Living Between Two Worlds
As I read these chapters I could see so many of my students and their particular behaviors in school that helped me made more sense of what I read. The fact that the ways in which our students are raised and the different things each are exposed to,(different roles of males and females, appropriate language, etc.) can create a huge difference between them as individuals. This can create a difficult road for one teacher to steer them through a set curriculum when each have different lives and experiences from which they draw on to understand all they are hearing, and trying to learn.
I believe that one of the greatest battles educators face today is trying to educate students one way, when the students have never been exposed to the ways in which they are expected to act in social settings outside of their homes. How can we expect them to know, when at home it seems they have free rein to do as they please? It has been my experience in the past three years of teaching that children today seem to demand their parents do what they want, they do not ask things of them, they demand them. I have three children and they are older (21, 18, 14) and they do not tell me what I am going to do, they were taught that. I believe this is a breakdown in our society that will have repercussions far beyond what we can imagine.
What I am trying to say is that so many students today are raised without having ever been exposed to books, museums, zoos, quality time with parents, strong family ties, etc., and that their discourse for viewing the world is so far from the discourse of the school setting, and this causes a break in the bridge from school to home. Their thought process for knowing what is appropriate or what the social norm is can be far from what is taught in school. Whether it is about race, class, gender, or sexuality all this is relative to how they have been taught prior to beginning school. Trying to go between the two worlds is hard but I believe by the time they are in grades 3 or 4, students are able to be hybrid and can actively participate in both worlds and are then trying to make their own sense (naming) of the two, in terms they can better understand and assign meaning to for themselves based on things they have acquired from both worlds (home and school).
Tracy Icenhour
Comments (5)
You brought up a great point when you said that students have not been exposed to the world through the interaction with their parents by visiting museums, going on trips, or just communicating between each other. I understand that the world we live in today is so much different than when we were growing up, and the economy plays a big part in exposure. What can we as teachers do with the things we have to offer. In my classroom I try to take my students on "field trips" through the use of Discovery Education, an online video library for teachers to use. Our county has a subscription to this site, and it's a great teaching tool!
Meredith
Posted by Meredith Bromley | June 21, 2010 11:47 AM
Posted on June 21, 2010 11:47
Tracy,
I so agreee that we are raising different children today. Much of their childhood is centered around what can be done for them. This stems from the "positive self-esteem" movement when we felt children needed rewards for tasks that should be expected of them (household chores, studying). They did not receive a sense of accomplishment from a job well done. It is hard to battle the "entitled" child. I saw "we" because even though I raised my kids to be responsible and hard-working, they still, at times, have a sense of entitlement that is rampant among their generation.
Many students have navigated the road of how to travel two worlds by grade 3 or 4, but many have discourses so different at home that school is always a challenge. This is where we, as teachers, need to continue to recognize their struggles while trying to make them comfortable in the school setting.
Susan Hines
Posted by Susan Hines | June 21, 2010 7:09 PM
Posted on June 21, 2010 19:09
What can I do for my students? I can only model and hold certain expectations for them. You are very accurate in saying that there is a disconnect in the discourses of home and school. Many of our children are left to fend for themselves while mom and dad are off working; this leaves little time to focus on the curricular activities at home. This makes teaching hold that extra challenge to help them feel comfortable and safe in the learning environment! We have to expose them to those things that they have not experienced...even if it is only through books!
Posted by Angela Steele | June 21, 2010 9:22 PM
Posted on June 21, 2010 21:22
Meredith,
You hit the nail on the head! Every year I find I fight the same battles, my students think that have the right to EVERYTHING!! I find that I have to teach them from the very beginning how to have manners, how to sit quietly etc.... They think they can get away with everything but they very quickly realize by high expectations. I had a student this year at the end of the year not earn his end of the year treat due to very poor behavior. I explicitly told the whole class (including him) the rules to not earning their snack. So the last day comes and he goes "Miss. Enns do I get a snack?" I asked him if his behavior showed he did and he said no. He was so upset that he didn't get a snack but it proved to him that he had to earn it! So high expectations are a necessity and students will realize how far they can step over the line!
In order to help with background knowledge I do a lot of "in class" field trips through books, pictures, and videos. I find that helps quite a bit because students become more aware when we are reading.
Posted by Natalie Enns | June 22, 2010 5:41 PM
Posted on June 22, 2010 17:41
This is a sad truth in our world. Without exposure to that quality time, our students are raising themselves all too often. I think the biggest issue here is that our parents miss the boat that they are a vital part of supporting their students. It is huge challenge to take on to teach them everything in school, but it has become necessary. They are traveling between two worlds so much from home to school where expectations change and so does communication. You described that beautifully. I hadn't thought of it that way.
Posted by Amy Hardister | July 2, 2010 5:49 AM
Posted on July 2, 2010 05:49