I don't find something that is interesting to them, they lose interest. A few of them say they hate school or hate reading, and they don't put any effort into their work. This makes me so sad to see.

Kelly Beckley

Yes, we can all identify with Jake. Either we have had someone like him in our class or we have one in our family. I have had both. Jake reminds me of my 12 year old nephew, an extremely bright young boy who loves science and animals, but hates to participate in reading and writing activities. It is extremely difficult to get him to understand the purpose and reasoning behind the curriculum that he must master. Not everything he is learning makes sense in the “real world” or is even applicable to his world. What I try to do with him and the young boys in my class is get to know their like and dislikes. I try and help them to make personal connections so that they find a purpose for learning what is being taught.

When I taught middle school, I had a young male student whose family had a very successful family business. He too worked at the family business on occasion, mostly weekends. Knowing that he would work for his father and eventually inherit the family business he failed to perform at school. He was very capable, but lacked the encouragement and motivation to become successful on his own. His parents also failed him, but not demanding a performance that match his capabilities.

As I stated in my last entry, they way education is viewed at home greatly effects they ways students perform at school. Their have been numerous times that parents have given their students permission to fail. I can recall conferences where parents say, “Well I had trouble in math so I can understand why Johnny is too.” Or “I hated reading, so I knew Karen would too.” If as a child you are exposed to negative views on education it is extremely likely that when you have children you will instill in them the same thoughts. In other words, a carbon copy is made! The ones that love and value us the most shape our identity. Jake’s father did not see the “great” importance of education, so he is shaping him to not value education either. The question is, “how do we break the cycle?”
Kim Shaw

I am just going to have to play Devil’s Advocate here. Hick’s research took her into Jake’s home where literature was abounding. Jake and his family seemed to have the right idea about literacy except making Jake do some of the reading! Perhaps I missed something but it appeared to me that everyone else was doing the reading for Jake. He was a good listener and could regurgitate information when asked. And like many parents, they say he can read at home but somehow he cannot read at school. Hicks states, “reading at home was more typically immersed in the ebb and flow of work, play, and family relations. Jake listened to stories when spending nights with his grandmother in kindergarten and first grade.” (p118) Unfortunately, listening to text is not the same thing as being able to read the text. You must be able to attend to the phonetics, word structure, and sentence structure among a multitude of other skills in order to make sense of text. I never saw this going on in his social history of home. Man cannot live by NASCAR knowledge alone!

Now I realize that the statements I made are not popular and not keeping within an alignment of individualized instruction. However, let me continue and say, that if more homes were as immersed in literature and the discussion of literature as Jake’s was, many children would be way ahead of the game in school. I believe in individual, societal histories and acceptance of culture in literacy learning. My problem here is that Jake was not encouraged by his family toward instruction outside of their realm of comfort. His dad enjoyed reading about various topics, as did his mom and grandmother. They did not do a good job of showing Jake that they had to learn how to read in order to make those choices. As educators, we know that well-rounded students are able to be successful in any area of their choosing. By limiting Jake to their own choices at the age of six does not make sense. Bond with him in an interest arena of his preference to begin with, but do not let him camp out there. Lead him to other areas. This is where family and school failed to connect in my opinion. Bridging the gap was going to require give and take from both parties of Jake’s education. Also, a factor which was not addressed in this text was that Jake needed more time to develop as a reader. He should not have been pushed into the next grade without mastering the skills he needed. By the end of second grade he was making sense of reading. He could have been kept there while he developed and matured into a strong reader.

