Literacy Reflection

Learning is a social phenomenon

Quality literacy education cannot be neatly packaged and sold to the highest bidder. There is just no quick fix. At teacher conferences eager Book Publishers tout their wares and veteran and rookie teachers alike are enticed by the glossy new covers and the snazzy media packages. Literacy programs promise to improve EQAO scores, engage slower learners, address cultural concerns, solve media literacy issues and of course reduce teacher preparation time. This is the sales pitch and we should be a little cynical. Every few years there is a new buzz word and Publishers are quick to jump on it. As an Intermediate teacher, I can remember eagerly cracking open the cardboard boxes with new student reading anthologies inside. We were promised by Board Consultants that this was a comprehensive literacy program that would encompass all new curriculum expectations. A great deal of time and money was spent launching this new Crossroad literacy series. I now find odd copies of these books sitting idly on teachers’ shelves collecting dust. Frank Smith (1995) states, that the bureaucratic control of classrooms through prescribed instruction is an affront to the intelligence of students and teachers alike. In the video presented in class today Allan Luke encouraged teachers to draw from their personal teaching repertoire and to weave together an educational program that connects to students’ everyday life. Smith (1995) suggests that money spent on literacy programs would be best spent on workable programs focussed on poverty and unemployment. There are no simple solutions but as professional educators we need to find our own recipe for success, trust our instincts and be able to articulate reasons for our choices

I enjoyed listening to our study group share stories about their favourite books and how they personally connected with them. My favourite book as an adult was recommended to me by a French teacher at my current school. I read the book, The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry to my graduating grade 8 students every year and each year it seemed to take on a new direction or send a new message to myself and the students about life and relationships. It just seems that in every aspect of my life, I can connect with a quote or a lesson from the book. Today, in my role as Special Education teacher I realise that it is the individual personal time and effort I spent on my students, not the prescribed programs that make all the difference in the world. This was one of the lessons that was taught to the main character in the book. Extending this notion, Special Education students often don’t feel that they have an important role in the classroom. They just don’t meet up with classroom expectations, academically or socially and inadvertently teachers’ actions and words may send the message they don’t belong. I spent 20 years in a classroom and I do have some regrets. Assigned readings over duration of this course have consolidated my opinion that learning is about the relationship or positive connections between the teacher and the student. To quote Frank Smith (1995) Learning is a social phenomenon. What everyone in every culture has taken for granted for millennia is that learning is a simple consequence of the company you keep.

The Donkey

We have our share of Donkeys in the educational system and it may not be a bad thing. In the picture book “Why is the Sky Blue?” the Donkey was the wise old teacher and he demanded complete focus and control of the curriculum and his student. The young student rabbit found it difficult to sit still and listen and his inquiring young mind lost interest in the lesson. In the beginning the Donkey held firm to his convictions and his transmission model Barnes (1992) of program delivery. It was clear that this model was not working and there needed to be a shift in thinking.

Teachers in the Ontario classroom are often driven towards this type of curriculum and classroom control and it is tiring them out. The definition of insanity may be presenting the same old programs, the same old way and expecting a new favourable outcome. We favour the good and obedient student but few students are programmed to sit and obey. Learning must be an active and shared experience and the classroom must expand out into to the real world. As a teacher in the classroom, are you a stander, a sitter or a listener? Just like the Donkey, we can sit back and think we know it all, but we don’t. We can assume we understand all our students’ needs, but we don’t. As teachers of the Ontario curriculum, I believe that we have a great deal of professional freedom and some teachers are actually enjoying the journey. In the end, the Donkey got it right and so can we. We can become the learner and through this new lens we can gain insight into our students. Murray (1982) in The Teaching Craft describes this type of classroom experience. He states, “I may no longer know what I will teach in class or what I will learn in class. I am never sure in fact what has been learned. But I do know that learning has taken place.”
Harste (2009) believes that teachers who assume that students have comprehension create a literate classroom where students are empowered and discussions are enriched. For many of us older folk, these enlightened school experiences growing up were few and far between. One of my few authentic literacy experiences involved listening to a good novel and maybe having the teacher share and relate a personal experience. The teachers who got off topic, were easily distracted, or revealed their human side were my favourites. I agree with Belensky et al (1986) who believed that, “so long as teachers hide the imperfect processes of their thinking, allowing their students to glimpse only the polished products, students will remain convinced that only Einstein or a professor could think up a theory. We all look brilliant when we have the teacher’s manual or the answer key. It takes a certain amount of courage and confidence to reveal a lack of knowledge to a class of 33 teenagers. By “thinking out loud”, and problem solving along with the students we’re are actually modelling effective inquiry and reasoning skills.

