A Teacher's Inquiry into Bringing in Biliteracy in a Fifth ...

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

Volume 19 Issue 1 Article 2

7-1-2017

A Teacher's Inquiry into Bringing in Biliteracy in a Fifth-Grade A Teacher's Inquiry into Bringing in Biliteracy in a Fifth-Grade

English-Only Classroom English-Only Classroom

Stephanie Lynn Abraham Rowan University, [email protected]

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Recommended Citation Recommended Citation Abraham, Stephanie Lynn (2017) "A Teacher's Inquiry into Bringing in Biliteracy in a Fifth-Grade English-Only Classroom," Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research: Vol. 19: Iss. 1. https://doi.org/10.4148/2470-6353.1009

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Networks:Vol.19,Issue1 ISSN2470-6353 Summer2017

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ATeacher'sInquiryintoBringinginBiliteracyinaFifth-

GradeEnglish-OnlyClassroomStephanieLynnAbraham-RowanUniversity

AbstractThis teacher inquiry project explored how I, a non-Spanish speaking teacher at the time, implemented critical, bilingual pedagogies to foster biliteracy development among my fifth-grade students. One, the project showed that students could further their biliteracy by incorporating their funds of knowledge through a family stories writing project. Two, many students were anxious about reading in Spanish, and dual poetry alleviated this due to its compactness and linguistic scaffolding. Finally, the project showed the continual issues of unequal power relations concerning bilingualism and biliteracy in US classrooms by showing how I failed to include languages other than Spanish in this project and how I succumbed to school pressures of high-stakes testing, often abandoning a critical, bilingual pedagogy in the process. Keywords: Biliteracy; Teacher Inquiry; Critical Pedagogy

IhandedGisela,PlumasparaAlmorzar/FeathersforLunchbyLoisEhlert(1996),andIaskedhertohelpmereadtheSpanishtext.Shelookedatme,andexclaimed,"ButIcan’treadinSpanish!”"NeithercanI,"Iresponded."Butdoyouthinkwecouldreadittogether?"AsIbegan,"¡Oh,oh!Handejadolapuertaunpo-,"Giselapipedinwiththeword,poquitito.Shesmiled.AndIcontinuedtoread,painstakinglypronouncingthewordsofalanguagethatIdidnotspeak.

ThiswasthebeginningofateacherinquiryprojectthatdocumentedhowI,anon-Spanishspeakeratthetime,couldhelpmybilingualstudentsalsobecomebiliterate.Iknewthatmanyofmybilingual,LatinostudentshadbeenschooledinEnglish-onlysettings,andtheywerenotgiventheopportunitiesinourschoolorinmyclassroomtodeveloptheirSpanishliteracyskills.Inawayof"rightingthiswrong"IstartedtoshareduallanguagebooksandSpanishtextswithmystudents.However,Ididnotrealizethatevenmy"strongest"readers,likeGisela,wouldnotattempttoreadinSpanish,whatIperceived

An Online Journal for Teacher Research


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asasimplepicturebook,independently.Thephrase,"ButIcan'treadinSpanish,"becameacommonresponsewhenIaskedmystudentstoreadinSpanish.Sowhatcouldateacher,whodoesn'treadSpanisheither,dotohelpstudentsreadandwritealanguagethatshedoesn'tknow?Thisbecamemyinquiryforthe2008/2009schoolyear,asIbeganaskingthisquestionofmyselfIstartedtothinkaboutthepedagogiesthatIcouldputinplaceforthesestudents.

Theschoolandmyfifth-gradeclassroomwereculturallyandlinguisticallydiverse;theschool-widestudentpopulationwas70%Latino,25%African-American,andtheremaining5%ofstudentscomingfromvariousracial/ethnicbackgroundsincludingWhite/Anglostudents,Vietnamese,andIndian.LocatedinasmallcityinGeorgia,theschoolreceivedTitleIfundingwith98%ofthestudentsqualifyingforfreeorreducedlunch.Ihadtwenty-onestudents,andnineteenstudentsparticipatedinthisproject:SevenwhoidentifiedasLatino,ninewhoidentifiedasLatina,twogirlswhoidentifiedasAfrican-AmericanandoneboywhoidentifiedasAfrican-American.All,butoneoftheLatinostudents,hadfamilyconnectionstoMexico,whiletheonehadconnectionstoGuatemala.ThesestudentsspokeacombinationofMexicanSpanish,African-AmericanEnglish,SouthernAmericanEnglish,Spanglish,DominantAmericanEnglish,andindigenousGuatemalanlanguages.It'simportanttonote,thatsixofmystudents,bilingualandmonolingual,hadSpanishasadailyclassfor45minutes;thesewerethestudentswhowerenotintheEarlyInterventionProgram(EIP),northosewhowerestillreceivingESOLservices.OurcommunityhadagrowingLatinopopulation,andthereweresmallneighborhoods,stores,andchurcheswhereSpanishcouldbeseenandheard.

