Jessica Zacher Puts It All Together

This is ostensibly, an essay on hierarchal power and struggle for social acceptance within the confines of a classroom and examined by way of a literacy project undertaken by four males in a fifth grade classroom. This small size of the test group was the first thing that struck me, but I was open to the methodology used and whatever results Zacher comes up with must be analyzed accordingly. Zacher admits up front that there is valuable information missing from her understanding of social structure within the classroom: “We are missing a valuable piece of the puzzle about children, identity, and literacy: broadly speaking, how children may use literacy in the service of furthering their own social needs, at the expense of others in their space.” (Zacher) In her essay, Zacher notes that the students were using the reading of their stories to exert and or acquire power within the classroom and within the hierarchal structure of their group friendship. This may be so, although it also comes off as simple classroom brinkmanship or “one upping” each other as part of the ribbing which goes on between friends. I am not sure this should be construed as anything other than kids goofing off for attention, but the social economic and racial aspects of the event and its relation to literacy should not necessarily be ignored. I just don’t think this was an example of the social order being contested through the use of literacy. More like boys being boys. Maybe I am missing something. Her conclusions, having been drawn from such a small test group, are interesting but suspect.  “This analysis shows that ideologies and capital are somewhat fluid in children's worlds; because of this potential for change, it is critical to see children's texts as both sites of identity and ideology production and as reflections of existing ideologies and capital.” (Zacher) Well yeah, but so what else is new? Kids, and especially boys are prone to struggle for power and ideologies can be adjusted in that pursuit. I think Jessica is overthinking her thesis and basing in on an ineffective study. This whole idea of a student wielding symbolic capitol sounds interesting, but aren’t we just talking about gender and inter-gender specific dynamics which are already pretty well understood? Every student has a right to be heard. Some voices will most likely be louder than others.