We are ALL responsible for the Jakes and Lauries and their education. Change must occur in many of us as to the importance of listening and learning about children and students from the perspective of race, gender, and class. Teaching is not limited to parents and teachers but to society as a whole and the society’s practices and beliefs. I appreciate the way Hicks summed up a point: “Rather, change also has to entail a moral shift, a willingness to open oneself up to the possibility of seeing those who differ from us. This is very hard work, but work that lies at the heart of teaching.” (p. 152)
Janet Gross

I thought it was an interesting fact that Jake’s family was so interested and involved in the research study. This family did not seem to fit what sometimes is my stereotype of a lower class family. They truly did seem to care a lot about Jake and his success in school, especially his mother. I think his study is a perfect example of how difficult it may be for a child from a family that is not middle class America to fit into our school settings. I think that when we look at ways to help these children fit in, we can’t just look at the child; we really do have to look at the family they come from and consider them as well. Children really are products of their environment, and I thought it was a great point made on page 134 that Jake’s problems lay in the conflict between his world and the institutional system of school which is typically operated by middle class people. From the child’s point of view, he is not the one having difficulty fitting in; rather it seems to him that the school is the one with the problem, that being that the school is foreign to him and they are trying to change him. His normal is the life he comes from, as was the case with Jake. He lived in his world of working class, the world of NASCAR and a blue-collar father and he wanted to grow up and be just like his dad. He really didn’t see the need to learn all that school stuff, because his dad didn’t learn and he turned out just fine. How do we overcome such thought processes?

I hadn’t thought about it in this way before, but these chapters really made me think about why Jake resisted school so strongly. From my point of view, I can see that doing well in school and being able to fit in will profit Jake well in life, but I see him from an entirely different perspective than he sees himself or that his family sees him from. From his point of view, school is trying to change who he is and trying to toss out all that has been near and dear to him during his entire short life thus far. No wonder he is being such a handful; if I were to go somewhere new and everything I held dearly and all my normal behaviors were suddenly condemned and shunned, I probably would be a little resistant as well. He was resisting change because he didn’t see a need to change; he liked himself and his world just fine as it was.

So the question becomes how do we as teachers help these children and their families see our point of view about school and education; how do we teach children like Jake who balk at our lessons and refuse to participate in typical school activities? He thought that school work was stupid if he could not see a connection to his home life. Not many children this young are going to be able or willing to make the drastic switch every morning to fit into our picture of normal for school then switch back to family mode at 3 pm.

I thought it was interesting that Hicks thought Jake would probably turn out to be just fine as an adult, although she knew school would always be a struggle for him. I think she saw that he had a strong network of family support, although that support may have not always came in the form that we as teachers wish it came. He also had moments in school that he was engaged and interested in what was going on. He seemed to love reading and writing activities that allowed him to make some choices about the topics he was reading and writing about. I think that is definitely a positive in his favor; he wasn’t opposed to reading and writing activities, he just wanted some choice in the topics. I think a good teacher should notice this about Jake and try to use this as a motivation tool. There will surely be times Jake has to read and write about things other than race cars, but a little flexibility on the behalf of the teacher could make life a little easier for her and Jake.

On page 132 Hicks states that the transition from the comfortable and familiar home literacy to the institutional literacy of school can be a painful one for children of working class families. These kids have to learn to adapt and fit in at our schools to have hopes of getting anywhere in life. Some are not as lucky as Jake, who had family support and seemed to be an intelligent little boy despite his behavior issues. It has been my experience that you can’t force your philosophies and beliefs on children, or on their families for that matter. You have to convince them that it is important to learn and get along with others at school, and they have to develop a desire within themselves to want to be successful. It seems that we are telling these kids and their families that their way of life and their social practices are not good enough for school, and that our way of doing things is better than the way they do it. This has to be demeaning to an extent doesn’t it? I am sure that parents sometimes feel that way even if the kids are not old enough to pick up on it yet.

I found in chapter 6 that I once again had to do some rereading to make sense of the text, but the main idea I gleaned from the reading was that literacy is not an isolated island in our brain somewhere. Learning is part of a complex web in our brains. It’s connected to every other part of our lives, including our emotional experiences. On page 138 she refers to Bakhtin’s writings, saying that “all knowledge is a relation between subjects”. This made me think of an illustration Dr. Mock used in her class to teach us about how kids acquire spelling patterns. They link new words in their brain onto a framework that already exists. The more connections they can link to a new work, the better the chances are that it will stick and not be lost. I think that’s what Jake was trying to do; he was trying to link the new school experiences onto something in his brain, but he just couldn’t find anything in his memory of experiences to connect it to, so he just let it slip through.

