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

In concluding Hicks’ Reading Lives I have found that I have observed much of the research conveyed in these chapters in my own classroom. The case study that was most prevalent to my current classroom situation was the case of Jake. The early case study of Jake seems to be a “typical” boy. He is active, impulsive and curious. He likes things to be “hands on” and enjoys solitary activities. He wants to stay to himself, and finds happiness in simply creating stories about race cars going around tracks. I think all of these characteristics or traits are common with most of my boys that I see in class, but I want to focus on one activity that Jake loves, and that is: video games.

Video games are sooo very common in my classroom. My boys (and some girls, but mostly boys) are constantly trading “cheat” books for codes to beat their games. They are checking out books at the library that give them background knowledge on their favorite game, and are using their recess time planning gaming sessions on the weekends. In such a digital world, I am not surprised by this trend. If students aren’t playing their video games, they are texting, chatting, Skyping, Twittering, Facebooking or Myspacing. Although many of these tools are out in cyberspace for kids to get a grasp on, there are parents who say “no” to online personal sites such as Facebook and Myspace. I hear my students discuss how they like to log in to their X-Box LIVE accounts and talk to other players across the world via a headset and microphone. Others enjoy Nintendo Wii, which provide games that get students up off the couch and have them bowling, riding skateboards or even doing yoga! Thinking about Jake, and his need to move, move, move I believe that boys utilize these tools more because they too, need to move, move, move.

My brother and I grew up in a working family. My dad worked third shift at a factory job and my mom worked office type hours from 7-5pm. We were encouraged to play sports from the time we could walk. I enjoyed sports, and continued these organized activities all the way up until present day. My brother, on the other hand, played because he felt he “had to”. He says he felt that he was pushed in to playing because my parents expected him to play. He would have much rather been inside in front of Nintendo Game Console. I can remember my parents giving me a time limit on my phone “talk” time, while my brother go his time limit on his video games. As he focused more and more on his games, he saved up money and upgraded his systems. He became less and less social. I continued to be outgoing and loud, while my brother kept to himself within his room playing every game possible. He would look for “cheats” and trade tips with other students in school that like games like he did. My parents continued their working family routine, and my brother seemed to get deeper into an unsocial pit.

As we have grown into adults, me in my mid-twenties and he just a couple years behind me, I’m still the outgoing, loud person that I grew up to be as a teenager and young adult. My brother, on the other hand, learned to become social, but only when necessary. He avoids crowds, being around those he doesn’t know and hides out in his room, playing those video games. He was a bright student in school, and struggled some in college, but I often wonder, did his video game habits help or hinder his academics? He was always the typical “math and science” kid, always looking for the black and white path, never any grey. He did not, and still does not enjoy reading for pleasure. He was never into doing school projects, writing, journaling or speaking on his views of a piece of literature. His main goal in any academic situation was to get the job done, in the shortest amount of time possible, without the aid of others.

Relating this back to Reading Lives and Jake, I wonder how his love of that Sega Video Game Console will impact his social realm. I wonder how those video games will impact his academics. I know that every case is difference and each child is different when it comes to school and academics, but I find it interesting that Jake, many of the boys in my classroom and my brother all have one goal in common: Video Games.

Renee Hennings June 28 2010