Unequal Childhoods - Annette Lareau [130]
One result of this way of looking at parent-school interaction is that for Wendy, school is indeed her own world. Unlike Melanie Handlon, for instance, Wendy does not reexperience her classroom failures at home. In fact, because her mother does not initiate contacts with the school, Wendy has the opportunity to manage certain aspects of her education on her own. If she chooses not to mention a problem to her mother, it is unlikely Ms. Driver will hear about it from other sources. Indeed, in the spring of fourth grade Wendy has a run-in with Mr. Johnson, her reading resource teacher (“cause he kept hollering at me. He kept hollering at other kids and got me scared”). She simply stops going to his special education reading class for two weeks. She tells no one.10 Ms. Driver, however, does not know about this episode until much later (when Mr. Johnson tells her). She remains unaware of an important school-related issue because her key informant about the educational process is Wendy, not school personnel, or even other parents. School is Wendy’s world.
The educational and economic resources associated with Ms. Driver’s class position also affect the approach she takes with teachers and other school staff. Ms. Driver’s high school education and low-level clerical job do not equip her with the same amount of information, or even the same access to sources of information as those Ms. Marshall gained from her graduate school degree and managerial position. Ms. Marshall is fluent in the jargon educators use (e.g., Mr. Johnson’s reference to “social emotional overlay”), and she knows that her daughter’s school must allow her as a parent to have Stacey tested independently to determine her eligibility for the gifted program. Ms. Driver, on the other hand, is reluctant to sidestep or even supplement school programs. She worries that paying a private company to boost her daughter’s reading skills will just cost her money and not produce results. She does not have Ms. Marshall’s grasp of educational terminology, either. In fact, Ms. Driver seems to have significant trouble following the intricacies of the debate among the Lower Richmond staff about the nature of Wendy’s learning difficulties (she complains that she “couldn’t understand” the periodic reports the school sent her regarding Wendy’s educational progress).
That Ms. Driver has real difficulty understanding the terms professionals routinely employ is clear from the following episode at the dentist’s office. The children’s dentist, Dr. Marks, comes into the room to discuss with Ms. Driver the results of the six-month checkups she has just completed for Wendy and Willie.
Dr. Marks says that Willie has two cavities “on his permanent teeth” and she tells Debbie, “He needs to brush, especially in the back teeth.” Wendy has “tooth decay. Let me show you on the X ray.” Dr. Marks lights the X-ray viewing table. She points. “See here and here?” Debbie glances at the X ray and nods. “The decay is on her temporary teeth, but you are between a rock and a hard spot because leaving them in will cause potential damage to her permanent teeth.” Debbie interjects, “So you want to pull them?” Dr. Marks says, “Yes,” adding, “They are loose. We can do them on the same appointment.” Debbie does not seem anxious or upset at this news of cavities.
Ms. Driver makes another appointment for Wendy and Willie and then steps into the waiting room to face her questioning children:
Debbie tells Willie, “You have two cavities that have to be filled.” She tells Wendy, “You have to have two teeth pulled.” Wendy asks, “Do I have cavities?” Debbie says, “No.” Wendy, excited, says, “Goody!” and then announces triumphantly to Willie, “You have two cavities and I don’t.”11
Ms. Driver does not equate the term “tooth decay” with “cavity.” Over the next ten days, there are many conversations in the Driver household about the teeth Wendy will