Literacy has come to be a controversial issue in schools. School districts are asking teachers to bring literacy into the classrooms of all content areas and teachers are finding issues with this. I have heard teachers say in the past that they feel it is the ELA teacher’s responsibility to teach literacy but I think the problem is the misunderstanding of literacy. While school districts want teachers to find ways to get students to use literacy skills in classes other than ELA, they are not really showing teachers what literacy can be. Teachers may think that they are using literacy by having students read textbooks or write essays but literacy is so much more than that.
This semester has taught me that being a literate person means being able to communicate, read, write, and create in different social contexts. Something that has stuck with me through our readings is the focus on making content material relevant to students’ lives. It is difficult to motivate students solely with grades or punishment. Kids need to see that what they are learning is useful to them. Whenever I start a unit I always try to have a list of real-world applications that use the math I am teaching. I find as I teach I can talk about these applications and it keeps students’ interest while teaching them different aspects of math they may not have thought about.
I enjoyed writing my literacy blog because it challenged me to analyze different readings and videos while at the same time gave me the opportunity to write in my own voice. I liked that a blog does not have to be a formal essay that gets graded on technicality. A blog is a place to bring your own view of any topic to the world that people can see if they choose to. This will be my final entry in my literacy blog but I do think that I would in the future create another blog where I can share my personal experiences, thoughts, feelings, and insights on a multitude of topics. Although this blog may be ending, my journey with learning and using literacy is not. Right now I do not know what kind of class I will end up in but I feel that this course has given me the skills to be a teacher that can get students to excel academically while creating a generation of influential citizens at the same time. Thanks for reading my posts and goodnight!
