Like Kiki, I came to school with a very strong literacy background. My family was constantly surrounded me with opportunities to see and hear rich vocabulary. However, it is important as teachers to know every child brings a different background and set of experiences with them to the classroom. Kiki and I both were surrounded by literacy opportunities, but we had very different family backgrounds and different types of access to literacy. The article says, "Children enter school with a legacy of meaning about literacy and educational achievement that is not easily transformed" (41). As teachers we have to know what the legacies of each child is and find a way to provide meaningful curriculum that each child can relate his or her literacy legacy to.
I feel a student's legacy can be strongly connected to their heritage. In our classrooms we may have children who come from unconventional backgrounds. Acknowledging many different cultures through reading can captivate students who otherwise may feel disconected from their peers and teachers. I noticed in many of the Basal readers in the Teclab there are books for ELL students that have characters that look more like them. I feel like that should be incorporated into all students' daily readings to make them proud of their own aspect of their legacy and also to understand others'.
ReplyDeleteI know I can relate to Kiki;s story as well, Growing up my family immersed my sister and I in literature at a very early age. I can remember doing a bible study presentation with my sister at the age of 4 her 6 and at that time I had know idea how literature would make a major impact in my life. You last statement about teachers being knowledgeable of every child's legacy and being able to relate to every child in our classroom is one of the major things I hope to do when I become a teacher. I am sure with practice I will be able to master this skill.
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