Excerpts from Reflective Journals | Excerpts from Literature | References

No matter who you are, or how much preparation you have put into things, occasionally teaching a family literacy class may become discouraging. There may be a night when nobody comes to class, or a day when the Public Library tour you've set-up falls through, or a time when a student shows up to tell you she can no longer come to class because she has found a job that conflicts with class times. Just know these moments may arise, then when they occur, you will not be taken aback, and your morale will continue to be strong and your attitude, enthusiastic.

Excerpts from Reflective Journals

• February 28th, 2002 (Wave I) – “WOW! I was soooooo sad that everybody wasn’t there; it was a thorough library tour, well done, and Susan made my students feel very comfortable. I liked the small number for that reason—it made the personal feel possible. We toured all the major parts of the library; she gave each of us schedules of activities there in the upcoming month, and resources and classes they offer in Spanish.”
• March 14th, 2002 (Wave I) – “Well, it was bound to happen sometime, and it happened on a day like today…cold, light snowfall at 6:15 pm, windy…none of my students came. I arrived all prepared, excitedly set-up the room as usual, and waited.... I waited and waited and waited…then packed up, went to the Public Library to return some books, and went home. Needless to say, I felt pretty depressed…I am so excited about this idea—I’ve seen eyes lighting up already as my few students have stretched themselves and had great experiences for it…oh my—what to do?!”
• April 4th, 2002 (Wave I) – “Before class today, I called one of my students…to ask her why she hadn’t made it the last two days, and if she would be there today. She was so apologetic, and she said she was going to rest all afternoon so that she could come… Then, tonight at class…no one showed up—how sad!!!”
• April 16th, 2002 (Wave II) – “Tuesday came around, and I showed up excitedly, class packets in hand, ready to set up the classroom for more than just two students. Well, by 5:00 (the starting time) no one had arrived. YIKES! 22 people had committed to being in this class, by signing the flyer and returning it to me. By 5:10, two sweet students arrived, and we finished setting up the classroom (for optimistic numbers).”

Excerpts from Literature

• Weinstein-Shr, 1995, “Why is it that parents do not come? What is happening in these seemingly invisible families? …With an understanding of family resources and constraints, it becomes possible to know what is possible and what is appropriate when we ask adults to participate in our programs” (p. 120).
• Handel, 1999, “When only three mothers showed up for a session in a school that had recently joined the Partnership, the teacher overcame her disappointment and worked with them intensively; those three parents became enthusiastic promoters of Family Reading and the nucleus of a larger group” (p. 112).

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