MyfirstlanguageisEnglish;IwasborninGeorgiaandIamWhite/Anglo-American.Atthetimeofthisproject,mySpanishconsistedofcommonwordssuchascasa(house),escuela(school),comida(food),andcommonsphrasessuchascomoestas(howareyou?).Importantly,IhadstudiedFrenchforfiveyears,andIunderstoodsomemetalinguisticfeaturesthatRomancelanguagesshare,feminineandmasculinenounsandpronouns,andthecomplexconjugationofverbs.Additionally,IwasalsofluentinAmericanSignLanguage(ASL),andbeforeIwasateacher,IworkedasaninterpreterfortheDeaf.Becauseofthis,Iunderstoodthepowerrelationshipthatcouldexistbetweenlanguages,especiallybetweenspokenEnglishandASL,andItransferredthatknowledgetowhatmyemergingbilingualstudentswereexperiencingbetweentheiracquisitionofSpanishandEnglish.

WhatIKnewAboutBiliteracyMostofmystudentsspokeSpanishastheirhomelanguage,andtheyfluently

engagedinSpanishwiththeirpeersduringrecessandlunch,andwhentheirfamilieswereattheschool,theywouldoftentranslateandstrategicallyswitchbetweenEnglishandSpanish.Iwantedtocreatealiteracypedagogythatwoulddrawonthesestudentfundsofknowledge(Moll,Amanti,Neff,&Gonzalez,1992)tohelpscaffoldtheirbiliteracydevelopmentintheclassroom.Idefinedfundsofknowledgeasthebodiesofknowledgethatpeopleaccumulateovertimethatallowthemtofunctioninsocietyandtheirhome(Gonzalez,Andrade,Civil,&Moll,2001).Forinstance,duringmyclassstudentsdemonstratedtheirvastknowledgeofSpanishbytellingmefamiliarstoriesandexplainingculturalpractices,likecookingtraditionalfoodsandimmigratingtoanewcountry.Idesignedmyclassroompedagogytoreflectthisknowledgeandusedittoscaffoldauthentic


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learningofSpanishliteracybasedonthebeliefthatusingfundsofknowledgeasabasisforlearningwouldcreateamorerigorouspedagogywheremystudentswouldexperienceengagementandsuccess.

Simply,biliteracyistheabilitytoreadandwriteintwolanguages;inthisinstance,Iwantedmystudents,whocouldspeakEnglishandSpanish,toalsoreadandwriteinbothofthoselanguages.However,Iknewthatmorethandecodingletterswasatplayinbecomingabiliterateperson,andIknewthatIneededtoaddressthesocioculturalandpoliticalfactorsthatwereatworkinlanguagelearning(Reyes,2012).Forinstance,IknewthatEnglishwasmarkedasthelanguageofinstructioninmyschoolandclassroom,givingitpower,butSpanishwasreservedforareaslikethehallway,cafeteria,andplayground,anditwasnotviewedasappropriateforinstruction.TocreateaspacewheremybilingualstudentscouldatleaststarttoengagetheirSpanishinmyclassroom,IknewthatIneededtocreateaspacewhereSpanishwentunmarked,atleastideally,sostudentswouldfeelthatitwasacceptabletoswitchtoSpanishforspeaking,reading,andwriting(Moll,Sàez,&Dworin,2001).Iattemptedto"unmark"SpanishinmyclassroombyaddingmoreSpanishbooksandduallanguagebookstoourclassroomlibrary,andsharingcomicsandphotographswithcaptionsinSpanishformorningwork.

Reyes(2006)claimedthatforbiliteracytohappenstudentsmusthavepeerandadultsupportatschoolandathome.So,Iencouragedstudentstoengagewiththese"new"textsinmultiplewaysbyreadingwithapartnerandtakingduallanguagebookshometoreadwiththeirfamilies.Additionally,whendesigningmyliteracypedagogiesformyclassroom,Iintentionallystockedmyclassroomfulloflanguage-richresourcesthathighlighteddialecticalandvocabularydifferencesinEnglish.NovelsbyBarbaraO’ConnorandWalterDeanMyerswerealreadyapartofmyclassroom,aswellasagoodcollectionoftextsthatrangedacrossliterarygenres.Inthisproject,onechangethatImadewastotakethissameapproachasameansforabiliteracypedagogy,soIlookedfortextsinSpanishthatwouldalsogivemybilingualstudentsaccesstothesamewiderangelinguisticrepertoiresthatexistinSpanish.Also,manyoftheSpanishtextsorevenduallanguagetextsthatwereavailableinourschoollibraryweresimplytranslationsofatextthatwasoriginallywritteninEnglish.Iknewthatforstudentstobecomeliterateinalanguage,thenthetextswritteninthatlanguageshouldshowcasereal,authenticexperienceswherethelanguagewouldhavebeenused.Todothis,IbeganbuyingandcheckingoutbooksfromourpubliclibrarythatshowedSpanishinauthenticuse,suchas¡Si,SePuede!/Yes,WeCan!:JanitorStrikeinL.A.(Cohn,2005)andTheChristmasGift/ElRegalodeNavidad(Jimenez,2000).

