Family, Culture, & Literacy: Parents & Children Learn Together (S11)
Presenter: Vivian Gadsden
Dr. Gadsden's session explored the concepts of literacy and families and the linkages between the two. She began the session by reminding everyone that we enter into any given situation or exploration of a subject with certain assumptions. The first topic the group discussed was assumptions about what literacy is or what literacy helps to provide. These included:
- the ability to read and write,
- empowerment,
- poverty alleviation,
- survival skills,
- communication,
- acquisition of knowledge,
- change of attitude, and
- cultural exchange/preservation of culture.
Dr. Gadsden then asked the group to pick the three or four concepts they found most important, and to think of them in the context of family literacy. A discussion followed about what a family is and how family should be defined. Traditional versus real definitions of family was an important topic.
Participants were then split into four groups and given a scenario to discuss and debate. The scenario was to imagine that a young mother and her young daughter (or young father and young son) have just walked into your literacy program. The mother dropped out of school after completing only the 6th grade, and now wants to help her six-year-old child through school. Key questions for discussion were:
- What is the first thing you say to the mother/father and daughter/son? What do you tell the parent about yourself and your program?
- What would you want to know? In other words, what information would be useful to plan a program of learning for the family?
- welcome the mother and child in an open and accepting fashion;
- do not share too much about the program at first, but instead engage in friendly conversation whereby the program director can learn more about the mother's background;
- do not take notes while you are talking with the mother and child; just remember as much information as possible and record it shortly after the session; and
- determine the cultural, family, and household background of the mother without being obtrusive.
Dr. Gadsden next asked the group to consider several guiding principles for their literacy programs. These included:
- literacy develops naturally;
- literacy is experienced at different levels of intensity, for different purposes, and in different environments;
- literacy programs represent varying degrees of quality;
- literacy gains value and dimension when channeled through families; and
- a family's literacy needs change over time, depending upon community and societal demands and changes.
Dr. Gadsden concluded by asking what would happen the next time the family in the scenario enters the literacy program. What further information would you need to know and consider to plan an appropriate program for the family? Based upon your knowledge about what adult literacy learners' needs are, what would the program include? How would you modify the plan to help the parent help the child? Although there was not enough time to discuss all of these questions, Dr. Gadsden did offer to lead a listserv discussion on these topics to assist literacy practitioners in developing programs for family literacy.
Readings: (Language and Culture, Section 4)
-Giving Meaning to Literacy: Intergenerational Beliefs about Access (Gadsden)
-Understanding Family Literacy: Conceptual Issues Facing the Field (Gadsden)
-Representations of Literacy: Parents' Images in Two Cultural Communities (Gadsden)
-How do we Account for Racial, Ethnic, Religious, and Other Cultural Differences When Designing and Conducting Family Literacy Programs? (Gadsden)
INTERNATIONAL LITERACY
INSTITUTE