I thought that Mike Rose had some very insightful points to make. The most profound for me was on page 141, where he talks about how we sometimes don’t bother to really try to understand why kids are having difficulties in school. We try to shove “bodies of knowledge” in them and when they resist, we just push a little harder rather than looking to see what is blocking the way. As much as I would like to be able to live in a world where equality ruled, let’s face it-that is never going to be a reality. There will always be class, race, and gender issues that we will struggle to overcome in education. There’s just no way to really put everyone on an equal playing field. So then the question remains for us: How do we as teachers, as the ones in charge in our classrooms, make it a welcoming and inviting and happy place for all our kids? How do we create environments where our diverse groups of students all feel safe to be themselves, but able to learn and grow at the same time? I surely don’t know the answers to these questions, but I feel that I have acquired a lot of valuable information through my readings and I think that in the future I will look at my children who come from different cultural or social backgrounds with a little more patience and understanding. Hopefully I’ll be able to be more tolerant and less frustrated when they just don’t seem to share my system of values and beliefs.

Lorie Hedrick

There were several things that stuck with me from these two chapters. First of all, I feel like I have taught Jake so many times! The issues that Jake faced in school may perhaps be the issues that we run into most commonly in our classrooms. It was sad to see Jake thrive in practices at home and then do so poorly at school—especially when it seems much of his trouble was due to disinterest.

One part I found interesting was where it described how in kindergarten Jake engaged in practices that were closer to those experienced at home, but as he moved to first and second grades those practices were much further removed. I see this in school all the time. While the curriculum in kindergarten has changed A LOT just in the last few years, there is as much focus as possible on doing things that are developmentally appropriate and hands-on. Because of this, children from most experiences and backgrounds can do fairly well in kindergarten. The tables turn when first and second grades come. While first and second grade teachers still strive to keep things developmentally appropriate and very hands-on, there are so many restrictions and expectations that put stress on these classrooms. The expectations for reading and comprehension get even greater every year… I call it the nature of the beast! It seems that the educational “powers that be” (you know, the ones that never step foot in the doors of our classrooms but make all of the rules!) have simply forgotten that first and second grade students are still children! This year I had a little boy that I am sure has ADHD. He struggled in kindergarten, but met all benchmarks by the end of the year indicating that he is ready for first grade. I know, however, because of the nature of the first grade curriculum, that he will struggle with not being able to pay attention. While his mother is aware of the problem, she is less willing to find a solution. I feel like next year she will be forced to find a solution in order for him to stay caught up with the rigorous curriculum.
I noticed in the reading that Jake did tasks that “needed to get done.” (104) This was once again a reminder to me that purposeful instruction is a must. On page 117 in the reading I was struck by the comment “While he was viewed as a gifted reader and learner at home, by mid-year in first grade Jake was struggling academically in school.” This comment made me think of that parent conference that we all dread. You know, the one where you sit across from a parent and tell them that their child is not meeting expectations in school. As you go down through the list of expectations the parent pipes up and says “But my child can do all of those things at home!” Never what a teacher wants to hear!!! I can honestly say typically when I have heard that in my mind I’m thinking “yeah right—and President Obama is my daddy!” After reading these chapters it made me reflect on how I feel about these conferences. Maybe there is more truth to that statement than I have ever thought before. If I ever sit through a conference like that again I will for sure think through possibilities to see if maybe what is happening in the classroom may not be colliding successfully with literacy practices the child is encountering at home. What a learning experience for me!

