When I began this program, I kept hearing instructors refer to social status when discussing reading levels. At first, I was offended. I came from a higher middle class home, where my mother was a nurse and my father was a paramedic. They also owned a photography business on the side. We were not "well to do", but we never went with out and us kids were quite spoiled. As far as academic performance, I was always an average reader in elementary school, but by middle grades had risen to the top of my class. By my eighth grade year, I was reading on what my teachers called a "third year college" level. My brothers were right the opposite. The oldest hated school. He had a lot of difficulty in reading and reading comprehension. He strugled throughout school and was tested for learning disabilities by the time he reached middle grades. No disabilities were found. My younger brother had it even worse. His grades in reading, reading comprehension, and math were all bad. He struggled throughout school as well, and was retained twice before he finally finished with his diploma. He was also tested in the sixth grade and was found to be dyslexic. He probably would not have graduated high school, except for the services he received through special help. Knowing that we all came from the same background and had such different school experiences made me think that social class had nothing to do with it.
As I have been exposed to more and more research, I can now see that social class does play a key role in a child's reading abilities. The higher the social class, the more exposure to prior experiences and books and literature in general a child has. Children from lower social classes travel less, may not have as many books at home, due to the parents inability to provide such luxuries. Bills must be paid and longer hours are worked. Not as much time is spent reading to or listening to the children read.
I hope as I continue to expand my views and learn more about this topic as I continue my master's studies.
Sarah Hutson
Comments (4)
I agree that social class plays a role in literacy success for the most part. I am sure there are some exceptions to the rule, but I have seen how social class plays a role in a students success in reading. Many student from lower social classes are read to less at home before entering school and they come to school without exposure to book language.
Posted by michelle moffitt | June 21, 2010 2:39 PM
Posted on June 21, 2010 14:39
Sarah, I think that it’s more than just not having opportunities. Although prior learning, experience and exposure all make a huge impact, I think that what we are seeing is that attitudes, values and belief systems are also of vital importance in literacy. Your brothers may have struggled in school, but it sounds as though your parents were supportive and continued to work through their difficulties, looking for solutions in testing and special education (and by the way, even though your older brother may not have qualified as dyslexic, I am willing to bet he has some “tendencies”. Dyslexia has one of the highest inheritance rates ,50/50. Even adults who do not show characteristics of the disorder can pass it on to their children. I have the disorder, while my sister does not, but she had the ear infections as a child that are genetically linked to the disorder, while I did not.This is a great website if you are interested by Bright Solutions which does intervention http://www.dys-add.com/ ). Your parents didn’t tell your brothers to just give up, drop out and get a job, did they? Or explain the lack of success away with “You’re just like your daddy. He never could figure out school either.” I very much struggled in school but my parents were willing to put in the work to help me be successful. It was important to them that I achieve success in school, even if it meant I had to work harder than everyone else, put in more hours and face failure again and again. The values that my family holds impacted the ways in which I perceived, internalized and pursued my education.
-Rebecca Ashby
Posted by Rebecca Ashby | June 21, 2010 2:56 PM
Posted on June 21, 2010 14:56
I find your story very interesting. You all came from the same household, yet had three very different learning experiences. I agree that literacy learning does have to do with experiences, but I also think it has a lot to do with attitude and personal choice. Had your parents not valued education, where do you think your brothers would be? Do you think you would be in this program today if your parents hadn't valued education?
Posted by jennifer wagoner | June 21, 2010 3:16 PM
Posted on June 21, 2010 15:16
Sarah,
I am glad you broadened your horizons. I agree that sometimes in upper social classes there are those that cannot do well even with the gifts of money and status and I often find that comes from parents who are supper busy getting richer or are simply too career motivated to provide the time necessary for their children. It sounds as if your brothers escaped both, but had disabilities that lead to their issues. Did these issues continue after graduation? How has it affected their adult lives? Did the special help for the one brother allow him more successes than the other, other than simply being held back?
It was refreshing to hear from a different perspective, and I thank you for sharing something so very personal. It is often easier to admit poorness with the rest of us than to stand out as the rich kid.
William Byland
Posted by William Byland | June 21, 2010 6:46 PM
Posted on June 21, 2010 18:46