Return-Path: <nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id eBC6HC923455; Tue, 12 Dec 2000 01:17:12 -0500 (EST) Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2000 01:17:12 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <00b001c06402$ed8989e0$23bffea9@hppav> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: "Mary Ann Corley" <macorley1@earthlink.net> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-POVRACELIT:317] Questions about Purpose X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.50.4133.2400 Status: O Content-Length: 3273 Lines: 63 Eileen, Kate, and others: Thanks for the thought-provoking messages and questions! You each raise important issues that we all struggle with. I'd like to make a few observations/ask a few questions and invite others to jump in on this discussion. Do you think that the purpose of literacy programs is defined differently by various entities: funders (including the government), literacy providers, adult literacy learners, and the general public? Intriguing thought, no? It seems that we literacy providers are often caught up in the tension between what our funders expect and what our learners want. What do other readers think about the purpose of literacy programs, from these various perspectives? Kate talks about the "power" issue. How does this play out for many of our adult learners who are extremely capable but who view themselves as failures because of their histories of educational low achievement and of "not fitting in"? Whether the learners' internalized poor self-concepts are the result of learning disabilities, poverty, or racism, it seems that the effect is the same: the learners are different; they didn't fit the mold of traditional schooling. And traditional schooling too often fails to see or value the strengths and talents of learners who are "different." But can we state this with confidence, even if we feel in our guts that this is true? There are some research questions implicit here: Do K-12 teachers unknowingly have lowered expectations for their students who live in poverty (or who have learning disabilities, or who do not represent the mainstream culture) and do teachers somehow, unintentionally, treat these learners differently than they treat other learners? And are the learners then living out a self-fulfilling prophesy that teacher expectations equal student achievement? There is research that indicates that K-12 teachers show less attention to female students than they do to male students: they call on them less frequently, give them less feedback, etc. Might this also be true for children who live in poverty (or who have learning disabilities or who are culturally different)? Are schools somehow not providing the same supportive environment for all children when they are learning to read? And, if so, what are the residual effects when some of these children grow up and come to adult literacy classes? More importantly, what can literacy providers do to ensure that we don't unwittingly perpetuate some of these same conditions in our programs? We hope that this discussion list will help us find ways to effectively serve and retain more of our learners. I'd like to think that, if we consider the above issues, discuss them among ourselves and with our learners, and try some new approaches, then we can make our programs more responsive to the needs of all learners. These are just some late night ramblings--let's hear from others of you on these issues! (Re. Kate's question about rules: Shouldn't we both teach the "rules" to our students AND teach them to think for themselves so that they will have the tools to make informed decisions?) ********************************* Mary Ann Corley Director, National Center for Literacy and Social Justice macorley1@earthlink.net
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