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TCEA REMARKS

IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THERE IS A FALSE DICHOTOMY IN THE

LIBRARY PROFESSION OF LATE. IS LITERATURE OR IS TECHNOLOGY

MORE IMPORTANT? TO ME THAT SEEM POLARIZING. LITERATURE

AND TECHNOLOGY DO NOT EXIST AS SEPARATE ENTITIES. RATHER

THEY ARE TWO ENDS ON THE SAME CONTINUUM, A CONTINUUM WE

MIGHT LABLE “LITERACY.”

SO, IN THE WORDS OF RODNEY KING, I WANT TO ENTITLE THESE

REMARKS: CAN’T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG?

IN ORDER TO GET ALONG, ITHINK, WE NEED TO REDEFINE SOME

TERMS. WE NEED TO REDEFINE WHAT WE MEAN BY READING. WE

NEED TO REDEFINE WHAT WE MEAN BY BOOKS. AND FINALLY, WE

NEED TO CONTINUE TO REDEFINE WHAT WE MEAN BY “LITERACY.”

WHAT IS READING? AS SOMEONE WHOSE DOCTORAL STUDIES WERE

IN THIS FIELD, I KNOW THERE IS NOT A SIMPLE ANSWER TO THIS

QUESTION. HOWEVER, I DO NOW THAT READING HAS TO EXTEND

BEYOND A DISCRETE SET OF SKILLS. AFTER ALL, IS READING IS

SIMPLY SOUNDING OUT WORDS, THAN THIS IS READING:

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A

AB

AC

AD

AF

AG

ANYONE RECOGNIZE THIS? THIS IS THE SYLLABARY. IT IS HOW

CHILDREN WERE TAUGHT TO READ IN CENTURIES PAST. HOWEVER,

IT IS ALSO, IN ESSENCE, PHONICS. SOUNDING OUT IS NOT READING. I

CAN SOUND OUT LOTS OF WORDS. THAT DOES NOT MEAN I KNOW

WHAT THEY MEAN. LIKEWISE, THE CONVERSE IS TRUE: I CAN KNOW

WHAT A WORD MEANS AND NOT KNOW HOW TO SOUND IT OUT.

NAT’S WAFT STORY

MY STORY ABOUT INDICT

WHEN PROGRAMS SUCH AS HOOKED ON PHONICS CLAIM THAT WITH

30 MINUTES OF INSTRUCTION A CHILD CAN READ AN ENTIRE BOOK,

NOTE THAT THEY DO NOT SHOW THE BOOK THEY CAN READ. GUESS

WHAT THE BOOK IS? IT IS A SYLLABARY VARIANT. IS THIS

READING? I THINK MOST OF US WOULD SAY NO.

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SO, IS READING COMPREHENSION? UNDERSTANDING THE WORDS?

READ A PASSAGE; ANSWER THE QUESTIONS. VOILA, READING?

GOSH, I HOPE RADING IS MUCH MORE THAN THAT. SOUNDING OUT

AND DECODING ARE FINE AND WE NEED KIDS TO HAVE THOSE

SKILLS. HOWEVER, IF THAT IS ALL THERE IS TO READING, HOW DO

YOU RESPOND TO SOMEONE WHO POSTED THIS THE OTHER DAY IN

RESPONSE TO NANCIE ATWELL’S LOVELY ESSAY ABOUT THE

IMPORTANCE OF BOOKS AND READING ENTITLED THE CASE FOR

LITERATURE?

ENGLISH EDUCATION HAS NEVER HAD A CONVINCING

RATIONALE FOR TEACHING LITERATURE; THANK HEAVEN FOR

WRITING, AS AT LEAST A TEACHER KNOWS WHEN A STUDENT DOES

IT! LITERATURE HAS ALWAYS BEEN--AND CONTINUES TO BE--USE-

LESS: IT DOESN'T HAVE A CLEAR USE THAT TRANSLATES INTO A

VALUE FOR NON-LITERATURE-TEACHERS.