AndoneofthemostimportantactivitiesthatIincorporatedwastheFamilyStoriesWritingProject(Dworin,2006).Thestudentscollectedafamilystoryfromafamilymemberusinganinterviewprotocol.ItoldthemthattheycouldconducttheirinterviewsinSpanishorEnglish,andthestorycouldbewrittenineitherlanguage,orinboth.Thiswritingprojectwassuchanimportantpiecebecausethestudents,bilingualormonolingual,couldusetheirfamilies'fundsofknowledgeasabasisforwriting,whichextendedtheirlinguisticrepertoirebyusingmoreadvancedvocabularyandconcepts.AsGarcia(2009)claimed,“bilingualismiscentered,notonlanguages…butonthepracticesofbilingualsthatarereadilyobservableinordertomakesenseoftheirmultilingualworlds”


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(p.140),andwritingfamiliesstoriesbecameoneconcretewaytofocusthisbiliteracypedagogy,notonmyabilitytospeakSpanish,butontheSpanishthatthechildrenwerealreadyusingintheirlives,athome,atschool,andwithfriendsandfamily.

DocumentingtheProjectThisprojectwassituatedinthetraditionofteacherresearch,whereIsoughtto

solvearealproblemthathadariseninmyclassroom.Importantly,whilethere’sbeenextensiveinvestigationintohowbilingualeducatorscandevelopbiliteracyinabilingualand/orduallanguageclassroom,thisprojectprovidedananswertothequestion:howcanateacher,whodoesn'tspeakSpanish,developthebiliteracyskillsofherbilingual,Spanish-Englishspeakingstudentsinatraditionallymonolingualclassroom?Duringtheproject,morefocusedquestionsemergedsuchas:Whatweretheresourcesneededtoscaffoldbiliteracy?Howdidbilingualwritingscaffoldbiliteracy?Andwhatissuesofpoweremergedthroughthesepracticesofbiliteracy?

Fordatacollection,throughouttheschoolyear,Iobservedmyclassroom,keptareflectivejournal,interviewedstudents,andcollectedstudentartifacts.Duringobservations,Itooknotesaboutbiliteracyevents(Hornberger,2003)onstickynotesandstuckthemonmywhiteboard,andattheendofeachschooldayIwroteareflectionthatincludedasummary,concerns,andquestionsevokedbytheday’sevents.Iinterviewed19students,askingabouttheirreadingoutsideofthehome,wheretheyspokeSpanish,whentheyheardSpanish,andwheretheyreadSpanish.AndIcollectednumerousexamplesofstudentwork,includingpersonalnarratives,andpoetrythatdemonstratedtheiremergingbiliteracy.

Intermsofanalysis,thisprojectwasframedasteacherinquiry,meaningthatIwasactivelyquestioningwhatwashappeninginmyclassroom,andreceivinganswersthroughtheinterviewsandobservationaldata.Asmyresearchquestionswerebeinganswered,Ibegantochangemypedagogy.Forinstance,itbecameacommonthemeinthestudentinterviewsthatstudentscouldnotlocatebooksinSpanishintheclassroom.Therefore,IdesignatedacoupleoftubsastheplacestostorebilingualandSpanishtexts,andtheywereplacedinourreadingareaalongwiththeotherbooks.Ialsochangedmyinstructionbyaddingbilingualcomicstomorningwork,andusingdocumentariesinSpanishorEnglishwithsubtitlesintheotherlanguage(Dana&Yendol-Hoppey,2014).AsImadechangestomyclassroompedagogy,Ibegantofocusonthebiliteracyevents,orsignificantmomentswherebiliteracywashighlightedasbeingvitallyimportant(Heath,1982)asplaceofdepartureforanalysis.Thisledtotheorganizationofthefollowingsectionsintothreemaininstancesofthebiliteracyevents:1)Biliteracy,Poetry,andCriticalPedagogy;2)Biliteracy,FamiliesStories,andFundsofKnowledge;3)Biliteracy,Failures,andPower.Asthesethemesbecameevident,Ireadthroughmydatatocodemomentsofwhentheseideaswereprominent.Also,usingtheentriesfrommyreflectivejournal,IturnedtoAnzaldúa’sautohistoria–teoría(1987)tonarrativelyembedeacheventinmylivedexperienceastheteacherresearcherwhilealsotheorizinghowthatexperiencecontributedtodevelopmentofcritical,bilingual,andbiliteratestudents.


