Literacy as Social Practice
Traditionally, literacy referred to reading, writing, and understanding the printed language. Presently, the definition of literacy as evolved to include a proficiency in other areas that our culture has determined as important skills to master. These additional literacies can include, digital literacy, financial literacy, and cultural literacy. Literacy has been, and still is, a tool that influences a person's success and status. In our assigned text, Other Peoples' Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom, the author, Lisa Delpit states, "I tell them that their language and cultural style is unique and wonderful but that there is a political power game that is also being played, and if they want to be in
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on that game there are certain games that they too must play", (2006, p.40). She is referring to the "codes of power" that students who are not in the "culture of power" need to learn in order to succeed in our society. Socio-cultural factors often indicate and/or control the level of attainment and skill a person achieves. According to Delpit, the academic world does not support our home world, (p.77). Delpit's trips to Papua New Guinea and Alaska demonstrate this,(Delpit, 2006, p. 78). Educators need to discover each students learning needs, and collaborate with the students and their family to reach those goals. When a relationship between the teacher, family, and community is established, it is easier to create authentic and meaningful experience that will help create an individual pathway to lead each student to the end goals. Teachers need to respect that their goals and ideas do not always reflect that of the student's family and community. Teachers need to continue to value their students, and provide experiences that reflect the child. The literacy skills that students have when they begin school come from their culture. Educators need to understand how their students value literacy, how they use literacy in their lives, and build off of those. Incorporating the styles of writing or reading that the student already uses, along with topic of interest, allows the teacher to connect the writing assignments in a way that the student values. Teachers need to communicate with families, and provide access to authentic learning experiences in a culturally appropriate way,(Delpit, 2006, p. 181). Reciprocal Relationships Across Modes of Communication When teaching literacy we often think of subject areas such as reading or writing. However, in order to teach literacy successfully it is important that we understand literacy as reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing, and representation. Fountas & Pinnell state that our understanding is enhanced when we communicate with other about our learning, (2006, p. 438). When a person is talking to others our perspectives naturally expand, therefore our writing will expand. Later when someone reads our writing, it will expand their thinking. When each of these pieces are used together, they help students think deliberately, and create meaning for themselves. Hull and Schultz (2002) state, "Hybrid literacies grow out of invitations to express one's self, to explore self-affirming literacies, to describe and characterize one's cultural and social world to immediate audiences of peers and university representatives.",( p.229). Providing students with opportunities to engage in conversation to further understand the concepts also allows the teacher to ask the students questions to gage understanding. Students will have to draw upon information from the text, their background knowledge, and classroom conversation, to form meaning and demonstrate their understanding. Critical Literacies and Equity Literature can be viewed as a multipurpose tool available to teachers. Many types of literature, such as books, poems, articles, brochures, web pages and blogs, can be used in the classroom to enhance the instruction in an authentic and meaningful way. Not only can these different types of literature be used to discuss curriculum based themes, but they can be used to discuss cultures and social issues. Teachers can provide materials that explore concepts and ideas that represent the diversity of their students and the world around them. Students need to see themselves represented in the reading, writing and lessons they learn. Having the opportunity to explore other perspectives, critically think about them, and discuss them, makes their learning meaningful. Providing writing opportunities that allows students to express what is of interest and important to them is one way to do this. Allowing students to feel supported as a person in the classroom allows them to realize they contribute to the group because of who they are not in spite of it.
This promotes cultural diversity and acceptance as a practice, and allows the teacher to better know and understand their students. In order to do this, educators can not a approach instruction as a "one size fit all" attitude. If individuals in the 'culture of power' allow the status quo to continue it does seem like a conspiracy to shut out individuals. We need to, "as educators, families, and communities, let us look for bridges to span boarders and support dreams for all children, of all backgrounds" (Carger, …show more content…
p.150). Technologies and Digital Media The use of digital media and technology allows students access to resources and information about the topics they are interested in and learning about.
Aside from knowing how to use and access information using these technologies, the users need to critically evaluate the information they receive. Not all of the information available through digital media is verified. Users need to determine if the information is reliable. Users also need to refine their search to access information that directly relates to what they are looking for. Broad search requests connects you with a lot of information unrelated to what you need. Users can spend lots of time filtering out what is relevant if the search is not narrowed down. The skills associated with using these technologies is applicable to experiences outside of the classroom and community and future employment. Students will critically analyze these as they would any other source.
Digital media and technology can be used to promote cultural diversity as well. According to Alvermann, (2002), our culture determines these media and what they represent. People use digital media ad technologies to express them self. Blogs, zines, social media, and video are popular ways to connect with others and spread your ideas. However, the users are shaped by these as well, (p.118).
