ELLEN
BERG
Diary #35
The Hidden
Rules
of Teaching and Learning
This weekend my husband, a friend and I traveled to Tupelo, Mississippi to attend a wedding. Though the topography looked much like the Midwest, I quickly discovered that Southern ways and traditions were very different from those in the Midwest.
For instance, instead of simply attending a rehearsal dinner, the wedding and reception, we were invited to two brunches, a rehearsal dinner, the wedding, the reception, an after-party and a get-together at the hotel. Gift bags with snacks and juice boxes were handed to us as we checked into the hotel. The idea behind this (according to the Midwest-born groom) is that no guest should be left to fend for themselves.
Stranger still were the brunches. From the moment we hit the door, we were catered to by a band of ladies who were hosting the brunches. Drinks were filled, small talk was made, plates were cleared; gracious women hovered everywhere we went.
For someone who is not accustomed to this overwhelming courtesy that seemed second nature to those around her, it was a rattling experience. I could not help thinking I would be lost if I ever had to move to the South; I simply would not know what was expected of me. I left feeling it was an interesting way of life, steeped in traditions and courtesy, but it was definitely not for me.
Children in poverty have culture shock, too
With these thoughts pushed to the back of my mind, I pulled out Ruby Payne's A Framework for Understanding Poverty to read on the six-hour drive home. I won the book at a recent meeting of the Gateway Writing Project, and I was looking forward to learning more about my students' situations. Talk about the exact right perfect teachable moment. I left a culture whose rules I did not know or understand or even value for myself only to read that this is very much how children of poverty feel about middle class society. Each socioeconomic level has hidden rules that are clear to the members of the level, but unclear or hidden to those who are not a part of it. These misunderstandings can be key blockades to fully effective teaching. Payne's book is clearly organized and simplifies the research for the classroom teacher. Included are the values and hidden rules of members of poverty, the middle class, and the wealthy. Payne includes specific strategies to deal with instruction and discipline that take the hidden rules into account. Possibly the most interesting and helpful chapter is about teaching students how to learn rather than teaching teachers how to teach -- that made a lot of sense to me. Most of our focus in professional development is teaching teachers new instructional methods, but we rarely think about teaching students how to become better learners. Payne refers to Reuven Feuerstein's work on "cognitive strategies," and denotes three categories: 1. Input Strategies: The quantity and quality of data gathered.2. Elaboration Strategies: Use of the data.
3. Output Strategies: Communication of the data. (124-125) Payne notes that in school, teachers generally begin teaching at the elaboration level, assuming that students are proficient at the input level. However, students in poverty generally are missing those input strategies and need teachers to teach all the strategies.
Familiar behaviors
Payne gives many examples of attitudes and behaviors of people in poverty and asks the reader to identify which ones they have witnessed. Example after example spoke to me, things like the use of fists to solve problems, the willingness to stand toe to toe with the teacher, incomplete work, and laughing when disciplined. All of these things and more I have seen firsthand and have been unable to understand why. Now I know.
For so many years I have not understood why very capable children turn their backs on school culture and the opportunity to improve their positions in life. However, if the rules of middle class society are as confusing and intimidating for my students as the rules of Southern society were to me, I can begin to understand.I think Payne's A Framework for Understanding Poverty is one of the most important books I have ever read. In the long run it will have a greater impact on my teaching and my success in doing so than any other book in my professional library.
As I looked at the recommendations for teaching children of poverty, I recognized that my most successful lessons and teaching moments fell within those guidelines. I always wanted to be able to recreate those learning experiences, but I had no understanding of how to do so. Now I have some place to start.
Anyone who teaches even one student who lives in poverty must read this book. It will open your eyes and a world of opportunity for your students.
