Natalie describes how at times she has also had problems understanding. She was short $60 on her rent one month in the winter and relays her frustration that she was unaware that she should have been receiving a heating allowance. When she complained to her social worker about not being informed, she explains, "I did not know. I did not understand it. I did not know at the time [to apply for it]. Excuse me, no one told me about this heating allowance thing."

It seems to me that perhaps the difference in school experience between the participants and teachers has to do with perceived capital. The subtle differences in the way they talk was noted and may result in perceptions of reduced capital. For example, the participants' use of the vernacular versus a more formal language is evident and clearly distinguishes them from the middle class. It was not uncommon to hear the parents curse or use an expression such as "damn it" or "that's bullshit" naturally in their everyday conversation. On the other hand, the fact that social workers and educational authorities fail to inform them of their rights or entitlements certainly does not disenchant them of this perception.

Some of the participants get nervous or emotional when speaking with teachers or authority figures. They are often hesitant and dysfluent as evidenced by the use of many fillers in their speech such as "ah" or "like", with part and whole word repetitions noted to disrupt the smooth flow of speech. Their non-standard grammar is evident in their oral expression. Errors with subject-verb agreements and misuse of objective pronouns are common in some participants. Finally, their tendency to use a concreteness in their language versus abstraction is evident. The children may be penalized at school for using the non-standardized language forms that they hear at home.

There are times that these participants are treated differently than those who walk into the school, follow the school rules and may be considered to be acting and dressing appropriately by the mainstream teachers. I think that some teachers focus on trivial matters such as the differences in practices among parents, and pass judgment due to classism. Some teachers make comments about the style and grammatical accuracy in the notes that these lower class parents write to them. Clearly, there needs to be an understanding that there are many adults who do not read or write at a high level, and that it is incumbent upon school teachers to assist learning, not to condemn learners for perceived deficiencies.