Gender and sexuality

     March noted in her article - "But I want to fly too!": girls and superhero play in infant classroom, the active participation of girls in role-play as a superhero.  Even though children are fascinated with superheroes,  boys are expected to be attracted to the superhero narrative more so than girls because of socio-cultural stereotyping.  What was interesting is the fact that the girls were just as attracted as the boys to the superhero role-play. The girls were eager to enter the "bat cave" (play area with props for role playing).  However, there were still distinct differences in the interactions of the boys and that of the girls.  It is also important to note that the girls were usually Bat-women, none took on the masculine role of Batman. As a matter of fact they use certain clothing to portray Bat-woman and did not want the boys to use them because they were designated for Bat-woman.  The boys also stayed in the masculine role of Batman or the Joker.  None of the boys pretended to be Batwoman.  Also the role of Bat-woman was more that of a nurturing role as she was more interested in protecting the weak than fighting the villain as opposed to the boys who were more interested in fighting and conquering the villain.   Girls wrote longer narratives while engaged in role-play but the boys' narratives were shorter  as they were more engaged in physical action.
     The stereo typical view of masculinity and femininity also influenced the reading practices of boys according to a study done by Martino that investigated the impact of masculinity on the reading preferences of boys and their involvement in literacy.  Martino found that most of the boys either claimed that they preferred sports or outdoor physical activity to reading or that they preferred reading non-fiction ( sports magazine, Guinness book of world records, how- to books, comics, even pornography) and not the "soppy" stuff.  
     Teachers are faced with the challenge of presenting opportunities for children to question these stereo typical images.  However, educators are not always prepared to engage students in certain discourse.  It is, therefor, very important as educators that we become life-long learners.  We must keep abreast of important studies and instructional strategies that impact our students' learning and empower them.

African American English and Bilitracy

In order to compete in a globalized world it would be very beneficial to draw from existing linguistic, multilingual, and multi literate societal resources(Reyes et al., 2012).  However in our existing U.S educational system, bilingualism and bi literacy are usually not valued except in individuals of status and power in society who were formally educated (Reyes et al., 2012).  The focus is on mono-literacy or the standard(mainstream) system.  Students who do not belong to the dominant community(mainstream) or speaks a language other than the dominant(standard) language are usually seen as belonging to a lower status.  This includes African American students who are "African American Vernacular English (AAVE)" speakers and students who speak a language other than the "standard" English.  These students have talents and knowledge that are not appreciated nor encouraged.  Many educators struggle with implementing literacy learning that would support AAVE- speaking students and students who speak a language other than English.   Many educators and administrators are not prepared ( lack the knowledge/strategy) to support and help these students to release their full potential.  It is important that we embrace our students' culture, language, and ethnicity because in doing so, we are embracing our students as valuable individuals and committing ourselves to truly develop their cognitive abilities.

Literacy Practices of "Gangsta" Adolescents

             Moje, E. B., 2000. "To be part of the story": The Literacy practices of    

                       Gangsta adolescents. Teachers College Record, vol. 102, 3, p. 651-690

Background information:


The primary participants in this study were five gang-connected youth that attended school in an urban area of Salt Lake City, Utah.  The youths were of four different ethnic groups, Vietnamese(Anthony), Latina(Chile), Latino(Jeffrey), Laotian(Khek), and Samoan(Mike).  Data was collected over a period of 3 years which included audio and video tape recordings, formal and informal interviews, photographs, notes, and a research's journal.   It is critical to note that Salt Lake City Utah is the world headquarters of the Church of Latter-Day Saints(Mormons).  The leaders of this church organization are generally white and the church has a predominately white, middle-class ethic which has a great influence in the Salt Lake Valley.  Consequently this shapes the type of schooling that's available and also teacher perspective.  None of the focus youth were white, middle-class, nor Mormon and to make matters worse they were either gang members or associated with gangs.  Needless to say, these students were not a part of the mainstream culture.  They were, in fact, marginalized.




Reflection:




The ethnicity, color, and social class of these young people made it difficult for them to be a part of the dominant group so they turned to a place were they would be valued and accepted.  Even though they were considered deviant and they had no voice in the dominant group, they used their literacy practices(ways of thinking, believing, acting, feeling) to make their voices heard and to establish their place in society.  There literacy practices are considered unsanctioned (gang related literacy and language practices) but it is a tool for them to construct an identity, express themselves, make-meaning, communicate, and establish a social position in their world.  These literacy practices include, rap, poetry, art, a dress code, make-up, music, tattoos, gestures, body movement, and hand signs.  Their art included graffiti and tagging which are unsanctioned forms of literacy practices but it is essential to who they are.  It establishes and maintains an identity and power.  Their written discourse showed depth of thought, a particular writing style, gang identity, and respect for their fellow gang members.  However, educators did not value their literacy practices.  They rejected the contributions of these young people.  Therefore, it is important as educators that we do some soul searching from to time and confront our own biases and misconceptions.  It is also critical that we acknowledge our students' literacy practices because they are used to make meaning and construct one's identity.  All students must be given an opportunity to learn.  It is important to find ways to support all our students and build on their strengths by establishing a nurturing and inclusive learning environment.