Expanding ideas about text

Like Kayla, it is so interesting to see how my view and understanding of literacy has changed so much from a child. If you were to ask me as a kid what literacy meant I wouldn't have known how to respond. I did however, have an excellent positive association with reading throughout my entire elementary career. Texts were fun, engaging, and interactive. Not until middle school did educational texts become challenging as I was not familiar with their contexts as we were required to read and write with lab instructions, political texts, atlases, etc. For better or worse, texts in the elementary school setting seem to be revolved around the personified short story. While I had learned to manipulate texts in writing for all of middle school and high school, not until an AP English Literature class did my real understanding of the how challenging the writing process can be, in order to communicate clearly and in a congruent fashion. I learned that text can say a lot of words without really saying anything at all. The idea of a strong central thesis forever changed how I analyze a given text. Now in college, the first thing I do when reading any given text is look for a proposition stated or put forward for consideration, especially one to be discussed and proved or to be maintained against objections.

ELED 323 at BYU also shaped and expanded how I thought about texts. If a text is a shared code of communication, "text" could be facial expressions between two people. If braille is a shared code for blind people that is read with touch, not eyesight, can the sculptor "read" the texture of his creation as he runs his hands around the ceramic wheel? Of course. I probably never would have accepted abstract ideas such as this. Because of these expanded ideas of texts, we include art, architecture, music, and multimedia into liberal arts humanities studies. We would be limiting ourselves if we only studied text in the traditional sense (literature). Lastly, one of the major ideas that really effected me as a student and future teacher was the idea of critical literacy, an idea championed by Giroux and Friere. The idea that we need to teach young children how to identify social injustices, underlying messages, and hidden agendas is educationally revolutionary. I was not taught this skill until college, even though this is skill required for our world of politically charged statements and manipulative marketing.

Texts on Texts on Texts

Who knew there was so much to learn about literacy?? I grew up as an avid reader. I was the kid at recess sitting under a tree and reading the "boring" chapter books. I grew up thinking "literacy" was simply the ability to read and write. I thought "text" was simply words on a page.

Then, sweet, little, innocent me attended El Ed 323.
Oh, how wrong I was.

Literacy isn't just knowing how to read and write! Text definitely ISN'T just words on a page. There are texts all around us (whether you agree or not).  Text can be anything you can "read" (another loose term that I have defined as understand): a book, a poem, a picture, a symbol, body language, facial expression, an outfit. Yeah, you saw that right. Take that and swish it around in your head for a minute. It kind of throws you for a loop, doesn't it? Well, there are so many different types of texts and literacies in the world around us! As functioning (hopefully) humans in our society, we have developed these literacies and have gained the ability to read these texts. Think about it. You see a person walking down the sidewalk in a nice suit and tie. They have their hair combed nicely, they're carrying a briefcase, they are walking confidently. You picture it? Well as you see that person, you probably come to a conclusion about them. Maybe you think they're an important business big-wig who is headed to an important meeting. Whelp. That person was just a text, and you just read them.

But literacy and text is more than that, especially in regards to applying literacy development in a classroom. You see, without realizing it, we have been able to develop creative literacies, social literacies, and more.  As elementary school teachers we will be given an incredible opportunity to expand our students' literacies. We can help them explore the texts they will already be familiar with, and we can introduce them to new texts.

The Impact of Literacy on the lives of Individual Children

The Impact of Literacy on the lives of Individual Children

Literacy has always been incredibly near and dear to my heart. When I was nine years old my family moved from Colorado to Kansas. I moved from a school with lots of friends to a very unfriendly class. From third grade on I sought out new friends and adventures in my books. I walked through school with monster-sized books under my arms. When I didn’t want to be in an cold classroom, I could escape through the books to a new world. During a difficult time in my life literature provided refuge. My problems were minimal. Everyday children encounter huge trials and difficulties. I want to be a teacher who can teach students about this beautifully safe place. Through literacy worlds of opportunity become available. As I continued through school my love of reading helped me succeed in school.

Over the last few months I’ve learned so much about what literacy is, of its importance, and of the basics of how it develops. I have come to realize that there are more texts available to students than simply words on the page. As an educator I can help students develop literacy in multiple texts. I can also draw upon the literacies they already possess in helping them to develop more literacy. In addition to teaching students about how to communicate, a text like music, art, or drama can help students through difficulties in their own lives.

I’ve also come to appreciate the importance of giving students choice and opportunity in the classroom. I think it’s paramount that teachers make literacy enjoyable. It’s a life skill that students need, and being self-motivated in this area is incredibly beneficial.

Overall, I’ve learned that literacy is communicating and understanding communications about our world. As teachers work with each of their students to instill a love for literacy, schooling can improve, and most importantly the lives of children we’ll be blessed.
How did literacy impact YOUR life?! 

One Second Grader whose life was changed through literacy!

Getting children Motivated about Reading

One of the biggest things I learned about literacy this year was about the way to help children get motivated to read. We read an article on reading self efficacy; from this article I learned that we should be "providing [children] with high-quality children's literature and increasing opportunities for reading both at school and at home." (Gambrell,1996, p17) For me this is a great way to motivate children to be literate and increase their motivation because if we give our children good books to read and the time to read, then children are obviously going to be more likely to read. The article went along to say that, "One of the key factors in motivating students to read is a teacher who values reading and is enthusiastic about sharing a love of reading with students." (Gambrell, 1996, p20) Having a role model who loves to read is incredibly important to fostering a love of reading in children. Many children may not have this kind of role model in their homes. So if these children haven't before had a role model who likes to read, they may be swayed by a teacher who professes her love of literature. It is incredibly important for a teacher to be excited about all of the subjects that she teaches, but when a teacher shares her love of reading the children will be motivated to try it out for themselves. Because the child will be curious the child will be motivated to learn to read and try to find enjoyment in it. We can also be excited as parents or other parental figures in the lives of children by modeling good reading behavior, and sharing and vocalizing our positive thoughts about reading with children. I learned that it is our responsibility as learned adults to foster this love of reading and literacy in the children around us.