I was excited to read our topic this week was working class children. After reading chapters 1 and 2 and listening to the pod cast I didn’t know where to begin. I would like to take a few moments to focus on my own childhood. I grew up in a working class family. Both of my parents worked full time jobs and neither of my parents graduated from college. I had two brothers and I was the middle child. In order to survive I was taught to take up for myself. My brothers were mean, so I had to be meaner. When beginning school however my social skills landed me in trouble quite often. Just like Jake and Lee Ann’s incident with the box would not have been allowed at school, many of my carefree and high spirited ways were not viewed as appropriate for school. I grew up in a rural area of North Carolina. The elementary school I attended usually had only two classes per grade level. Our teachers were strict and didn’t mind using corporal punishment. I am thankful my daughter is growing up in a different school environment. My goal as a teacher is to be the opposite of the types of teachers I had in elementary school. I don’t remember ever having a positive teacher, the type of teacher that truly cared about all of her students. I believe my teachers looked down on some of their students due to their class standing. I agree that children come to school knowing who they are as literacy learners, and that children quickly learn the labels they are given at school.
When listening to your pod cast, I felt as though you were talking directly to me. The term discourse definitely applies to my life. Discourse involves the various parts of my life. As an adult I still continue to act and behave in certain ways depending on my setting. At school I am a teacher. I act as a professional. At home I am a mom and wife, who is concerned with the wellbeing of my family. When taking my graduate classes I am a student. When returning to Wilkesboro I am a sister and a daughter. What I have discovered is many of these areas cannot interact. When talking to my mom or dad, I have to be careful not to complain about my graduate classes. My parents on numerous occasions have said, “Why don’t you quit?” They can’t understand how important my graduate classes are to my future. Gender is still a concern of my moms. She believes that above all I am a wife and mother and that I should focus more on my family; however, she would never discourage my brothers from trying to better themselves.
I would like to think that children of working class families are perceived differently in today’s world. However I know their class position still influences their literacy learning. As a teacher I can do as much as possible to help my students at school but they may still be at a disadvantage if they can’t get help at home. Teachers need to find a common ground for all students. As Barbara Comber writes, the literacy classroom can be a nexus for social critique and action. We need to plan lessons that involve all of our students. A very special professor of mine in undergraduate school said, “Remember every child that enters your class is carrying his/her own little bag.” She meant that each child is special in his/her own way. As teachers we have the opportunity to embrace those differences. I look forward to reading more of Deborah Hick’s book. Pam Aubuchon
Comments (4)
How true that our many discourses do not interact. As I read your post I got to thinking about my home. My husband grew up in a rural area, barely made it out of high school, and came from a working class family. I grew up in the city, am college educated, and came from an upper-middle class family. We each have children from previous marriages and they way our children have been raised has been completely different. His children are expected to graduate high school and go to work. Mine, on the other hand, are expected to continue their education and become professionals. The differences between children in one household is like night and day. I do not influence his, and he does not influence mine. We have many discourses under one roof that do not interact. How interesting and complicated!
Posted by jennifer wagoner | June 21, 2010 3:22 PM
Posted on June 21, 2010 15:22
Pam,
It is so true, that students come to school knowing their labels. If they don’t, then they are quick to realize them. In my second class last year I had students who were reading beginning first grade to the fifth grade reading level. It was a very large range. So, when I grouped students for guided reading and spelling, they knew they wanted to be in the top group. If didn’t matter how I tried to disguise the groups by letting them pick animal names and using different colors. Kids are smart. But as the year progressed and the spelling words for the top groups got harder, the other students would hear the words and I think they were thankful they were not in that group. Since all the students were working on their instructional level, they became very confident and enjoyed doing the word sorts. This was also a time that I could brag on them and tell them what a wonderful job they were doing.
Trish Edwards
Posted by Trish Edwards | June 21, 2010 6:21 PM
Posted on June 21, 2010 18:21
I too have thought more about the discourses that I switch in and out of. I have my teacher discourse, grad school student discourse, friends discourse, family discourse, and now soon to be a wife discourse. I feel many times torn because I have one more year of grad school, and it will be hard because now I will have to be careful and balance both being in my first year of marriage as well. Thinking of how worried I get as an adult, I can only imagine what my students go through. I know most of them know their discourse for at home, at school, maybe on the bus, with their friends, and maybe even at church. All these shifts in their discourses puts a lot of stress on them. That is why I give my kids time to understand what I expect in my classroom. I know that they all come from different expectations and family structures, so I feel it's important to lay the ground rules, and be that role model of them in your room and also I give my kids a second chance. I make mistakes and I know what it's like to get a second chance, so with all kids coming from different cultural backgrounds and families, I try to remember to blend everyone together while highlighting each as an individual.
Posted by Abby Boughton | June 22, 2010 8:53 PM
Posted on June 22, 2010 20:53
The various discourses of our lives is also significant to me in my life. I loved how you put in your reflection that you have to be careful not to complain in front of your parents because they see your place as first being mother and wife. I recently discovered this more when talking to friends. It is amazing how complex it is to carry on conversations with various people in our lives depending on the type of role we are playing. I have the same issue with my parents and have to be careful about what I share with them about friends and my boyfriend because in their mind my job as a teacher and my role as their daughter is essential. While it can be frustrating, it was something that I had to learn the hard way. I'm glad you brought this up. I guess I knew how much my roles/discourses changed, but never really reflected as to how as much. I also loved your quote, “Remember every child that enters your class is carrying his/her own little bag.” It is so true. It is not just limited to our students, but to all those people in our lives we interact with. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by Amy Hardister | July 2, 2010 7:34 AM
Posted on July 2, 2010 07:34