RES 5535: Race, Class, and Gender in Literacy Research (summer 2010)

As a teacher I realize that I only have 180 days to develop relationships with my students and their families and provide my students with a good foundational knowledge of 1st grade material. That is a large task to accomplish in such a small amount of time. Every year at the beginning of the year I send home a parent letter introducing myself and the expectations of my classroom. At the end of my letter I always conclude by telling my parents that they play the most important role in their child’s education. After reading chapters 3 & 4 I am more aware of the struggles some parents face with trying to help their students succeed in school. The majority of parents will tell you that they want the best education for their children and will try to help them the best they can. However the struggle lies with having to balance taking care of other children, jobs, homework, and personal affairs much like Laurie’s mom.

I grew up in a middle class home where my parents were very involved in my life and in my education. Therefore, I never had to face the struggles that Laurie had too. When I read her story my heart broke and it reminded me of a girl I taught this year. The student I taught this year comes from a working class family. She is a very sweet and caring student who never gets into trouble. However, she struggles a lot with school work, specifically reading and language skills. Many times she would bring in her homework and tell me she had to do it herself because no one was able to help. She had friends but tended to want to hang out with another boy and girl in the room who came from more of a middle class family. She constantly longed for my approval and attention. At the time I did not realize that what my student was doing was trying to cross over class barriers. She was trying so hard to fit her working class home life into a middle class school setting. Wow! What a juggling act for such a small child. Reading Laurie’s story and reflecting back onto my student reminded me again of how vital it is to be involved in our students’ lives outside of school. Maybe if my students could see that I value where they come from and appreciate them in their home setting they would not feel as much pressure to try to fit in at school.

When Hicks talked about the effects of ADD medicine on Laurie I begin to think back on my students who have been diagnosed as ADD. I never really thought about how many of the diagnosis may be due to students trying to find a balance between home life and school life. When one of my students come to school who I know takes ADD medicine and begins to act up, I immediately think they did not take their medicine. Until reading these chapters, I realized maybe I should ask them questions like: Is everything is ok? Did you get enough rest last night? What did you do when you got home from school? Maybe there is an underlying problem that we are covering up with medicine. I wonder if we as teachers took the time to try to ask those tough questions and develop a deep relationship with those students and parents if we would have as many students being classified with ADD as we do today.

The part that stuck out to me the most while reading these chapters was how much Laurie loved to write. Writing was her avenue or outlet to a world she wished she could be a part of. On page 89 Hicks says, “…writing in second grade created a safe space for exploration and risk taking…” for Laurie. I never really thought about how writing could open the doors and allow my students who are struggling with finding a balance between home life and school life feel safe and explore new worlds. This has prompted me to give my students more opportunities to write about what they want to write about. So many times I tell my students what they need to write about instead of letting them have that choice. As a graduate student I have really enjoyed classes where my professors have given me choice in my writings and projects. I feel like I have ownership over my work. So, I can only imagine the inspiration and encouragement my students would feel when receiving the chance to have a free write. Writing might be a student’s only way of feeling a connection between home and school. It might be their safe haven or place of endless possibilities. It could also be a way for me to find that connection with a student that is hard to reach.

Emily Rhoney