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

Chapter 5 was interesting and easy to read. I enjoyed getting to know Jake and his family. Jake had a very strong relationship with his dad. You could tell that he valued his dad’s opinion and looked up to him. He shared common interests and attitudes with his father. Some of them were race cars and being in motion. Jake liked tasks that involved movement and tasks he felt had a purpose. He did well in kindergarden because he was able to choose the centers that he wanted to work in. He was also able to move freely from place to place. First grade was a different story, he felt more constrained and isolated. He did not have the freedom to move from place to place. He was expected to perform more work that involved him staying seated. Second grade was better for Jake because this teacher taught reading through reader’s workshop. Jake had freedom of choice to read books on his level and freedom to move around. His attitude also began to change as he began to express anger when he felt frustrated. I would love to know what happened to Jake and how he did as he progressed through each grade level.

Some things that I noticed about Jake was how he was a very quick learner at home but seemed to struggle at school. I wonder if part of the problem was that he saw value in jobs he performed at home because they were important to his family. Family had a huge impact on Jake and how he saw the world. I also wonder, if his dad had become more interested in Jake’s performance at school would he have done better? Jake’s dad was okay with him just taking over the family business instead of going to college. I do not think that Jake’s dad had high enough expectations for Jake. I think if the teachers would have tried to get to know Jake and include some things he was interested in into the curriculum it would have helped him. “All they had to do was find ways to connect students’ interest with academic tasks.” As teachers we need to get to know our students and what things they value. We need to try and include these things into our curriculum. How do we do this with all the things that are required of us? I think Jake felt disconnected from the curriculum. He could not find the part that related to the person he was at home. I think so many students feel like Jake. They feel like school is dumb and they are not good at it. They can’t see themselves in the curriculum and instruction. I really see this with little boys. They do not care about reading and writing they care about cars, video games and playing outside. We need to make these two worlds come together.

Ashley Caldwell