We are Just Girls

The book “Just Girls: Hidden Literacies and Life in Junior High” by Margaret J. Finders is probably one of the most fascinating books I have read in quite a long time.  I never thought that thinking back to some of the worst times of my life would bring me to realize some of the most profound aspects of literacy.

This book includes a very detailed ethnography and although at times it is very dense information, being able to read every little detail allows for the reader to feel totally immersed in the scene of the junior high atmosphere.  There is no question that literacy affects how groups are formed in the junior high years, and this book explicitly shows us how.  I think this book should be a requirement for all junior high teachers to read before they are allowed to teach.  There is so much more behind someone’s socioeconomic status that affects how and why literacy affects specific students in certain ways.  I find it truly pathetic that some teachers associate “trailer-park kids” with the problem children.  Why does the fact that someone lives in a lower class home make them any less of a good student?  I would think it might make them a better student as school is the one place where they are able to have all the same materials as all of the other students.

I could relate to this book in almost its entirety.  My group and I discussed how truly relevant this book is even though it was written when we were in elementary school!  The juxtaposition of the “tough cookies” and the “social queens” is so amusing to evaluate because I know that although these groups may dislike each other greatly, the connection and distinction that literacy places on their groups is much more intertwined than they think.