Final Thoughts

Since we live in an individualistic society, the typical notion is, “survival of the fittest” in other words, every man for himself. Bringing a child into the world, as a part the responsibility as a parent looking after their well being and providing all of their needs falls short of expectation, or is that wrong to assume? No, but has become a problem for poorer children when no attempt is made to compensate for their needs to an equal opportunity. Although scores can be an indicator of what is being taught in class, they fail to expose everything about the students’ potential to learn. Children are the future of this country. As educators we should be responsible in proving the best education by creating citizens that can critically think, examine and apply what is learned to their lives. We are doing a disservice to them and set them up for failure when we continue to implement traditional literacy practices that are too narrow. Instead, we should look at current research studies and look at effective engaging ways to differentiate our instructions to meet the needs of the students present in the class. I was a bit resentful to use Blogs as a means for me to express myself to the public. Blogs and Wikis provide a new outlook on traditional instructions in that they are electronic websites were students can coordinate and organize the groups’ ideas. Differentiating literacy instructions using such are effective in that they both give multiple learners the opportunity to collaborate and be part of a whole class discussion pertinent to their learning mode. The overarching theme of my blog surrounds current, present, and past issues and discussions on literacy for diverse learners.

Through the course of this journey, I have read and came in contact with individuals that have provided me with different course materials that highlight current problems with literacy practices in this country. First I began by questioning what is worth knowing and began examining reasons as to why we find ourselves in the predicament this country’s in. A significant concept learned was recognizing that the definition of literacy has to be refined to include a variety of modalities and out of schools literacies generally not considered in the school curriculum (for example slam poetry or that of low-ride culture). Then, through the works of Lisa Delpit and James Paul Gee, I was able to understand the culture of power and its effects and influences on groups of culture. Although I have read a minuscule of theories and concepts surrounding literacy for diverse learners, when taking a closer look, these differences in fact are like a rhizome. These concepts are unique in their ways and are part of a unit that is endless and with no particular direction. I hope to continue to write on this blog about lingering questions or concerns I have about current education practices. I made a comment about how would I be able to make a difference if the future is uncertain. One person can make a difference by considering issues highlighted in these blogs. Like the Sankofa symbol, it is important that we look at our past to reconstruct the future.