Sometimes I am shocked by how obvious something can be when I have never really thought about it. We all know that children learn language from home. BUT I have never stopped to think of how that really impacts their literacy learning in school. I know in my classroom the children spell fire, far because that is how they say it. We discuss the differences and go on because 90% of my students are lower income white families. They all speak that way. Probably less than 10% of my children have parents who have had any education past high school and a sizeable percentage didn’t finish high school. I’m not sure that my students feel some of the issues from the book, but I can completely understand how they would have some issues if they began to attend a school in a different neighborhood or community where the average income is higher.
When I was 10 going into fifth grade, my family moved to a more affluent school and community than I had grown up in previously. It had a profound effect on me. I felt totally out of place for many reasons and it changed who I was. I dressed the wrong way. I talked the wrong way (country). I had to learn to fit in. I am not saying it wasn’t for the best, but it was a very hard transition.
I agree with Hicks when she says that working class children are viewed negatively without cultural sensitivity. How often are they the butt of jokes? “Whenever someone from NC is on TV, they are always missing teeth and talk very country.” How many times have you heard that? I also agreed with her when she gave the example of Jake being trained. The incident with his little sister would create in him cultural ideas about women (teachers) and handling conflicts that could effect his learning.
Wow! Was my thought when I read the sections about autonomous reasoning and how literacy learning is really social learning. (I paraphrased but it is how I understood it.) We learn not only how to behave from each other, but also how to speak, write, read from each other in various situations and for various reasons. This was an AHA moment! So obvious and yet not. I am looking forward to chapter 3.
Christy Findley
Comments (3)
Christy,
I'm sure it was very hard for you when you changed schools as a child. But I want you to know that I am extremely jealous of you in the fact that you have had an experience that many of our students are living through right now. That gives you firsthand knowledge into how the discourse dilemma truly affects our students. I would love to hear more about your experience and to be able to draw more parallels with what we are reading about and our children.
Posted by Nikki Leggins | June 21, 2010 11:30 PM
Posted on June 21, 2010 23:30
Christy,
I had a similar experience when I was young. I moved from the north-Philadelphia, PA-to the south-Charlotte, NC. I was only in the fourth grade but even at a young age I was used to certain expectations in school. The school I attended after moving to North Carolina had students from the same economic class as my old school, but the feeling and experience was totally different. School was much less formal, and the students did not take it as seriously. There also was a lot more disrespect between the teacher and the students. For the first few months I had trouble understanding the thick Southern accents. It was a hard adjustment.
Like you said, I think it’s important to be aware of how culture and social interactions affect literacy learning. As teachers we need to be aware of all kinds of cultural and social interactions so that we can best teach our students.
Laura Corbello
Posted by Laura Corbello | June 22, 2010 4:23 PM
Posted on June 22, 2010 16:23
I never switched schools, but I remember going to college I felt out of place at times. I am from an extremely rural town in NC, so when I went to college where there was a mix of all types of people I didn't socialize much. I think it was fear of someone not liking me for how I spoke or dressed. The few new friends I made were very accepting, but also couldn't believe my "country" way of speaking. For a while it was on display every time I spoke, but eventually it just became a part of who I was.
Posted by Odessa Scales | June 22, 2010 9:19 PM
Posted on June 22, 2010 21:19