Return-Path: <nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id g0VLxUu06008; Thu, 31 Jan 2002 16:59:30 -0500 (EST) Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2002 16:59:30 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <5.1.0.14.0.20020131134927.00a15740@mail.aracnet.com> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: Sylvan Rainwater <sylvan@cccchs.org> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-FAMILY:694] Re: Documenting and Measuring PACT Time X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Version 5.1 Status: O Content-Length: 3563 Lines: 69 At 09:55 AM 01/25/2002 -0500, Heather Miller wrote: >I love the idea of diversity in families. However, if a family's style is >getting in the way of the child's developing literacy skills, I think we owe >it to them to let them know that. <SNIP> >The children were then followed in >school to see how well they did there. <SNIP> Well, this equates literacy with how well a person does in the school system in the USA. There are many different forms of literacy, and our school system focuses on a particular kind. > The language in the lower socioeconomic groups was not necessarily >poorer in quality, though it did show a lot of negative components. For >example, while a lower SE family might tell a child "Don't touch that!" a >higher SE family might say "That is Grandma's special thing, you know like >your special blanket. It's really fragile. If you break it, Grandma will >have my head on a platter, so please don't touch it." > The child may not even understand the full import of the message, >but begins to learn that in our family we use a lot of words. > The more words the child comes to school with the greater is their >success, because oral vocabulary is the foundation for literacy. Hart and >Risley indicate that it is the rate of vocabulary growth that is responsible >for this success. ><SNIP> I really take exception to the notion that using a lot of words equates to literacy. Again, it's one definition of literacy, but language goes beyond words, I think. Friere talks about reading the World, not just reading the Word. That said, I do believe we have the responsibility to share with parents how best to work with the culture they're faced with in this country, which of course means a lot of vocabulary and a lot of print-based stuff. The parents I work with all want better futures for their children, and hopefully also for themselves, and are eager to learn whatever we have to teach them. But I believe we do need to be careful not to put down their already-considerable abilities, nor to ignore them or make them invisible. I still remember vividly the time I was doing a home visit with a parent who had 3 children ages 4, 3, and 2. We were trying to figure out how to apply for reimbursement for child care, which involved filling out papers, making phone calls, exchanging information to put onto a bill, etc. She has a 5th grade education in central America, and spoke very limited English. I have a BA, and took 2 years of Spanish in college, but spoke even more limited Spanish. In the midst of this complex interaction, with her children crawling all over her demanding all sorts of things (including fruit -- please, mama could we have a mango?), she took a mango and a huge knife (to me it looked like a machete, but probably it wasn't really) and began peeling this mango. She continued talking with me, dealing with her children, and did a very neat job peeling the mango. (I've since tried peeling a mango -- it's very difficult.) She made it look easy. I was awestruck at her ability. What I took away from this experience was the conviction that we have to find those strengths, abilities, and talents of our students; take them seriously; and help them find ways to bridge from those to what they need to know now in a new place with new requirements. ------------------------------ Sylvan Rainwater . sylvan@cccchs.org Adult Education Teacher and Family Literacy Program Manager Clackamas County Children's Commission . Oregon City, OR USA
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