Blog 9

There are 3 main points I really got out of the Purcell-Gates chapter that we were to read this week.

1. It's not necessarily the socioeconomic background someone has that affects their emergent reading.  Just because a person comes from a home with low socioeconomics does not mean that the child is doomed to never being able to read.  The main factor, when studies have been conducted, in a child's emergent literacy is the amount of reading/writing they are exposed to.  I really liked the author's comparison of teaching reading to teaching someone to drive.  If someone is foreign to the concept of a car (came from a setting where there are little to no cars to get around) they are going to have a hard time understanding what to do when you tell them to start the car.  Most people come in with prior knowledge knowing that you put a key in the ignition to start a car, however a person who has never seen a car would struggle with this.  This is exactly like students who have never witnessed reading/writing.  There is simple background knowledge that people assume others have when learning how to do something.  If someone comes in without the knowledge it does not mean that they are incapable of performing the task, they just may need some briefing on common knowledge.

2. Another point I got from this reading was that many teachers are quick to judge, and often bring their judgments into how they treat their students, parents, etc.  This article tells a story about how a teacher instantly thought a mother was ignorant by the way she spoke.  The staff at the school had also ignored any special requests the mother had made, but when the same requests were asked by a professional they completed the requests.  I found this to not only be very disrespectful but also very shocking.  I have always assumed that teachers are very open-minded people and are willing/wanting to help all students.  Even if a teacher believes the parent's request is insane they should still acknowledge it, respect it, and provide options.  After reading this I found myself asking a couple of questions...
Is this happening in all of our schools throughout the country?
How can we expect parental involvement when our teachers are being disrespectful?

3. The last and main point I took away from this reading is that just because someone lacks a background in literacy, it does not mean that the student is helpless.  There are many strategies that teach these children to develop literacy just like any other student would do.  The article gives some really good tips as to how help these students succeed.  First, and foremost, the teacher needs to have confidence that the student is capable of learning the material, regardless of their background.  The second thing a teacher needs to do is accept the students language.  No person talks exactly how they write (using proper grammar, order, etc.).  So there is no need to teach a child to talk properly in order for them to write properly.  Instead it is important to teach the students how to write properly in different forms.