This case study left me with more questions than answers. What did Noll do with all of this information, besides publish this paper? Has there been a change in the attitude and teaching style of the teachers in that region? What does this mean to a southern rural teacher?
Daniel and Zonnie both struggle with prejudice, racism, and discrimination at school from both peers and teachers. They are also feeling the growing pains that define this age in life. The self-doubt and wishful thinking that is described here is almost identical to the feelings of Maya from the chapter The Skin That We Speak. Through this case study we learn that they both use literacy to express themselves more clearly in their private world. Noll had to gain the trust of the children and their families before she could even begin this study. I think that the biggest issue with Daniel is lack of trust. He does not trust the teacher to respect and understand his culture and therefore he is unwilling to share or give away the precious details of his life. I always felt this way at school too and had difficulty writing or sharing for fear of being teased and tortured. If you don’t share the details of your life “they” won’t have any ammunition. I also believe that his pride in his culture will sustain him and that is why he chooses to wear his hair long.
Zonnie seems to like school and is proud of her writing abilities. I wonder if her teachers didn’t want to get to know her better because her father was in jail. I know teachers that make judgments about children based on this type of information. This brings me back to the big question: What does this mean to a southern rural teacher? This case study is a reminder that we each have a cultural background and deserve respect. It also reminds us to go the extra mile to learn something special about each of our students and their families.
Elizabeth Achor
Comments (6)
Elizabeth,
I beleive that your are correct I think that Daniel did have trust issues. Many students at this age do. What if I say or do the wrong thing, what are people going to think? I agree that as teachers we should go the extra mile to learn something special about each of our students. I also think that students in the middle school years also need to go the extra mile to express themselves and share ideas about their culture an identiy. Students also have to be willing to share. In Daniel case I don't think that he was willing to share who he was because her was afraid of what people would think.
Angie
Posted by Angie Somers | June 11, 2010 6:09 PM
Posted on June 11, 2010 18:09
Elizabeth,
I think Daniel did have trust issues, and I think he was treated terribly at school. Not only did his peers treated him badly, but I feel he was overlooked by his teachers. I think a part of Daniel had given up on the school system, and he was just going through the motions. Literacy was a huge part of his life, and I believe he wanted to be noticed in class for his abilities. Each time his teacher selected another student's paper to read I believe Daniel distanced himself from school a little more. As teachers we need to do a better job at including everyone in our lessons.
Posted by Pam Aubuchon | June 11, 2010 6:29 PM
Posted on June 11, 2010 18:29
I thought about Daniel's relationships at school as well. I thought about Daniel's culture and about the relationship Daniel might have with his mother's side of the family. His mother was Caucasian and it seems he should have been more accepted because of this. Did he have the same strained feeling with the other half of his family as well?
Posted by Candy Mooney | June 11, 2010 7:57 PM
Posted on June 11, 2010 19:57
Elizabeth,
I like the notion that ““they” won’t have any ammunition” if Daniel hides himself from the outside world, which you mentioned. I think that this is true with many students in our classrooms today and that they struggle with the trust boundaries of student and teacher. To answer one of your questions, regarding the results of the research, often this type of research is not done to “Fix” a situation but simple to point out that they exist in the modern world of teaching. While I agree with the instinct to find a solution for these two, I think that the benefits from just writing the article so that we, educators, become aware, is significant in itself.
William
Posted by William Byland | June 11, 2010 8:03 PM
Posted on June 11, 2010 20:03
You are so right Elizabeth, we as educators should go that extra mile to try to get to know our students. So many teachers misjudged students and just assume they are academically low and not that they are keeping to themselves and just struggle to open up and express themselves. In the beginning of the school year is a great time for students and teachers to get to know one another with getting-to-know-you activities. I always like to assign my parents homework the first week of school. I ask them to tell me about their child, their likes and dislikes, fears, and obsessions. The parents really open up and inform me of all kinds of things that I don’t think they would have told me about had I not asked. I also do activities in the class to get the students to tell me about themselves. We go glyphs and poems, word splashes, all kinds of things that just relate to them and what makes them who they are. I also wonder what all Noll did after this piece was published. I suppose she went around and gave speeches on how teachers should try to learn about their students’ backgrounds and should make connections with students’ interests and their lessons. I wonder if there has been any change in teaching style in the Midwest? It seems that every area of our country struggles with racism in some form. Students form cliques, teachers place misjudgment, etc. I think the fact that we all read this article is one point Noll wanted to make. I am sure she wanted this to be brought to people’s awareness. Now that we are all aware of this we can pass this information on to our colleagues and hope that there will be less misjudging and more connecting with our students in the future.
Posted by Maria Blevins | June 11, 2010 8:46 PM
Posted on June 11, 2010 20:46
Elizabeth, I agree that I think much of what they described could be used to describe what all teens feel. The teen angst was only exacerbated by the fact that they were native american.
Posted by christy findley | June 13, 2010 3:31 PM
Posted on June 13, 2010 15:31