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Biliteracy,Poetry,andCriticalPedagogyAstheschoolyearprogressed,ininterviewsandobservations,studentsoftensaid,

"ReadinginSpanishishard"or"Idon'tliketoreadinSpanish."So,IbegantolookfortextsinSpanishthatweremoreaccessible,ofequalqualityandrigor,andthatweremorerelatabletotheirlives.ThisbecameespeciallyevidentwhenIreadSkippyjonJones(Schachner,2005)totheclass;ithadbeenondisplayinourlibrary,andunfamiliarwiththebook,Ipickeditup,andreaditaloudtomyclassthatsameafternoon.Although,somestudentsfoundtheMockSpanishinthebookhumorous,manybilingualstudentscommentedthataddingtheletter"O"totheendofanEnglishworddidnotmakeitSpanish.Noneofthestudentscommentedonthecovertandovertracisminthebook,northestory-linethatperpetuatedraciststereotypesofMexicansandusedMockSpanishtodevaluethecomplexityofthelanguageandthepeoplewhouseit(Hill,2005;seeMartínez-Roldán,2014forfurtheranalysisofthesebooks).Insearchofalternativestothis,Ifoundthequality,rigor,andcritiquethatIwantedinbilingualpoetry,especiallythepoetrycollectionsbyJaneMedinaandFranciscoAlarcon.AsCahnmann-TaylorandPreston(2008)claimed,itwasin"[p]oetry’scompressedinvestigationsofpersonalandculturalstrugglesandlinguistictensions[that]help[ed]usnavigatenewterritories,becomingmorecomfortablewithdiscomfortandunknowing"(p.243).Andcertainly,boththestudentsandmyself,neededhelpwithnavigatinghowtolearntoreadandwritewellinSpanish,butalso,weneededhelptodiscusssomeofthecriticalissuesthatwerehappeningaroundusandinthelivesofmystudents.Thesepoets,MedinaandAlarcon,wereapttohelpusdothis.Forinstance,thestateofGeorgiahadjustpassedanArizona-styleanti-immigrantlaw,andmanystudentswereafraidforthemselvesandtheirparentsasbeingatriskofdeportation.ThepoetrybyJaneMedinahelpedustakea"criticalapproach"recognizingthat"languageproducesus"inacertainwayand"wordsarenotinnocent,butinsteadworktopositionus,"andwealsorecognizethat"ourworld–geographically,environmentally,politicallyandsocially–isnotneutralornatural"(Janks,2013,p.227).Thisnon-neutralandunnaturalworldbecameespeciallyevidentduringsharedreadingandthepainsthatstudentsexperiencedwhenaskedtoreadinSpanish,andtheissuesthatwerebroughtforthinthebilingualpoetrythattheyendedupreadingaloud.

OnedayinSeptember,duringsharedreadingtime,Iaskedforsomeonetohelpmereadabilingualpoem,"T-Shirt,"byJaneMedina(2004).Kamesharespondedtomyrequest,“Theydon’tlikereadinginSpanish.”Inodded,butcontinuedtowaitforavolunteer,andfinallyJosefinastoodandreadwithme,andaftersharedreadingshekeptthebookforthenext30minutesreadingthepoemsinSpanishandEnglish.IttookseveralweeksforstudentstovolunteertoreadinSpanishwithoutmyprompting,andAntoniowasthefirsttodoso.AfterhesurpriseduswithhiswillingnesstoreadapoeminSpanishandEnglish,Iaskedhimwhyhevolunteeredsoquickly,andheresponded,“I’veneverreadSpanishinfrontofanyonebefore,Iwantedtoknowwhatitwaslike."Becauseofthenewenergyandwillingness(andsometimesarguments)toreadbilingually,ascheduleofdailyreaderswascreatedandpostedintheroom.