I KNOW WHAT MY REPLY IS. WELL, AT LEAST THE REPLY I CAN

SHARE WITH YOU IN PUBLIC AND NOT THE MUTTERED REPLY THAT

SPRANG FROM MY LIPS UNCENSORED WHEN I READ THIS. HOW SAD

TO THINK THAT LITERATURE IS USE-LESS. HERE IS JUST A FRACTION

OF WHAT LITERATURE DOES:

1. IT REMINDS US OF HOW WE ARE ALL CONNECTED. I HAVE

SPENT A LOT OF TIME OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS

TALKING ABOUT CONNECTIONS AS I WORKED ON MY NEW

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BOOK: READING LADDERS. WHEN I READ, I SEE

CONNECTIONS BETWEEN TEXTS. BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY,

I SEE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE BOOK AND MY OWN LIFE,

THE CHARACTERS AND ME.

2. LITERATURE ENCOURAGES THE “WHAT IFS” OF INVENTION.

3. LITERATURE HELPS US DEAL WITH SOME OF THE COSMIC

QUESTIONS: WHO AM I? HOW DO I FIT INTO THIS WORLD?

WHAT CAN I BE WHEN I GROW UP?

4. LITERATURE SHOWS ME ALL OF THE MANY SPLENDID WAYS

WORDS CAN BE UTILIZED. HOW CAN WE HAVE WRITERS IF

WE DO NOT FIRST HAVE READERS? AND FINALLY

5. LITERATURE OFFERS WINDOWS AND MIRRORS: WINDOWS

INTO OTHER PLACES AND TIMES, WINDOWS TO OTHER

CULTURES. AND MIRRORS? MIRRORS THAT REFLECT OUR

OWN LIVES AND CULTURES AND PLACES.

SO, WE NEED TO EXTEND OUR DEFINITION OF READING TO GO

BEYOND SOUNDING OUT AND DECODING. HERE ARE SOME THINGS

WE NEED TO INCLUDE:

A. THE READING OF NONFICTION

B. THE READING OF NON-PRINT MATERIALS

C. READING WITH OUR EARS

THAT SUGGESTS, THEN, THAT OUR REENVIONING OF READING IS

ALSO A REIMAGINING OF WHAT WE MEAN BY THE TERM BOOK OR

TEXT. HOW MANY OF YOU READ THINGS LIKE THIS:

BILLBOARDS?

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MENUS?

SHAMPOO BOTTLES?

CEREAL BOXES?

ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING?

TWEETS, STATUS UPDATES, BLOGS, WIKI PAGES, NINGS?

THESE ARE ALL TEXTS. WHEN I SEE REPORTS THAT INDICATE THE

AMOUNT OF READING OUR KIDS ARE DOING IS DECLINING, MY FIRST

QUESTION IS: DID YOU COUNT THIS KIND OF READING, THESE KINDS

OF TEXTS. IF NOT, YOUR CONCLUSIONS NEED TO BE CHALLENGED.

REDEFINE READING, REDEFINE BOOKS, AND NOW WE NEED TO

REDEFINE LITERACY. JIM WARLICK AND JOYCE VALENZA AND

MANY OTHERS HAVE WRITTEN ELOQUENTLY ABOUT THIS TOPIC. I

WANT TO ADD A PIECE FROM MY END OF THE CONTINUUM AND

FROM MY FIELD: ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS.

DAVID BOOTH, IN HIS POWERFUL BOOK, READING DOESN’T MATTER

ANYMORE, HAS QUITE A BIT TO SAY, I THINK, ABOUT WHERE

LITERACY MUST HEAD NOW. READING DOESN’T MATTER ANYMORE

HE SAYS UNLESS WE REDEFINE LITERACY. HOW DO WE DO THAT?

