4. A discourse is an “identity kit” complete with ways of using language and of thinking and acting.
5. We can be the product of several different, even conflicting discourses at the same time (mother, sister, wife).
6.
7. Heath observed that the way in which different discourses reacted with the “school discourse” resulted in radically different school experiences.
8. Numerous other studies in the United States have observed conflict between “western” school discourse and Indian discourse, Hawaiian discourse, and various minorities in the United States.
9.
10. Chapter 7 cont. Artists We revere them for their creations and mistrust them for their appearance as self-serving individuals lacking practical skills. Art students are modernly taught to master forms, but also articulate their work and position themselves as citizens within the world (104) Artists experience an educational experience through creative and intellectual boundaries which makes their work not just a product but result of training. (105) Edward Said wrote a series of essays which were later turned into the Representations of the Intellectual. Artists face the task of making their personal convictions public through their work. They can’t always determine how the general public will respond to their work and the political associations their work takes on when displayed. Artists refuse to fit in and often time find freedom in abandonment of others. Artists and intellectuals desire the same goal in addressing the public even if they battle over the medium of communication.
11. Chapter 8What’s My Name?By: Patrick Shannon Like Muhummad Ali demanding in fight against Ernie Terrell in his question, “What’s my name?”, educators can raise their voices to become a catalyst for change (112-113) The school system is one of the remaining places left in the American public that marginalized groups can still fight for recognition and equality. We must look at the surrounding rhetoric and cultural struggles behind the fight. Struggles of the Civil Rights movement of the 1950’s and 1960’s. Ganhi’s non-violent method to Students Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in 1960 Black Power Frantz Fannon (1961) W.E.B. Duvois (1903) Marcus Garvey (1924) Based on Ho Chi Minh’s writing about independent Vietnam, people for black power took on armed resistance for their political platform Demands for recognition have drawn groups together to generate action in cultural and political arenas. (117)
12. Chapter 8 cont. America has responded to differences with literacy education often in terms of political associations. Political Movements Conservative Conservatives want to maintain marginalization or groups based on natural endowment bestowed to each group according to intelligence and associated wealth because of natural order. Conservative thoughts holds a four pronged approach (118) Proposed changes to literacy curriculum were a form of secular humanism Equal access to schooling and equal treatment in schools denied the natural difference among races and classes. Inclusion of non-Western cultural practices lowered cultural standards and limited communication. Federal action to enforce social changes in schools violated statutes of local control of schools. “Neoconservative is a current thought emerging out of the academic-intellectual world and provoked by disillusionment with contemporary liberalism.(120)” They consider schooling to be the process of helping children mature into adulthood. Moral literacy was supported by Neoconservative leaders to help students recognize virtues in texts to emulate and live by day to day. William J. Bennett, former secretary of state in the Reagan Administration believed that children should develop character in schools by learning about honesty, industry, loyalty, self-respect and other time-tested principles of good education
13. Chapter 8 cont. . Liberalism is a modern political philosophy favored by the author, Shannon. This movement was formed out of the Enlightenment movement and was developed to preserve individual freedoms. The New Deal which included the Social Security Act of 1935 offered federal income for the unemployed and families with children. The Fair Labor Act of 1938 outlawed child labor. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 ensured protection of minority voters. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 authorized remedial instruction help for the poor and equal opportunity for women in academics and athletics. Advocate, William Julius Wilson, author or When Work Disappears, notes Liberals efforts to maintain socialism and educational standards. Push for best practices in teaching reading General best methods First Grade Studies (Bond & Dykstra, 1967) Mastery Learning (Block, 1974) Teacher effectiveness (Brophy & Good, 1984) Best Practices (Allington, Gambrell, Morrow & Presley, 1997) Liberalism questioned Western cultural themes to expand cultural diversity in curriculum.
14. Chapter 8 cont. Radical Democratic This group is noted for little voter turnout and “attempt to construct societies to ensure universal rights of ‘freedom from’ want (128)” for citizens in need. Democracy works on the notion that identities of the American population are “multiple and fluid” (129) and that their struggles are shared by many others. Reflexive agency invites citizens to evaluate the world in terms of their values then consider their identity, motives, values, and actions for decision making. They will act, helps people realize their private matters are connected to society since their “problems” are shared by many. Need to respect the position of their adversaries: asks people to recognize others beliefs in freedom and equality. They seek to identify social conditions which produce democratic citizenship. Final Words The U.S. feels insecure about fundamental human needs and individuals are less likely to attend to the needs of their neighbors. Literacy concepts have shifted with politics and the push for the federal government to control public educations. Educators should consider the ideologies that shape their viewpoints, and develop a willingness to associate with people of other ideas to centralize our efforts for effective education.
