Teach Them to Love.
Have you noticed what people have been saying about Literacy for the last few years? It reduces lung cancer, it improves life expectancy in general, and it’s what we need to pull us out of an economic crisis.
No, these aren’t necessarily scientific, proven facts; often they’re just opinions touted through the media to make us think that society is hopelessly illiterate (and, incidentally, it’s all the fault of whichever political group is out of favour at the moment). After all, if everyone was sparklingly, eloquently literate these problems wouldn’t exist… would they? The key point that the media really emphasises is that literacy is a central part of life – that literacy is necessary if one is to “function as a human being” (Emmitt, Komesaroff and Pollock, 2006, p.15). From reading medication labels to participating in a workforce, most people need literacy skills to survive.
But literacy is much more than simply a survival strategy. I’ve always loved sharing books with people. Whether it’s a National Geographic magazine, the latest phenomenon in teenage fiction or a Graeme Base picture book; whether it’s passing on the stories I loved and read over and over again to my nieces, or sharing a new-found author with my mother; whether it’s Jane Eyre or Harry Potter, I’m always elated when I find someone who shares my enthusiasm for a book. I know which friends I can talk Brontë to, and who will understand my obscure Terry Pratchett references.
Sharing literacy – the joy of finding the perfect word, the elation when you realise that you’ve made a connection with someone through writing, the happy moment when you realise that someone loves a book as much as you do – these are all experiences that everyone deserves. My passion for literacy is where my strength in teaching it will lie. To immerse students in the worlds of fiction and the wonders of non-fiction, and to instil the same love in them – to help them access those experiences that have been such a big part of my life– will be my motivation and my inspiration.
So, tell me… Do you have a memory of sharing something like this?
March 27th, 2010 at 4:39 pm
Ah the power of the narrative! How I love it. As I’m sure you know by now (having read my assignment) I feel that in some small way helping someone else discover a love of reading is like “giving them the key to the secret garden” (Welling, 2010, p.1) {Yes I had to reference myself}.
I guess It might me kind of cliche but I really feel that books have the power to change your life. Within the pages of a book no one ever told me that I couldn’t be whoever it was I wanted to be. I could escape the dull and often dreary confines of my normal average ‘apple pie life’ existance and I could be someone extraordinary. No one ever said ‘no’ in a book. No you can’t slay the dragon, no you cant talk to an elf becuase they dont exist. I think books really taught me to believe that extraordinary things can happen to you, I think maybe they helped me to have faith and believe that there are beautiful things in this crazy, mixed-up, challenging thing that is life.
Hmmm my favourite book at the moment (because I feel I went off on a tangent there) I think it would definitely have to be Wizards First Rule by Terry Goodkind but I’m quessing you would already know that te he
I do have a very clear memory of grade 10 when I was showing a relief teacher by the name of Mrs. Blake a poem that I had written for class. It was one of those usualy dark and angst-ridden pieces of prose that a 16 yr old might have produced. And usually our teachers were always anti-dark-and -twisty poetry. Don’t read it don’t write it – like they didn’t really value it. But when she read it she was just quite impressed I guess and it was just nice to know that someone valued what I was trying to say.
March 28th, 2010 at 9:46 pm
My comments:
I have always read articles criticising the left wing approach to literacy, these are the sort that have circulated in the press recently. They mostly condemn the ‘contemporary approach’: the teaching of critical literacy, a functional approach to literacy education, lack of rote-learning and criticise schools for not enforcing rigorous standardised testing.
I think your second paragraph includes the word ‘whether’ too much, but I’m not a very good writer so don’t take my comments too seriously.
Finally, I have always wondered about posting assignments to my blogs- but then I’m always reticent to, worrying that maybe I could be accused of plagiarism! I mean how much would it suck to be accused of plagiarising from your own blog *lol*
But otherwise it’s good, hope you post the rest of the assignment Xx
March 28th, 2010 at 9:55 pm
Koz:
Yes, there’s been a lot of press about going back to the basics to teach literacy…
But what people forget, I think, is that we can see the results of our literacy teaching a lot more now. Also, a lot more people go to school, and for longer – especially from lower socio-economic areas. Do we really have any proof that the ‘old-fashioned’ ways of teaching worked? And again, standardised testing leads to teaching and learning to the test. That’s only short term learning, and not at all useful in real life!
The second paragraph’s use of ‘whether’ is a literary convention. It was intentional!
Also, this assignment was written purposely as a blog. That was the whole point. I have to hand in a hard copy for the teachers to mark, but these posts essentially *are* my assignment.
March 28th, 2010 at 10:04 pm
Mrs. Blake sounds like one of the more excellent relief teachers! As trashy as most grade 10 english writing may be, it’s always nice to be encouraged and respected for putting your emotions and thoughts on the line – something that is potentially difficult to do at that age, and definitely not something to be disregarded lightly! That said, I was so aware in grades 10-12 of the expectation to write emo poetry, and I generally tried to avoid it.
You’re right – in fiction, anything is possible. Maybe that’s why I wrote so many stories with myself as the main character when I was in late primary – early high school years! I never showed them to anyone, of course, but since I wrote them for myself, trying to describe something that was in my mind so clearly, I bet they were some of my better writing! Should’ve kept them! But there is nothing I like better than a good (albeit trashy) novel when I’m feeling too tired to cope with real life – maybe we should chalk ‘giving students an escape route’ up in the ‘pro’ column of teaching literacy!
March 28th, 2010 at 10:32 pm
Last winter Tash and I read Hugo Cabret together, you should try it. We read a chaper or two every day until it was all gobbled up. Some days it was hard to stop reading!
I am a Jodi Picoult fan, very real most times, sometimes a bit gushy. You know me, I don’t really …gush.
Your blogs are, as always, a good read. Do you need to reference the authors and novels you mention?
At the moment I am reading a book about the last Aboriginal people of Barrow Creek, non-fic, historical, yet contemporary…just for fun.
Literacy is about empowerment. the power to make our own decisions, emancipation.
Good luck with your assignment. T