The personal histories of the individuals in this study highlight the ways in which literacy is a part of their home life. As Potts (2003) points out, "Every family lays its own path to literacy, and some families develop a sophisticated road map. Others do not, but depend upon the system to develop a plan for them." There is no consistent profile. They all recall some early experiences with literacy. Some participants speak about hearing stories being told or read to them by older family members, while the earliest recollections of activities associated with literacy by other parents centre around experiences with literacy when they enter school. These findings are consistent with those of Morawski and Brubaker (1993) who found in their study that proficient readers recall their first reading experiences as preschoolers with a parent at home, while the earliest recollections of remedial readers are with a teacher in school.

In general, with the exception of Andrea, the dominant recollection is that of learning primarily to read in school. Although the parents speak about activities outside of school or prior to school entry that might be considered school readiness activities or precursors to literacy development, the parents did not consider these to be as important as what happened within the school walls. For those who had difficulties in school, they are quick to blame their impoverished home life. They also point fingers at the teachers, claiming poor teaching resulting in school failure as the reason why they had not learned to read well or become a high academic achiever. They report that rarely were they given extra help.

In examining the emotional and motivational climate for learning in their homes, it was clear that many of these parents are survivors of abusive childhood experiences, suffer from various health conditions, or live in arrangements that are emotionally less than ideal. The silence and intimidation suffered by Andrea is not openly expressed. She is cautious to meet with me only when her husband is not at home. On one occasion, however, he arrived unexpectedly and Andrea signaled for me to leave immediately. While she had never described her living conditions, it is apparent that her husband does not trust strangers in the home alone with his wife. As I hastily departed, I overheard Andrea trying to explain my presence to him, "What? She's just a student doing a project."