Return-Path: <nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id gA9ItjX06800; Sat, 9 Nov 2002 13:55:45 -0500 (EST) Date: Sat, 9 Nov 2002 13:55:45 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <200211091852.NAA12522@gloworm.cnchost.com> Errors-To: alcrsb@langate.gsu.edu Reply-To: nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: Deborah Schwartz <deborah@alri.org> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-WOMENLIT:2372] Re: questions (response 2) X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain Status: O Content-Length: 4224 Lines: 92 ..and one more thought about addressing the question of how much of our material should include lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender issues, characters or experiences. Whether or not our students or colleagues can or decide to be "out," atleast 10 percent of any given population is gay. If, as adult educators, we were grounded in that truth then at least 10 percent of the material and curriculum that we develop and teach from, at any given time would include the experience of gay people. Deborah ---- Deborah Schwartz <deborah@alri.org> wrote: > Daphne, > .. as for your questions #2- using texts that are considered between 2nd-7th grade reading levels > that include Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and/or Transgender characters, I've had success with > Nicholasa Mohr's novella, Herman and Alice in her larger collection of work, El Bronx Remembered, > originally published by Arte Publico (1975), more recently republished in paperback by > HarperCollins (1993). > > The novella explores Alice's life- a trapped, seemingly dead-end existance where she's pregnant > and on the cusp of leaving high school. She meets a handsome, gracious older man who is also > trapped in his community and life and who happens to be gay. I won't give away the plot... > > The reading level seems to be about 5th or 6th grade equivalent, but the issues and the tone of the > writing are adult. > > Deborah Schwartz > > ---- Gail Spangenberg <gspangenberg@caalusa.org> wrote: > > Daphne, On your first question, I always have trouble with the terms > > "learners" or "adult learners," because all of those terms include > > ALL adults -- i.e. we are ALL learners or adult learners regardless > > of the domain of learning. Also, I think "student" is a honorable > > term as is "literacy" and that both convey a very positive concept. > > Like you, I am inclined to feel that we need better terminology, as > > do the students who are learning or have learned new literacy skills > > and who aspire to provide much-needed leadership in the field. I > > don't necessarily have something better to offer, but perhaps > > "literacy learners," or "adult literacy learners" or even "adult > > literacy students" are worth considering. It will be interesting to > > see what other suggestions are made in your listserv and I hope Marty > > Furstenberg as Executive Director of VALUE will among those sharing > > their thoughts about this. Gail > > > > > > > > > > > > >As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, from time to time I will > > >pose questions that I am struggling with while I am doing my > > >research. Here are two questions: > > > > > >1. Do you prefer the term learner or student? Do you prefer the term > > >teacher or instructor? If you have a preference, why? I am > > >struggling with the words that we use, but I don't know enough to > > >know why I am struggling. What do we imply when we use the word > > >learner vs. student? What do we imply when we use the word teacher > > >vs. instructor? Are there other terms that are even better? > > > > > >2. I would like to make sure that the reading materials that we > > >offer to our learners/students are as diverse as possible. How do I > > >ensure this? For example, if I want to include books with characters > > >who have diverse orientations-what proportion of the books should > > >this be? Also, does anyone know of appropriate books that cover LGBT > > >issues/characters that are written between the 2nd and 7th grade > > >reading levels (Mev, I know that you have supplied lists, but are > > >any of the books that you have mentioned written below the 7th grade > > >reading level)? > > > > > >Any thoughts ideas about any of the above? > > >Daphne > > > > > >Daphne Greenberg > > >Associate Director > > >Center for the Study of Adult Literacy > > >Georgia State University > > >University Plaza > > >Atlanta, GA 30303-3083 > > >phone: 404-651-0127 > > >fax:404-651-4901 > > >dgreenberg@gsu.edu > > > > > > -- > > Gail Spangenberg > > President > > Council for Advancement of Adult Literacy > > 1221 Avenue of the Americas - 50th Fl > > New York, NY 10020 > > 212-512-2362, fax 212-512-2610 > > > > > >
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