Teachers can use on-line resources for instruction, as a platform to connect with their students and other professionals and to self reflect and monitor the effectiveness
of their instruction. Allowing students to demonstrate their learning in a creative way like this promotes their deeper thinking and exposes their classmates to different technologies and perspectives. Summary Literacy is a social practice and has been for a long time. What constitutes literacy varies among individuals and cultures and it has evolved and changed over time. As educators, we need to understand and support each students individual literary values and experiences. By understanding our students and their culture, it allows us to more effectively provide instruction and utilize the skills they have, while respecting who they are. Rote and scripted instruction is proven to be ineffective. Understanding that not all students learn in the same way, and providing adaptive, meaningful, authentic experiences is the way to approach our instruction. Technologies and digital media has become a major part of our culture/society and it has an impact on literacy. Incorporating theses technologies in the classroom is imperative. Not only do students need to understand how to use them , they need to critically analyze the information presented by them.
Other People’s Words: The Cycle of Low Literacy by Victoria Purcell-Gates recounts the author’s two-year journey with an illiterate Appalachian family. Purcell-Gates works with Jenny, the mother, and her son, first grader Donny, to analyze the literacy within the household. Throughout the journey, we learn the definition and types of literacy, the influences of society and the environment, and the impacts of literacy on education from the teacher’s perspective. In order to evaluate literacy in the household, one must study multiple types, including functional, informational, and critical literacy. As the name implies, functional literacy incorporates reading and writing as tools for everyday survival. Informational literacy is used through text to communicate information to others. The highest level of literacy, critical literacy, requires critical interpretations and imaginative reflections of text. In her study, Purcell-Gates strives to teach Jenny and Donny functional literacy.
Gloria Ladson-Billings supports this idea in her essay titled “’Yes, But How Do We Do it?’ Practicing Culturally Relevant Pedagogy” and also expands upon its importance by adding the insight of how teachers think about the social contexts, the students, the curriculum, and about instruction, all impact the students because how teachers regard these contexts gets woven into their pedagogy, which creates the very classrooms for learning. If I had to identify with one of the authors, I would identify more with Curtis Linton, who is white and grew up in a predominantly homogenous community (Park Ridge, Illinois).
Knoblauch argues that there are many definitions of literacy that impact people’s lives. Although he argues there are many definitions, he focused on four types of literacy that are most common in society. Knoblauch labels them as functional, cultural, personal-growth/liberal, and critical literacy. He defines functional literacy as a level of literacy that is “readying people for the necessities of daily life—writing checks, reading sets of instructions”(1990, p. 3) and other basic reading and writing skills. However, he also warns that there are hidden agendas in these types of defined literacies. Ill prepared teachers who do not connect to and challenge their students result in no critical literacy and very little
Commentary on “Abstract Inquiry and the Patrolling of Black/White Borders through Linguistic Stylization” by John Taggart Clark: Teachers and the ethnicity of their students The essay “Abstract Inquiry and the Patrolling of Black/White Borders through Linguistic Stylization” by John Taggart Clark states that the teacher who teaches from the point of view of the majority culture and does not include the student’s minority culture point of view creates cultural and political borders between themselves and their students that discourage students to learn the language I think it is important to be aware of every single student's ethnicity in the classroom. Our ethnicity, our cultural and language background strongly influence the way we learn. We need to give every child the opportunity to learn the way they can learn best and most. I don't think that there is a racist issue when we integrate the student's ethnicity and language into the classroom learning, as long as we are aware of all the ethnicities of all the students in the classroom. I rather think that there is a racist issue if we do not integrate the children's ethnicity and language into classroom life since we would then ignore an important aspect of the students being individually different from each other, and without considering their ethnicity we would automatically teach the students from our own ethnicity's point of view which might not be appropriate for any of the students in the classroom.
As a teacher, I will have to keep this in mind for all my students. Fostering an environment that cultivates and promotes the pluralistic society that we live in will be beneficial. It can help to combat the deficit approaches in education that stifle or suppress minority culture and language while promoting acceptance of a multicultural and equitable society. I hope to be able to work towards this type of classroom. With self evaluation and acceptance of student ideas, I believe that I can create this environment.
In 1995, Delpit published Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom. Although the excerpt analyzed in this paper is from a larger work, it was written by Delpit (1995) as a self-contained speech. This excerpt includes many of the concepts Delpit believes to be the basic cultural conflicts in the classroom, which are stereotyping, child-deficit assumptions and student isolation and invisibility. Delpit's goal is to "remove the dynamic of oppression that are inherent in any classroom…that come together when (primarily white) teachers spend time with 'other people's children'" (Delpit, 1995, pg.69). Through Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom, Delpit lays the foundation for multicultural education and details ways teachers can solve the inherent problems that arise as a result of many cultures interacting in the classroom. The purpose of this paper is an analysis of this text through an analytic, interpretive and normative reading.
