Class-less teachers in Literacy Letters

Brodkey's "Literacy Letters" bring up issues I face everyday as a teacher teaching in a community in which I do not belong. It is evident by the correspondence between student and teacher in Brodkey's research that many of the teacher's were ignorant of their student's background, choose to ignore it entirely, or respond to it in an awkward manner. From day 1, I try to establish a report with my students in which I don't judge them, and I don't ignore where they live; rather I tell them to use their narrative experience. They are gold mines for writing and connecting to literature.

On page 127, Brodkey states "knowledge of multiple subject positions makes possible both the practical and the theoretical critiques that interrupt the assumption of unchanging, irreversible, and asymmetrical social and political relations between the privileged and the unprivileged." In other words, KNOW YOUR CLIENT! I scoffed at the fact that some of the teachers in their letters complained about losing weight to fit in a bathing suit, or expected their student to divulge personal background information, but didn't offer to divulge as well. When one of the students told the story about her husband's best friend being killed, the teacher responds like a Hallmark greeting card, glossing over the subject with the care as though she had spilled her coffee or missed the bus, not told the story of a murder.

I understand that students sometimes will write about personal, even horrifying or awkward situations, especially in a narrative assignment. Instead of shying away, and trying to be polite, I think Brodkey reminds us that we should respond appropriately. When a student tells me in an essay that his dad died and his mom works two jobs, I'm not going to respond with "that is so sad" "Or that is too bad." I might ask how he is coping with it, or if he understands why his mom works two jobs. Addressing it head on, as opposed to avoiding the subject, will gain the respect of the students, and in turn their writing will reflect a more authentic discourse.