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BOOTH PROPOSES THAT WE INCLUDE A VARIETY OF TEXTS, HELP

KIDS BUILD STRONG READING MUSCLES, VALUE THE RESPONSE OF

THE READER, AND WELCOME READERS INTO THE CULTURE OF

LITERACY. NONE OF THIS IS NEW. WHAT IS NEW, THOUGH, ARE THE

READERS WE WORK WITH IN CLASSROOMS ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

EACH AUGUST FOR THE PAST 11 YEARS, BELOIT COLLEGE IN

WISCONSIN, HAS RELEASED THE BELOIT COLLEGE MINDSET LIST. IT

PROVIDES A LOOK AT THE CULTURAL TOUCHSTONES THAT SHAPE

THE LIVES OF STUDENTS ENTERING COLLEGE.

THE CLASS OF 2012 (AND I HAVE A RESIDENT OF THE BACK

BEDROOM WHO WILL BE IN THAT FRESHMAN CLASS THEN) HAS

GROWN UP IN AN ERA WHERE COMPUTERS AND RAPID

COMMUNICATION ARE THE NORM, AND COLLEGES NO LONGER

TRUMPET THE FACT THAT RESIDENCE HALLS ARE “WIRED” AND

EQUIPPED WITH THE LATEST HARDWARE. THESE STUDENTS WILL

HARDLY RECOGNIZE THE AVAILABILITY OF TELEPHONES IN THEIR

ROOMS SINCE THEY HAVE SELDOM UTILIZED LANDLINES DURING

THEIR ADOLESCENCE. THEY WILL CONTINUE TO LIVE ON THEIR

CELL PHONES AND COMMUNICATE VIA TEXTING. ROOMMATES, FEW

OF WHOM HAVE EVER SHARED A BEDROOM, HAVE ALREADY

CHECKED OUT EACH OTHER ON FACEBOOK WHERE THEY HAVE

SHARED THEIR MOST PERSONAL THOUGHTS WITH THE WHOLE

WORLD. IT IS A MULTICULTURAL, POLITICALLY CORRECT AND

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“GREEN” GENERATION THAT HAS HARDLY NOTICED THE THREATS

TO THEIR PRIVACY AND HAS NEVER FEARED THE RUSSIANS AND

THE WARSAW PACT. STUDENTS ENTERING COLLEGE FOR THE FIRST

TIME THIS FALL WERE GENERALLY BORN IN 1990.

FOR THESE STUDENTS, HARRY POTTER COULD BE A CLASSMATE,

PLAYING ON THEIR QUIDDITCH TEAM.

1. GPS SATELLITE NAVIGATION SYSTEMS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN

AVAILABLE.

2. IBM HAS NEVER MADE TYPEWRITERS.

3. THERE HAS ALWAYS BEEN PEARL JAM.

4. AUTHORITIES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN BUILDING A WALL ACROSS

THE MEXICAN BORDER.

5. CALLER ID HAS ALWAYS BEEN AVAILABLE ON PHONES..

6. OFF-SHORE OIL DRILLING IN THE UNITED STATES HAS ALWAYS

BEEN PROHIBITED.

7. STUDENTS ALWAYS HAD GOOSEBUMPS.

THESE ARE THE STUDENTS SITTING IN OUR CLASSROOMS, STUDENTS

FOR WHOM OLDER DEFINITIONS OF LITERACY AND BOOKS AND

READING MUST EVOLVE. FOR THEM, GN ADAPTATIONS OF BEOWULF

OR THE MERCHANT OF VENICE BY GARETH HINDS ARE

MEANINGFUL. ALAN GRATZ’ CONTEMPORARY AND HUMOROUS

STORIES ABOUT HAMLET AND MACBETH IN SOMETHING ROTTEN

AND SOMETHING WICKED RESPECTIVELY ARE WAYS TO MAKE THE

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BARD MORE THAN ACCESSIBLE, THEY MAKE HIM ACTUALLY

PALATABLE. AUDIOBOOKS ALLOW THEM TO GET MORE READING

ACCOMPLISHED. HERE ARE THE MOST DOWNLOADED AUDIOBOOKS

AND EBOOKS FROM 2009:

Most Downloaded Juvenile Fiction Audiobooks AND E BOOKS from the Library (2009)(Title, Author, Publisher)1. Twilight, Stephenie Meyer, Listening Library2. New Moon, Stephenie Meyer, Listening Library3. Breaking Dawn, Stephenie Meyer, Listening Library4. Eclipse, Stephenie Meyer, Listening Library

