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

As I was reading, I kept thinking, “How can we help students like Laurie?” The one thing Hicks said was hindsight has given her the wisdom that could have helped Laurie in the moment. She also said the more time that passes from working with Laurie; the more she realizes how she and Laurie’s histories differ in relation to literacy. Hicks was able to reinvent herself through reading whereas Laurie struggled with reading and writing. This made it more difficult for Laurie to “explore different ways of living femininity.” When Laurie did write, her fictions and reality had contradictions. This tension is where Hicks says we as teachers or I think even guidance counselors could talk to girls like Laurie about how they can deal with these contradictions.

The problem I see is Hicks spent three years working with Laurie, so she was able to get to know and see her family life. She was also able to witness her academic life at school. As teachers we usually only see what happens at school. The information we get is what the parents and students tell us. To try and get into the minds of all the struggling readers in our class, and try to figure out the underlying reason of why they are not learning is overwhelming. We don’t have three years with each student and are not able to dissect conversations under a microscope. But, we can learn from her study and see if it might help our struggling readers who are working-class girls.

We can’t forget that literacy learning and a child’s history go hand in hand. We can’t look at just one and make our decisions. We have to look at both. I think our schools would rather us not look at the histories. When things are tried out in the classroom and it is a hit, the teacher or program will get full credit. From Hick’s study it is not just the teacher or program, but everyone involved in the child’s life. If Laurie’s second grade teacher didn’t understand what was going on, she would have thought the reading and writing workshop was the sole reason for Laurie’s increased confidence. In reality it was the workshop paired with Laurie looking forward to a new dad. Then in February her school work started to decline and it was because she wasn’t going to get a new dad after all.

I have had students in my class who will do well and I assume it is because of how I taught them. Then later down the road, I will use the same method and the students will struggle again. As teachers we think, what can I do differently? From Hick’s study it looks like it is when a teacher creates a positive learning environment and there is not a big gap between fictions and reality, which learning can occur.

From Hick’s study, it did seem the writing workshop is a good avenue because students get to choose their topics and it can create confidence in students. If students are feeling confident, then they will try more. It was during these writings that Hicks was able to learn even more about Laurie and understand her. But as Hicks said she realizes more of how she could have helped Laurie as more time passes. I think we do this same thing as teachers. There is a teacher that I work with and she hates the end of the school year. Usually it is a time of great relief, because vacation is right around the corner. This teacher says she thinks about all the things she should have or could have done with the students. She really thinks it can be a depressing time of year. I think this is her hindsight kicking in. So, what we need to do is learn each year from our students, other teachers and research. The more knowledge we have, the better we can serve our students.
Trish Edwards