Afterabilingualreadingof“Quitting”byJaneMedina(2004),Iposedaquestionfollowingthelastlineofthepoem,“Maybehequitbeingmybrother/Quizás,dejodesermihermano.”Thisbriefpoemhaddisclosedastoryofanolderbrother’schoicetoquithigh


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schoolandthesubsequentchangestohisrelationshipwithhislittlesister,butatthesametimeitallowedustodiscussanddeconstructsomeoftheperspectivesandbeliefssurroundinghighschooldrop-outs.“Howmanyofyouknowsomeonewhoquithighschool?”Everyhandwentupintheclassroom,includingmyown,thinkingofmymother.Forafewminutesthestudentssharedtheirconnectionsandthoughtsonwhythoseindividualsquithighschoolandwhattheyweredoingnow.Severalstudentsmentionedthatthesefriendsorrelativeswerenotallowedtoreturntoschool,eveniftheywanted.Briefly,weexploredreasonsforthis,takingontheperspectivesofthestudent,theparent,andtheschoolsystem.Wequestionedschoolpoliciesthatwouldexpelstudentsfromhighschoolpermanentlyorsoitseemed,andwediscussedthatthestudentsfeltpowerlessandcouldnotcompleteschooleveniftheywantedto.Takingonperspectivesandquestioningpoweraretwoimportantaspectstocriticalpedagogy(Jones,2006).

Poetryhelpedopenaspacewherewecoulddiscussanytopic(Jones,2006).Soonourschool'sdirtybathroomswereincludedindiscussion,andwequestionedwhythepredominantlyWhiteschooldownthestreetdidnothavesmellyrestroomslikeourschooldid.StudentsquestionedwhysometeachersinourschoolconstantlycorrectedthegrammaroftheAfrican-Americanstudentsdemeaningthemintheprocess,andtheycreatedacirclegraphillustratingtheracial/ethnicdiversityoftherequiredbiographicalreadingsasstatedintheSocialStudiesGeorgiaPerformanceStandards.Heretheydiscoveredthatnearly70%wereWhitemales,onlyoneAfrican-Americanwomanwasincludedinthelist,andabsolutelynoLatinosorLatinaswererequiredforstudy.Outragedasaclass,theybegansupplementingthislistwithvariouspeoplewhowereAfrican-American,female,Latino/a,Muslim,andAsian.So,biliteracybegantotakeonalifeofitsownbecauseonceGeorgeLopez,CesarChavez,GabrielaMistral,FridaKahlo,PabloPicasso,OscardelaHoya,andEllenOchoawereaddedtothereadings,Spanishwordsbegantoappearinbilingualbiographies,websites,speeches,andposters.

Anotherpoem,"TheSign,"(Medina,2004)broughttolighttheabsenceofSpanishtextinourpublic,communityspaces,andtheonlytimespeopleseemtopublishthingsinSpanisharetolistrulesforLatinos.ImentionedthatIhadseenasignpostedinSpanishatalocalschoolsupplystore,oftenvisitedbystudentsandtheirfamilies.Thesignwasontheentrydoorandsaidchildrencannotbeleftunattendedinthestore;however,thesignwasonlyprintedinSpanishandthisdiscriminatedagainstSpanish-speakingcustomers,implyingthattheirchildrenaretheonlyoneswhoaredisruptiveinthestore.Inclosing,Cahnmann-TaylorandDenson(2008)arguedthat

JustaspoetryallowsaplaceforwritingthetabooofvernacularlanguageintheEnglishclassroom,poetryalsoallowsstudentstoaddressthedarkplacesoftheirlivedexperience,seldomconsideredlegitimateforclassroomreadingandwriting.Thesedarkplacescomewithstudentswhethertheyareaddressedinclassornot;whenteachersprovideanexpressiveclassroomspace,theyaffirmtheseliveddifficultiesarenotclassroomdistractions,theyareclassroommaterials.(p.244)Inthenextsection,Iwillshowhow"darkplaces"becamepartofthisteacher

inquiry,thebiliteracypedagogythatIwastryingtoimplement,andthestudent'swritingovertheremainingmonthsoftheschoolyear.


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Biliteracy,FamilyStories,andFundsofKnowledgeThefirstweekafterwinterbreak,Isharedthefamilystorywritingassignmentwith

theclass.“Wearegoingtocollectfamilystories,”andIbegantosharemyowncollectionofa“familystory”passeddownfrommyfather.Ishowedthestudentsmymessynotesandsharedthestoryofmygreat-grandfatherlosinghiswifeandhowhewalkedahundredmilesfromhiscabinintheNorthCarolinamountainstothecity,sohecouldworkinafactorytoraiseenoughmoneytopayforhischildren’strainticketsintothecity,wheretheywouldbeginanewlife.Forthenextfewdays,Isharedotherpublishedfamilystories,suchasChickenSundaybyPatriciaPolacco(1998)andTheChristmasGiftbyFranciscoJimenez(2000).Asfamilystoriesbegantoappear,studentsaskediftheirdadridingabullorbeingafraidofcowscouldbeusedasastory,andIresponded,“Ofcourse!”

