November 26 , 2019
“For all intents and purposes neither of us should have learned to read (much less write) given our circumstances of birth and the home conditions of our formative years.” When I asked myself, “Says who?”, Zulmara and Necochea listed studies to support this assertion but they clearly didn’t adhere to them. Evidently the studies are one dimensional. Both authors write that the grew up in homes with little or no written literature and that reading and writing was not modeled for them. Yet, both became avid readers and writers. They suggest that a key to their success was having rich oral and storytelling traditions in their families.
Oral Literacy versus Reading and
Writing Literacy
“For all intents and purposes neither of us should have learned to read (much less write) given our circumstances of birth and the home conditions of our formative years.” When I asked myself, “Says who?”, Zulmara and Necochea listed studies to support this assertion but they clearly didn’t adhere to them. Evidently the studies are one dimensional. Both authors write that the grew up in homes with little or no written literature and that reading and writing was not modeled for them. Yet, both became avid readers and writers. They suggest that a key to their success was having rich oral and storytelling traditions in their families.
Based on what my
father told me about his background, he did not have much of any type of
literature in his sharecropper home in South Carolina. Yet, he became an avid
reader, much of it self-taught, filled our home with books and magazines, and
read at every opportunity. Yet, even he
did not often read my older sister and me bedtime stories. Sometimes he read to
me at the dining room table or on a porch glider when I asked him. I became the avid reader and writer (Sometimes
I get carried away with the writing!) but my older sister, from the same
environment, had no interest in those things. She was, and still is, the social and outgoing
one. (As for Comic books I had a fourth
grade teacher who would routinely let us give oral book reports on them and I
enjoyed reading them too.)
My mother never
read to my sister and me either, nor modeled reading or writing for us. Yet,
while my father would share family stories and traditions in bits and pieces,
my mother would tell detailed stories about herself and her family in Southeast
Kentucky. I recently visited an older
uncle and not only did he tell me more stories about my mother’s family but
also his experience in knot County, Kentucky in the mid-1950s as a star black
player on an otherwise white basketball team of a newly desegregated
school. What was great about hearing the
story was it that he also books as well as tons of pictures to go along with
the story. He’s lived in Indianapolis
for years but it was the first time I heard the story. How much richer would my own earlier
educational experience have been if I had been encouraged to value familial
story telling more.
My
questions are: Is reading and writing
more important than oral tradition and storytelling? How can family stories and
traditions be incorporated in lessons in a non-intimidating way without
students, maybe older ones, thinking that you are prying (sometimes into
dubious activities) or for some bilinguals trying to find out about their
citizenship status? Why do students coming from the same home environment have different attitudes or toward reading
and writing and develop different skills?
From the Haneda reading, how can teachers build the gap between students
perceived as low achieving students at school but successful in their use of
English outside of school?
In answer to your proposed question about storytelling being less important than reading and writing I would offer my opinion that it is not less important. Every time I see something on social media about having books in the home will allow your child to be a better reader I have a reaction where I rant in my head (the alternative would be to rant on Facebook!) that a book in the home does not equal a love for reading or a fluent reader! What it might do is create connection during reading rituals, but it does not create a reader. I believe the idea of connection through our storytelling is as much of a key component along with a value of learning in contributing to readers and learners.
ReplyDeleteI know my grandmother grew up in a home without books, without education beyond middle school, and without a value of school yet she was a fluent and avid reader. She did however come from a family of people that were problem solvers that valued learning skills and were close knit. She knew many stories of her mom and dad from their youth which leads me to believe there was a strong component of connection through their stories.
I
Kristyn,
DeleteI agree that simply having books in the home doesn't promote a love of reading. Having an adult read to you as a child doesn't promote that love either. From my own experiences, that is true. I was read to and had many books, but I don't enjoy reading. I know as a teacher that sounds crazy! I have just never viewed reading as pleasurable. I would much prefer to hear a story about my family background. Unfortunately, my family didn't do a lot of storytelling while I was growing up. I became a successful professional with my family reading to me but not enjoying to read myself. I relate this topic back to J500 and our nonfiction text, The Latehomecomer. Kao's family, mainly her grandmother, told many stories. They didn't have books and weren't read to (from what the text says anyways). Kao is extremely successful without books and being read to. What she remembers from her childhood were all her grandma's stories.
I agree with both of you, but I will say that you cannot underestimate the importance of having books in the home or being read to be to children who originally do not like to read. Brittany, I see that you had a lot of books growing up and was read to but you still do not like to read. My youngest daughter told me once that the only reason that she started to like to read, was because I read to her so much. So, I think that under some circumstances having books in the home and reading to children could foster their love for reading. This is obviously not the case a lot of the times, but there are still those few times...