Jessica Jackson

I cannot begin to express the feelings of déja vu I experienced when I read about Jake. I have a 15 year old son, Raymond. Raymond’s history is so similar to Jake’s, I can hardly stand to read it. Ray is a bright boy, interested and capable in many things. Just not school. As his mother, I looked into the eyes of many teachers who told me my son was doing less…not performing…distracted, disengaged. I worked with my boy. I read to him. I flashed cards. But unless it had to do with something Dad thought was important, or fishing, trucks, keys and locks, or building something, it wasn’t worth doing. Jake’s reaction to symbolic work on paper was precisely what my son did when it came time to write. And it wasn’t only that. Raymond needed to move. He was constantly on the go. We could never take our eyes off him, for fear of what he would be into. So like Jake, Ray did fine in Kindergarten because he was “able to move freely around the classroom, engaging in practices that were closer to encountered practices…at home.” (pg.99) Simply the ability to move about the classroom was approximating his home reality. So when it came time to sit still and work at his seat, Raymond was not happy, finding it hard to sit for so long while unengaged. The only way to engage him was to entice or “woo” him with reflections of boyhood values and social practices lived at home. If it was building something, or fixing something, or making something with his hands, my boy would excel. If it was reading or writing, it was torture to get it done. School work had no value, no excitement factor. Reading projects, or extended projects of any kind were deadweight on my shoulders. I always had to assist and guide him to complete something.
Now I have a 10th grader on my hands. He wouldn’t pick up a book to read to save his life. I read everything he’s assigned in case I have to help him with homework. So far he’s been getting good grades at Middle College, and carrying his own weight. I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop.
My boy’s school experience is why I became a reading teacher. It kills me that my son will never be a joyful reader. I try to tell him what he is missing out on. And he’s read some pretty good books. We have laughed together, and enjoyed many boys’ stories. Actually, our home was filled with books and stories. I am a perennial student and lifelong learner. His father is always studying some manual. Raymond will simply never initiate the reading part. Ever. Because it’s just too hard, and unimportant. Raymond will be who he is. He will find a niche in the world that is exclusively his. Because he has abilities and gifts in areas other than conventional academia.

I liked the way Mike Rose put it in chapter 6. “…there are some things…that are reflected in other working-class lives…information poverty, the limited means of protecting children from family disaster, the predominance of such disaster, the resilience of imagination, the intellectual curiosity and literate enticements that remain hidden from the schools, the feelings of scholastic inadequacy, the disclocations that come from crossing educational boundaries” (page 140). It seemed like Hicks used everything she had in this chapter to vilify her thinking on her research. I think this one thought attributed to Rose sums it up concisely. These are the barriers faced by working class children. As teachers, we can do little to change these things. But we can try to understand where they come from, who they are, and who they want to be. We can help them without hurting if possible. And we can offer unconditional access to our help every single day. Still again, Rose said “To truly educate in America, then, to reach the full sweep of our citizenry, we need to question received perception, shift continually from the standard lens” (page 141). If we endeavor to focus that lens, “what comes into sharper relief are complex individuals who strive not only for cognitive awareness but for social belonging and identity” (page 145). Hegemony? Yes, I see it… hegemony… in the very educational system we claim will change their lives. We must affect some sort of social change, but “change also has to entail a moral shift, a willingness to open oneself up to the possibility of seeing those who differ from us. This is very hard work, but work that lies at the heart of teaching” (page 152). And lastly, “…we can only change the world that we can see” (page 157). I can’t say it any better than that.

Annie Croon

Ah, there is SO much intriguing information in these last two chapters, that it’s impossible to examine it all in just one reading or within the guidelines of this assignment, so I’ll pace myself. This book is so rich with pedagogical good sense, that I must purchase a copy of my own that I can highlight and study intensely.

Okay, I’ll start with the paragraph on page 113 that begins: “Schooling in the primary grades should ideally become a set of opportunities for children to experience new identities connected with textual practices…Rather than giving up the cherished identities they live at home, students like Jake should be able to place those identities in dialogue with new ones.” This makes absolute perfect sense; these statements—especially the last one—bring to full circle one of the recurring themes throughout this course: our students need to be affirmed in their home discourse before they will be able to adopt and/or make connections to new ones. This whole paragraph is fantastic—like a sermon right from the pedagogical pulpit!

