In the last post we discussed the different images and words that the terms Literacy and Literature conjured up for you. The findings so far are very interesting indeed…and THANKS so much for this
Literacy – languages, letters, consonants and vowels, writing, alphabet, syllables, literate, illiterate, chalk, black boards, handwriting books, spelling, pronunciation, grammar, reading, writing, understanding, spelling, comprehension, pronunciation, ability, well-read, underprivileged/ lower working class, unemployed, on benefit, angry, rude, jobcentre, hopeless, illiterate, Skills for Life Literacy Programme, phonics, systems, power, control, need, class, letters, words, science, decoding
Literature – poems/poetry (x 2), novels (x 2), short-long stories, fictions, non-fictions, literature review, romanticism, realism, folklore, culture, reading, writing, classics, plays, descriptions, manuals, manuscripts, guides, privileged, posh, undergraduate/graduate, better off, Shakespeare, educated, art, beauty, emotion, craft, joy/rage, enjoyment, pleasure
We can read a lot from these words, some points I think…
- literacy is associated with ‘low culture’ while literature with ‘high culture’ – for comparisons of this idea compare and contrast e.g., tabloid / broadsheet newspapers, reproduced print / original artwork, Wikipedia / peer-reviewed journals and so on
- literacy is associated with the ‘badly educated’ in contrast to literature which is linked to the ‘well-educated’
- literacy carries negative connotations of control and poverty while literature points to positive associations of pleasure
- literacy is a skill (the ability to read and write), while literature is an art, an individual and cultural means of expression
- literacy is more generally associated with school or adult education classrooms while literature with higher education and outside classroom spaces
What happens when literacy meets literature in the school or adult education classroom? The answer to that one is that classrooms win, meaning…
…that whatever texts are brought into the classroom (whether they count as literature or not – a discussion for another day by the way), are reduced to classroom texts. The stories, the poems, the novels, the plays, the music, the nursery rhymes, become vehicles for an educational agenda which goes something like this…
a story becomes a reading comprehension
writing becomes a spelling test
a rhyme or poem becomes a phonics exercise
a play becomes an argument-based essay
and so on…
I think we need new spaces in education that allow for students to engage with texts of one form or another whether stories, poems, music, art, mathematics and so on that don’t end up reducing their true value and transformative potential. What do you think?
very striking contrast between literacy and literature! provocative i must say!
Hi Elke
Thanks again for your thoughtful comments. I think you make some insightful points here, some more subject matter for further posts for sure (either on your blog or mine
.
I want to draw on one of them, you mention that you are ‘fortunate’ enough that your son loves reading. My reckoning is that this has probably little to do with chance. A child’s love of reading usually grows in the home, right? When he was little did you spend a lot of time as a family reading stories, at bedtime perhaps?
Of course there is a bridge here between what children do at home and at school. If you are interested in all this I do recommend you read ‘Ways with Words‘ by Shirley Brice-Heath. Back in the 1980s she researched out-of school-practices in contrast with classroom practices with different communities in a town in the USA.
This what Uta Papan (adult literacy as social practic, 2005 p33) has to say about Heath’s work: (both really useful books by the way)
I think the bottom line is that you don’t have to worry about your son. He’s already got that passion and interest, which I’m sure school won’t spoil for him. The question of course remains on how how teachers can engage children in reading and writing, when it hasn’t been nurtured at home.
So thanks again, Elke, I must say it’s really great talking to someone at the other side of the world
I’ll say goodnight (as it’s 10.30am here in the UK
Hi Richard
Yes, I believe that the way my son has been nurtured in the early years and now has impacted him positively. It makes sense that all that reading I did when he was little has given him a love of books. I believe there is research to suggest that parents that study and further their education also impact their children’s success in education, at least this is what I keep telling myself when I’m busy with study and not with the kids.
I will have a look for ‘Ways with Words’. Thanks and yes it’s nice to be chatting with interesting people all over the world.
Elke
Hi Richard
The last section of your post really struck me…”a story becomes a reading comprehension…” etc.
This is a marjor issue I see as an educator and a mother. In my opinion when every poem, story, video etc becomes a vehicle towards a mark we create a problem with learning. For some children this turns them off reading or writing because why bother unless it’s associated to the ‘hard-work’ at school which results in a mark/grade.
I am fortunate so far because my first child loves to read, he’s nearly 9 and has read through a massive collection of books already and he reads because he enjoys it. I wonder what will happen in later years when the school ASSIGNS a book for him to read.
It’s hard because some direction is necessary to help motivate and build on learning but I also believe that we can encourage the joy of learning without having to turn it into something else every time. The difficult part that I need to navigate through is how to do this as a teacher while sticking to set curriculum and assessments.
Elke
Hi Chung, thank you for your encouragement here. Certainly as educators in whatever context we need to think about how we understand important terms such as these. A case of really unpicking what we take for granted, in other words before we can learn, we have to unlearn what we already know.
Have a great weekend
Best wishes
Richard
This is really powerful – there is so much embraced in just two terms you introduced. The recap really provokes us scholars and educators – making us seriously reflect on our current practices in teaching and learning… Well done again Richard!
Wow, I really like and agree with your 5 points. They are spot on.
Hi Nadhir
Thanks again for your comments, I suppose there is a danger of my reading too much into these terms, but useful anyway. I think contrasting particular words and how we understand them could be a really useful exercise in teacher education generally.
Have a great weekend.
All the best
Richard