DeleteI believe gaining an interest in reading and writing is personal and depends on the individual. I would however like to see the research on the correlation of being read to as a child and being interested in reading and writing as an adult. From my own experience, my mom and grandma read to my sister and I growing up, and we had tons of books in our home. However, neither my sister nor myself took an interest in reading or writing. We are both in professions that require a lot of reading and writing, but we don't read or write for pleasure. Sometimes I wish I read more for pleasure, but feel as though I have no time for pleasure reading. I think that story telling, especially within different cultures, is a form or reading and gaining knowledge about ones family experiences. To answer your question, I don't believe that we could say reading and writing or traditional storytelling is more important. I believe they are all important in their own ways. Again, storytelling is more prevalent within different cultures and more valued, I think. Reading and writing and traditional storytelling are all intertwined and hold much value.
ReplyDeleteI agree it depends on the individual, Brittany. I grew up being read to and with a parent that read for pleasure all of the time (she even worked in a library for her love of books and reading). However, my brother has probably never picked up a book as an adult and I despise writing assignments that call on me to be creative and "long-winded"as I view it!
DeleteI think it's important to recognize our students may not develop a love of reading or be that skilled read aloud reader, but they can be still be fluent readers or at least adequate readers to read for knowledge and information. I believe our students that may not enjoy reading may be deemed low readers therefore it's imperative we find ways to show them they are still successful in language and learning!
Again, I agree that it depends on the individual. I had a different experience that both of you and I personally feel that even though storytelling can be amazing and enchanting, reading is something that is more personal, in my opinion. When someone is telling a story, you are listening to their nuances and their expressions and, in essence, you are viewing it through their eyes. When you read, you are creating you own version with you own expression and nuances.
DeleteI think you are right. I don't think you can really compare or say which is more important when we look at oral tradition vs. traditional reading and writing. I feel like storytelling was used most of the time for entertainment purposes and traditional reading and writing has more of an education feel. That's why I feel like many people would prefer a story to be told to them.
DeleteMy answer to your question as to why students who come from the same home environment have different attitudes towards reading and writing? Some students just embrace something that they can connect to in ways that maybe their siblings or peers cannot. It is an individual choice. When I was growing (I talked a lot about this in my Language Letter), I loved reading and it was a special bond that I shared with my mother. My brothers despised reading and writing. They eventually started to like it when they grew into adults. I also loved to write. I love to create my own narrative and create something that was special to me. My siblings could not understand why I read so much or why I love to write. It was because I felt a connection to reading and writing. They never had the same connection that I did.
ReplyDeleteI guess coming from a similar environment of being read to and/or enjoying storytelling may be just a part of an individual's experience and other experiences outside the home, maybe like school might play a part, but not necessarily so. My sister was more athletic and enjoyed sports and PE. I did not, but I loved books. I could have been more athletic if I wanted and my sister could have read more if it suited her, but we were just different. Ultimately, I agree with James and Brittany that reading and writing are personal. I think it does depend on the person, but when you are the one telling your own story, you can still have your own nuances and expressions. You never know who might be inspired.
ReplyDeleteI agree that reading and writing are personal, but I also think it maybe a culturally relevant custom. As I was growing up in China, educational ideals were basically focus on reading and writing. Chinese class played a dominant role in the basic education system. And this class is about reading and writing. In the accountability system, too. Since elementary school, our Chinese testing paper have three parts, and two of them are reading and writing. Those two parts account for more than 65% of the total score.
DeleteAlthough I have a same feeling with you, I have a passion in literature when I was young too. But I still can see that a lot Chinese students were forced to study reading and writing to get ready for tests. Even they may not have a talent or enthusiasm in those things, but the more practice they get, the better they are in the reading and writing.
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ReplyDeleteI think there is a lot that goes into reading attitude. I also find it interesting that children from the same household with similar upbringings can have very different attitudes towards reading. I think many times it's about figuring out what you like. Stories that engage. I think that is why oral stories are so popular, because more often than not the storyteller is engaging and brings the audience into the story. Sometimes with readers, especially younger/low readers we are unable to read in a way that engages.
ReplyDeleteVery good point Sabbath. I believe some stories whether it's in a book or verbally can be interesting if it engages the child. As long as the story is developmentally appropriate for the child and culturally relative.
DeleteI think they are both important. For kids who from families that the first language is not English, I think it is very important for them to learn their native language, cultures, and stories by their parents. Since I came to the USA, I met with people that their parents are immigrations. Some of them can barely speak their home language at all, while some of them can still speak and listen but can not write in Chinese. A typical example are my cousins. My aunt came to the United States for PHD program in 90s. She took my uncle and my oldest cousin to here too. To let my cousin to adapt to this new language environment, they asked him to speak English in the home. However, they found that he can barely say Chinese anymore when he getting older. Then they decided to let their little son, who was born in the US, only speak Chinese in the home. Which are two totally different home language education.
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