Further indicating the truth of the former statement is the fact that when students become “threatened” in any way, there is a part in their brain—all of our brains—that shuts down rendering their ability to learn useless. As if stepping into some foreign place (i.e. school) that can sometimes be sterile and uninviting isn’t threatening enough, we start taking away all that kids have ever known that feed directly into their literacy learning. Why don’t we just shave their heads and strip them naked? Okay, maybe that’s a bit dramatic and overboard, but let’s face it: some kids feel this threatened.

“Like other things in his family life, reading had to make good sense to be something of value to Jake.” (120) Oh, if we could figure this out about all of our students! But you know what? We can. Any activity or mode of learning we ask our students to engage in simply has to have meaning for them. This is where the challenge comes in: figuring out what each child’s “meaning” is. What gives meaning to a math lesson for one student is going to sometimes be different for another student. Then again, it could be as simple as learning how to balance a bank account, right? Eventually, everyone—if they plan on functioning in modern society—will need to learn how to handle a bank account. This is what I mean by giving our curriculum meaning to our students—having it “make sense” to them—a real-world connection—the “what’s-in-it-for-me.” Then, it will be of “value” to them, thus motivating them to deeper learning construction and comprehension.

“By second grade, social spaces and practices were more bounded and constrained.” (122) I’m going to go out on a limb here to say that Jake’s not the only child whose ability to learn is hindered by the above-described conditions. I’ve been reading a lot lately on the late Charlotte Mason; her educational philosophies are on point in my opinion. One of her biggest beliefs is that “education is a life.” In other words, school should be educating students for this thing called life and living; it shouldn’t be merely training for a job. I believe most every student is threatened by the bounds and constraints of school after kindergarten because so much of our current paradigm is simply unnatural.

Erin Farrington

While reading this chapter I kept coming back to the same thought in my head. "I have had boys like this in my class". Jake's situation is so familiar. Boys like Jake take a lot of work to figure out. Reading these chapters gave me great insight into why they may be the way they are. Jake's relationship with his father was very important to him. He wanted to be like him, act like him, do the same things as him. Even his manorisms and actions were very similar according to what his father told his teacher. I truely believe after reading about Jake and Laurie that class makes a difference in the literacy that you are introduced to. Jake was loved very much and always surrounded by family. His family however never made him focus long enough to do task that took more mental effort. In the classroom he chose centers that he could move freely in the same way he did at home from one activity to the next. Jake only wanted to focus on what he wanted to do. I think that much of this came from being able to do this at his home. His grandmother said his father was the same way but that he was smart and could do so many things. Jake's behavior was made ok by his family and I think that that created issues in his school environment. The teacher had a very hard time getting Jake to read or do tasks that involved writing. If Jake was interested in the topic he would participate but if he wasn't then good luck getting him to do it.

I think that at some point we have all had students like this. I know that there are boys that are focused on their interests and if it is not interesting to them then they are not going to do the activity. This once again shows why it is so important to take students interests into your thoughts when planning a lesson. If we can't interest students then they will not focus and learn the material that we need them to.

For Jake kindergarten was a positive place for him because he was able to move around and choose activities of his own interest. The problem started to come when he moved out of kindergarten. Teachers in other grade might not be so easy to let Jake move around and ignore assignments. His behavior is going to catch up to him and as you could see start to affect what he was learning.

I think it is important for teachers to try to help parents understand that we need their help at home. It is important for them to make their child sit down and focus on the work for just a few minutes so that they see it is important in the classroom. If parents would do this then students would see that their parents think their behavior and learning is important in the classroom.

Reading this book has really opened my eyes to how important the role of family memebers and society play in children's life and their schooling. Class clearly affects students literacy and the way that they learn in and out of school. We as educators must always rememeber that students come from different backgrounds and the more we know about it the more we can help them become more familiar with school and do better in their school environment.

