Examining the Research Narrative in Early Literacy

"An attendant assumption is that children will not succeed in literacy if their parents do not read to them. A further assumption seems to be that parents who do not read to their children are neglectful and, by not doing all that parents should do, are by implication "bad" parents. (G&H, p. 191)"

I find these assumptions to be very disturbing when trying to keep in mind the diverse communities in which our students are or will be coming from. I think that this is a way to blame "bad" parenting for the way that our students are performing within the realm of literacy instruction. When teachers say this, I say to them that they are taking the easy way out and blaming the parents. Isn't it our job as educators to, no matter what ability level our students are at, to adapt our instruction to foster their learning and progression in order to be successful students in literacy and other content areas??

The author of this chapter goes on to explain that there are many different ways to go about teaching children how to read and be literate. Due to socioeconomic status, it is, many times, a time issue to sit down and actually read to our children. Issues arise, however, that the amount of time that children are engaged in literacy activities. This should be the main focus of parents of young children. Whether it is sitting and watching educational programming, pointing out symbols and signs while driving, or participating in cultural and community activities, engaging in story-telling, etc. these are all ways in which parents can facilitate a literate environment.

I might go so far as saying that parents within a lower S.E.S. have to be more creative in their strategies to make a literate environment possible. In saying this though, the author also points out that in many ways, it is the schools' fault for the low literacy rate of today's students. Parents are using their own educational experiences as models for the acquisition of literacy with their own children. For example, if parents received great instruction in language arts they are going to be able to transfer that learning and teaching model with their own children and visa versa for the negative. It is the schools responsibility to be teaching literacy practices, engaging students in literacy, and continuing to build the "nation of readers" that is mentioned in multiple chapters in this book.

As a teacher, don't be so quick to point the finger to the parents, instead, reflect on your own teaching practices and help facilitate the next generation of good readers...No matter the S.E.S. of the community that you are teaching in. Find a way to make the connections between home literacy and school literacy. As the author said, this is one of the main concerns, students aren't learning because the instruction isn't meaningful.