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Lessons attheHome visits with recent imm igrant families can lead to culturallyrelevant teaching when solid preparation points the w ay.

Margery B. GinsbergA s Ms. Mason, p rincipal of Iona Barnes Elemt-n-Uir\',' prepares tor the new school year, shehears a kn ock o n he r office door. She greetstranslator Zanab Omir and the Hassan family,who have just arrived from Somalia. Looking atthe family and speaking ihrough Mr. Omir, Ms. Mason says,"We are so happy that you are here. Let me show you a book

made by a Somalian student that shows photog raphs of ourschool."

Ms. Mason is looking forward to leaming about the Hassanfamily's experiences and expertise. Iona Barnes Elementa r)'educates students from many parts of the world. Teachersfrequently \isit the families of new immigrants who haveenrolled their children. Because teachers have pui in the

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itchen Tablegroundwork to make these encounters enriching, the schoolhas developed warm relationships with immigrant families.

M s. M ason learn s from the families an d values their con tri-butions. Their personal s tories have taught her lessons aboutstruggle and determination, and their contributions havehelped make the school 's curriculum rich and relevant interms of global awareness. Forexample , with input fromimmigrant families, teachers alBarnes recentiy created storyproblems for a math unit ondouble-digit division thatoriginated in real-life situa-tions these families had facedin the process of resetding inthe Un ited States.

The Impact ofImmigrationAs a con sultant to schools l ikeBarnes that have largenumbers of recent immi-grants. I have seen how visits to the homes of culturally andlinguistically diverse s tude nts ca n lead to more relevantleaming for imm igrant s tudents as well as teacb ers. Anincreasing num be r ol U.S. schools are openin g their doors tofamilies from myriad locations. Almost 30 million people wholive in the Unite d States were bom in other c ountries. Forty-eight percent of students in New York City's public schoolscome from immigrant-beaded households that represent morethan 100 languages. In Caiifomia, 1.5 million students areclassified as Fnglisb language learners. In Dodge City, Kansas,more than 30 percent oi" public school s tudents are the chil-dren of immigrants (Suarez-Orozco SrSuarez-Orozco, 2001).

Educators are grasping the im portance of bringing the l ifeknowledge and expertise of immigrant Families into classroomlearning (Gay, 2000). Infusing the perspectives and talents ofdiverse cultures in to the curriculum can enhance motivationand achievement (Ginsberg &r Wlodkowski, 20 00; Ladson-Bilt ings, 1997; Vel6z-Ibafiez& Green berg, 1992). Just assignificant. It creates a way to channel tbe voices of histori-

cally underserved families in to our collective at tem pt to bringequity and excellence to schools (Valdez, 1996).

Working in urban and suburban schools, 1 have come losee how preparing teachers to visi t with immigrants in theirhomesand to thoughtfully follow up on wbat they leamfrom tbese familiescontributes to increased learning for the

scbool comm uni tyPreparing the GroundWhy Home VisitsAn excellent starting point forpreparing for home visits is tomeet with teachers to discusswhy h ome visits are valuable.I find tbat tbe following fourquestions spark discussionabout the purposes of visi t ingin families' homes. Thesequestions work well as acarousel activity, v^-itb eachquestion writ ten on a piece ofchart paper and groups

moving from question to question, writ ing the ir responses onthe paper.

What migh t bome \ is i ts teach us tha t would be hard toleam in another con text?

What migh t we wan t to leam, wi th grea ter b readth an ddept h, ab out the l ives of diverse l inguistic com munitie s toinform tea ching practices?

As teach ers, how can we disman tle our own defici tth inking? How can we show respect whe n visi t ing with people in

tbeir homes?Seeking Funds ofKnowkdgeTbe concept of funds of kntjwiedge can be traced back toVelez-Ibariez (1988) and has been adapte d by educators in avariety of ways (Gonzalez, Moll, & Amanti, 1995; Moll,Amant i , Neff, & Gonzalez, 1992). Tbis concept can help settbe stage for approacbing home visits positively. Funds ofknowledge are s trengths and talentsacademic, civic, or

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technicalthat are characteristic offamilies. The premise is that all peopleare competent and have worthwhileknowledge, often derived from sourcesoutside of school. When educatorsapproach home visits with tbe expecta-tion of leaming about each family'sknow ledge, these visits can reveal richsocial fabrics, fascinating oral histories,ways of organizing comp licated lives,and technical expertise that can enricheveryday curriculum .