15. Chapter 9Empowerment as a Pedagogy of PossibilityBy: Roger I. Simon Pedagogy as a Possibility There is a difference between teaching and pedagogy. Teaching addresses techniques and strategies instructors use in order to meet predetermined objectives. Pedagogy encompasses the “integration in practice of particular curriculum content and design, classroom strategies and techniques, a time and space for the practice of those strategies and techniques, and evaluation purposes and methods. Pedagogy involves how the teacher instructs students with knowledge they deem of most worth. Political vision is proposed with pedagogy since this type of instruction encourages students working together in cultural practices and political ideas. A Project of Possibility Proposal of expansion into the human condition and overall compassion for community as a guiding social order. Defined by Satre (1963) as ongoing activities determined by real present and future conditions. Possibility is not simply Character development is too restricting within education. This training determines individuals’ worth according to their performance. Small projects of change alone Practices need to be created that transform schools into an understanding of the vast variety of differences in human capacity.
16. Chapter 9 cont. A Pedagogy of Empowerment Empowerment means allowing ability for an individual or group by permitting or enabling. This means allowing the people who have not been heard the opportunity to speak up by giving them affirmation to express their experiences in context of their history, language, and traditions. Authority is shared when many effectively participate. Empowerment for what? Having a voice is more than simply allowing equal rights to create a true democracy. Those who speak must have words of value in their goal of transformation for social reform. Teachers must take risks in education to promote understanding for students out of existence outside of the academic experience. Examples of Pedagogy of Possibility Example One: Student Voice (Giroux McLaren 1986) Student voice is a discourse containing logic of identity including logic associated with subjectivity. Education should be a process in which information is presented as a production of the real events of the surrounding physical and social world. A teacher’s presentation of material reflects their commitment to vision of our place in the world. A teacher’s view of world events will be evident in their pedagogy and presentation of war, race, and human suffering. If a teacher is biased they are passing those views to students. A student’s voice reflects the pedagogy and presentation of their instructor.
17. Chapter 9 cont. While students have their own interest in their voice, educators aide a broader view of the world with storytelling, literature, and narratives that demonstrate empowerment that overcomes manipulation and oppression. Literature can present an idea of identity for students as advocates for positive, significant resistance to domineering powers. Harold Rosen (1986) claimed teachers stage pedagogy as a possibility through multiple voices and questioning one another to experience struggle in finding their own meaning from the writing. Example Two: Psychometric testing Interest Inventory tests are given to high school students to help them determine their interests for their future occupations. Teachers must also take responsibility for opening up the minds of adolescents to facilitate self-awareness for students in their goals, interests, abilities, personality, and preferred social settings. Students are products of, but not limited to, their current life circumstances that will be factors in their future work choice. Students benefit from job experience early on to help with future decision making in a career. Practicing for work can create a false picture of what that occupation fully entails. Job requirements vary according to the place as well as the surrounding management and other employees.
18. Chapter 9 cont. Teachers need to teach students how to self-assess in order to help students understand their work experience by asking questions such as: How much variety is there in the work organization? What accounts for the variety in the work? If you do not fit into work, what are the consequences? Are there options in the work?
19. Chapter 10Putting Language Back into Language Arts:When the Radical Middle Meets the Third SpaceBy: Kris Gutierrez, Patricia Baquedano-Lopez, and Myrna Gwen-Turner This chapter focuses on language, and how it should be incorporated into language arts. Language Arts instruction is currently based on reading, writing, speaking, and listening, but never really focuses on language as a social practice. The authors argue for a “pedagogy of multiliteracies,” stating that language should be developed by students participation in the community. Current classroom practices generally lead teachers to teach using either a “one size fits all” or “mix and match” approach. The “one size fits all” approach follows extremes, one of which overemphasizes the teaching of conventional features of writing and reading instruction (standard usage, grammar, spelling, phonics, word attack skills). It is characterized by teacher-centered activities. The other extreme of the “one size fits all” approach exaggerate the beliefs of discovery learning across tasks and is completely student centered.
20. Chapter 10 cont. Explicit instruction of literacy skills is rarely used. In the “mix and match” approach teachers recognize the needs of individual students so they draw from a wide variety of practices. However, they tend to jump around too much which leads to disjointed curriculum. The authors describe the “radical middle” approach, which they feel should be used in the classroom. In this type of classroom, teachers are theory-informed and culturally aware. They understand how children learn and use language. One common characteristic for these teachers is their continued search for better practice and deeper understandings of the relationship between language, culture, and learning. Language is the center for learning and explicit instruction is given in the form of mini lessons and small group work.
