I wanted to share this article because I felt like it was a summary of so much of what we have discussed in class so far.
The article was written in response to the proposed need to reinvent adolescent literacy for new times. According to the article, based on a quote from Moore, Bean, Birdyshaw, and Rycik (1999), adolescents entering the adult world in the 21st century will read and write more than at any other time in human history. They will need advanced levels of literacy to perform their jobs, run their households, act as citizens, and conduct their personal lives. The aspects of adolescent literacy addressed by research and put forth in this article include the need for a renewed focus on the literacy learning of adolescents and the issues brought forth by reduced funding for middle and high school reading programs. The article was centered around four major questions, what does adolescent literacy signal that content reading and secondary reading do not? What constitutes best practices in adolescent literacy? How can we meet the needs of marginalized readers in new times? and should critical literacy be part of our classrooms? The authors used these questions as a guide to discuss and analyze the thoughts and ideas of educators surrounding the instructional, policies, and research issues dealing with the ineffectiveness of adolescent literacy instruction in meeting 21st century literacy demands. The overall goal of the article was to offer insights into reinventing adolescent literacy for new times. The authors used the article as a means to express their advocating for a challenging, responsive literacy curriculum that puts adolescents first, yet one that pushes them to learn new things, to have new experiences, and to read their worlds in new ways.
The research reported in the article is relevant for classroom teachers and literacy professionals in a number of ways. The authors set out to shed light on answers to the questions posed to provoke thinking on the part of educators, as well as, address ways in which we can reach our students. The authors explained that educators are limited in how they think about students and their literacy needs because of the labels and notions that words and phrases carry in regards to students and the groups with which they are identified. The paper also outlines different aspects of literacy practices geared towards adolescents and outlined pedagogical practices that educators can employ to meet the needs of their students, especially those who are considered to be marginalized readers. The report also mentioned the misconceptions surrounding content reading, where the authors explained that content teachers, although required to teach literacy, are not literacy teachers and as such the content methods or materials do not necessarily match the literacy needs of adolescents in the classroom. The article also incites thinking on the part of educators as it challenges them to utilize an approach to teaching adolescents literacy that goes beyond student-centered approaches. It challenges educators to use approaches that urge adolescents to stretch their thinking beyond their immediate backgrounds and experiences, while honoring those backgrounds and experiences, which I believe is one of the goals for 21st century citizens. Cultural competence.
Another key point in the report was the expansion on different aspects of literacy that educators do not take into consideration when trying to teach literacy, but which can be a tremendous help if considered. Such pedagogical practices or ideas included using students day to day experiences to engage them in literacy, being open to the idea of multiply literacies, as well as the use of multiple texts along with extended notions to engage students. It was also suggested that educators observe students in different contexts outside the classroom and integrate students’ interests and outside accomplishments into their teaching through interdisciplinary, project-based pedagogies that support literacy development. The article also expressed the concept of critical literacy, which is a very valuable 21st century skill as our students become engaged in different types of literacies inside and outside the classroom.
Literacy professionals as well as general education teachers can use this research as a base for understanding different pedagogies surrounding literacies that appeal to adolescent. This article can also be considered relevant to educators as it outlines practices that are pertinent to adolescents now and in the future. The authors not only took the time to highlight the deficits but to offer feasible solutions as well.
Throughout the article, the authors mentioned different research methods that they drew upon to validate their postulations, as well as a number of different studies. The main one of which was of a yearlong study of a student who appeared disinterested in school and what was going on in literacy, but upon further shadowing proved to be an excellent African drummer. Upon the acquisition of this piece of knowledge it was suggested that this particular student be motivated through literacies, which include African drumming/music, as that was of great interest to him and he also had some background knowledge about the subject that should help in boosting his confidence in class as well as his interest.
The article provided a great summary of some of the issues being faced by educators teaching adolescents literacy within a literacy setting or other content areas. The authors had valid arguments that highlighted the limitations of educators in their quest to teach literacy skills to adolescents as well as some solutions that educators could utilize to help reduce the generation gap. As I pursued the information presented I realized that most of the ideas presented were suitable to the needs of educators today. The idea of teaching students 21st century literacy skills through the use of their backgrounds and integration of literacies they encounter outside the classroom, as well as how to critically assess and utilize these literacies for their own personal development is, I would hope, the aspiration of every educator no matter their content area. The article expressed these ideas and pedagogies in which educators could actually engage to bring these concepts to their classrooms. The most resonating content in the article was the discussion around the use of the standards. The authors suggested educators not view standards as limiting but rather to use them as guides for instruction and not for assessment. This article had a number of valid points that left me feeling great about the scope of consciousness about the need for 21st century literacy skills to be taught in the classroom. The article also left me thinking of how to educate educators who are not currently in a literacy program and do not consider themselves literacy teachers about the great need to teach literacy, especially 21st century skills to our students. I also wonder about the goals of educational institutions and the role they play as an entity in meeting the changing needs of our students in preparing them for what is to be. My greatest wonder/question as I reflect on this article is, Can we as a country or even a state, effectively meet the needs of the 21st century global citizen we want to produce one classroom at a time, or does it need to be a school wide effort and if so, how do we get our administrators involved and what should their roles? Where does the work for such a venture live so that we can accurately measure our results for effectiveness? Should it be through teacher-training programs, continued professional development, or school culture? Maybe all of the above?
Really seminal article and a great connection to the themes of the course!
ReplyDeleteThe questions you raise are really THE EDUCATIONAL issues of the next decade or so.