Workshop 9: Written Response

Literacy and Teachers’ Work

As I was reading the articles and discussing issues in Saturday’s class, I kept making connections to students who are English Language Learners (ELL). Along with these students, their families also came to mind. In the Toronto area many immigrant families tend to find homes in communities where other immigrants from the same culture live. So for example, many Chinese immigrants live in China town and Greek immigrants live on the Danforth. This makes complete sense to me because if you want to interact successfully in your community, living among people who speak the same language will make life a lot easier. Children from these neighbourhoods who attend their community school are supported by ELL teachers. ELL teachers work with students on things their classroom teachers decide to work on. So, if the classroom teacher decides that everyone is going to read the same novel and answer comprehension questions, the ELL teacher tries to work within that framework and assist the student. It might sound like a comfortable existence; however, there is a much bigger world outside their neighbourhoods.

Interacting in the larger community is a necessity today. People visit hospitals, file taxes or find employment outside the comfort of their own neighbourhoods. Being able to read the classics and write the answers to comprehension questions isn’t enough anymore for as Allen Luke says, “being in the world.” Although fiction will always be an important part of our learning experiences, it may look different in the future. Instead of a thick novel format, the new classics may be in video format. One criticism of video games is that the quality of the writing is not very good. That is quickly changing and writers are beginning to write in this new genre.

As teachers, are we preparing our students for employment in the future? Where is learning happening – in school or outside school? Are schools responsible for preparing students for employment later in life? For educators, these are all important questions to consider. I remember ten years ago saying that in 2010 all students in school would have their own computer. Why don’t they? If you believe that schools have a responsibility to go beyond learning to read and write, we are not keeping up with the times. In addition to improved technology, as Allen Luke explains it is not enough to have the latest technology if we are teaching the same old ways. We need to teach students to be critical learners along with the skills of reading and writing.

What children are reading in school also needs to change. Besides fiction, students need to read brochures, bus schedules and bills. For students new to the country this is even more important than learning to read fiction. These things are necessary to their everyday life. The skill of reading is important to understand the information but also is the ability to question, in a deeper way, what the text is suggesting. Students who have lived in this country for generations may have an easier time reading “between the lines.” However, this may not always be the case and along with students new to the country, student who are not taught to ask the right questions need to understand this level of understanding.

It seems to me that as educators, we have many questions to ask ourselves about our practices. Are we making good decisions about educating all our students? When reading the article called, “A Political Critique of Remedial Reading Programs: The Example of Reading Recovery” I realized that the students who’s first language is not English are at a disadvantage to be accepted into this program. An important part of the success of this program is that the student’s parents support their child at night by reading books with them. If you can barely speak English, this would be impossible for most immigrant parents to do. Dare I saw that “Reading Recovery”(RR) is not an equal opportunity school program and puts the minorities at a disadvantage? This past week in school I made it a point to take notice of the students who are a part of RR. I wasn’t surprised to discover that all of these students were white middle class students. Ironically, the majority of the students in this school are not white middle class.

In the past, when I taught grade one, students from my class who participated in this program experienced success with the skill of reading. Since I was a young teacher, at the time I didn’t consider the need for critical literacy. Now my opinion of the program has changed and I question: Is this program out of date? Like our own literacy classrooms, why are there no changes being made?

In the schools I visit, many classrooms are including other texts besides fiction. A variety of text is beginning to line the shelves of some classrooms. When returning from their RR sessions, children carry a bag of books to take home and practice reading. In those bags I don’t see comic books, brochures, menus …. All I see are fiction, fiction, fiction, and maybe one non-fiction book. This program is out of date and needs some changes.

In most schools, students in RR are taken out of their classrooms during their “literacy block.” When their classmates are reading, discussing, writing… they are learning the mechanics of reading. Reading Recovery takes time. Most students spend a whole term in the program and at the same time miss the opportunity to interact with their teacher and classmate around literacy learning.

In case I didn’t convey my point of view about Reading Recovery through my writing, let me make it clear that I believe RR is an elitist white middle class program.