These chapters were interesting and I think I am going to enjoy this book. Literacy is more than reading and writing. Literacy also involves belonging socially and culturally. Literacy encompasses who you are as a person and how you fit into a social structure. Everyone wants to fit into a “we.” I was excited to see some research on class and gender instead of just race.
The category of working class children makes up about half of my students in my classroom. The children come to school with literacy that they get from home. The most important literacy that the children learn first is their name. This is something that is special and unique to the student. They come to school knowing if they are good at sports or bad at reading. This is a part of their identity. Reading these chapters I thought of a little boy this year who was ”bad.” He thought of himself as a trouble maker and he wanted to live up to this reputation. This was the name that had been given to him and he had decided was part of who he was as a person and student. It was very very hard for me to make him see himself as a “good” student. He felt that he had to behave in certain ways to get a certain reaction from the people he was around. I worry about when he gets older what he will do to live up to this label that has been put upon him. It was also hard for me to get him to do well on reading and writing. He wanted to act like he could not do it. It was a constant struggle to get him to work up to his potential. He comes from a working class family and he had a harder time being a hybrid than some of the other students in my class. How can we move children past these names or labels they have???
I know that I shift between different worlds. I have the world of being a teacher, student and part of my family. In all of these worlds I behave differently and certain behaviors are expected of me. Just like me, children have a different discourse for school and home. Teachers need to recognize this and keep it in mind when teaching children from a working class family. Also, teachers should not have preconceived notions that children from a Socioeconomic status are not as capable as the other students.
Comments (2)
I had a student just like yours. He was "bad" at home and in kindergarten. He had been shot in the neck when he was four. His mom had "liquor parties" and he had two "dads" during the school year. He was poor behaved and low academically when I got him. I hugged him everyday. When he was "bad", I took him into another room and got down on my knees and held his hands. We would talk about how I loved him and wanted him to do as well as I knew he could. I never showed shock at the things he told me and I accepted all of it. I gave him lots of rewards and responsibilities like taking stuff to the office. He wasn't always good but his behavior became manageable and he grew the most in reading of any student I ever had. His stories were full of imagination and he always wanted to share.
Posted by christy findley | June 22, 2010 9:10 PM
Posted on June 22, 2010 21:10
This reminds me very much of my reflection. I love the idea that everyone wants to fit into a "we." It is so true. Daily, I see my students struggle with that in terms of groups, but also in their journals and responses within the classroom. I believe that throughout my life I have struggled with that as well even as an adult. The notion that a child is "good" or "bad" based solely on their socioeconomic status is judgement that is very evident to the children we teach. Labels are a method of devaluing a person and all too often they are misused as generalizations to describe students. I know in my school class is huge. I remember a collegaue of mind talking to his social studies class about economics and in his attempt to try to demonstrate the differences and challenges he stumbled upon a sad insight. One student in his class had little to no concept that there were others who didn't have parents who made at least 100,000 a year and couldn't have everything they wanted. This spoiled young lady felt her worth, and sadly she probably made the other students feel negative about themselves when she was the one being a jerk. In a classroom filled with "haves" and "have nots" how do you create a sense of understanding without alienating students?
Posted by Amy Hardister | July 2, 2010 7:44 AM
Posted on July 2, 2010 07:44