Double Entry Journal #9

Chapter 1: A strange fact about not learning to read.

1.     What is the strange fact about not learning to read?

The “strange fact about not learning to read” discussed in chapter two is that the majority of the students who do well in early reading are form poor or minority groups with a history of prejudice and oppression.

2.     Why is this fact so strange?

This fact is well known, but should be seen as strange because being poor or a member of a particular social group has nothing to do with learning to read in school. One of the goals of school is supposed to be leveling the playing field for all children. These children do not have less ability to learn, so the connection between socioeconomic status and reading difficulty is strange.

 

3. What is it about school that manages to transform children who at good at learning things like Pokeman into children who are not good a learning?

Many instructional processes in today’s schools involve practicing skills outside of the contexts or experiences in which they are used, including reading instruction. Students who have no cultural connection to reading through their home life- which is often the case in poverty stricken homes- must learn reading through a purely instructional process that is very unnatural. Instead of creating opportunities for all students to connect culture, interests, and real life experiences to the process of learning to read, schools often keep a skill and drill approach to reading that may be helpful to students who experience this connection at home, but leaves students who don’t get this connection anywhere else behind.

 

4.     What are the differences between a traditionalists approach to learning to read and more progressive educators?

Traditionalists believe that learning to read is an instructed process that requires overt instruction. They believe that learning to read can be broken down into sequential steps and skills: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluent oral reading, and comprehension skills. According to traditionalists, these steps seamlessly build on one another and guarantee learning to read.

More progressive educators argue that meaning-making, rather than technical skills, are more important when learning to read. They believe that people learn to read most effectively when they focus on the meaning of the texts. Some support Whole Language, which is an approach in which reading is treated as a natural process with no instruction provided. Others believe that learning to read is more of a cultural process that should be supported by real life experiences as well as instruction.

 

5.     Is learning to read a natural process like learning to speak a language?

Learning to read is not a natural process because learning to speak a native language is part of the biological inheritance of human beings. Learning to read is a skill acquired only if the individual’s culture offers it.

 

6.     What is the differences between natural, instructed and cultural processes and which process should reading be classified under?

Natural processes such as learning to walk or to speak a first language are part of the biological instincts of human beings, and are experienced by everyone except those with severe disorders. Instructed processes are those that are drilled into students by overt instruction. Some areas in which instructed processes are useful, such as learning physics, social studies, and mathematics. Cultural processes include things that are taught to everyone in a culture because they are esteemed important by that specific group. For example, many cultures stress special ways of cooking, and skills are passed down through family generations. Reading is a cultural process because it is taught in many cultures as a skill necessary to succeed within the society.

 

7.     How do humans learn best? Through instructional processes or through cultural processes? How is reading taught in school?

Humans learn best through cultural processes rather than instructional processes because through cultural processes, what is learned becomes important to a person’s identity, views, and relationship with the world. However, reading is most often taught through an instructional process in schools, putting many students at a disadvantage.

 

8.     According to the author, what is the reason for the "fourth grad slump."

According to the author, many students appear to do well in learning to read until the fourth grade because until that point they are able to squeak by with their technical decoding skills; but when they are required to apply understanding of the texts to new and more challenging subject matter, the superficiality of their reading ability is revealed. This is because students have been taught the mechanics of reading through a shallow instructional method, and have not been taught how reading is important in areas of their lives outside of school. Therefore, students have not applied the skill of reading on a deeper, personal level to be used in areas other than reading class.

 

9.     What is a better predictor of reading success than phonemic awareness?

A better predictor of reading success than phonemic awareness is “early language ability” which the author renames an “early way with words”. This way with words seems to be the result of family, community, and school language environments in which children interact intensively with adults and more mature peers and experience advanced forms of language on specific and diverse topics.

 

10.  What is the difference between "vernacular" and "specialist" varieties of language? Give an example of two sentences, one written in the vernacular and one written in a "a specialized variety", about a topic in your content area.

Vernacular varieties of language are a form of language acquired by all people early in life that is used for everyday and face to face conversation. Specialist varieties of language are used for special purposes or activities such as the language used in the world of video games.

An example of a sentence containing vernacular language in the subject of art would be:

“John painted a self-portrait”

An example of a sentence that contains specialist art language would be:

“John used a number 6 filbert brush to create the impressionistic brush strokes in his self-portrait that explores constructs his personal identity.”

 

11.  What is "early language ability" and how is it developed?

Early language ability is developed through exposure to family, community, and school language environments in which children interact intensively with adults and more mature peers and experience advanced forms of language on specific and diverse topics.

 

12.  According to the author why and how does the traditionalist approach to teaching children to read fail?

According to the author, the traditionalist approach to teaching reading fails because it teaches specialized, academic forms of languages, but it does not start the academic language acquisitions process for children, a process some get at home and others do not- which is clearly the difference between students who succeed in early reading and those who struggle. Also, Traditionalist approaches focus on teaching skills of reading to students and fail to connect to the their experiences and culture, which would allow authentic, internalized learning.

 

13.  Are parents of poor children to blame for their children's inexperience with specialized varieties of language before coming to school?

In a way parents are to blame for not making reading a part of the child’s daily life before and outside of school because they are putting their child at a disadvantage However, it is understandable that the parent is overworked, drained, and does not have positive experiences with reading his/herself. Schools are ultimately to blame for keeping a system that is clearly flawed; putting some students at a disadvantage and letting many fall through the cracks. While it is ideal that parents be closely involved in preparing their children for education, it is ultimately the school’s job to teach all students to read well.

14.  Did you struggle with reading this text? Why? Are you a poor reader or are you unfamiliar with this variety of specialized language?

 

I had no problems with reading this chapter. I think the author expresses himself very fluently, although he is very fond of restating points repeatedly.

Citation

Gee, P. (2004). Situated language and learning a critque of traditional schooling. NY: Routledge.