Megan Machuga

We all have students like Jake. He is a smart child who just struggles. Jake doesn’t seem to understand why he must participate in reading and writing. At such a young age he already knows that one day he will take over the family business. It is probably confusing for Jake hearing his mother talking about him going to college and his father thinking that he doesn’t need to. As a child, he thinks going to school less is the best idea. Of course he doesn’t want to go. His attitude may change when he gets older. I think that Jake has gotten pretty good at pretending to read. When his mother was asking him questions, Jake doesn’t really use the book in his lap. He answers his mother but with previous knowledge. His mother seems concerned and wants the best for her son. Jake sees reading in his house. When it is a topic that Jake loves, then he pays attention. As teachers, we need to find the interests of our students. I had a student who would only read books about horses. I went to several libraries trying to find books for this little girl. She would actually read them. It may have taken more work on my part, but it was worth it to me. If I had to do this with all 29 of my students it would have been more difficult.

Jake lying his head down during class is bothersome. He was pretending to sleep during a math lesson. Jake is very imaginative and can come up with excuses. During read aloud one day, Jake was making a connection to his own life. That is what we want him to do. Jake learns in a different way than most children. Jake catches on quickly at home, in things he is interested in. I feel sad for Jake though because it seems like he is just going to get farther behind each year.

It’s great that Jake will read a book about Nascar but he will have to read about other topics in life as well. Reading about Nascar for a while is fine, it will build his confidence and it definitely couldn’t hurt him. I’m not sure if these books build a strong sight word vocabulary though, but at least he is reading. There are things that we don’t like to do that we just have to. I didn’t like taking science, but I did it anyway. Jake is going to have to face other topics eventually and he needs to be prepared. If I were his teacher, I would let him write about topics that he wants. Why not? If he isn’t going to write any other way, then by all means let him write about something that he wants if it gets him writing. Eventually he will begin to write on other topics. If he doesn’t begin writing now, he will just get even more behind. You have to be flexible with some students. I had a student who would only do work sitting under a table (she was bi-polar). With my administrators’ approval, she was allowed to sit under the table as long as she would work. If she quit working she had to come out from under the table. It may seem crazy, but she did her work. Some kids need individualized plans/activities.

Dana Eudy

As I was reading Chapter Five, I couldn’t help but think about all the Jake’s I have had over the years. They have supportive parents and they are very intelligent, it is just that they do not want to participate in certain literacy activities. I have to say for Laurie and Jake’s sake, they are lucky that they had Mrs. Williams in second grade, to allow them more freedom in reading and writing workshops. If they would have had more whole-group literacy in second grade, like they did in first, I feel they would have been further behind then they were. In the beginning of this chapter, I found if harder to relate to Jake’s boyhood and needs because I am a female teacher. It was easier to relate to Laurie, since I was raised a middle class female. I agree with Jake’s dad, when he mentioned that school should be centered on his son’s interests. The only problem is when you have a classroom of 24+ students, and everyone has a different learning style, on different levels, and with many different interests, it is not realistic to do this in my classroom with every child. I have pulled students, like Jake, and worked with them using things that might hold their interest. Once I get them focused on the activity, I may offer incentives to them, allowing them to choose centers that they want to participate in. I also do reading/writing workshops, but ultimately it is difficult to tie in values of school (curriculum) and home discourse for those students needing it, which in my case is many. Jake’s calm nature at school and anger at home also made me think of many students I have had. In most cases though, it is because there are consequences at school (in Jake’s case- no recess), and when they are at home their parent(s) allow them to do whatever they want. I guess you could say their parents let them do whatever they want as long as they are not in their way. I don’t believe this was the problem in Jake’s case, but the difference between school and home behavior is obvious.
I like how they noted that you can not center every child’s interest in real complex situations. They need to find a better instructional method, but with different learning styles, since just making a new method will not fix it. Hicks said with politics and curriculum the way it is, it would be hard to come by the focus that Jake needs, an institutional system of middle class practices with the life Jake embraces as a boy.
Rose’s insight in Chapter Six allowed for me to have some understanding of growing up middle class, from a boy’s point of view. Rose had also mentioned, “The longer I stay in education, the clearer it becomes to me that some of our basic orientations toward the teaching and testing of literacy contribute to our inability to see.” I agree with this statement. I hope when he used the word “our” that he was including our politicians and public administration, who control most of our educational funding/programming, and allow for our students to suffer because of larger class sizes, fewer resources, little support, and caps on fieldtrips, funding, and local programs. I know, as Hicks said, “Teachers can be moved by action, by the particulars of context - of what they see in others, with others.” We need this support as teachers, but rarely find it. I am glad Hicks struggled with this concept too, and can see this as a struggle for both sides.
When visiting my students’ home for my home visits, I can see their world, and can better understand where they are coming from. As Murdoch said, “We can only change the world that we see.” If we do not know what is going on with our students discourse, it not only hurts the child but may also cause more work on our part because we guess what might help them, instead of seeing what is going on outside of school, and incorporate it into the classroom.

