In the past, it has been thought that lower income homes, Mexican or otherwise, brought forth children who were not exposed to adequate background information for learning. Recently, a radio program gave the information that in South Carolina lower income children were a year behind other children entering school and stayed a year behind.
But in this particular study by education and anthropology personnel, much new material was identified that could be used in the classroom to enhance learning. These investigators, by going into the homes and interviewing the student’s parents, found out about the strengths of the child, the home and the community.
Here actual life experiences could be shared and used to the benefit of all in the classroom after these investigators collaborated and came up with a unit of study that was grounded on the information gained from the interviews.
Parents were found to be very knowledgeable and were willing to share their information with the classroom.
In making connections to this article, I recall a teacher who does not wait until teacher-conferences to converse with the child’s parents. Although this teacher did not go into the home, early in September, this individual would set up appointments to meet with the parent either before or after school. He used a set of questions, as did this research team. His main objective was to identify special needs/health issues of the student, evaluate the parents/home life, and he expressed what he expected from the family and child regarding homework assignments. Having the children two-year in the classroom helped build a very close community of parents/children who knew each other well and cared for each other. I feel that it was a very worth while activity although a time consuming endeavor.
Ida M. Rounds
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3 comments:
I really enjoyed reading your response to our reading on Funds of Knowledge. I don't like when certain groups of people are lumped together and given a tag becaue they are poor or are of a certain ethnic background. My father grew up poor, his father died when he was 3 and my grandmother had to rais him and his brother on her own, what my father and his brother learned from their mother and other family memebers helped to mold them into the loving productive adults they are.
Hi Ida, I like the connections you made to the article. I teach Native American students, as you know, and I know that we often do not appreciate the cultural background knowledge that our students bring with them. With highstakes testing and programs like Reading First, I feel that teachers are, in a round about way, encouraged to disregard what students bring to the table. I hope that in my career the focus will return to the students and who they are as individuals.
Ida,
Thank you for the story of the teacher that met parents at the school to find out more about the student and the family. I tried to meet with each of my students before school started and couldn't get permission to do it because of safety concerns. This is a way I could get around those problems.
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