Giselapulledmeasideonedaytotellmeabriefversionofthestoryshehadcollected.Shetoldmeaboutcominghometofindhermothergone.Shecalledherfathertoaskwherehermotherwas,andhesaid,“She’sinjail.”Hermotherwasstoppedinhercar,anditwasdiscoveredthatshedidnothavepapers.Herfatherwasdesperatelytryingtofindlawyersandmoneytogetheroutofjail.Sheaskedifshecouldwriteaboutthis,andIrespondedwithtearyeyes,“Yes,butIwouldyouliketoyouwritesomeofitinSpanish.”Atfirst,shewashesitant,seeingthatshestillheldtotheideathatshecouldnotreadorwriteinSpanish.Isuggestedthatshewriteonlyherfather’swordsinSpanish,reasoningthatthosewordswouldbespokeninSpanishtoher,andshecouldusethoseasasourceorfundofknowledgeforgeneratingSpanishtext.Shetookthesuggestion,andanexcerptofthisbilingualstorycanbeseeninFigure1.


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Figure1Gisela’sstoryabouthermotherWhilestudentssetupstoryboardsduringourLanguageArts/Writingblocktodraft

theirfamilystory.IwatchedGiselastruggletowritehers.Sheaskedifshecouldworkathome,andIagreed.Thenextdayshecametoschoolwithahandwritten,single-spaced,storythatwasmorefivepageslong.Awed,Ibegantoread.Irealizedthatduringthepastcoupleofweeks,Gisela’smotherhadcomehome,butsheneededtoreturntocourttoreceivehersentencing.UsingMicrosoftWord,Giselabeganlayingoutherstory,sothatshehadspacetoaddillustrationswhenitwasfinished.Thissameweek,Iinterviewedherforthisstudy.Shetoldmethatshedidn'tlikeaskingherparentsforhelpwithhomework,buthermotherwasinstrumentalinprovidingherwithSpanishbooks.Afterhearingthis,Isenthomealiteracykitwithbilingualdirectionsandacollectionofbilingualpoems,MyNameisJorgeonBothSidesoftheRiverbyJaneMedina(2004).Acoupleofdayslater,shereturnedwithabilingualpoem,“MyShadow/MiSombra,”alongwithanillustration(seeFigure2).


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Figure2Gisela’sstoryabouthershadow


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GiselawascheckedoutearlyonedayinFebruaryforwhatIthoughtwasadoctor’sappointment.LaterIfoundoutmoreofGisela’sfamilystory.Hermotherandtheirfriendhadpickedherupsothatshecouldgotocourtwithhermom.Whilewaitingherturnforappearance,Giselaandhermotherwitnessedanotherundocumentedimmigrantreceivinghissentence.Hewastakenintocustody,andsowerehischildrenwhowerewithhim.TheybegantocryastheDEFACSworkerstookthemfromthecourtroom.Asthejudgeadjournedforhislunch,Gisela’smothertoldhertowaitinthecar,andthatifshedidnotcomeback,theirfriendwoulddriveherhome.Hermotherwasnowafraidthatnotonlymightshebetakenintocustody,butherdaughtermightbetakenfromheraswell.Gisela’smotherwasorderedtodeportbyMay8th,2009,orshewouldbetakenintocustody.ThefamilyplannedtheirmovebacktoGuanajuato,MexicoforthefirstweekinMay,andGisela’sstoryended(seeAbraham,2015forfurtheranalysisofGisela'sstory).

Forhisfamilystory,Antoniowroteashort,butfunny,bilingualfamilystoryretellinghischildhoodfearofcows;thefullstoryisincludedbelow,withoneofhisillustrationsinFigure3.

WhenIwasthreeyearsoldIwasscaredofcows.ThenIwouldn’tgetclosetothembecauseIwasscared.Cuandoyoteníatresañosyoteníamiedodevacas.Luegoyonomeasercabaaeyasporqueteníamiedo.SowhenIhadtofeedthecowsIleftthetrayfarawayandthenthecowsstartedtogetclosersoIstartedrunning.Luegocuadolesteníaquedardecomerlesdejavalacomidaunpocolejosyluegolasvacasveniadondeestabayoperoyocorri.IwasscarebecauseIthoughthecowsweremeanbecauseofthewaytheylooked.Yoteniamiedoporqueyopensabaqueestabanenojadasconmigo.ThenwhenIwasfouryearsold,IwasnolongerscareofcowbecauseIlearnedthatifyoulookmeandoesn’tmeanthatyouare.Luegocuandoyoteniacuatroañosyanoteniamiedodevacasporqueaprendiquenosonmalas.IcomplimentedAntonioonhisstoryandtranslationsduringhisinterview,andhe

statedthathedidsowellbecause,“Carloshelpedme.”CarloswasoneofthestudentswhowenttoSpanishclassdaily,anditappearedthatpeersupportwasvitalforthetranslationtasksthatIhadaskedthechildrentoperform.Antonio’smomcametoportfolionight,andshereadthestoryaloudinSpanishtoherotherchildren,andwealllaughedathissillyfearandpoignantillustrations.Thelastdrawinghadatinycowgivingameager“Moo,”withahuge,muscularAntoniobravelywaving.IfthestoryhadbeenwritteninonlyEnglish,hisfamilymaynothavehadthesamekindofaccessorresponse.HismotherspokealittleEnglish,asIspokeonlyalittleSpanish,butwiththebilingualstories,parentsaccessedtheirchild’sworkandimmediatelyconnected,critiqued,andrespondedtoit.


