Delpit, Lenski & Fleming Readings

What I got from the readings is that in order to teach or assess literacy in our classrooms, we need to be aware of each student's cultural backgrounds. I enjoyed Fleming's article the most because it addresses some of the issues that beginning teachers aren't aware of when they first come into an urban classroom. The article discusses ideas of ways teachers can be prepared so they are not blind-sided by the culture shock of the classroom. The article states that many teachers are not aware of what they are getting themselves into and therefore have trouble with classroom management due to a lack of respect and the students having to be "the person in charge" when they're at home. This article made me very much aware that schools are not preparing teachers for the many different types of cultures they will come across in their classrooms. Future teachers need to be better trained in order to handle their classrooms with confidence.
I also agree whole-heartedly with Nate's blog about Delpit's article. Honestly, I couldn't even read it all the way through. I guess I understand where she's coming from. I'm sure there are white people out there who just don't seem to get it or are too stuck in their ways that they can't adjust. But there is so much generalization in this article about how "white people just don't understand" or "white people listen but they don't hear." But despite the fact that this article is racist against white people, I think the point is that all teachers need to be aware of the culture background of their classroom and that not all students learn how to read the same way that white, middle class students read. Delpit points out that black students are told to do things differently at home than they are at school and this can become confusing for students when a teacher asks them to do something. The student may end up not doing what the teacher told them too because the teacher phrased it, "would you like to start reading now?" so they thought it was an option. This could lead to that student getting disciplined when it was all just a misunderstand and miscommunication. This is why teachers need to be aware of the cultural difference between school and home. The students may have not learned how to code-switch yet.
Just like the others, Lenski's article says that we have the be aware of the culture backgrounds of our ELL's in order to assess them properly. We must recognize that each ELL has their own cultural background; even the students that speak the same language will have different experiences with literacy in their own homes. I really liked the idea of the predictability log because it "helps teachers understand
their students’ prior literacy experiences and the factors that helped shape them," (p. 26).
Overall, very interesting and controversial readings this week. I'm interested to see what everyone else posts in their blogs.