Most Downloaded Juvenile Nonfiction Audiobooks from the Library (2009)(Title, Author, Publisher)1. Night, Elie Wiesel, Audio Bookshelf,LLC2. VocabuLearn Spanish Word Booster, Penton Overseas, Inc., Penton Overseas, Inc.3. Hear-SayTM Spanish, Penton Overseas, Inc., Donald S. Rivera4. Amelia Earhart, Books In Motion, Lori Van Pelt5. Blizzard!, Jim Murphy, Audio Bookshelf,LLC

MY OWN JOURNEY TOWARD A NEW DEFINITION OF LITERACY

BEGAN ABOUT 4 YEARS AGO WHEN I WAS ASKED BY STENHOUSE TO

WRITE A SECOND BOOK. QUITE FRANKLY, I WAS PRETTY SURE THAT

I HAD ALREADY SHARED ALL I KNEW IN MAKING THE MATCH. SO, I

WAS RUMINATING ABOUT SOME SUBJECT FOR A SECOND BOOK

WHEN I LEARNED ABOUT NAKED READING. (SOME OF YOU HERE

ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE STORY BEHIND THE BOOK, BUT IT BEARS

REPEATING AND THERE IS A CADENZA TO ADD TO IT NOW SOME 3

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YEARS LATER). AT THE TIME, MY YOUNGEST GRANDDAUGHTER,

NATALIE, WAS 10. EACH NIGHT, AFTER HER SHOWER, SHE WOULD

DISAPPEAR INTO HER CLOSET FOR ABOUT AN HOUR. IT WAS A QUIET

TIME; SHE WAS IN THERE AND SILENT. THIS COULD NOT BE GOOD, I

THOUGHT, THE PARENT IN ME KICKING IN. SO, I SENT HER OLDER

SISTER IN TO SPY, TO SEE WHAT NAT WAS UP TO. AFTER ALL, THIS

WAS THE SAME KID WHO HAD BEEN LIGHTING CANDLES IN THE

CLOSET OT GIVE IT “ATMOSPHERE.” AS IT TURNS OUT, NATALIE WAS

IN THE CLOSET, SITTING BUTT NAKED READING A BOOK. WHEN I

ASKED HER TO COME OUT AND EXPLAIN WHAT SHE WAS DOING, SHE

TOLD ME THAT SHE HAD READ SOMEWHERE THAT IF THE SKIN AIR

DRIES, IT IS BETTER. SO, SHE CONTINUED, I WONDERED WHAT I

COULD DO WHILE I WAS AIR DRYING (AND NOW THAT YOU HAVE

BEEN HERE IN TEXAS AND EXPERIENCED OUR HUMIDITY, YOU

KNOW THIS IS NO SMALL FEAT), AND I DECIDED I COULD READ.

WELL, THAT SET ME THINKING ABOUT WHY SOME KIDS CAN READ

WHILE AIR DRYING IN THE CLOSET AND OTHERS ELECTED NOT TO

READ EVEN FULLY CLOTHED.

I ASKED NATALIE THE OTHER DAY IF SHE STILL READS NAKED AND

SHE TOLD ME THAT, IF THE BOOK WAS REALLY GOOD, SHE DID. SO,

SHE WAS READING NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL BY JUSTINE CHEN