Another source that can help teachersappreciate bidden cultural strengths is areport by the Center for AppliedLinguistics describing a 1992 researchproject in which teachers and anthro-pologists in Tucson, Arizona, inter-viewed minority students' families.Teachers can read the following excerptfrom the report and compare what theTucson teachers leamed from home\isits with their own expectations aboutvisiting with families.

iViewing students' households as placesfull of knowledge] challenges traditional

notions of culture as only being repre-sented through dances, food, folklore,and the like . . . Teachers in the Tucsonproject learned, among other things, howhouseholds nclwork in informal marketexchanges and how cross-border activitiesenabled their students to act as m ini-ethnographers. They also recognized thatstudents acquire a multi-dimensionaldepth and breadth from their participa-tion in household life. (National Centerfor Research on Cultural Diversity andSecond Lingiiage Leaming, 1994)

Identifying Questionsand P racticing Note TakingAnother important wa)' to help facultyprepare for \isiting witb families in tbeirbomes is to identify and practice ques-tions that teachers migbt ask familieswithout being intrusive. I often showteacbers tbe following set of questions:

What does your child talk aboutwben he or she mentions school?

What things about schools in theUnited States seem different from tbelearning opportun ities you had as a child?

How did your life m other commu-nities differ from your life bere?

Perceptions from asingle visit don 'tqualify teachers tospeak with certaintyabo ut the rich andcomplex lives of th efamilies they v isit.

What do you particularly enjoyabout this community? ToUow-up: Forexample, whal have yo u discovered thatmakes Jamily life easier?

Can you tell me a little about you rskills or talents? Follow-up: Aie you ableto currently use many of the skills or talethat you developed in your home countrythis community?

m What bave you leamed or experi-enced since coming to the United Statesor moving to this comm unity that younever imagined experiencing?

What gives your family strength? What regular household routines

does y our child participate in? Follow-up; What contributions to the family doesyour child enjoy making?

m What things at school make yourchild feel included?

What are you most proud of aboutyour son or daughter?

We are developing a unit/team ingexperience about . Whatdo you think rnight be particularlyimportant or interesting for your cbildto leam in this unit?

Are there any ways you would liketo participate at school that you may nothave had the opportunity to try?

Nuances of language are important,and sometimes the idea bebind a ques-tion is difficult to co mm un ica te. Ideally,teachers should w ork with interpreters

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throughout the process. Some familiesmay wish to keep certain experiencesprivate. If translators join in an initialreview of qu estions, they can signal tointerviewers any questions tbat might beproblematic.

Give teachers an opportunity to prac-tice these questions through roleplaying. With the understanding thatteachers will eventually po se questionsthrough an interpreter and likely visitstudents' homes in teacher pairs, letteachers take tums posing these ques-tions to each otber. Becoming lamiliarwith the qu estions m akes it easier toconverse authentically

It's also important to prepare teachersto conduct visit5 in a culturallyrespectful way Teachers migbt considerthe following four questions and theaccompanying suggestions, which aregrounded in research on intrinsic moti-vation and culturally responsiveteaching (Ginsberg, 2 005 ; Wlodkowski&r Ginsberg, 1995);

How can we promote respect and afeeling o f connection among all panici-pants? For example, families oftenappreciate il if teachers bring a small giftoi fmit or cookies. In addition , teachersshould look at the family member towhom they are speaking rather than attbe interpreter.

How can we make each visit a relevantleaming experience and pve familieschoices in the visiting process? F orexample, teachers might share questionsthey plan to ask up front, tell families tofeel free not to answer any question, andassure families tbat tbey can stop theinterview at any time. To respect thefamily's schedule, try to keep interviews10 45 m inutes or less.

How can we create a positive, chal-lenging, and engaging experience foreveryone? For example, teachers mightstart with easy questio ns, ask follow-upquestions that encourage in-deptbresponses, look at family photographs

and keepsakes with the family to drawout stories, respect the need for silencewhen it occurs, and accept emotion as apart of tbe process.

H ow can we identify what has beensuccessful in a visit? For example, beforeleaving, share with tbe family one ortwo respon ses that were particularlyinformative or interesting. If possible,tell the family at a later date aboutsomething you learned from them thatyou applied in your teaching and sawreflected in student work.

To prom ote accuracy an d reflection,have teachers practice observing andtaking field notes. Use a notebook tbatprovides space for a two-colum n chart,noting on one side a family member'sresponse to a question and on the otherside the tho ugh ts or feelings thatresponse evokes in tbe interviewer. The

goal ts to distinguish between personalthoughts and observable data. Both ofthese can be informative in developingculturally relevant curriculum, but it isimportant to remem ber that teachers'notes are ftltered through their owncultural lenses. Visitors to studen ts'homes must be cautious about tnakingassumptions. Their own perceptionsfrom a single visit may be informativebut don't provide sufficient evidence toenable them to spieak with certaintyabout tbe rich and com plex lives of thefamilies they visit.App lying Wha t Teachers LearnAnalyzing the FindingsOne of the challenges of making homevisits is the time it requires of teachersoutside the classroom. To ensure asmooth process, schools should put in

