"What a dangerous activity reading is; teaching is. All this plastering on of foreign stuff. Why plaster on at all when there's so much inside already? So much locked in? If only I could get it out and use it as working material. And not draw it out either. If I had a light enough touch it would just come out under its own volcanic power."
- Sylvia Ashton-Warner
Literacy, in particular, is a very weird subject to unpack. So much of what is (or was) discussed seems almost archaic. Reading books that are literally decades older than their readers and then answering many meaningless reading comprehension questions about them. While I do believe that the reading comprehension is an invaluable tool to have in the box, you really don't learn it from answering questions you don't know how to answer. For students (and teachers) to be able to assess texts for symbolism, deeper meaning, context, and intention is so crucial in a our world today. A world that constantly bombards its inhabitants with information. How do we judge bias? How do we decipher authenticity?
My hope is to come at literacy in a way that uses 'everyday' texts. Instead of reading novels about the Canadian Wilderness, read a blog post about current environmental issues. Instead of reading Owls in the Family listen to John Mayer's Daughters and dig for deeper meaning. Texts are all around us. Students need to learn how to look at these texts, really understand them. All of them. Use texts and mediums that are already a part of everyday life. Show kids that literacy doesn't have to be "boring" or "dry." Show students that there are not right or wrong answers. Learn to talk and discuss and be passionate about texts. About literacy.