Hector And Desiree: Gatekeepers Of Communication Between School And Family

By Author: Chris Paul
Total Articles: 24
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Illustrating that family involvement is linked to the "broader inequities that affect students" (Auerbach, 2007, p. 251), certain students took on the responsibility of determining the level of involvement and functioned as gatekeepers, preventing their families from learning of school events. These students often attended the events on their own, even choosing to bring another friend or adult mentor instead of family. Hector and Desiree were two students who made such decisions about their family's involvement and blocked their participation. During the school year, neither of these students' family members attended the coffeehouses. Both of them explained that they had intentionally kept information about the coffeehouse from their families because they perceived them as overwhelmed and did not want to burden them.
Hector initially articulated that he prevented his mother from coming to the coffeehouse because he was worried about her Omega Replica perceptions, which would have 3ut him in a similar situation as Taniqua; however, n subsequent ...
... conversations with him he explained ;hat he did share poetry with his mother at home, however, in focus groups and other conversations, I earned that Hector was concerned about burdening her already overloaded schedule with extra activities, n a discussion we had, Theo provided insight regarding Hector and his family's participation:

So, he holds his mother in high regard and so he sees his mother working extremely hard. His sister is at [the neighborhood high school], she has a daughter. For a while, he takes care of his niece. So, it seems to be kind of a "me against the world" type for him and his family. So, I don't know if he feels like this is burdening or if it's not necessary. He's just kind of holding back.

Theo had developed a relationship with Hector in and out of school, met his family, and understood that he lad many responsibilities at home because his mother vas working in the evenings. Pamela, the classroom teacher, actually confirmed these observations, stating that Hector was quite involved in the raising of its niece. Later in a conversation I had with Hector, e described how he assumed responsibilities, such as earning money for his own clothes, to alleviate his mom's obligations. It was apparent that his mother /as involved in his life and they had a relationship /here he shared his writing with her. He recognized her responsibilities as a single mom working hard to provide for her family and took on a protective role; le was not Tag Heuer Carrera Replica Watches informed of the coffeehouses, and he hose to attend alone. Hector was someone who felt is mother's support at home as he shared his poetry with her, but her support was clearly "invisible" to the poetry program; she never came to the coffeehouses but encouraged him in other ways.