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

Chapters 3 and 4 were such an easy read for me because I so easily identified with so many things Hicks was writing about; growing up as a young Southern girl in a rural part of NC, attending Bible Schools in the summer and using my imagination to pass the long summer days, and especially long Sunday afternoons. I was well aware of gender roles in those places, although I didn’t quite understand them either. I was aware of differences when hoeing in the field on a hot summer day my brother was allowed to take his shirt off and my older sister and I weren’t. It just didn’t seem fair to a hot and sweaty 5 year old. I always enjoyed pushing the limits of the gender roles I became aware, and was very proud that I could drive a tractor, round up the cows that had once again escaped through the electric fence, shoot a rifle and other things that were typically thought of as being ‘male’. I also enjoyed, however, the fluffy pink ballet costume I got for Christmas. When I wore that, I felt very feminine. With that femininity, however, came discrepancy. I felt pulled in two different directions. I loved being the girlie girl who twirled around in pink toile and sequins pretending to be a great ballet dancer. I also loved the tough farm girl that always made my dad, and especially my older brother, so proud of me. I enjoyed existing in these two seperate roles, though sometimes felt as if one were more accepted than another depending on the person or the situation.

As I was reading about Hicks’ literacy experiences in Chapter 3, I couldn’t help but compare them to my own and think about how my ‘histories’ related to literacy . Most of my early reading experiences that I remember were with my grandmother. She is who I saw as being a true ‘Southern lady’. I had never really thought much about the impact she made on my life in a literary aspect until now. She was the one in her household to read the paper, keep up with current events, work on crossword puzzles, pay the bills, balance the checkbook…you name it. She even helped my grandpa fill in his driving log sometimes He was a truck driver and had a 7th grade education, so it was always my grandmother who read me stories and involved me in other types of traditional literacy activities. My grandpa bought me toys and candy, my grandma is the one who bought me books.

In Chapter 4, I saw so many of my students in Laurie. Being a first-grade teacher I see that disconnection between the imaginative storyteller, and the imaginative story writer and reader. It is so hard for some to make that transition. It sounds like Laurie had a wonderful 2nd grade teacher, who tried hard to pull out that creativity in Laurie.

I see what was happening with Laurie and her first-grade text too often. The text progressed much too quickly for her, which made her more withdrawn from the text, which caused her to fall further behind. It’s a viscous cycle I have voiced my concerns about since I have been required to use our basal as the primary reading source. I see it happen every year. I agreed with Hicks when she said that looking back Laurie would probably have benefited from instruction which was more on her level. I also found myself looking at her writing, trying to figure out which vowel and spelling patterns she needed to be working on!

It was very interesting to see the struggles Laurie faced defining her role as a female, and how it so closely reflected what Laurie must have seen in her mother. I do see a more ‘mothering’ nature in some girls than others in my classroom. I have always assumed it was a mixture of learned behavior and instinct. I still think that to be true, but now wonder if more of it is learned than instinctual.

I found the probable misdiagnosis of ADD was very sad. Laurie was probably just not able to handle the shift from one discourse to another, and the stress she had to deal with at home. I wonder if she could have been better served by some counseling instead of medication. It had to be difficult for Hicks to see this happen and not be able to offer advice to the mom and grandmother. This made me question Hick’s influence on this study. I know she positively impacted Laurie’s life and acknowledges her role in Laurie’s literary history, but I wonder how much advice Hicks shared with Laurie’s mother and grandmother over the course of the study, if any.

Marcia Smith