Barbara Terauds

Chapter 5 and 6
In Chapter 5, Jake is introduced as her 2nd research project. I guess we heard from a girls point in previous chapters. It’s obvious that one’s home environment has a great influence on how children learn in the classroom. Jake was used to exploring and using hands- on activities keeping him busy vs. paper and pencil. No one sits all day when they are at home so why should we not teach to each child’s learning style at school. We should subject mobility, lecture for verbal learners and mix the lesson with hands-on right after for visual learners. All students need this diversity in classroom activities if nothing but social reasons. Everything I have read is projecting home environment with literacy. Interesting, like the Indian Tribe communicating by dance and song in the “Storytelling to Writing article.”
On page 102 of chapter 5 I like when Jake’s mother voices her family philosophy of teaching and learning. She states, "Children need to learn from their mistakes, to learn for themselves.” I am the youngest of five children so I pretty much had to figure out things for myself. There was no coddling or babying. I was told to watch and I would learn on my own. Being a grandparent kid at night plays an important role in a child’s life. I can relate because I was a single mom and I worked at night so my mom would keep the girls and have them ready for school in the mornings. My mom always supervised homework and made sure everything was in place for the next morning. My children would write stories all through elementary school about my grandparents. Its true family is the best resource for students and teachers to motivate and relate topics to differentiate according to gender, race, and ethnic background.
Jake was drawn to his father’s woodwork and carried out the fathers identities. His father’s education was at the school of “Hard Knox” I would call it. There is no substitute for experience and practice in whatever we do. Jake was always moving from one activity to another. The task at hand had to make sense or Jake thought it was stupid. Sometimes it’s difficult to realize every student’s strengths and the areas they have strength. Teachers sure can pick out weaknesses. In fact most teachers think of the points to work on first. I’m not saying this is wrong, I think teachers are held countable for so much that to meet everyone’s needs we would need 1-1 daily for most students and who has time for that? I have found that centers do work for non motivated students. I have always had success with multiple topical centers and all genders, races, and no matter what economic status. Students journal write everyday about our centers and what we did, who we played with, and how we did it. The kids love this activity and it is drawn on something from that center that includes math, research, writing, science, and social studies. The whole curriculum is in my centers. I keep a running record. I also pull students 1-1 and read a baggie book on child’s level after picture walk during this center time. I track all books read and I can pinpoint culture issues because the books are multicultural and cover all genres and this makes the kids well rounded. After reading this article, I will be more conscience of student’s interest in the real world. Hurrah!!! New Zealand Keep up the good work of thriving on hybrid cultural spaces.
Robin Hand

Chapter 6 tells us how we teachers should motivate our students using everything we know including, environment, social groups, ethnic groups, and race and gender. The underlying statement is that a intertwining of literacy and essayist forms moving between narrative histories and reflective commentary on the situated nature of writing, teaching, and theorizing. According to Nussbaum, much of what we know is shaped by relations with concrete others and attentiveness to those relations may be important for shaping educational theory. When learners engage in practices and relations they have a better connection with others. This just about says it all.
Robin Hand