In the Critical literacy classroom, we believe we are preparing students for the real world and I was witness last week to some incredible student role models. I had the privilege of hearing student rights activist and founders of Free the Children, Craig and Marc Kielburger speak at an Education Conference. At 12 years old, after reading about the plight of a child labour worker in the newspaper, Craig gathered together a small group of his Grade 7 classmates from his Thornhill, Ontario, school and Free The Children was born. Their goal is to “Free the children from poverty. Free the children from exploitation. Free the children from the notion that they are powerless to affect change”. These are the critical literacy messages that fuel Craig's mission. His message to the teachers in the audience was not to underestimate the influence and power we have in the classroom to bring about change. He and his brother spoke of the importance of compassion, courage and the building of community in the classroom at a very young age. They believed that the single most important factor that inspires students to affect change in our community and environment is teachers modelling altruistic behaviour. Frank Smith (1993) believes the first essential component of learning is the opportunity to see how something is done. Critical literacy is a way of acting and thinking. These two Ontario students are living examples of what can happen when youth (now over one million strong) become engaged, informed and empowered to open their minds and think beyond the walls of their classroom.

Literacy Slide Show

Sunshine Sketches

I am from small town Ontario where everyone knows your family name, the type of car your parent’s drive and the pew you sit in at church; it’s like living in a Stephen Leacock novel but it’s not fiction.


I am the daughter of the town merchant who is “Home of the Handy man”; they drop by each day to pick up a paper, chat about the price of pigs and get caught up with the local gossip; the customer is always right and every person in town is a potential customer.


I am from “You would lose your head if it wasn’t attached to your body”; carefree summer days with plenty of pals and no parent supervision; jumping fences, petting horses and running from stray cattle; meandering streams full of odd spawning fish and a salt shaker for the blood suckers; endless days of Barbie Dolls under the cedar tree where I am the Queen and my sister is the servant.


I am from, “Your left hand is the work of the devil” and “Offer it up to the suffering souls in Purgatory”; Ancient Sisters with bad habits; naughty farm boys being strapped at the back of the class; don’t look back or you are next; look, look, look and see, see, see, straight rows, sharp pencils and clean finger nails; stand up straight to read, nervous twitches, puddles under the desk; immunity.

I am from Betty and Veronica and Ritchie Rich and mail order Sea Monkeys that never arrive; Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Ingleside and the learning the fate of dear Anne Frank; genuine tears for Old Yeller and forever wanting a horse just like Black Beauty.


I am from pen pal letters in colourful ink to Swift Current and Corner Brook; hidden locked diaries that big brothers threaten to read; dishevelled bookshelves, stacks of unmarked student papers and listening late at night to correspondence tapes from University Courses. The apple won’t fall far from the tree.


I am from school wide musical productions and bus trips to Big Al’s Talent Showcase; red ribbons at Kiwanis Festivals, piano recitals in smelly old church halls, and intense Royal Conservatory exams; Public speaking circuits and local theatre; always a tune in my head and song in my heart.

Learning Literacy Blog #2

I appreciated the energy charged class discussion surrounding the quotation from Finn’s book ,”Giving children more and more drills in phonics and basic skills never has and never will lead to powerful literacy”(p.127). One could tell that this evoked strong emotions from many of the teachers in the room. I could certainly relate to the lone voice of reason that bravely stated that teaching phonics actually elevated reading scores and therefore improved the student’s literacy performance. Is phonics such a dirty word in a balanced literacy program? The class discussion was cut short but it peaked my interest and it continues to challenge my previously formed notion about the importance of implicitly teaching decoding skills and the importance of what Rowan et al (2002) calls the old basics in current literacy programs.

