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

Linda,
Well said! The student who acts out or blends into the walls is often the one who does not feel that he/she has a connection in school and has nothing to add. They get validation by assuming a role that is not threatening to their sense of identity. This is very true of the EC student. I have worked with EC students for almost 20 years and they often feel they do not have much to add to their RE class. I have fought for years to help my students believe they have value outside of their specific learning differences. I have been thinking quite a bit while I have been reading the studies for our class about the population of our EC students. How many of our students are identifed as EC who have educational "delays" due to their cultural or socio-economic differences. When we identify a child as EC, we must rule of these as factors in the determination, but...what about the evaluations we use? Are they biased in regards to culture, socio-econmic and racial concerns? Something to think about.
Susan Hines

Linda,

Your post made me think of a recent workshop we had at my school regarding the new teacher evaluation process to be implemented next school year. In your post, you specifically mentioned about how a teacher should help all students find their voice in a non-threatening environment. I think that fits in very nicely with Standard II from the NC Professional Teaching Standards. Standard II states, "Teachers establish a respectful environment for a diverse population of students." Three of the subheadings under this are as follows: (1) Teachers provide an environment in which each child has a positive, nurturing relationship with caring adults; (2) Teachers embrace diversity in the school community and in the world; and (3) Teachers treat students as individuals. I think Henry and Staples both worked hard to establish an environment such as the one described in the standard above so that the students would feel comfortable in expressing the voice that they were unable to assert in their regular school environment.

Clyde Rice

I had not thought about my EC students and the fact that maybe they lack a voice in the classroom. I teach Kindergarten and you would think that at this young age this might not be true. As I was thinking about my EC kids that I have taught, it is true they do not speak up often enough in the classroom. We as teachers probably tend to call on them less especially in large groups. In small groups their voice is probably heard more because they feel more comfortable talking and contributing to small group discussions.

Linda,
I agree with you that it is our job as educators to help all of our students find their voice. The hard part of this statement is how do we do that? I felt like Henry and Staples had great ideas in their articles. In one of my graduate classes we spent the first few classes getting to know one another and built up a community of learners. When we were assigned projects we were allowed to collaborate together and no one’s responses were considered incorrect, but was discussed. I learned more from this class then I ever imagined, because my professor took the time to invest in his students and make us feel like we have a voice. I truly think that the first month of school is the most crucial month, because we have the opportunity to make our students feel accepted and important. I hope I can incorporate some of the tactics mentioned in the articles in my classroom next year, so maybe all of my students can be heard.

Linda,

You're exactly right. We have to encourage ALL students to find a voice. While reading these articles, I was thinking about minority students sometimes not feeling comfortable in the classroom. You helped me think about my EC students. My EC students have had a culture of their own as well (for example, leaving the classroom for a short period of time while others stay). My EC students often don't speak up in class for fear of being wrong. We, as teachers, need to let all our students know it is okay to voice their opinion about things read, heard, and discussed in class. Students need to know everyone has a right to their own opinion, and they should feel comfortable enough to voice their opinion. I also think we need to really work on finding things to read and discuss that interests our students. Students should have SOME choice in what they read and discuss in class. Students will begin to feel more comfortable once they realize it's okay to say what they think.
~Jamie Brackett

Finding out who they are in terms of a school setting is difficult for most students. But I would imagine it would be really difficult for adolescents and extremely difficult for underprivileged adolescents. Maybe these students lack in academics because they do not feel as if they fit into the school society. You are right in that both articles did show how to engage disengaged students into a classroom. But I wonder how many teachers can conduct lessons the way Staples and Henry did and engage or even take the time to engage disengaged students into more lessons? Like you mentioned, these disengaged students are sometimes the students that act out. They are sometimes the students that cause problems in class. Thus they are already using a lot of their teachers’ time as the teacher is continually correcting and disciplining them. It was a wonderful way to bring students together and helping them discover their worthwhile by finding out heir interests and actually letting them be a part of the decision making process. What a wonderful way to catch your students’ attentions. Just use material that interests them. Now some of the material used in both research projects was of questionable debate. I would be very careful with what I used no matter how much of an attention grabber it was for my students. They did learn to respect their teachers and one another through this. I think that because they were all treated with respect from the beginning from their researcher, they all acted differently. They all shared the respect that they had received. I had never thought of my EC or even ESL students lacking in voice. But you are absolutely right, these students are disadvantaged and thus they lack voice. Most of the time they are the shy students. I think they are so shy and passive because they feel that they have nothing to contribute in the classroom. They are continually corrected or told that they are wrong that they eventually give up and stop trying to speak up in class.

I completely understand what you are saying about some children kind of fading into the background when they don't feel a connection to school. I think that this is something that I worry about every year at this time of year when I sit down with the grade level above mine at school and decide where my students from this year are going to be next year. I worry sometimes about the personality match between student and teacher and how it can affect their performance next year. I know that this is a bit different than the connections that were discussed in the articles, but also important in my opinion.
-Elizabeth Norwood

Absolutely Clyde and Linda, students need to be valued and understood for who they are and what they have to offer. I mentioned this in my own critique when Henry comments in her conclusion about how there is more to a student then simply their ethnicity; it is much more complex than that. I think all teachers should make a point to get to know their students. We can't just assume because a student is white or black that we "know" all about them. To make such judgments is short-changing the students. Once you know the students you teach, it is so much easier to work with them and meet their needs. I also agree with you Elizabeth, it is sad to think that kids fade away while in school. Luckily I work in a small middle school and this doesn't happen as often as it could. We, as educators, must make an effort to reach out to these students and discover what makes them tick. Sometmes writing and journal assignments (as Henry used) act as a perfect catalyst for this.

Sorry the above "anonymous" post is mine. I hit the post button too soon!

In one of my special education classes in grad school the teacher had a technique for making students more comfortable speaking aloud in class. She would never let a question end in a wrong answer. If she asked a question and the student answered incorrectly, she would continue to prompt them until they got it. You can also use the phone a friend technique where students call on another child to help them. The idea is that if you leave kids with a bad taste in their mouths every time they raise their hands, they will stop raising their hands. However, if students know there is no risk they will be more willing to contribute and participate in group discussions. Cooperative learning, where students speak to a partner or small group, can help also students become more comfortable with sharing about what they think. As the above comment mentioned, writing is another way to help kids articulate who they are and where they come from. There are lots of ways to create an environment where all students are comfortable sharing what they believe and revealing who they are.
-Rebecca Ashby

Linda, what a great comparison between your EC students and the students in the article. I think you hit the nail on the head when you wrote about EC students stay quiet because they feel they have nothing o contribute. Some students have learned that if they fly under the radar and stay quiet, they can just get through it. I am guilty of allowing that to happen in the past. I now see the importance of helping all students find their interests and skills and using them to help build a more confident student in the classroom. Every child has worth and value, and sometimes it is so difficult to get them to realize it. You can tell them a million times they are good at something but until they realize it in themselves nothing you say matters. Helping students find themselves outside of school should carry over into the classroom. Thanks for helping me find the relationship between what I know and the articles:)