Gerri August, Making Room for One Another

This reading was interesting to me because it was so real.  The overall question was, what is the result when a child is raised by lesbian parents?  The answer was revealed through a description of various dialogues and interactions that took place in Zeke's Kindergarten class focused on a boy named Cody with assistance from his classmates and family.  I believe Dr. August claims that students from a nuclear family will not have to walk on egg shells when referring to their own families because this has been the preconceived idea of what a family is. This would take the pressure off a student when creating a family portrait or sharing experiences about his/her family.  A student from a nuclear family with a mom and a dad would not have to be consciously aware of how to word something ahead of time.  This,seems to me, like a very stressful situation for a youngster.  The idea that a family can only be a mom and a dad was argued in the reading with evidence to back up the reality that a family is not a cookie cutter, uniformed institution.  If the child sees in textbooks or other resources in the classroom that a family is a mom or dad, he/she will surely question his/her own family structure.  A teacher's own biases towards one family structure versus another will directly affect a child's experience.  If the teacher does not view or accept a non-dominant family structure, the child will feel left out and cast aside.  The classroom discourse will have to match the reality that a family can be many things.  If a child from a non-dominant family has to keep up with the classroom discourse as it is, he or she will ultimately have a very negative experience in school and may have a negative view on society at such a young age. 
In a way, I can relate this to Finn when he says "the status quo is the status quo because people who have the power to make changes are comfortable with the way things are".  If we as teachers have the vital task of creating a democratic classroom, we will have to challenge the status quo and micro manage our classrooms in a way that will benefit children from dominant and non-dominant family structures.  If we as teachers are political as many people suggest, we will somehow have to change the language of these politics. 

Quote#1:
Dr. August is discussing Cody, a student in the ZK, in which most of the qualitative data is based on:

"Cody came into the ZK with keen perceptions of personal social risk.  Although he readily, even eagerly identified with his Cambodian heritage, Cody worried about his color, his adoption, and his family structure". 

The first thing I thought when I read this was it seemed to be a lot of pressure put on a little boy.  He came in knowing that the things he said and the way he acted could be used against him in a social setting by his peers.  The advantage this boy had was being placed into a classroom with a teacher that had a wonderful approach to dealing with the diversity in which he received in these youngsters.  I don't believe Cody's worrying was an innate response.  I believe that somehow he perceived himself as different.  This may have happened by hearing other students' responses in the classroom.  By hearing other students say mom and dad, he may have thought "that is different from me".  By realizing he is different in some ways from the other students, he may not have wanted to take the risk and offer information that the children may criticize. 

Quote#2:
Zeke is talking to Cody in the classroom after Cody becomes offended by what a classmate says to him:

"But Cody you do have to know that sometimes you're going to be on the side that has less, right? Because it's your own brain and that's what you were thinking, right?

I know that Zeke used this statement as a response to a situation in class but based on the other things Zeke said I believe he meant much more.  I think he was doing what some of the readings we've done in class urge teachers to do.  That is to give the students "weapons" that they can use in life to get what the culture of power keeps from them.  He tells the child that he may in fact be in a situation where he will have "less", but to carry on with what he truly believes is right.  I think this was a wonderful response to this situation.

Quote#3:
Zeke was asking the students for information on who Martin Luther King Jr. was.  Many of the children made things up. 

"Still, Zeke persisted in enlisting the students' participation."

I have read many times in these course readings that the gap is widened by the lack of participation and experiences that come from each individual student.  Zeke challenges this by constantly seeking out the thoughts, opinions, and ideas from his students.  Even with the young age of these children, he provides them with an environment in which they can have a voice and it directly helps this positive teaching environment. The language in which he teachers is much different than many other classrooms because he challenges the beliefs of the culture of power.  



The following article was interesting to me.  It asks the question, "what happens to children raised by gay parents?"

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sectionfront/life/what-happens-to-kids-raised-by-gay-parents-488758/