Glimpse of a successful literacy program

Current teachers are bombarded with many foolproof literacy materials. According to the companies that sell these products, they claim that through using their products not only do students learning experience increase in literacy but they prepare students to do well in standardized test. Teachers like Lynn Astarita Gatto define literacy as providing students with “experiences and problems that engage students in expanding their existing literacy practices in order to construct and use new ones. This is important because as educators we should meet students at their learning level and walk beside them to guide them in learning. This reminds me of Lisa Delpit views in that she too feels that a student’s home language must be respected and used as a way to help students learn other languages. In addition to this, there are numerous out of school literacies Delpit mentions in her book, The Skin That We Speak that engage students instead of providing them with worksheets.

Successful teaching also involves as Delpit mentions in her book The Skin That We Speak; “culturally relevant pedagogy” (2002, p.110). Here the teacher “focuses on students’ academic achievement […] supports students’ cultural competence [and] promotes students’ socio-political consciousness” (2002, p.110-111). Because of the way their designed, prepackaged curricula used in current districts are too recitative, lack authentic experiences like classroom dialogue. Chapter Five in Literacy as Snake Oil, titled Success Guaranteed Literacy Programs, shows how a teacher (Gatto) is success in her literacy instruction without foolproof literacy materials and programs. Students in her classroom were introduced to read a novel, (James and the Giant Peach) and were on a mission to find links to butterflies. Once then were done reading the novel, to further understand authorship, study groups were formed based on a book a child chose from a pile of multiple books by Roald Dhal. This unit took weeks and required a lot of planning. Gatto also chose to have students become scientist of their learning and even had students attend a class trip to the zoo to learn more about butterflies. From then, students planned and built a vivarium in which students used math computations. Gatto also incorporated the theme of migration patterns by introducing students to a text that is written in Spanish and English translations. Those particular students in her class that were Spanish natives were intrigued and enthusiastic that they were reading such a text with the class. Having experienced foolproof literacy materials in student teaching, I was quite impressed and inspired by Gatto with her planning and the stance to not provide such a structured, timed, recitative, dull learning experience for her students. It is clear to see why she was won many prestigious awards for her effort and commitment to present fun, engaging and inquiry activities. Overall, she demonstrates how traditional practices of literacy are to be changed and there is potential to develop into a learning process that the students will never forget because it is authentic in its purpose as well as having students solve problems and make connections to other subject areas and themes. It is also important to note that Gatto viewed herself as a facilitator and guide to help students along the way; not as the only beholder of knowledge.

I also had the opportunity to watch two videos from TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) website that have speakers which highlight issues I have explored throughout my journey. One particular speaker discusses how the current education system kills creativity in children by not letting go of traditional views on schooling and teaching. Through arts, students are able to express themselves differently than in writing assignments. Creativity is important for all children because creativity in literacy allows for students to take risks, provides choices, and provokes feelings in the audience that otherwise wouldn’t (like spoken word). For many, slam poetry is criticized and often not seen as a form of art. Many student can simply write about an idea or theme in an essay, but I feel that through slam poetry performance and other arts, the message on the theme is effectively communicated when more than one modality (oral and gesture) are recruited. Often times, values of out-of-school literacies are over looked as bad because there is nothing that can be learned from them but I disagree. Another speaker Malcolm Gladwell in his presentation makes me think about literacy and how it important that cultural authenticity be embraced. But neoliberals fail to embrace cultural differences among people which is a major problem. People are quick to judge and jump into conclusions if a person does not look American are inferior and there is nothing that can be learned. It is through these differences and making connections among each other is what’s important in order to successful complete a task with others outside of your cultural group. Without providing choices and opportunities for students to engage in different learning experiences , we hinder them to their full potential as learners.

Current literacy practices lack to educate the youth in a way that is meaningful and comprehensible to them. As educators we should be responsible in providing the best education to our students by incorporating a cultural pedagogy and being open to different literacy practices. In better understanding the students and choosing which literacy practices best fit them; often times one must look beyond the classroom. True educators, find ways to have the students who hate reading and writing by having them use reading and writing for real purposes in ways that create works that have authenticity in of their voice. Not giving the students the chance to try allows them to fail which is why we must request from all out students high levels of academic achievement. Children become aware that book language and oral language are different when they develop each by experience, response, and application in daily life. Therefore, it is imperative that we introduce students to various pedagogies. I am all for balanced literacy programs that incorporate storytelling in the curricula. Storytelling in the classroom is important because they provide a wide array of diverse experiences, forming cultural connections between people. The current curriculum lacks to support speaking and listening skills. We are doing a disservice to students and are setting them up for failure when we employ traditional literacy practices that are too narrow. Instead, we should look at current research studies, modify our instruction, and consider holistic approaches that are pertinent to each student’s needs. A class is a learning community that focuses on student progress and success; providing opportunities for them to be heard. Having in depth knowledge about student’s skills and choosing effective ways to enhance early language skills through different opportunities like storytelling are beneficial to the learning process. Talk, gestures and writing are all modalities that children use to make sense of their world (based on Vygotsky theories). Fostering this foundation by using different prompts, which might include out-of-school literacies, should be incorporated in the curricula.