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Figure 3 Antonio's story about cows

Byinitiatingthecollectionofatruefamilystory,someserioustopicswerebroughttotheforefront.Oneday,duringmathtimeLorastoppedwhatshewasdoing,andshecameuptometotellme,"Ihavetopraynow.Mymomistryingtogetacrosstheborderagain."Afewdayslater,shetoldmethathermomhadarrivedsafelyathome,andsheandhermotherwroteafamilystorytogethertellingthestoryofLora'smomcrossingtheborderbetweentheUnitedStatesandMexico(seeFigure4).Lora’sfamilystoryentitledLaVidadeMiMama/MyMother’sLife,writteninSpanish,chronicledhermother’sjourneybacktotheUSfromMexico.


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Figure4Lora'sstoryofhermomcrossingtheborderLora’sstoryledtoadiscussionofundocumentedimmigrants,thejobsthattheyhad,

andhowtheyweretreated.Weread¡Si,SePuede!/Yes,WeCan!:JanitorStrikeinL.A.(Cohn,2005)andeventuallystudentswrotepersuasivepapersarguingforlaborrights,betterfoodinthelunchroom,andcleanerbathrooms.AsZipin(2009)claimed,GiselaandLorapresentedsome"dark"fundsofknowledgeintheirfamilystoriesdemonstratingthatwhenstudentswriteaboutrealexperiences,thoseexperiencesmaybesad,violent,orscary.However,thesedarkfundsofknowledgeshouldnotbesilencedintheclassroom.Theseexperiencesareofequalpedagogicalvalueandmayrewritesomeoftheharmfulnarrativesthathavebeencirculatedaboutthesechildrenandtheirfamilies,andintheseinstances,theydisruptedharmfulnarrativesaboutthepoor,Mexicans,andtheundocumented.

Biliteracy,Failures,andPowerAttimes,encouragingbiliteracywaseasyespeciallyduringread-alouds,writing

assignments,andindependentreading.However,duringmath,science,andsocialstudies,


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biliteracywasadistantthought.Certainly,abilingualteachercouldhavebridgedtheseconcernsbyswitchingintoSpanishforcontentareainstruction,butmylackofSpanishproficiencylimitedthoseabilities.Thiswasevidentduringapromisingbiliteracyeventbetweenfriends,LoraandLeidy.LeidyhademigratedwithherfamilyfromMexicotoGeorgiain2007.ShehadstrongSpanishliteracyskills,andshewasacquiringEnglishatasurprisinglyfastpace,butsheoftenstruggledwithscienceandsocialstudiescontentrelatedvocabulary.Inthisinstance,wewerediscussingAdolfHitler’srisetopowerinGermanyandtheinvasionofPoland,thusbeginningWWII.Lora,alsobilingual,hadfourhistoricalphotographspastedinherWar&PeacescrapbookandbeganaretellingoftheeventsinSpanishusingthephotographstoillustrateandguideherteaching.Certaintythiscouldhavebeenduplicatedwithotherstudents,butfeelingrushed,Imovedtheclassontoanotherevent.Inhindsight,IrealizethatIcouldhavedeferredtoLora'sfundofknowledgefortranslationintoSpanish,andgivenherthefloortoretelltheeventstotheclassinSpanish.

Anotherfailurebecameevidentonportfolionight;Lorasharedherfinishedandpublishedfamilystorywithhermom.However,hermomwasmoreconcernedaboutLora’srecentmathgrade,thanherstory.Shealsoexpressedconcerninnearlytears,thatIhadtakenLoraoutofSpanishtoputherintheEarlyInterventionProgramforextramathhelp.MyconversationwithLora'smomexposedmyhypocrisyandlinguicism.Ihadsuccumbedtothepressureofourschool'sdiscourseonstandardizedtesting,andIwasscaredthatLorawouldfailthemathstandardizedtestattheendoftheyear.HermotherbroughtbacktotheforefrontthatSpanishismoreimportant,andsheshouldstillreceivethoseservicesaswell.