Finding a definition of literacy is not as easy as it sounds. The Webster definition says that to be literate is to be” able to read and write.” But to some researchers, this definition is too simplistic, leading to multiple models of literacy. Most Americans adhere to the autonomous model, which falls closest to the standard, dictionary definition. Believers in this form say that literacy is a cognitive activity that students learn like any other basic skill. It has a set of proficiencies that one must master in order to be capable of decoding and encoding text (Alvermann, 2009; SIL International, 1999). A competing theory is the ideological model, which claims literacy is intrinsically linked to culture, and therefore what constitutes a “literate” individual is ever-changing. Society is the largest influence on literacy, according to this thought, and it is affected by politics, religion, philosophy and more (Alvermann, 2009; SIL International, 1999). These two are just the tip of the iceberg. For example, some studies recognize “literacy as competence,” which is a “measure of competence to do a given task or work in a given field,” (SIL International, 1999) such as being computer literate. Although more researchers are recognizing and exploring multiple literacies, the one that most influences American schools is the autonomous, cognitive model – the ability to read and write. For many, it seems a simple task, but millions of adolescents are struggling or reluctant readers, and there are many reasons why young readers have difficulty with reading. XXXXXX------NEED HELP WITH THESIS STATEMENT HERE PLEASE—(This paper will focus on the effects of low reading skills, some of the possible causes of reluctant and struggling readership...
Literacy embraces reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Integrating all of these into a literacy program is key. Teachers must provide endless and ongoing opportunities for their student to read, write, listen, and speak.
The advantages of diversity in classrooms promote positive images for United States of America in terms of the status quo, and it promotes rich experiences for students and teachers. In terms of status quo, diversity in classrooms challenges America’s status quo. It challenges America’s status quo by breaking the standards of American classroom traditions. Back in the days, the typical American classroom were taught by white women and white men, filled with white students. They all came from the same background, culture and economic status. There is no wrong in having people of the same culture, and race come together in one classroom, but students and teachers do not gain as much opportunities or rich experiences as they would if they were surrounded by diverse stude...
The purpose of this report was to analyse an incident in the classroom where a student was convicted of being culturally insensitive, identify what occurred in this scenario, and isolate a solution to the problem.
Literacy is an on-going skill that teachers and students alike should commonly study and practice in all grades. Problems faced by teachers, especially teachers in higher grades, are not having the skills to be effective teachers of literacy. To effectively teach literacy across content areas, a teacher would need skills such as knowledge of the reading process and the ability to cultivate the knowledge gained in order to make informed decisions within their classrooms (Clary, Oglan, Styslinger,
In this way, the self-motivated nature of online resources promote student participation and boost student engagement. Today with the availability of thousands of application online, a teacher can choose different applications for different students according to their skills, experience, and capability. The teachers can also track and record the performance of a student and also compare it with others to design a particular education plan for a particular
“With the coming of the new media, people who have long been on receiving end of one-way mass communication are now increasingly likely to become producers and transmitters” (Salman, Ibrahim, Abdullah, Mustaffa, Mahbob, 2011, p.3) Similar to citizen / participatory journalism, this form of media most commonly includes, blogging, podcasts, vlogs, portfolios, social networking etc. This kind of media culture is a culture with rather low barriers, encouraging creative expression and communal engagement. Participatory media culture leaves users believing that their contributions matter greatly, and to an extent, experience and feel a social connection with one another where they care immensely what others think about their work. “Online communities bring about greater contact with different people. Participants say that online communities have spurred connections to strangers and to people of different racial, ethnic and economic background.” (Bowman and Willis, 2003, p.15) Everyday people can
There are some theoreticians who view literacy in a form of social practice. In their view, social issues are also important components, as well as linguistic competence and understanding cognitive processes in language studies. Freire (1974) views literacy not only as a process of knowledge transformation, but also as a relationship of learners to the world. Vygotsky (1978) suggests two stages of development at social and individual level. In his view, literacy is a phenomenon that is created, shared, and changed by the members of a society. Gee (1996) similarly argues that becoming literate means apprenticeship with texts and apprenticeships in particular ways of being. In summary, literacy practices are not just about language, but about their interrelation with social practices.
Given the rapid changes in work practices, such as the use of technology and the increased availability and volume of information it is absolutely necessary for teachers to be computer literate (Phillips, 2008). Teachers must partake in professional development that fosters growth and maintains a continuous level of improvement. Professional development that promotes growth in online technology should encompass a variety of effective instructional strategies. Online professional development should be designed to explicitly link to classroom lessons. Participating in professional development that is specifically aligned with material the teacher is teaching is a powerful aspect of coherence (Desimone & Garret, 2015).