race-language-and-culture-in-the-classroom

B.Fecho,“IsThisEnglish?”:RaceLanguageandCultureintheClassroom,TeachersCollegePress,NewYork(2004)171pp.,ISBN:0-8077-4408-5(hbk):$46.00;ISBN:0-8077-4407-7(pbk):$21.95.AliciaSnyder-Freya,aUniversityofCalifornia,SanDiego,CA,USAAvailableonline7November2006.ArticleOutlineReferencesParents,educators,policymakersand,increasingly,studentsthemselvesaresuffering,inBobFecho'sview,froma“crisisofbeliefineducation,”evidencedbypoortestscoresandwritingabilities,lackofengagementbystudentsandteachersalike,andlowgraduationrates.Asolutiontothisproblem,heproposes,isthecriticalinquiryclassroom.ThelatestinstallmentofthePractitionerInquirySeries,“IsThisEnglish?”readspartprofessionalautobiographyandparthandbook,althoughFechoinsiststhatheprovidesdetailsofhisownexperiencesonlyasanexampleandnotasbestpractice.Thebookmovesfromanexplorationofhispersonalprofessionaldevelopmentandchangingviewsintoadescriptionofhisexperiencesintheclassroom,oftenthroughthewordsofhisstudents.Eachchapterbeginswithavignette,mostoftenascenefromhisownexperienceteaching,immediatelyfollowedbya“MakingMeaning”sectioninwhichherelatestheeventtohislargerargumentandconcerns.Writingtoeducators,teachereducators,andpolicymakers,Fechooffershisownexperiencesofteachingfromaninquirystancetoserveasapositivemodel,aviablealternativetotheproblematic“top-down,hegemonic,andputativemodels”(p.148)thatareoftenchosenassolutionsbypoliticians.Thesepoliciesdonotnecessarilyimprovelearning,butresultinsteadinanincreaseinhigh-stakestesting,causingteacherstoworkunderstrainandstudentstoeitherresistorbecompliant,butnotallowingthemtoactuallyengagewiththematerial.Fechoinsiststhatstudentengagementcanonlyresultwhen“thetextsoftheworldareinterrogatedinmutuallyempoweringdialogue”andcurriculumis“tiedtoindividualandsocialknowledge”(p.47).Thispositionissimilartothattakenbythe“fundsofknowledge”approach(cf.GonzalezandMoll,1994)andechoesHeath's(1983)introductionofinquiry,orthe“discoverymethod”,tobothelementaryandsecondaryclassrooms.WhileFechodedicatesachaptertotheoristsfromwhoseworkhehasdrawn,in“SomeofMyBestFriendsAreTheorists,”neitherCazdennorHeathismentioned.HeexplicitlyevokestheworkofLouiseRosenblatt,PaoloFreire,andLisaDelpit,althoughheadmitsthattherearemanymorewhohaveinfluencedhisworkintheclassroom.ThereasonthelackofreferencetoHeathespeciallyissodisconcertingisthesimilarityofboththeirexamplesandconclusions.AttheendofWayswithWordsHeath(1983,p.340)suggeststhatthegoalsofthestudents’ethnographic,orinquiry(p.340),workwas:(1)toprovideafoundationoffamiliarknowledgetoserveascontextforclassroominformation;(2)toengagestudentsincollectingandanalyzingfamiliarwaysofknowingandtranslatingtheseintoscientificorschool-acceptedlabels,concepts,andgeneralizations;and(3)toprovidestudentswithmeaningfulopportunitiestolearnwaysoftalkingaboutusinglanguagetoorganizeandexpressinformation.(p.340)Theenvironmentwhereinthisisachievedisoneofexcitement,asstudentschallengeandquestioneachother,andtheteacherisremovedfromthetraditionalrole,saveforher/hisdeterminationoftheobjectivesofclasswork.WhileFechodoesbringbothfreshthoughtsandnewexamplestolight,heseemstofollowmodelsverysimilartoHeath's,withimportantexpansions.Also,ascriticalinquiryisthefocusofhisbook,ratherthanachapterasitisinHeath's,Fechoprovidesmorenuancedandthoughtfulconsiderationsofboththeobstaclestocreatinganinquiryclassroomanditsbenefits.Hehighlightstherolethatcriticalinquirycanplayasasocialcritique,atooltounderstandaswellasdenaturalizemainstreamcultureandallowformultipleperspectives,andheprovidesmoresuggestionsforwaysofadoptingthisapproach.Fechoarguesthattheteacherdeterminesthequestiontobeinvestigated,andsetslimits,butdoesnotnecessarilydeterminetheobjectives,asHeathindicated.Heseesthestudentsasbeingindialoguewiththeteacheraswellaswitheachother,andarguesthattheteachermustadaptandrespondtothematerialandthestudentsasmuchasthestudentsneedtoadapttotheteacher.Tobothaidinstartinganinquiryandtoprovideitwithalargerquestiontoframeinquiries,teachersdevelopan“essentialquestion”whichwillserveasanunderpinningfortheyear'swork.Thus,whiletheobjectivesofparticularinquiriesmayshift,theyarebeingguidedbyalargerquestion,onethatideallyis“lessanswerableandmoreexplorable”(p.36).Healsoacknowledgesthattransitioningone'straditionalclassroomtoacriticalinquiryclassroomisdifficultformanyteachers,aswellasstudents,andthatsuchachangemustbebasedinseeingtheneedforsuchachange.Atotalconversionshouldbeneithermandatednorabrupt,assuchwouldnecessarilyleadtofailure.Instead,Fechosuggestssmallstepstowardinitiatingatransitiontowardaninquiryclassroomandoutlineslargerstructuralchangesthatareneededtosustainthepracticeinalearningcommunity.Importantly,heacknowledgesthathisowninquirystancehasbeenevolvingforsometimeandallowsthesameforothereducators,encouragingthemtobeginthinkingabouttheseissuesandapproacheswithoutattemptingtoadopthisownmethodswholesale.AgainechoingHeath,heencourageseducatorstobeethnographersoftheirownclassrooms,assessingtheneedsandskillsoftheirstudents,usingbothrecordingsandfieldnotesasnecessary.Finally,Fechoarguestha