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.
Ashley Caldwell
Comments (1)
I also had a student this year in my class that came to school with a label of bad. He is from a working class family with little literacy focus. Dad labeled this child has "bad" because he was very difficult to handle with hyperactive tendencies and no family interactions at home. It was easier for dad to put him infront of the video games. I agree that it is very difficult to develop a new discourse for that "bad" child at school. I found that this student loved to draw which gave him motivation to do his best for the good praise that he so needed.
Angie
Posted by Angie Somers | June 22, 2010 10:14 PM
Posted on June 22, 2010 22:14