21. Chapter 11Every Step You TakeBy: Patrick Shannon This chapter is about an experience Shannon’s daughter, Laura, had in 8th grade. Laura had a writing assignment about responsibility. Laura’s teacher gave her a B-, and Shannon then had a parent teacher conference with the teacher. Shannon had asked his daughter to think deeply about the task before writing. Her teacher commented that she was impressed with Laura’s thoughts but did not focus on the main idea of the question. The teacher stressed the importance of the proper writing format with topic and concluding sentences. Shannon then goes on to discuss the problem with valuing the format of the writing over the quality. His daughter produced high quality writing, however because it was not in the standard format that the teacher wanted. In the end, the teacher raised Laura’s grade to an A-.
22. Chapter 12The Politics of What WorksBy: Patrick Shannon In this chapter Shannon points out that what works = what’s good. However no one has been able to agree on what works. Neoconservatives believe that what works in literacy education is to train readers to interpret new texts through the virtues of self discipline, compassion, responsibility, friendship, work, courage, perseverance, honesty, loyalty, and faith. Neoliberals believe in connecting individuals’ learning to read with our collective survival in the global economy. This has produced the Educate America Act and America Reads Initiative. Liberals see reading as a goal in and of itself.
23. Chapter 13If You Ain’t Got the ABC’sBy: Patrick Shannon This chapter discusses the fact that power in education is held by people who are generally not teachers. Big business (Hewlett Packard) did not feel that the teachers at Santa Barbara Elementary school were able to properly do their job so they provided money for the school board to adopt a new language arts basal series which were not on the California approved textbook list. Although a poll showed teachers rejected the series, Santa Barbara teachers are now using the new series. Additionally many legislatures, with no background in education, are able to decide what is and is not effective and implement change. Teachers are considered one of several variables that is less important than the new basal suggested by Hewlett Packard.
24. Chapter 14What is to Be Done?By: Rick Ayers This chapter is about a girl named Lisandra who almost got kicked out of high school. The girl grew up in the inner city where “you don’t join a gang, you are in one by virtue of where you live.” Her family tried to give her a better life and keep her busy so she wouldn’t get into trouble. However, she was arrested for beating up on another girl. This incident led her to spend 2 nights in jail and then she was suspended from school, awaiting an expulsion hearing. One of her teachers wrote letters to juvenile hall as well as district officials to try and help the girl be able to stay in school. She had made great advances in school and although she had been trying to stay out of trouble was still around poor influences, which would only get worse if she was expelled. The family had to hire a lawyer and the final expulsion hearing lasted 3.5 hours, normally they only last about half an hour. The district officials did everything in their power to get the girl expelled but since she had a lawyer, 3 teachers, and family members testify on her behalf, she was finally able to stay in school.
25. Chapter 15Social Formations and the Politics of Literacy Education: Confronting the Stacked Deck of OpportunityBy: Eric J. Weiner In this chapter, Eric Weiner discusses the formation of his college course and the program that the course was part of. CAMP CAMP=College Assistance Migrant Program CAMP was a program that provided mainly ESL and reading “deficient” freshmen with a literacy system that worked, however, throughout this program these students were also humiliated when second grade students were brought in to show them how poorly they (college freshmen) really read. The CAMP students understood two things: 1. They were considered stupid there. 2. They needed the school to achieve certain goals and dreams.
26. Chapter 15 cont. Weiner believes: Colleges and CAMP will fail to help students if they don’t address how and why the deck of opportunity is stacked against them They will also fail if they do not make systematic changes to the social formations that double bind students and teachers. Often administration justifies low retention rates by making the claim that these students were given an opportunity to succeed but did not take advantage of it. Teachers and administrators must intervene and work against the grain to reshape the instructional design so that it reflects a social and political intent on creating citizens to lead instead of be led.
27. Chapter 16Get Ghetto on Us: Discourse and Possibility in English ClassroomsBy: Dana Salter This chapter starts with a student intern that plays the part of a popular media image of a black youth in a predominantly white classroom to see their reaction. The lesson enabled the class to discuss how their perceptions influenced their observations and memories. This lesson backfired when the intern was assigned to that class. A particular student could not accept the new discourse of English teacher instead of a black “ghetto” student. This soon to be teacher began to examine all of her own discourses and how they came about. She also investigated how these discourses contributed to her life and allowed her students, through English, to investigate or discover their own discourse.
28. Chapter 17Phish Is! : A Metaphor for Freedom for All PhansBy: Anne Slonaker Phish is a popular 90’s jam band with a huge, loyal following. These Phish phans are all associated with the same discourse. They have a group of devoted phans called “funky bitches” that work to connect women Phish Phans together through a supportive network, as well as, educate phans about women’s issues. Throughout this chapter, the Phish discourse is discussed. All discourses have norms that are passed on to new members, conveyed and demonstrated to distinguish one group from others. There are also discourses that have other discourses within them.
