Family Literacy: The Missing Link to School-Wide Literacy Efforts
2007; Western Michigan University; Volume: 48; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
2642-8857
Autores Tópico(s)Themes in Literature Analysis
ResumoEveryone has a literacy component to their lives. Family literacy refers to the ways people learn and use literacy in their home and everyday lives. Many times there is a disconnect between family and school literacies. Schools do not have systematic ways of tapping into the wealth of knowledge families possess and linking that knowledge to school literacy efforts. This article provides a brief review of family literacy issues and perspectives. Sample family literacy programs are summarized and suggestions are given for strengthening the link between family and school through food, photos, family publications, journals, literacy events, and using parents as resources in the classroom. Family Literacy • 57 Family Literacy: The Missing Link to School-Wide Literacy Efforts Vicky Zygouris-Coe, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Education Dept. of Teaching & Learning Principles University of Central Florida Abstract Everyone has a literacy component to their lives. Family literacy refers to the ways people learn and use literacy in their home and everyday lives. Many times there is a disconnect between family and school literacies. Schools do not have systematic ways of tapping into the wealth of knowledge families possess and linking that knowledge to school literacy efforts. This article provides a brief review of family literacy issues and perspectives. Sample family literacy programs are summarized and suggestions are given for strengthening the link between family and school through food, photos, family publications, journals, literacy events, and using parents as resources in the classroom.Everyone has a literacy component to their lives. Family literacy refers to the ways people learn and use literacy in their home and everyday lives. Many times there is a disconnect between family and school literacies. Schools do not have systematic ways of tapping into the wealth of knowledge families possess and linking that knowledge to school literacy efforts. This article provides a brief review of family literacy issues and perspectives. Sample family literacy programs are summarized and suggestions are given for strengthening the link between family and school through food, photos, family publications, journals, literacy events, and using parents as resources in the classroom. Literacy begins at home. Literacy is everywhere and is shaped and reshaped by the spaces we enter and exit (Roswell, 2006) and by the interactions we have with people in those spaces. For some children there is a cultural divide between home and school that has particular implications for the development of literacy for those whose home practices are not sanctioned in school. There is a need to create a permanent space for family literacy in the school. 58 • Reading Horizons • V48.1 • 007 The story of family literacy is a story of people and how they use literacy to achieve their goals in their family, life, work, and community. It is my story who, although I had an illiterate grandmother, developed a passion for learning and literacy. One of the family literacy experiences I had while growing up in Greece involved monthly afternoons at the movies with my grandmother and her best friend. Once a month, on a Thursday afternoon, I would find myself riding the public bus into the city along with two illiterate older ladies who enjoyed watching Turkish soap operas (I don’t think I was ever given a choice in the matter). My grandmother would wait for me to come home from school, get a snack, walk to her best friend’s house to pick her up, and then the three of us would walk to the local bus stop. Those two ladies would chat about life, their families, the neighborhood, medications they were taking, and any upcoming events or religious celebrations. What was my role in this whole scenario? I was the involuntary reader. I would sit in between my grandmother and her friend at the movie theatre and for two hours or so I would read the subtitles out loud for them. I vividly remember people in the movie theatre reminding me to be quiet but my grandmother would encourage me to ignore them and keep on reading. After two hours of watching Houlia (one of the famous actresses in that genre of entertainment), reading subtitles non-stop, and having to deal with people yelling at me, we would finally catch the bus and return home. Of course, I was never rewarded for my services. “No amount of money can buy one’s ability to read!” my grandmother would often remind me. I dreaded those Thursday afternoons but I loved my grandmother! At the time, I disliked the whole humiliating movie experience but treasure the memories now. I guess practicing reading in a public theatre did not scar me for life; I could even say that it helped my reading fluency. In short, my tale presents a snapshot one of the diverse ways in which literacy happens at home. How could my unconventional experiences with an illiterate grandmother have been relevant to my literacy development? I believe that the interactions I had with my grandmother while she, her best friend, and I were constructing meaning from the movie were invaluable. Literacy development is not just about scoring well on a literacy test; it is also about the relationships that take place inside and outside school. It is not the availability of books, the frequency of book reading, or the rich discussions that might Family Literacy • 59 follow reading alone that are related to children’s literacy and language development, but the broader pattern of parent-child activities and interactions inside and outside the home that supports children’s literacy achievement (Strickland, as cited in Roswell, 2006). My illiterate grandmother took time to talk with me, sing to me, go shopping with me, teach me how to cook and crochet, and tell me tales about her homeland. She was a great storyteller, was very involved in her grandchildren’s education, was an advocate for reading and learning, a volunteer, and a social activist. When my mother could not attend a parentteacher conference, my grandmother would take her place. I vividly remember her discussing my brothers’ progress as well as mine, with teachers. Although she was illiterate, she still wanted the best for her grandchildren. She encouraged us to learn and succeed and did whatever she could to support our learning. I have come to appreciate the invaluable (and somewhat unconventional) literacy experiences she offered to me. What is Family Literacy? Throughout history, the family has been the beginning point for the development of human resources within a culture and the primary source for learning. Families help children construct meaning about life, culture, language, learning, and literacy. Families provide an intergenerational transfer of language, culture, thought, values, and attitudes throughout the formative years of their children’s lives. The term, “family literacy,” was coined by Denny Taylor (1993) to describe how literacy was used in families. Family is defined as two or more people (i.e., parents, grandparents, caregivers, siblings, and extended family) who share a common lineage (or create a new one), share common goals and values, have commitments to one another and reside, usually, in the same dwelling. Family literacy refers to the members’ ability to read, write, communicate, view, and take the perspective of another. As part of family literacy, family members learn together how to become literate, increase literacy and use the power of literacy and family communication to change their lives and to meet their goals. Family literacy describes a wide range of activities from a parent reading a book to a child to a formal program with many services for adults and children. Historically, family literacy is an “umbrella term” often used to describe a wide range of programs involving family members and literacy activities. The programs vary in intensity, activities, and duration (Come & Fredericks, 1995; National 0 • Reading Horizons • V48.1 • 007 Center for Family Literacy (NCFL), 2007). Family literacy is a proven intergenerational approach that improves the literacy, language and life skills of both parents and children. There are numerous local family programs throughout the country that provide parents with education and skills that increase children’s literacy and educational development (e.g., NCFL, 2007; U.S. Department of Education, 2006). Family literacy requires that parents are viewed and supported as the first teachers of their children. The Family Literacy Commission views family literacy as the ways parents, caregivers, children, and extended family members use literacy at home in their community. Parents are critical partners in the education of all children. The National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL, 1994; 2007) has compiled many statistics that highlight the importance of family literacy in the United States. For example: • Every 40 seconds a child is born into poverty and every 37 seconds a child is born to a mother who did not graduate from high school. • 71% of children whose mothers completed college attended early childhood centers in 1996, compared to 37% whose mothers had less than a high school education. • The more types of reading materials there are in the home, the higher the level of student proficiency. • Parental literacy is one of the single most important indicators of a child’s success. • By age four, children who live in poor families will have heard 32 million fewer words than children living in professional families. • One in five, or 20%, of America’s children five years old and under live in poverty. • More schools with poverty populations and minority enrollments of 50% or more perceived the following issues to be barriers than schools low in these characteristics: Lack of parent education to help with homework; Cultural or socioeconomic differences;
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