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Date: Sat, 18 Aug 2001 09:29:31 -0400 (EDT)
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From: "Nancy Sledd" <nsledd@famlit.org>
To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov>
Subject: [NIFL-FAMILY:197] Impact on teaching
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With permission from Diane, I wanted to share this message on the
NIFL-Family list subscribers.
In case you ever wonder if we have trained teachers to work in family
literacy and then we lose all their expertise when they transfer into the
school system as a classroom teacher, read this Tennessee teacher's
letter....
Nancy Sledd
Hey everyone!
You may or may not remember me;
Tanya has my old position. Yes, I have remained on the listserv to
hear all the wonderful ideas everyone has!
I was delighted to get a job teaching 5th grade two years ago. I am in
my tenure year in Tullahoma which will lead to a professional license, which
I could not get teaching Families First (Tennessee's family literacy
program).
Since Eva remarked that she wondered what impact being a former Families
First teacher would have in going back to "regular" teaching, I felt I could
speak to that.
One interesting part of my job is that many of my former FF students
have students in my school, so I see them on a regular basis. They share
their ups and downs with me, and their children know me as their parents'
teacher. This gives me an "in" with families which would otherwise be hard
to reach.
Second, I no longer take for granted that my students have books,
newspapers, magazines, or other print material to read at home. Some may
have computers, but not a book in the house! FF taught me this, too.
Third, I realize that my students' parents often labor under a heavy
burden - they are the working poor. They have no time to give to their
children because of their need to work long and labor-intensive hours. They
may desire to be a part of their children's lives, but the need for food,
clothing, home, and other necessities pre-empts their attempts to do so.
They pick their children up late. They don't return paperwork. They don't
check to see their children have their homework done. At least I now
understand why!
Fourth, they can not help their children with their homework because
they do not have the knowledge or skills to do so. Their school experience
was poor, at best, which is why they didn't finish high school in the first
place. It is demeaning for them to try to help their children with
elementary work that they cannot do, so they blow it off, or put up a good
face while their child fails to learn because they need a parent who can
intervene at home on their behalf.
Finally, because these parents have had a negative experience with the
school experience, they expect their child to also have a bad experience.
This expectation leads to these parents being defensive if the teacher
calls, writes a note home, or demands appropriate behavior from their child.
Unfortunately this defensiveness leads to the child hearing their teacher
disrespected at home creating a profound disrespect in the child at school.
A vicious cycle of bad experiences ensues!
What I have learned is understanding which helps me respond more
appropriately to difficult situations, patience with parents who can't cope
with life in general, and a willingness to provide as many enriching
experiences at school that I know will not happen at home. In short, I hope
I am a better teacher as a result of my experience with Families First.
Continue your good work, FF teachers!
Diane E. Tatum
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