In Ways with Words, Shirley Brice Heath details her ethnographic research completed by Brice some forty years ago in the Piedmont Carolinas. She investigates the acquisition of literacy and how one’s surrounding cultural environment influences the way language is learned. Educators are encouraged to recognize student cultural background and appreciate how potential differences might affect learning in the classroom.
In Local Literacies, David Barton and Mary Hamilton document the lives of several residents of Lancaster, England during the 1990s. “This book is a study of what people do with literacy: of the social activities, of the thoughts and meanings behind the activities, and of the texts utilized in such activities. It is about how a particular group of people use reading and writing in their day-to-day lives” (page 3).
Language is a tool that we humans use as a way to communicate. Through reading, writing, speaking, and listening we are engaging in the exchange of ideas. During this making of meaning, the participants involved all bring to the table their own thoughts, feelings, and knowledge that influence the interchange of ideas. After exchanging ideas with another, it is often difficult to think about the concept in the same manner…the “other” has informed our thinking in one way or another.
Harry had many that he mentioned who had influenced his literacy development. Harry’s father brought the local paper home so that his parents could read the paper daily. Harry remembered reading the comic strips regularly and sharing with the other children in his neighborhood. During his work with the fire service, Harry encountered many people during the investigative interviews and had to teach himself how to write the reports. (Harry later shared that information with beginning firefighters.) Later Harry would write employment references for former firefighters who had asked him. The library was a great source of enjoyment where Harry found newspapers and books that he that he enjoyed reading and “swapping” with his friends. Harry enjoyed helping his grandchildren and other children from the neighborhood with their homework. During all these encounters, Harry was engaged in meaning making with one or more individuals.
Social constructivism is based on the concept that learning occurs as a socially or culturally constructed practice (Bruner, 2009; Dewey, 1996, 1933; Vygotsky, 1962, 1978). As a child interacts with others, s/he is participating in a collective knowledge construction or socialization. This making of meaning is an essential component of the continuation of one’s culture. Beliefs and practices are communicated between individuals through the use of language.
Both John Dewey and Len Vygotsky believed that language was one of the cultural tools used by human beings as they interacted and exchanged information (Garrison, 1995; Smidt, 2009). The knowledge transfer that occurs when individuals speak to each other during social interactions is essential to the growth and development of children as they increase their ability to verbally communicate with others. During the socialization process, children build and exchange understandings about the culture in which they inhabit.
Those who impacted Harry’s life certainly changed the way he thought about reading and writing, as Harry impacted the lives he touched. The social activities and the "thoughts and meanings behind the social activities" were used to build and further develop the culture that existed in Lancaster, England during the 1990s.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Liz I loved your focus on the cultural aspects of literacy. I agree with Vygotsky that learning is both socially and culturally constructed. Heath does show evidence of this between Trackton and Roadville. Over the weekend I was explaining Ways with words to my son who is a college sophomore. I told him of the different ways in which African-American children were raised compared to Whites. He asked how this affected reading and writing in school. So I went on to point out that since the majority of teachers are still white and female, that the way reading and writing is taught more reflects the way Whites are raised. For example, White children are constantly questioned about the world around them whereas African American adults do not ask questions of their children that have obvious answers. Teachers often ask questions that have obvious answers. Also, the African Americans are much more social in their reading and their writing. My son asked me how this might change teaching techniques. I thought that perhaps talk could be encouraged during the writing process and that collaborative strategies might be used. I still have to think of more though. Nice piece of writing Liz!
ReplyDeleteIndeed there are many parallels between Heath's Ways with Words and Barton and Hamilton's Local Literacies. While reading these two books, I was amazed at the literary opportunities embedded in daily lives-some of which I never stopped to think about or even thought may be a little too trivial. It is these seemingly meaningless everyday literacy activites that are so important to families with young children.(I have tried to take advantage of these kinds of literacy activities with my own children, especially before they entered school.) I hope that I am convincing my adult students that have young children to make early literacy learning fun and adventureous, even while on a trip to the grocery store. There is so much to learn. I sometimes find myself assuming that these adult students know how to interact with their children in ways to promote literacy, but that's often not the case. This is true especially in cases when literacy was not emphasized when they were growing up!!
ReplyDelete