When Hicks says “Histories of particular localities and families, and of students’ individual histories within them, can be readily lost in efforts to create a generalized language of inquiry and practice.” I could not help but think of the new language arts system our school just spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on. One that of course will fix every reader’s problems, raise our scores exponentially, and save our district from decline! It comes complete with bassil readers and pixie dust! It is interesting to hear Hicks assert that one size fits all programs of language learning will not be effective because they fail to take into account the social aspect of literacy. It seems we have had so many programs and curricula come through our system (each with their own eight hour training session). Programs which got results in places like Texas and California are abandoned a few years after being adopted when they don’t produce the same results here.
I can see Hick’s point that we as educators view literacy as something to be mastered rather than lived. This view is probably perpetuated by pacing guides, spiral curriculum, and summative tests that require mastery before moving on to the next learning event. We rail that if only the kids would ‘get it,’ like learning is an isolated act of memory. My mother, also an educator, has repeatedly told me that “learning is not linear.” Meaning that learning, and I would say literacy as well, comes from many different avenues in a child’s life. The implications of Hick’s theory is that if we want to create lifelong learners, then we must re-culture our students to live lives that value and are rich in literacy.
In later paragraphs Hicks speaks of values that are contrary to those taught in school. This reflects one of my greatest frustrations in the classroom. I have had several students, in the last couple of years who felt that at long as their actions were justified they were not wrong. If they were hit by another child, they were not incorrect in responding in kind. No amount of reasoning or punishment seemed to have impacted this belief. I have even had parents, full informed of the consequences of such actions, tell me that they told their child they are allowed to hit back if someone touches them. All of these students come from the same ethnic and cultural background and I can only assume that this belief is a part of their value system. I express my values and the school’s stance when I tell my students they will be surrounded by people making bad choices all their lives, but that they are responsible for doing the right thing anyway. My fear for theses students is that if this belief in justifiable retribution persists the consequences could be great as they grow to be adults. Prisons are full of people who believe themselves to be innocent. I do not want my children to face those consequences, but am unsure how to help them see that society does not accept “he did it to me first “ as an excuse for behavior.
-Rebecca Ashby
Comments (3)
I also wonder how we as teachers know that our students don't learn at the same pace, aren't successful at the same level, and aren't motivated to be involved in the same literature, but the "big dogs" that make the literacy descisions that rule the school don't know this information. I wish all teachers of reaidng had to go through this graduate program. I have always known this about my students, but I don't think I had the skills to do it any other way. When you are given a basal reader as a new teacher everything is right there for you and you feel that you are serving your students well, but now that I know what I know about how kids learn to read and the factors that impact their literacy I know I continue to make changes for the better. I hope as leaders in our schools we can encourage others to do the same.
Posted by Angie Sigmon | June 20, 2010 5:40 PM
Posted on June 20, 2010 17:40
I feel the same way. I am confused about what to do to change students' attitudes about learning and being successful in life. Like everyone says "it all starts at home". I completely agree with this statement because a child will come into your classroom in kindergarten and could possibly already have a negative attitude about being there just because their parents have put it in their head. They just go to school because they are forced to and then they anticipate the day they turn 16 and can drop out. I hear so many kids in my school say they are just going to drop out when they turn 16 and they say "this stuff isn't important because I'm just gonna drop out when I turn 16". It is so frusrating because you can try and try with these kids and towards the end of the school day they may feel good about themselves if they learn how to solve a hard math problem or something but then they go home to parents who continue putting negative thoughts in their head about school. The parents probably dropped out and think tbey are living okay and so they have put that idea in their kids' heads. You are right when you say that if they grow up a certain way they don't know any better. The thing is they don't try to know any better. The best way to help these children in my opinion is to not directly teach them good values and morals, but to be a role model to them and continuously show them support. They refuse to be directly taught because then they will realize that they are actually learning, which is something they do not want to do! We should just create an atmosphere or "discourse" for them that shows them how to succeed and what decisions they need to make in the current moment in order to do so. We can only hope our students will learn by being exposed to it!
Katy Dellinger
Posted by Katy Dellinger | June 20, 2010 9:36 PM
Posted on June 20, 2010 21:36
Dear Rebecca,
I once had a professor say that, a child's clothing/shoe size does not correspond to their age, so why should their level of learning. In other words, children are forced to be in a certain grade level and are responsible for that grade levels' curriculum based on age. If they don't meet the requirements they are either passed along to get lost in the shuffle or they're required to repeat. We know as teachers that just because a child is 5, doesn't mean they're ready for Kindergarten and that no one curriculum, no matter how wonderful it claims to be, cannot meet the needs of every student. That's where we come in, we need to fill in the gaps and provide all that we can to supplement the adopted curriculum we must teach with what our students' really need. Sometimes we must also, as you said, do our best to communicate values that will help them later in life like not hitting others!
Reshawna Greene
Posted by Reshawna Greene | June 21, 2010 12:28 AM
Posted on June 21, 2010 00:28