Prompt 5

Reaching out to parents can be a great challenge. You may find disinterest, too involved with other issues and other things. First, while disinterest is a horrible thing to happen, it does occur. Parents may shy away from being involved with their child for a number of reasons. Many are in the labor force and are very busy with their jobs. working hard to provide. This leaves little time to check in at school and see where the child is at. Adding something to the plate may not be an option. In the case of my classroom, even contacting the parents could prove very difficult. As an ELL class many of my students parents don't speak English. Communicating through the child is not always an option especially when you need to talk about the student one on one and not have them involved. Even sending a private notice home may need translation and if the child or one of the child's generation is the only option, then this lacks the privacy and delicacy that may be required if an issue is being handled.
To counter this I would have to take several measures. I could individually inquire to each student their living situation. I could ask if their parents can understand English or if there is another adult that could help if not. Of course, this would have to be dealt with the utmost sensitivity. It must be conveyed that this inquiry is solely for the benefit of the child. Another alternative could be looking to anyone on the staff that may be able to help with communication. If not, reaching out to the local community gives another option. If a student or family is uncomfortable because there is a language barrier, using a translator could help them feel more comfortable and bridge the barrier. Another problem that may come up is the issue of cultural diversity working against the group. For example, the way the students are taught in class is not the same structure they learn at home. One day during library I had a discussion with the teacher while the kids were reading. I had noticed that he had deliberately separated certain people. I asked if this was so they wouldn't talk to one another. He explained that not only that but he found that certain kids were taught to read differently than others. In their homes some learned to read aloud while others followed with their finger etc. When it came time to reading children were getting upset because they couldn't read because so and so was talking and there "isn't supposed to be noise." The catch was many of these students are still remedial readers and need to use these tools to comfortably read the story. If I were to run the class I could encourage the students to try to have reading time at home and maybe read with an older member of the family. Like Delpit explains, different cultures have different ways of doing things. Her notion of authority argument comes into play here. When different students put up a fuss about the reading there is different ways to handle it. I believe firmly that each student should be dealt with in a way that is effective between the two of us. Some students I could quietly ask for them to find another area to read in and that would be the end. However not all students hold the idea of power this way. Some need a louder stricter discipline that they know in their homes. I do not have any white students in my class so I cannot fully compare Delpit in the sense where I would treat the white and black students the same. They are all minority races that are in fact the majority in this class room. I am the minority and I must adapt to them. Not only must I adapt to them I must find ways to adapt to the parents.