29. Chapter 18Reflexive Agency: Looking Back to Move ForwardBy: Lisa Burley Maras Lisa Burley Maras made the decision to run her classroom as a democratic society. This proved to be a bad decision when administration and her coworkers did not approve. She discovered that she had made choices that resulted in both progress and conflict or struggle. After much struggle and a few different teaching assignments, she has not abandoned her commitment to making democratic education a democracy. She however, has learned that she must change her way of looking at, interpreting and judging those who have different beliefs. Maras states that she has learned one way she can improve her goal is to talk with her colleagues, so that, hearing them, she can also be heard by them as well.
30. Chapter 19Identity and Difference in Textbooks and LifeBy: Gabriella Mendez Gabriella Mendez is a U.S. college student originally from Argentina. Upon coming to the U.S. she was first faced with the fact that she was a minority. She became friends with other Spanish speakers in her community and became president of the Latin American Student Association. This association organized activities that helped relieve the stresses of being a graduate student in a foreign country. Being labeled colored, latina, and Hispanic helped her discover that together, “the others” like her can improve their lives. Mendez stated, “I do not believe that there is a neutral position here. If we do not recognize differences and we do not provide students with a language to name that difference and to challenge it, then we condone and reproduce injustice.” She believes as teachers, to know what position we take, we must question : 1. What assumption we make about the “ideal student” and what attitudes do we have toward children who do not fit our ideal? 2. The language we provide for children. Language assigns meaning to things we perceive and allows us to assign meaning to what we could not see before.
31. Chapter 19 cont. Mendez emphasizes that the language we provide for students can limit or expand their minds, their world view and even their world. These experiences caused her to look deeper into her education in Argentina. Argentinean Textbooks In 1993 the General Law of Education 24195 was passed stipulating the rights of education policy such as freedom to teach and learn, equality of opportunities, rejection of any kind of discrimination, equity through a fair distribution of educational resources, and the organization of special programs to allow the access to education. They also established a national curriculum and new textbooks to reflect the curriculum. Textbooks constituted 60% of class time in Argentina. The textbooks are chosen by the teachers and purchased by the parents. Teachers also participate in the textbook production process. Gender During the last Argentinean military-ruled government (1976-1983) the official discourse depicted women as “moral, passive, vicarious, restricted to the home.” Although the percentage of women enrolled in secondary schools and in the work market has increased, in textbooks they still only appear in a quarter of the pages.
32. Chapter 19 cont. Race: A Nonissue in Argentina? Race does appear in textbooks, however, they are positioned hierarchically without any justification or explanation. Power relationships are taken for granted and are presented as a natural occurrence. The texts do not address issues of injustice. Class Popular culture celebrates wealth and excludes poverty from its discourse, however, the official discourse of documents hides wealth. When dividing Argentinean people into categories, at the low end is people who earn between $50-$150 and at the top, people who earn between $1,200-$40,000 a month as if there is no substantial difference in the quality of life. Textbooks do not question the causes and consequences of poverty and wealth, instead, they are taken for granted.
33. Chapter 19 cont. Gender, Race, and Class When analyzing the 4th grade textbook, Mendez says that by including fewer images of women, people of color, and the poor this suggests they are less important in the past and present. Also, by not explicitly considering sexism, racism, and discrimination against the poor, it implies that these are not important social issues. She asks the question, “How can these images and words help the students dream,, imagine, and work for a better world?” Mendez feels that their students deserve the same opportunity to better understand their world, to respect themselves, and to fight for their rights. We, as teachers, will not help them if we use books that limit their imagination.
34. Chapter 20What’s a Fellow to Do? : Family Literacy at This Time in This PlaceBy: Patrick Shannon In this chapter, Shannon discusses literacy projects that he and his family are involved in. Although each person’s project is very different and they may not understand them, they still consider themselves a literacy family and they continue to support each other. Despite their concerns about the present, they are hopeful for the future. They each pursue their projects hoping to make a difference for themselves and others. Shannon states that his family’s literacy demonstrates that progressive literacies are possible. “Literacy involves a dialectical mix of critique, hope, empowerment, praxis, and pedagogy in service to both individual and social development. That service requires that we learn one lesson from Susan B.’s life: That personal and social changes come from hard work, collaboration, and personal risk. He went on to say that he and his family understand their literacy projects as projects of possibility because they imply their dreams for a better future.
35. Publish Reviews The current climate of high-stakes testing and scripted curricula makes Pat Shannon's premise more timely than ever. The essays included here provide strong measures of theory, strategy, and hope for all of us who struggle to support literacies that liberate rather than limit.- Gloria Pipkin, Coauthor of At the Schoolhouse GateShannon's work is a rare combination of rigorous thinking, lucid writing, and political savvy. Becoming Political, Too is a must read for anyone wishing to understand the past, present, and likely future of literacy education.- Jeff McQuillian, Author of The Literacy Crisis
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