Home-School Connections

Reflective Journal on Home-School Connections in a Multicultural Society

A book edited by Maria Luiza Dantas & Patrick C. Manyak

I read seven different stories based on the idea of to home-education and school systematic education. The authors in this book presented different cultural perspectives, theories, and approaches to dealing with home school disconnection.  The authors in the book stress the importance of educators’ involvement within students’ homes to help them in their educational journey. It is a book that in the first part presents seven different stories where the main character is the student, but educators and parents play the main role in educating them.  I would say that each struggle to educate the child with their perspective and what they value is important.

Sometimes there is a disconnection on what each value and they also vary in their approaches. Each chapter grounds itself in theoretical frameworks (name the theoretical framework. The findings of some researcher (name the findings, what were the findings of some of the chapters). These chapters give a glimpse of what immigrant children are facing as they navigate between home and the classroom. Respectively, these authors teach us that diversity makes our world smaller every day as a complex multicultural society. The authors present several examples about how culturally diverse families struggle to maintain their cultural identity within the American culture and school system. 

I can summarize my feelings and emotions throughout the reading as following:

·         Familiarity. Some of the experiences that those non-American families have gone through are very familiar to me. For instance, some of families came here to pursue a better life just like me.

·         Empathy. Each culture is different and their acculturation experience varies. However, in a way or in another, I can understand their feelings as in the story of Marisa and Anna.

·         Sadness. I feel sad that many of the social constructs are built in a way that seems impossible to break down. Religion as institution is for me something imposed by society and because of that power, it frames a life. I feel sad when reading from Muslim families coming to America where it is basically a new world for them especially for women.

·         Inspiration. At the same time that it seems too difficult to strive for social justice, I feel more inspiration to continue supporting a raise your voice campaign. As it mentioned in chapter 5, immigration demographics indicate that every year new people come and go, diversity is now part of our life and inequality is alongside that phenomena because of ignorance.   

I think that teaching is more than understand theory to structure our praxis. I think that future teachers have to be prepared to apply culturally responsive pedagogy (p.34). It is essential that educators get involve within student’s homes. I think that Freire refers educators as cultural workers precisely because of the social responsibility that educators have with future citizens. I think that we have to learn about MCE frameworks to design curriculum based on that, instead of only add it because in this way, it would be something that could be applied “if we have time for that”.

I think that it is more important to highlight that we are different than the simple assumption that people already know that we are different. Every single person has their own conception of the world. Sometimes, because of Discourses from Gee’s definition, people incorrectly understand differences. We can see examples of these occurrences in all the stories described in the part I of the book. It is true that many individuals overcome their social traumas and change; others remain in their circle because of the fear to lose their identity or their social acceptation. For instance, it is almost impossible go against religion institution as Muslim families. Similarly, it is almost impossible go against institution’s policies and rules as Marisa and Ana’s story.

I think that it is a huge responsibility being part of the learning process of an individual. Again, I bring in Freire because that thought remains me that he challenges educators when saying that their suggestions are for those who dare to teach. Nowadays, to become a teacher means to become a revolutionary transformer of the system. I think that current social needs set up the new requirements of the skills to become a teacher. I think that teaching is more than a simple understanding of the theory to structure praxis; it is something more internal, more human.

One of my biases regarding diversity was that if teacher can accept and bring in diversity in their classroom would be enough to students learn about that like teach about foreign celebrations. After read and share discussions during this course EDU 545 along with my own experience living in USA, I understand that diversity is more than a popular and modern term. Then, I realized that it is something that we have to attain as part of our lives. It is critical to school system to undertake multiculturalism as the foundation designing curriculum. It is extremely necessary that future teachers have multicultural education theories as part of their preparation in order to comprehend the true meaning of multiculturalism.    

Those stories are evidence of the lack of preparation of schools and teachers to connect culturally diverse families with schools. As stated by Stumme, school and home Discourses (Gee’s term) do not match (p.132) and I assumed that it was the system that makes it in that way. Then, I see that it is not only the system but the will of teachers to support home-school connections. The authors/researchers suggest the involvement of teachers with their student’s lives as part of the teacher job passing from the role of expert “to that of an interested, curious, partner” (Dantas, M.; Manyak, P., 2010, p. 133)

I do not have the opportunity of teach currently but I have the opportunity of spent much time with people from other countries. I am one of the officers of the International Club of NMSU, one of the others is from Afghanistan, the other is from Jordan, and the last one is from USA raised in a Hispanic family. As a diverse group, we have many arguments because we perceive things different. I have been using my management and organizational behavior skills along with what I have learned about multiculturalism to serve as mediator in some discussions. However, that would not be enough if I do not take my time to know more about them. Since I know more of them about their countries, their languages, their families, and their desires I can communicate and help them to communicate better between each other.

Therefore, I realized that all the suggestions of the authors, Freire, and all those supports the idea of the teachers as learners it is definitely a key to student’s academic success. It is more a responsibility of learn about multiculturalism, it is more than blaming the system, and it is more that take courses of teacher preparations. Eventually, I have learning about the true meaning of teaching and about the impact educators have over the future since future citizens are partially in their hands.

I have a clearer idea of the significance of my role in this world as future educator; definitely it is a challenge. Every reading during my coursework teaches me something different and calls me to reflect about teaching praxis. As a mother, as a student, as a daughter and indeed as any role I play within the society, I can see that all is an ongoing learning. Then, with my role as a teacher in the near future, I have to be prepared for a continue learning not only from books, but from my students and the educational phenomena.

Cecilia Palacio-Ribon