FIGURE 1. Funds ofKnowledge Chart

Family U nityand C ooperation

Religion

Household Managem ent

Immigration

Family sings together.Father and son fish together for family meals.Oldest son helps navigate bureaucracies.Daughters clean house and cook.Parents sh ow regard for children's ha ppiness.Family participates actively in church.Daughter d irects choir and plays piano.Family discusses faith as the foundation forsurvival.Large family lives w ell in a small space.Space is efficiently organized (bikes and otheritems stored on porch).Family takes pride in bospitality (all diildrenwelcome guests).Family successfully navigated bureaucraciesof two countries so family members couldimmigrate.Family found resources for traveling withlimited income.

Principal Benv Cobb and teachers at Hawthorne Elementary School in Everett, Washington, preparedthis report after visiting a family that em igrated from Russia.

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Focusing on families' stren g ths isenormously motivating to educators.place a reasonably efficient way toanalyze dala from the visits. I generallyask teacher pairs to follow these stepsafter completing home visits:

Fill infield notes. Once you have left afamily's h om e, sit qu ietly som ewhe retogether, read through all the data youhave collected, and rou nd it outtogether. Write down parts of theconversation you may have missedaswell as personal reflectionsas soon aspossible after a \ isit.

Reread completed notes. Read the notesa second time, making a consciousattempt to note your own assumptions.Be as clear as possible about yourpersonal feelings and thoughts.

Share your thoughts. Discuss what youleamed with other members of yourteaching team who are also doing homevisits or wilh who m you share students.A\lihough the focus of your analysis isidentifying household funds o(" knowl-edge, insights may also emerge fromexchanging general thoughts and feelings.Creating a Funds of Knowledge ChartA funds of knowledge chart is a visualrepresentation of the specific knowledgeihe family you visited possesses,grouped into general categories. A chartmight reflect the knowledge or skills ofan mdividual family (as shovm in thesample chart in Figure 1) or the knowl-edge oi" a cultural gro up.

Once teachers complete a round ofhome visits, they can create funds ofknowledge charts. One c hart, created bya team of teachers who had visitedseveral Somali households, listed thestrengths of multilingualism, householdmanagement, fabric design, knowledgeof imrnigration policy and practices,development of social networks, cross-

cultural knowledge, survival skills, andproblem solving. Although teachersshould be careful to convey that there isoften as much variation within a groupas between g roups, such ch arts canprovide a composite illustration of therange of expertise present in immigranthouseholds.

To construct the chart, teachersshould review their field notes lookingfor key wo rds or phra ses that giveinsight into tbe skills and talents of eachhost family All categories and examp lesin the chart should be based on obser\'-able evidencesuch as "family hasceramic sculpture in garden" or "familyuses a single area in m ultiple w ays."Comments in field notes like "creative"or "resourceful" reflect the observer'sown values and wou ld not be appro-priate to list.Connecting insights to the ClassroomSeeking out the strengths of immigrantfamilies is a significant step towarddeveloping culturally relevant andrespectful curric ulum . It can also lead tomore engaging forms of family partner-ship. My observations in schools thatencourage regular hom e visits revealthat teachers draw on understandinggained from \asils lo suggest ways forstudents to leam more about oneanother and their teacher, use examplesfrom students' lives to bring curriculumto life, and provide opportunities forstudents to demonstrate their success totheir families.

For example, as a follow-up to homevisits, one group of 6lh grade teachersshared with studen ts the insights theyhad gleaned from being "home visitresearchers." Then, to encouragestudents to think of themselves and

their family members as researchers,they asked students lo think ofa topicthat they or their family had recentlyresearched an d to consider what kn owl-edge they had gained. Each studenldescribed to the class one familyresearcb project. Their experiencesranged from downloading statistics onfavorite soccer players to identifyingpeople who might purchase homemadetaquitos for a family business.WhatTeachersTake BackAs teachers listen to stones ahoul livingin refugee camps in Kenya, negotiatingthe health care system in Seattle, andbec om ing self-sufficient by wo rkin gthree jobs, tbey are reminded of thestrength and determination of the fami-lies they serve. Focusing on families'strengths is enormously motivating toeducators. This is why the University ofWashington requires all students in itsdoctoral program in systems-level lead-ership to visit with the families ofstudents in their h omes as part oflearning to conduct research.

Visiting with families new to theUnited States in their homes has taughteducators witb whom I have workedmany lessons:

Oral communication is importantin many hom es, especially homes withrich oral traditions.

As mediators of language andculture, interpreters play a pivotal rolein giving families opportunities lo voicetheir opinions.