Our school is now deeply into the throws of the EQAO frenzy. Students who have been identified with a language based learning disabilities are able to use assistive technology to complete the test. Computer programs such as Kurzweil will read the tests for the students and word prediction programs assist students in responding to the text. This technology has greatly enhanced the student’s ability to demonstrate their higher level of informational and powerful literacy skills. There is no doubt that this technology allows students to access grade level curriculum and this has enhanced the learning and self esteem of many students with language based learning disabilities. They are our Lap Top kids. Unfortunately emphasis on this component of technological literacy has not always elevated the student’s ability to decode environmental print. Without the scanner, Kurzweil and voice to text software programs the student is at a loss in regular society. Lack of decoding skills closes doors and limits their participation and power in society.

Good “old fashioned” Later literacy strategies that emphasize and reinforce pronounceable units and plenty of practise, practise, practise may be what is needed to improve and enhance word attack and word identification skills. I am not advocating for a steady diet of traditional, oppressive pencil and paper phonemic exercises; I can see where oppositional identity would play a prominent role in this type of classroom. A skilled teacher must work toward the ‘real school model “where the students respect your level of expertise, and want the knowledge you are offering badly enough to cooperate and work hard enough to get it.” This is the tricky role of an effective language literacy teacher. Effective teacher’s diagnose what the language learner requires and design the proper programs to address it. This is the cornerstone of Differentiated Instruction , where teacher’s differentiate the content, process and culminating task according to the student’s readiness, interests and learning profile. There are a range of instructional progressive strategies for teaching basic reading skills. We can’t expect these specific language skills to be picked up through osmosis. Teaching or consolidating phonetic skills is not just someone else’s job. Nancy Atwell (1987) who advocates teaching reading and writing in a workshop format would emphasize these skills in the mini lessons at the beginning of each session or during private conferences.

As Educators we know that literacy is about more than reading and writing– it is about social practices and relationships and how we communicate in our society. What if (as pointed out by a teacher at our session) a Grade 6 students can only decode print at a “performative” grade 2 level ? Most “lay” people in society believe that literacy is quite simply about the ability to read and write. Our public believes that we are graduating children that are illiterate. Paulo Freire quoted in Finn’s book observed that literacy is never neutral, it liberates or domesticates. Weak decoding skills exclude students from participating fully in society and we must use all our skills and expertise to liberate them.

Critical Literacy

While navigating through the plethora of articles, readings and learning assignments, I have identified several issues that stand out for further discussion and personal reflection. Garland’s special report on “Why the Underclass can’t get out from Under”, read like a typical script from a Hollywood movie and I did not stop to question the value or the content of the article. I was on a mission to find quotes for my collage and I did not look at it with a critical eye. At the time, I was not equipped to identify it as an article that lacked sociological imagination and therefore it was a naive form of literacy. Simply put, I missed the point. Critical literacy asks us to take a moral stand about what we find important in literacy. We have an obligation to ourselves and to the students we teach to become critical thinkers in search of the truth. Lankshear (1989) states that, “promoting critical literacy is the educator’s first calling”. For some busy teaching professionals, this has been put on the back burner and they have become passive in their presentation and selection of text. Currently I am on a Science Text Selection Committee for our School Board. This committee consists of a variety of classroom teachers, special education teachers, consultants and administrators who come together to view publishers presentations, pilot products and critique new available texts. I am impressed with the Critical Literacy components that are embedded in the new available Science Textbooks. The publishers are catching on and so are we.
The first five chapters of Finn’s book “Literacy with an Attitude “ described with stunning accuracy the various class levels of students we teach and our patterns of pedagogical response. Succinctly stated, “Reading about this type of class tracking in schools is one thing. Realizing that you have experienced it is truly another.” (p.24) Over the past 23 years I have taught in various Schools with several School Boards across the Province: I have taught the working class students, both rural and urban, to follow directions and respect authority. I have taught my middle class students to value knowledge in a text book and not to question it and I have basked in the halls of the affluent schools celebrating the arts and valuing the student’s input and creativity. I was shocked by the realization that these were not just random acts made in the teachable moment. I take solace in the fact that my beliefs as a teaching professional have permeated through the various classes and communities. This “right-brained” divergent, thinker believes that “just because it is different doesn’t mean it is wrong” By valuing dialogue and building in social skills and conversation through Tribes and Cooperative learning strategies we can give a voice to the students in our classroom. We can teach all students that there is value and power in the spoken and written word. Finn (1999) had some pretty grim statistics on the percentage of schools (20 %) in the United States that have adopted the progressive education philosophies that value the whole child and allow for differentiated instruction. Ten years later have these statistics changed?......have ours?