In the article, it reminds us to think how much connecting between home literacy and school literacy is important to children. As children create a new world, “third space,” they relate and practice literacy at home and school.
Once they create the “third space,” they will engage in finding their own interest. For finding connection between family literacy and nursery literacy, children should share their differences, similarities, and experiences at nursery. I believe teachers have an important job for children. Teachers should give children to create an opportunities for using their cultural experiences and recourses.
Firstly, teachers should know what the history and background of the child and what s/he needs right now and what are some concerns about him or her. For finding those things, communicating with families may be really important. Home literacy and nursery literacy should not be separate because bilingual children can be confused.
And then, teachers should introduce or present about cultural literacy to other children so other children can absolutely understand and learn about the other world. This way will provide an opportunity to children to understand about their classmates and meet new worlds.
I think you are right that learning about the child and family is especially important for bilingual children or second-language learners because the teacher may not be familiar with the family's culture. Communicating with parents about their culture and bringing it into the classroom can help the child feel more comfortable. It also gives the other students an opportunity to learn about a new culture.
ReplyDeleteTeachers understanding the children in their classroom is a very important aspect of their job. Teachers need to have good communication skills to create a classroom community. You made some great points about teachers and "the third space".
ReplyDeleteI like how you mentioned bilingual students in your blog post. I never really thought about it, but I think that creating a third space is especially important for these students because not only are they in a new place with new people and things, but they are also having a very hard time communicating their wants and needs with others.
ReplyDeleteI also really liked that you brought up bilingual children. At work we have a few children who are bilingual, one who speaks English & French, and a few who speak English & Spanish. The lead teacher always makes sure she asks the parents for a list of common words or phrases in the language and she tries to incorporate them into the classroom with all of the children, which I think really contributes to creating the "third space".
ReplyDeleteYou make a great point about different types of literacy. I agree that if a teacher is integrating only textual literacy into the curriculum, but at home the child is really involved in computers, television, and comics, there is a disconnect, and the child can be confused. Staying in close contact with the parents can help to keep the education the same and build upon that.
ReplyDelete