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

These readings made me think about how I always perceived school growing up. I enjoyed school and didn't mind doing the assignments that were given to me to complete. I didn't have to study much and I was thankful! I never felt like school was an enemy, or that teachers didn't get me. Don't get me wrong, I never had a teacher that I felt was a friend either, but I never felt like the people in these articles felt. I had also never really taken into account before starting on my master's degree that a person may feel differently about school just because they are African American. I more thought of a person's struggles as solely related to their academics, family background, etc. not their ethnic background.

When reading the articles I couldn't help but think that they were tied to the readings that we did last week. It seems that they all go back to the fact that you really have to get to know your students and what they are interested in. What a difference it would make if teachers involved their students in what is happening in the classroom on the level that these researchers did with these groups! Having them feel that kind of connectedness and authorship in the classroom would be a powerful tool. I know that it wouldn't be easy, but it seems the benefits would be huge.

In my classroom I use a "take home journal." I start the journal by writing to the children. I ask them about their interests, what is going on at home, things they are looking forward to, etc. and then ask them to write back. The expectation I have for the assignment is that the children respond with more than a one word response and that they write back to me at least once a week. I am always pleasantly surprised when I have students that write back every day of the week! This is one of the assignments that my children get the most involved with (as far as homework goes) throughout the year, regardless of academic achievment or ethnicity. They love that they can ask me questions and direct the dialogue that we have within their journals. I love that they are writing and I am getting to know who they are outside of the confines of our classroom.

I did have a hard time reading these articles and found myself rereading over and over in some places to understand, but found myself to be a little offended when reading the Henry article comment that African American girls "are invisible to teachers as serious learners; they receive less encouragement and rewards; they are assessed for their social skills rather than academic achievement; they are evaluated by their physical characteristics such as hair texture and skin color..." (pg. 238) I cannot imagine that this is truly the case and that it is backed up by research! Does this really happen in schools in this day and age? It made me wonder if perhaps the article was a bit skewed. I know that not every teacher sees all children as equals, there are people with prejudices, but it has been my experience that children are not seen as lesser in a classroom because of the color of their skin.
-Elizabeth Norwood