I am from successfully completing “Mr. Whiskers” on my Grade One report card and being able to attack any new word with confidence according to Miss DiGuilio.
I am from taking a ride on the horse pulled wagon with Laura Ingalls and the “Little house on the Prairie” adventures.
I am from beginning my teen years and hanging on to the words printed in “Oh My God, It’s Me Margaret”, learning what was to come.
I am from starting my own tradition of not going to watch what was on the big screen, until I read the book from start to end and was sure then what would appear in the next scene.
I was from reading about two gangs-the Socs and Greasers and feeling the great pang when Johnny died.
I am from reading all about dinosaurs to my two year old son, to now sitting by his side eleven years later and reading about the wizards of Hogwarts and the vampires under four different moons.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
What is Literacy?
When we were given the book “Literacy with an Attitude” to read, in all honesty my first reaction was “Oh great another boring book to read”. Boy was I surprised at how much I actually enjoyed the reading. There were so many times while reading the book, I thought to myself-that’s what I do and I know teachers and students like that. Coming from a school in a low socio-economic area, I could easily relate to the expectation of where the students will end up as citizens within the community. Often teachers come with the attitude that students are “lazy” or “they just can’t do it” and at times I have had that opinion-but I have learned especially this past school year-that students can actually surprise you and they can actually do more than the simple basic skills.
Finn mentions in Chapter 3 that “there was no attempt to relate the curriculum to the children’s lives. The curriculum was fixed and followed down to the last detail year after year. The same material was given to all pupils without regard for individual differences” (pg. 28). This made me think of our current educational system where we have expectations in place and regardless of what level the students are at-we drill down this same curriculum to all. I think it is very important that teachers take the time to look at the individual differences of their students and where they teach and vary the curriculum accordingly. The problem with this is that it often requires a lot of time on the teachers part and it is much easier to follow the fixed curriculum as is.
Finn’s views on social classes’ hits a personal chord with me, especially within my own school community. It is really frustrating to see how even within our own school board-depending on the area, the amount of resources available to teachers varies drastically from one area to the next. The students in my school often come from single parent homes, or homes that parents are on welfare and cannot even pay their bills. Then they come to school where we do not even have a budget for paper or pencils and there are the teachers who view them as “hopeless”-what chance do they have to move out of this social class and become accepted into mainstream society. This book has opened my eyes to many things and has definitely impacted my own personal views on teaching. I think I just might find it within myself to share it with the teachers I work with.
I wanted to conclude by talking a bit about the whole “interview” process and asking different people the same questions. I found it so interesting when scribing the interviews on paper and then listening to the responses our group shared in class how every response varied depending on the person you asked. I found it especially remarkable to hear the views of those interviewed who were not part of the education field. When taking a look at my own personal responses from the class prior to these interviews, it was evident that my responses had changed based on what I have learned in this course and what “literacy” means to me. The overall responses to “what is literacy” included the belief that it was the ability for a person to read and write. This leads me to the question-is that really all it is and is there any one correct response? One thing I do know for sure is that literacy in a child’s life stems from a combination of what that child learns at home, school and the community. Literacy has to be a constant in all of these places in order for the child to further themselves when it comes to reading, writing and oral communication. After reading this book and doing the interviews, I now am faced with the question-“what am I going to do as a teacher to help my students become better critical thinkers and successful members of society?”
Finn mentions in Chapter 3 that “there was no attempt to relate the curriculum to the children’s lives. The curriculum was fixed and followed down to the last detail year after year. The same material was given to all pupils without regard for individual differences” (pg. 28). This made me think of our current educational system where we have expectations in place and regardless of what level the students are at-we drill down this same curriculum to all. I think it is very important that teachers take the time to look at the individual differences of their students and where they teach and vary the curriculum accordingly. The problem with this is that it often requires a lot of time on the teachers part and it is much easier to follow the fixed curriculum as is.
Finn’s views on social classes’ hits a personal chord with me, especially within my own school community. It is really frustrating to see how even within our own school board-depending on the area, the amount of resources available to teachers varies drastically from one area to the next. The students in my school often come from single parent homes, or homes that parents are on welfare and cannot even pay their bills. Then they come to school where we do not even have a budget for paper or pencils and there are the teachers who view them as “hopeless”-what chance do they have to move out of this social class and become accepted into mainstream society. This book has opened my eyes to many things and has definitely impacted my own personal views on teaching. I think I just might find it within myself to share it with the teachers I work with.
I wanted to conclude by talking a bit about the whole “interview” process and asking different people the same questions. I found it so interesting when scribing the interviews on paper and then listening to the responses our group shared in class how every response varied depending on the person you asked. I found it especially remarkable to hear the views of those interviewed who were not part of the education field. When taking a look at my own personal responses from the class prior to these interviews, it was evident that my responses had changed based on what I have learned in this course and what “literacy” means to me. The overall responses to “what is literacy” included the belief that it was the ability for a person to read and write. This leads me to the question-is that really all it is and is there any one correct response? One thing I do know for sure is that literacy in a child’s life stems from a combination of what that child learns at home, school and the community. Literacy has to be a constant in all of these places in order for the child to further themselves when it comes to reading, writing and oral communication. After reading this book and doing the interviews, I now am faced with the question-“what am I going to do as a teacher to help my students become better critical thinkers and successful members of society?”
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