AnotherconcernwasthateventhoughIattemptedtovalueandincorporatethelanguagesthatmystudentsusedathome,IfailedtorecognizeandincludelanguagesotherthanSpanishandEnglishintheclassroom.Juanshowedmemyfailuretodothis.HewasborninGuatemala,andhewasbrilliant,easilytestingintoourgiftedprogram,andthegiftedteacherpartneredwiththemiddleschooltogetadvancedmathtextbooksforhim.Hewasalwayscarryingaroundenormousnovels,readingduringlunchandrecess.Onthelastdayofschoolin2009,Juanaskedtousemycellphonetocallhisdad.Idialedthenumberandhandedhimthephone.AsJuanbegantospeak,alanguageotherthanSpanishorEnglishcameout.Whenhehungupthephone,IaskedJuan,“Whatlanguagewereyouspeaking?”Heansweredwith,“Oh,thatwasthelanguageofmyfather.”Wetalkedabitlonger,andIrealizedthatJuanspokeSpanish,English,andtwoGuatemalanindigenouslanguages,whichhecalledthelanguagesofhisfatherandmother.Atthismoment,IhadfailedtoaskaboutwhatotherlanguagesmystudentsknewbesidesEnglishandSpanish.

Powerwasatworkinalloftheseinstances.Powerworkedtoincludesomelanguages,English,sometimesSpanish,butexcludedtheindigenouslanguages.Powercanvalueanddevalue,makeideasseemmoreimportantthanothers;itmakesuschangeourminds.ThepowerfoundinmyteacherauthorityprohibitingmefromgivingoverinstructionaltimetoachildtoteachcontentinalanguagethatIdidnotspeak.ThepowerfoundinthediscourseofstandardizedtestingshapedmydecisionandactionstoremoveLorafromSpanishclass.Andthehistoricalpower,thatridoursocietyofmanyindigenous


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languages,stillsostronglycirculatedthatIdidnotevenimaginethatmystudentswouldstillbeabletospeakone.

ConclusionInreflection,IsawhowIcouldfurtherthebiliteracydevelopmentformybilingual

studentsbybuildingontheirlinguisticfundsofknowledge.First,itrequiredashiftinthinkingonpart;IhadtobelieveandactontheideathatmystudentswereengagedinrichlanguageandliteracypracticesthatIwasignoringinmypedagogy.Also,Ihadtoactivelydisruptwhatmyschoolandclassroomdictatedasvaluableliteracypractices:onlyEnglish,school-governedwritingprompts,andthecompletionoftest-prepworkbooks.Finally,literacyisasocialpractice,andwearealwaysexpandingourliteracypracticesaswepassthroughlife.However,unlikemonolingual,EnglishspeakerswhoreadilyexpandtheirlinguisticrepertoiresinUSsocietyandschools,bilinguals,especiallychildren,mustbeallowedandencouragedtogrowtheirbiliteracyinandoutsideofschoolspaces.

Asamessagetootherteachersengaginginteacherinquiry,Iaskyoutolookforwhatyoudon'tknow,insteadofwhatyoudo,andwhenyourealizethatthereareissuesinyourclassroomthatyoudon'tunderstand,whatwillyoudoaboutit?Whatchangeswillyoumaketoyourpedagogy,yourlife?Wynne(2002)wrotethatherstudents“weresilencedbylanguagebiasbornofracism,biasesthatcrippledtheirinquisitivemanners”(p.206).Thisprojectshowedthatwhenstudentscan“usetheirlanguageandtheirstoriesintheclassroom"itmightbethegreatestwaythatteacherscanempowerstudents(p.206).DrawingonthefundsofknowledgeofmystudentswasonewaythatIcouldletstudentsdothis.Thisgaveusaccesstomystudents'linguisticrepertoiresandbiliteracybecameamorenaturaloccurrenceintheclassroombecausestudentscansharetheirpersonalexperiencesthatincludedlinguisticallydiverseevents(Manyak,2002).ThisprojectfurtherillustratedReyes(2006)statement,“whenchildrenhaveaccesstowritingsystemsandtovariousliteracyactivitiesinboththeirlanguages,theyaremorelikelytobecomebiliterateratherthanliterateonlyinthedominantlanguage”(p.289).IhopethatteacherswillreadwhatIdidhereandbegintoincludethemanyfundsoflinguisticknowledgethattheirstudentshaveintheirclassroompedagogy.Whilerememberingthatlanguagesarecaughtupinlargersystemsofpower,whichoftenresultsinthevaluingofcertainlanguagesandlanguageforms,whiledevaluingothers,butwhenteachersintentionallytrytodisruptthat,studentsmayhavethechancetodemonstratetheirunderstandingsoftheworldinnewways,andevenmaychangetheirworldforthebetterthroughtheirreadingandwriting.


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