Reading Families: The Literate Lives of Urban Children (Practitioner Inquiry, 23)

By Catherine Compton-Lilly

Book Overview

This dynamic text offers a rare glimpse into the literacy development of urban children and their families' role in it. Based on the author's candid interviews with her first-grade students, their parents and grandparents, this book challenges the stereotypical view that urban parents don't care about their children's education. By listening closely to the voices of her students and their families, the author helps us to move beyond negative assumptions, revealing complexities that have been previously undocumented. A daring critique of racism and other societal factors that affect children's learning, this important volume: Explores the limits and potential of mainstream literacy practices to make a material difference in the lives of socio-economically struggling families. Challenges educators to view reading as a complex social process that incorporates the experiences of family members as well as school and individual experiences. Provides a literacy model that treats the process of learning to read as situated not only within local contexts but also within a larger social order. Offers recommendations to help educators to build on the literacy experiences students bring with them to schools in poor communities and to respect the particular difficulties that these children face when learning to read.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0807742767
• ISBN13: 9780807742761
• Release Date: December 2002
• Publisher: Teachers College Press
• Length: 168 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.4" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Good Choice

This book was really helpful for me to use in order to understand how families differ when it comes to helping their children read. I liked how the author used many families in the book so their is a variety of data given in the book Every reading teacher having difficulties with reaching their families should read this book