To wrap it all up . . .

When I first entered this literacy class, my views on literacy matched those of an English teacher: I believed that all teachers should teach students to read and write (which is what I thought literacy was in the beginning) and that teaching literacy was easy in a history class so why did I need to learn about it. My views and beliefs have made a complete 180 in some regards. I understand now that literacy encompasses more than just reading and writing but also speaking and listening and that I was my students to come to use their literacy for more than "school". I have absolutely loved our discussions on theory and practice--had we had not, I might have become a behaviorist (gasp!). I am so excited to enter the world as an educator at this time. True, the task is daunting and we don't know what the common core has in store for us. However, I feel that at no time before has education been so open and complex to new ideas. For example, critical literacy. With the wide world of digital texts, diverse texts, and diverse learners, we are better able to teach our students "beyond the textbook". I have always believed that history was important and I was proud of my American history. But MY history is so much more than that. I am a female, a daughter, a sister, a granddaughter, a niece, a teacher, a softball player, an Italian, a singer, a book-aholic. And I understand that there is more to my students than what I perceive of them. I will make sure that their "identities" are validated in my classroom, that they have the opportunity to teach me, and their peers, about their world and if they are not happy about it, that they can speak up and together make a change. I loved these past few weeks learning about theories, especially constructivism, socio-culturism, and critical theories. I feel that I am better prepared to help my students learn, to construct their knowledge, to help them read, write, speak, and listen in and to their world. Never before have I been so empowered as a teacher. The task is daunting and some days I wonder why I chose to do this job. However, I feel that because of this class and the skills, strategies, and dispositions I have learned as a teacher, my world is full of possibilities and those possibilities will be passed on to my students to hopefully create life long, critical learners. After all, my goal as a History educator is to create well0informed citizens who will make a change in the world. What better way is there?
How will you integrate critical literacy instruction in your discipline? How will you choose and teach vocabulary words? How will you structure opportunities for students to use oral language? How will you support your students in writing and reading texts in your discipline? How will you support academically, linguistically, and culturally diverse learners? How will you integrate digital technologies? What kinds of texts will you make available to your students?

Real life, real students

In my clinical experiences, I had the opportunity to observe an eighth grade US history class at North Cache. I was lucky enough to be in a classroom where literacy was a very important aspect of how history was learned. Daily, these students worked on pertinent vocabulary words (not only in history but in general). They read daily, whether it be a textbook or an alternate text that the teacher has assigned. Class group readings and out loud readings take place. there are journal writings and opportunities for students to work in groups. However, the literacy focuses on mainstream, white perspectives. very little are other views and perspectives brought into the class. So while I agree with what this teacher is doing in his class, one change I would make in my own class is to make sure all perspectives are validated and that they are brought to the attention of my students. When learning about Christopher Columbus, we won't just focus on how great it was that Europeans "discovered" America, but that there were people already living here and talk about their technology and advancements. It is great to teach vocabulary, to get students reading and writing and speaking, but that is only the first step. Next we need to look deeper and to use those skills to question what is going on, why were are learning what we are, what narratives are left out, why they are left out, and what we can do to make sure they aren't left out.