Based on "...As soon as she opened her mouth!...": Issues of language, literacy, and power
Quote:
"While documenting the effect of growing up in a nonliterate family on Donny's conceptual knowledge of written language and the problems this posed for his learning to read and write in school, I had to ask what the school was doing about this. How were they dealing with the experiential difference so that his learning could proceed? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not only were they failing to address this experiential difference...they were also seemingly unconcerned about his failure to learn. How could this be? Having seen two of my own children through elementary schools and having garnered a wealth of experience with schools in general, I knew that teachers, specialists, and administrators would have created quite a big fuss if any middle-class child finished first grade knowing how to read only one word. Parents would be called and consulted, assuming they hadn't already been haunting the school corridors, testing would have been recommended and carried out, the instruction and teaching would have been questioned and examined, and elaborate educational plans drawn up to remediate this issue would have been drawn up." (Purcell-Gates, 2002).
Reaction:
This passage, as well as a few that followed, really shook me to my core. I have worked with students from low-income homes, who often do not have parents who are able to assist them with their learning due to their own inabilities. However, the majority of those parents still want their children to learn, and want to find a way to make that happen. True, there are some parents from low-income families who are not as eager as Donny's mother, as you read about in the later passages. But, no matter how eager or not the parents are, it is the teacher's responsibility to help students learn. Teachers are not supposed to pick and choose who they help. Just because a parent is from a lower class, rural area, broken home, etc. does not mean that they do not deserve the same education as a middle or upper class child who may have more parental support, as well as financial stability, and so on. I was so upset by the fact that Donny was sent to the second grade, despite the fact that he was unable to complete what was asked of him at that level. Unfortunately, too many children are waved through like this. I know of a child who was not taught to do long division, and has been struggling because of this. We live in an age, however, that this child can use a calculator, so teachers do not want to take the time to teach the other method. I've tried to assist this child, but it confuses her so that she gives up and returns to the calculator. What are we, as teachers/future teachers, doing to the future of this country? Isn't it part of our job description to care and provide an education to every student that crosses out path? I thought that's what we are supposed to be doing, or at least that's what I want to do with my career. Children, especially ones from low-income, less stable, broken situations, need to know that someone cares about them. Even if their parents care, they may not be able to give the support and guidance that children need, and that is where we are supposed to come into play. We should not be discriminating or thinking that it doesn't matter if a child doesn't learn to read. "Someone else will do it," some people may think. But, what if there is no one else but you? What if this child feels let down and gives up, drops out, etc. after they leave your room? Are you ready to live with that? ALL children should be given the BEST opportunities to learn. ALL. And, if we as teachers don't think we can even attempt that, then we need to decide on another profession.
Reference:
Purcell-Gates, V. (2002). "..as soon as she opened her mouth!..": issues of language, literacy, and power. In L. Delpit & J.K. Dowdy (Eds.), In the skin we speak: an anthology of essays on language, culture, and power (pp. 122-140). Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B6DFAmexYq7vMGQxMjI1OTEtMjAyZS00NzJmLTg1OTUtODlmMGQ0ZDIxOTVk&hl=en_US
Related Resource:
This article listed below are some reader responses to a New York Times article. All of the points are valid, and points that I couldn't include in my post. It goes to show that people, not only teachers and parents, notice that children are struggling. There may not be one clear, definite answer to correcting these situations, but it is going to take work and opinions being presented like this article to get things to change.
How Schools Can Help Struggling Students
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I was outraged with Donny's situation as well, however, I found the part about long division very interesting in your blog. I'm going to be a math teacher and have already began noticing that children are in higher math courses than they should be. Understanding the basics is crucial in not only math, but in all subject areas. However, as you stated, most teachers just pass children on through (especially due to calculators) and they struggle because of it. I'm all for the use of calculators, but, children should learn how to solve problems on their own before learning about the technology that helps.
ReplyDeleteI loved your reaction. You said a mouth full. I think the question you proposed "what if there is no else but you?" was a powerful statement. I believe that so many teachers have loss footage of what the true role of and educator should be, which is to go above and beyond to help all their students. Donny's story just showed the cruel reality of a careless education system. However, I did feel the story of the teacher with the inner city kids displayed that there is still hope within the American education system.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your reaction. You said a mouth full. I really liked the question you proposed when you said "What if there is no else but you?" I think that was a powerful question. Donny's story just really put into perspective the cruel reality of an uncaring education system. I feel that many teachers have forgotten the most important quality of being an educator, which is to go above and beyond to their still regardless of their backgrounds. However, I found a small ray of light within our reading. The teacher who taught the inner city kids pushed and persevered and expected that all of her students where worthy of success. After reading her story, I believe that there is still hope for change within our education system.
ReplyDeleteLetting students slip through the systems seems to be common in all schools around the country. Sadly, I was one of those 'just passing' students in math mostly. I never really learned anything in the schools when it came to math, my brain was'nt wired for it. I know that I can learn it now, but when I was younger it was quite frankly my worst enemy. Luckily my mother was quite good in math and did all she could to help me understand my basics. I was actually pulled out of school to be home taught just so I could catch up in the areas that I was behind it. Reading was never a problem, but when it came to those numbers I just couldn't comprehend them. After my few years of home school I went back into public high school, where math was still a problem, but because of my parents I was better equipped to handle the classes and do a little more than just get by. Though I saw a lot of other students who were doing this that, sleeping in math class, having a teacher who didn't take the time to really teach, and then passing them along to the next class. Knowing how I struggled and how teachers didn't teach me, makes me want to be able to connect to the students. I know that not all students are going to be rocket scientist, but they all have intelligence and through this they can find the coping skills to help them get through and do better than just passing.
ReplyDeleteJustine, You demonstrate a strong understanding of the damage stereotyping parents and children who speak non-standard dialect can do! The point Purcell Gates is trying to make is not so much that teacher shouldn't pass children who can't read on but that teachers need to change the way they teach reading to address the needs of children who come from families who have different sets of literacy knowledge.
ReplyDeleteAlso, using calculators does not inhibit children from obtaining a conceptual understanding of math. In fact if used properly they support it. The problem with the way math is taught in schools is that teacher focus on rote memorization of procedures rather than teaching the concepts behind the procedures. This is often occurs because teachers, especially elementary teachers, do not understand the concepts themselves. The national council of teachers for mathematics supports the use of calculators and graphing calculators as do many other research and professional organizations.
Justine, I love to see someone get worked up on this subject! As I stated in another post, teachers spend too much time pointing fingers at the parents, which I believe you too stated above. I also love your last statement and this is exactly why i don't plan to actually teach when I leave Fairmont State. I believe that the way the system is set up, it's nearly impossible to reach each student and I think it would cause a lot of frustration for me. I feel as if teaching today is a balance between rewarding and not, and that's not how it should be. We should be able to see improvement in all students!
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