The adults must also learn how to acquire power. The adult literacy instructor made a point of telling me how she helps to prepare some of these adults for interacting with others on a job or in an interview for a job. For example, she can not take for granted that these adults know how to dress appropriately for a work situation, so she teaches this very specifically to them. She says that they may not have learned about the culture of power and yet want to be able to get and keep a job so need to understand this.

A number of teachers at the school spoke to me about a parent volunteer who they felt did not adequately meet their unwritten dress code. The parent's job has high visibility, since she goes from class to class and hands out cups of fluoride mouth rinse to each student in the Fluoride Mouth Rinse program. This matter of dressing inappropriately was never addressed with the woman. In this instance, the volunteer would benefit from specific direction regarding what she needs to change in her attire. Otherwise, she remains unaware that she is not meeting the school standard since it is not consistent with her standard of dress and will continue to be criticized behind her back.

Robin, the school principal, and Tess, the resource teacher, lament that in general, parental involvement among the low-income families is limited compared to their middle-income families, despite the great value they place on home and school relationships and the emphasis on parent involvement. The principal makes efforts to draw these parents into her school in the hopes that the parents would feel more a part of the decision-making that occurs, rather than feel that decisions at school are imposed on them. Nevertheless, there appear to be barriers that prevent optimal family involvement.

Tess recognizes the need to strengthen ties between home and school amongst the low-income families at Parkview School. She regularly loans her students appealing colourful and lively books and fosters an excitement in them about reading these with their parents. Tess is not one to point fingers and blame the parents. She expresses some understanding of the situations of these families, and knowledge of concepts of diversity and their implications. She has a sense of the community, the resources and the norms of the culture. Nevertheless, she is still searching for ways to better understand the situations of the low-income families and how to help promote a greater understanding and sensitivity to cultural differences and their effect on learning amongst all of the Parkview School personnel.