Chapter 6 is all about how the home and school connection is valued by the elementary school. And it works just fine too. Unless you consider our Peley and Raji. The teachers, general, ESL and assistants all make assumptions, usually negative ones about these two students. We have seen that they are think about the right questions to ask but not asking them. In what attempts that were made were not successful because of language barriers and work schedules and misunderstandings.
The poor children are misunderstood and are not getting the important socialization that they need. Vygotsky believed children would learn from each other. He also pointed out the importance of socialization in all aspects: home, school, community and culture. Peley and Raji don't really have socialization at school.. It's clear that Raji is getting that socialization and confidence when he is in India and he comes back with it. However, it fades out fast because he is not socially accepted at school. His intelligence is higher than what the teachers know because he never feels comfortable to speak out...he will reply when someone asks him a question.
Peley is known as bossy but she is clearly a boss at home. She handles many chores and responsibilities. She likes cleanliness. This is what she knows. She get labled a tyrant when she is behaving the way she does because she has a dual role as adult and child. The teachers don't get this.
Add in that ESL program and things are a true mess. The ESL teacher should push into the class room and work with the students so they don't miss literacy classes and so she can aide them. Both students have really clear English skills so I am not seeing nor our the students, the value to this ESL time.
It's a real eye opener here that with best intentions you still need to make that effort to really get to know and get past the boundries to understand where these two kids are coming from, why they behave the way they do, why Raji goes to India. Time seems to be an issue for Miss Starr and willingness to go the extra mile.
Do you agree that taking time to research and possibly have a translator when meeting with the parents would be a worth while investment into the education of these young learners?
-Elizabeth Francescotti
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