It Is What It Is
It is amazing to me how things that stare you straight in the face every day can go totally unnoticed .While reading these chapters one of my own students repeatedly came to mind. This student comes to me in the resource room for help in written expression and struggles so with getting his thoughts on paper or even coming up with thoughts in the first place on some assignments.
At the end of this year I had my students write a story about what their perfect summer would be like. Most had no problem coming up with very creative , elaborate ideas of places they would go or things they would do ranging from taking a rocket to the moon to coming up with an invention to help cure a disease. I encouraged them to be creative and just have fun with it. These students were in the 3rd grade so had several years of public school writing experiences under their belt. My one particular student could just absolutely not get started—again. He is very intelligent but writing about anything is such a challenge. This student ended up writing about a typical day in his life, nothing new or different than any other summer day.
As other kids began to read their stories aloud, this student make constant comments about how whatever they were writing about couldn’t happen or wasn’t real. When I read about Roadville and Trackton, it hit me. This child is from Roadside! He came from a strict Bible believing, church going, high moralistic upbringing. He can’t tell a lie even in a fictional writing story. Doing so makes no sense to him. It’s just plain not acceptable. A lie, is a lie, is a lie! I get it!
This child can write nonfiction stories with little difficulty but fairy tales, fantasies, Santa Claus are not part of where he comes from. No wonder we have been struggling so.
I had never thought about how much a child’s environment and upbringing affects their literacy learning except for whether they were read to or not. What matters most IS where they come from. Some kids transition easily from one discourse to another. I did and do so myself without much thought, while others can’t seem to do so without much conflict. This study has opened my eyes. Now, what I have to do is figure out how to create the freedom to express or “ look beyond” just talking, acting or feeling in certain ways. That has to be so freeing. As Heath stated, “ Conflict occurs, however, when the ways with words of communities and classrooms differ to the point that school language practices are unfamiliar, foreign to children at the margin of middle class institutional structures.” I have so much to learn!
Linda Bohland
Comments (7)
Linda,
I too argree that I have so much to learn! I think I have view their home life as seperate from school. I would take the resources they had at home into account and how that may affect their schooling, but I expected them to be able to switch discourses easy and realize they are at school so behave and act according to these rules. I didn't stop to think about how their homelife and cultural upbringing may not allow them to switch discourses. We try to embrace the cultural diversity in our rooms, but something we are missing is the homelife. in some way we need to create an opportunity for parents to have open and honest dialoge about their lives and how we can better understand their values. By doing so we are closing the gap of school and home which in trun will help close the achievement gap.
Michael Lemke
Posted by Michael Lemke | June 20, 2010 1:54 PM
Posted on June 20, 2010 13:54
Linda, As I was reading I had a student that came to mind as well. My student was unable to "create" a story for any class writing assignments. I didn't ever get to the root of his issues because he was so distant. He was absent often too. He missed 20 days of school. Could this be a result of his discourse or something else? He was extremely bright, but would never participate in classroom activities. He only wanted to read. I am taking another course this semester and the focus thus far has been on a novel about a boy with Asperger Syndrome. While I am certainly not qualified to make a diagnosis, this student met nearly every criteria for the condition. I wish I had known...
Posted by Karen Chester | June 20, 2010 3:23 PM
Posted on June 20, 2010 15:23
I think as I was reading these chapters I just kept thinking of my poor white working class students who struggle with literacy in general. It didn't even cross my mind about those students who weren't raised thinking the "unthinkable". Wow, that could definitely explain a student in my class who had difficulty with the same issues and was raised in a similiar family situation. I feel like a work hard to have strong relationships with my kids, but I'm realizing I might be asking all the wrong questions and finding out all the wrong information. I feel that I could definitely serve my students better if I would take the time to talk to them about their upbringing and how their cultures effect them in every day life.
Posted by Angie Sigmon | June 20, 2010 5:28 PM
Posted on June 20, 2010 17:28
I think it is wonderful that you can already apply what you are reading to your students! There is so much for each of us to learn and share with each other over the course of our careers. I think it is amazing how when you read a certain article, a child will come to mind. Knowing that we are gaining valuable resources from what we are reading makes reading worth while =)
Posted by Sarah Hutson | June 21, 2010 11:33 AM
Posted on June 21, 2010 11:33
Linda I think the point you made about what is morally correct for this student is a powerful point. I had not thought about that aspect until I read your post. I asked myself the following question and wondered about your thinking.
Knowing what you know now how would you change the way you approach this writing since it is something that is tested?
Posted by Candy Mooney | June 22, 2010 8:40 PM
Posted on June 22, 2010 20:40
I had not thought about your point of view prior to reading your post. It does make since that a child raised in a very religious family would not be able to write fiction stories because he would not be telling the truth. It also goes the other way with students that have the discourse to lie because that is what they know at home.
Angie
Posted by Angie Somers | June 22, 2010 10:26 PM
Posted on June 22, 2010 22:26
I am glad that I am not the only one who hadn't really thought about that connection. I am also amazed how little students will sometimes share about their lives. It would seem simple to us that the students would just say "that's lying." However, that may very well be a testiment to the fact that the child has been taught to respect authority as well. (He wouldn't disrespect the teacher by telling her she was lying.)
Posted by Christy Laws | June 22, 2010 11:29 PM
Posted on June 22, 2010 23:29