Gatto does not see literacy as something that is learned and then used at a later time. Rather, she sees literacy as a practice (78). In a way it is a tool that is used for understanding. Even math and science would not be possible without literacy. In order for Gatto to teach these higher standards she would not just give students a book, have them read it, then test it. Rather she would have students employ skills from all subjects for the understanding of a subject. In addition, she interconnects the concepts together so that students can make connections instead of just being discrete items.
To show this in pr
actice Gatto used the example of a unit on butterflies. To introduce the unit students read the book, James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl. In this book there is the connection that all the characters were insects and belonged to the phylum of insects as butterflies do (79). Then they purchased butterfly supplies. Students were the ones that had to do the research on what to purchase. Some students went on the internet, others looked through science company catalogs and another group used the phonebook. The anticipation of the butterflies arrival rose many new questions, “‘How long it would take until the butterflies would emerge?’, ‘What do they eat?’” (80). I personally think this is a fantastic idea because it teaches students real life skills that they not otherwise get in the home. Each student would then receive a container with a larvae with a black journal book. As a scientist they would write in it their findings. In Gatto’s district they had purchased a reading series from a private company. In this series they want teachers to tests students once a week on spelling with a weekly word test. Gatto feels that students do not have to know specific words to be considered good spellers. Rather if they are spelling correctly in their journals then they are considered good spellers. From this journal literacy skills develop as a need to communicate their research. The district’s goal is to have students learn words that are not relevant to the student’s lives. Then they have a way to assess all the students, and an incorrect response is considered lack of knowledge or literacy.
On May 5th I posted a video from Sir Ken Robinson from the website TED.com. From the video Robinson talks about how the purpose of public education is to produce university professors. As a result all creativity from those who use their bodies, such as dancers and artists, are not taken seriously. They are not thought to be as distinguished as professors. Robinson goes on to say that schools kill the creative nature of students. If they are creative they are outside the norm and they are punished for it. The reason for this is because this is the way schools are set up. The teacher assumes the higher roles as an elite and if a student challenges that they are lowered. In an essay by Lil Brannon and C.H. Knoblauch titled “On Students’ Rights to Their Own Texts: A Model of Teacher Response” the issue of hierarchy is seen in regards to youth writing:
The teacher-reader assumes, often correctly, that student writers have not yet earned the authority that ordinarily compels readers to listen seriously to what writers have to say. Indeed, teachers view themselves as the authorities, intellectually maturer, rhetorically more experienced, technically more expert than their apprentice writers (158).
Therefore the teacher-student relationship is compromised. Rather the teacher looks down on students as distinguished intellectuals. This idea ties into my blog “Ignorant Teachers: It’s not your fault, it’s the system” because teachers do not culturally assess their students. Rather they assess students based on standardized tests that are often culturally bias.
What is the purpose of education?
Is the purpose of education to assess students on a national scale? This would the neo-liberalism goal and the central idea of E.D. Hirsch Jr. essay, “Literacy and Cultural Literacy”. In his essay he calls for a “high universal literacy” that is “key to all other fundamental improvements in American education” (2). From Hirsch’s work we learn that his assessment of literacy is based on SAT verbal scores. Also in Hirsch’s list titled, “What Every Literate American Should Know” we learn of the 5,000 items that people need to know to be literate. Therefore we can quantitatively assess literacy. We are creating a mold for the perfectly literate person. The goal of education should not be to create the ideal person but the ideal society. This is one of the points made in the following video by Malcolm Gladwell:
He introduces us to the idea of how the food industry makes decisions in bringing us the new products. Back in the 1970’s the food industry thought that their was one perfect way to make spaghetti sauce. They were obsessed with the idea of universal that is their is one way to treat all of us. When they experimented with different types of spaghetti sauce they discovered that people started to like different types, such as chunky, spicy and garlic. At the end of the presentation Gladwell makes the point that embracing diversity is the way to true happiness. Rather than thinking in terms of universals we think in terms of diversifying. This is like education, currently we are thinking in terms of universals. This is evident with the No Child Left Behind Act; one education system that is suitable for all states and for all students. In addition these universals are seen in literacy packages introduced by Gatto. Gatto embraces the diversity of her students by creating lessons that are relevant to her students. Lisa Delpit also brings us ideas on how diversity is the key to literacy instruction.
In Delpit’s essay, “The Silenced Dialogue” we learn how education should be more culturally accepting. More importantly, how this universal education is a way to divert the issues of racism. This only benefits students within the “culture of power”. She says,
The dilemma is not really in the debate over instructional methodology, but rather in communicating across cultures and in addressing the more fundamental issue of power, or whose voice gets to be heard in determining what is best for poor children and children of color (46).
If universal education goes through then poor children and children of color won’t be heard. Rather there voices will be silenced by the ideas of standards that do not fit them culturally. In addition with the No Child Left Behind Act this inability to perform on standardized tests result in less funding, only making the poor and underprivileged worse off. Delpit does not talk about the way it should be, she talks about the way it is. Assessment and teachers that are culturally in tune with their students to create meaningful instruction. This instruction will only help students to be successful. The universal thinkers forgot what it means to make connections through prior knowledge. Students are not clean slates, they bring with them prior knowledge, often this is the knowledge of their family life, which is their culture. Therefore if education is made culturally relevant then connections can be made and the process of learning can begin.
As a future teacher I have to understand how to implement this into my classroom. My concentration is math and math is all about universal explanation. My ability to make math culturally relevant would come from making connections to other subjects as in the case with Gatto. If collaboration is done correctly then students could be working on a project that incorporates all the subjects. Math would be the tool to accomplish a task. This should be the same with all the subjects. English should to the tool to communicate ideas in English. Therefore literacy will develop as a need to accomplish a task. This way we are teaching students to be life learners. Therefore they can learn how to accomplish tasks on their own. Independent discovery and respect should be the goals of any framework of any educational system.
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