Schoo l leaders play a vital role. Inaddition to promoting warm home/school relationships, they can assess theextent to which everyoneincludingmem bers of linguistic minority c om mu-nitiesparticipates in m aking decisionson scbool matters.

School is vital in mainta ining rela-tionships associated with leaming,nurturing, and everyday coping.

Working with teachers who have

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visited families at home, I've 'witnessedhow hopelessness about lack of parentinvolvement disappears as a topic ofteacher discourse. As educators get toknow students and families in newways, respect emerges. Teachersbecome more likely to view householdsas contexts tn which rich learningoccurs. At schools like Iona BarnesElementary, each time a new studentarrives from a foreign country, theschool staff meets not only the student,hut also the family with determinationto develop relationships and compellinglearning experiences. 10

' All names of individuals and schools arepseudonyms.

ReferencesGay, G. (2000). Culturally responsive leaching.New York: Teachers Coilege Press.

Ginsberg, M. (20031, Cultural diversity,motivation, anddiflerentiaiion. TheoryInto Practice, 44(3) , 218-225 .Ginsberg, M.. & Wlodkowski, R. (2000).Creating highly motivating classrooms: Aschoolwide approach lo powerful leachingwith diverse leainers. San Francisco;Jossey-Bass.Gonzalez, N., Moll, L. G., SrAmanii, G.(1995). Funds o/knowledge: Theorizingpractices in households, communities, andclassrooms. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.Ladson-Billings, G. (1997). Dream keepers:Successjul teachers of African American chil-dren. San F rancisco: Jossey-Bass.Moll, L. G., Am ami, G., Neff, D., &Gonzalez. N, (1992). Funds of knowledge

for teaching: Using a qualitative approachto connect homes andclassrooms. TheoryInto Practice, J]( 2) , 132 -14 1 .National Genter for Research on GulmralDiversity andSecond Language Leaming.(1994). Funds oj knowledge: Learningfmmlanguage minority households. Washington,DG: Author. Available: w ww.cal.org/resources/Digest/ncrcdsO 1 .html

Suarez-Orozco. G.,& r Suarez-Orozco, M.(2002). Children oj immigration.Cambridge, MA: Harvard UniversityPress.Velez-lbanez, G. G. (1988). N etworks ofexchange amo ng Mexicans in the U.S.and Mexico: Local level mediatingresponses to national and inicrnationaltransformations. Urban Anthropology,17(1), 2 7 - 5 1 .

Velez-IbiSflez, G.,& Greenberg, j . (1992).Formation and transformation of funds ofknowledge among U . S . Mexican hou se-holds. Anthropology an d Education Quar-terly, 23(4), 313-335.Wlodkowski, R.J..&r Ginsberg, M. B.(1995). A framework for culturally

responsive teaching. Educational Leader-ship. 53(1), 17-21 .Margery B. Ginsberg is Director ofLeadership for Learning and an A ssociateProfessor of Educational Leadership at theUniversity of Washington-Seattle; 206-221-3427; ginsbm@u.W ashington.edu.

As if leaving any child behind is ever an opt ionF U t t - D A Y o r H A L F - D A Y W O R K S H O P T R A I N I N G f o r E D U C A T O R SA F R A M E W O R K F O R U N D E R S T A N D I N G P O V E R T Y R e v e a l s " h i d d e n r u l e s " a n d s o c i a l c u e s t h a t d i f fe r a m o n g e c o n o m i c c la s s e s R e d u c e s t h e i m p a c t o f p o v e r t y o n l e a r n i n g , b e h a v i o r , a n d c o m m u n i c a t i o n I m p r o v e s c o m m u n i c a t io n b y b u i l d i n g s t r o n g r e la t io n s h i p s a t e v e r y l e v e l P r o v i d e s p r a c t i c a l , r e a l - w o r l d s u p p o r t a n d g u i d a n c e f o r

h e l p i n g a l i s t u d e n t s s u c c e e d I n v a l u a b l e f o r a i l e d u c a t o r s , c o u n s e l o r s , a d m i n i s t r a t o r s ,a n d s u p p o r t s t a f fT o f i n d o u t m o r e a b o u t t h i s w o r k s h o p , t r a i n e r c e r t i f i c a t i o n , a n d m o r e , v i s i t

a h a t w vv w .a h ap ro ce s s .c o m^ " t ! l # or (all ( 8 0 0 ) 4 2 4 - 9 4 8 4

Go be yo nd NCLB. Help every ch ild get ahead!

B A S E D O ND R . R U B Y P A Y N E ' SB E S T S E L LI N G B O O K

A S S O C I A T I O N F O R S D P E R V I S I O N A N D C U R R I C U L U M D I : \ t L O P M I N i 6

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