HEADLEY WHILE NAKED. HOWEVER, A TALE OF TWO CITIES AND

THE SCARLET LETTER REQUIRED READING WITH CLOTHES. WHY IS

THAT? SIMPLY, BOOKS THAT SPEAK TO NAT AND TO HER LIFE AND

WORLD ARE INDEED FODDER FOR NAKED READING. BOOKS

ASSIGNED FOR ESSAYS AND VOCABULARY STUDY WERE NOT. I

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WONDER, THEN, IF IT IS NOT MORE BENEFICIAL TO ALLOW TEENS

SOME TIME TO READ NAKED, TO READ BOOKS WITHOUT HAVING TO

DO SOMETHING AFTER THE READING OTHER THAN PERHAPS TELL A

FRIEND ABOUT THE BOOK? THUS, NAKED READING HAS YET

ANOTHER INCARNATION FOR ME. IT MEANS GIVING KIDS THE TIME

TO READ, SIMPLY TO READ. OF COURSE, I AM NOT SUGGESTING

THAT THERE IS NEVER SOME SORT OF ASSESSMENT. WHAT I AM

SUGGESTING IS THAT WE ALSO FIND TIME FOR STUDENTS TO READ

WITHOUT THE TYRANNY OF A TEST HANGING OVER THEM. AT

HOME, WE READ, WE READ A LOT. WE LISTEN TO BOOKS IN THE

CAR. SOMETIMES WE TALK ABOUT THE BOOKS.

THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL LIBRARIANS HAS BEEN

WORKING ON THIS SAME AREA WITH ITS 21ST CENTURY LITERACY

INITIATIVE. HERE IS WHAT AASL HAS TO SAY ABOUT LITERACY IN

THE 21ST CENTURY:

1. READING IS A WINDOW TO THE WORLD. READING IS A

FOUNDATIONAL SKILL FOR LEARNING, PERSONAL GROWTH,

AND ENJOYMENT. THE DEGREE TO WHICH STUDENTS CAN

READ AND UNDERSTAND TEXT IN ALL FORMATS (E.G., PICTURE,

VIDEO, PRINT) AND ALL CONTEXTS IS A KEY INDICATOR OF

SUCCESS IN SCHOOL AND IN LIFE. AS A LIFELONG LEARNING

SKILL, READING GOES BEYOND DECODING AND

COMPREHENSION TO INTERPRETATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF

NEW UNDERSTANDINGS.

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2. EQUITABLE ACCESS IS A KEY COMPONENT FOR EDUCATION.

ALL CHILDREN DESERVE EQUITABLE ACCESS TO BOOKS AND

READING, TO INFORMATION, AND TO INFORMATION

TECHNOLOGY IN AN ENVIRONMENT THAT IS SAFE AND

CONDUCIVE TO LEARNING.

3. LEARNING HAS A SOCIAL CONTEXT. LEARNING IS ENHANCED

BY OPPORTUNITIES TO SHARE AND LEARN WITH OTHERS.

STUDENTS NEED TO DEVELOP SKILLS IN SHARING KNOWLEDGE

AND LEARNING WITH OTHERS, BOTH IN FACE-TO-FACE

SITUATIONS AND THROUGH TECHNOLOGY.

FINALLY

DANIEL PENNAC’S BETTER THAN LIFE OFFERED A WONDERFUL

READER BILL OF RIGHTS SOME YEARS AGO. RECENTLY, I SAW A

BLOG POSTING WITH A RELUCTANT READER’S BILL OF RIGHTS. SO,

THE LOGICAL CONCLUSION FOR ME, OF COURSE, WAS TO SEE IF I

COULD COME UP WITH A YA READER’S BILL OF RIGHTS. SEE WHAT

YOU THINK:

YA READER’S BILL OF RIGHTS

1. RIGHT TO READ YAL AT ANY AGE

2. RIGHT TO READ EXTENSIVELY INSTEAD OF INTENSIVELY

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3. RIGHT TO DEMAND CHANGES IN THE LITERARY CANON FOR

THE 21ST CENTURY

4. RIGHT TO READ WITH THEIR EARS

5. RIGHT TO SEE THE MOVIE OR PLAY INSTEAD OF READING THE

BOOK

6. RIGHT TO READ BOOKS THAT DISTURB THEM AND ESPECIALLY

THEIR PARENTS

7. RIGHT TO HAVE ACCESS TO BOOKS AT SCHOOL AND AT HOME

8. RIGHT TO READ BOOKS WITH LOTS OF PICTURES IN THEM

9. RIGHT TO REFUSE TO READ A PROSCRIBED BOOK

10.RIGHT TO DEMAND A REDEFINITION OF WHAT IT MEANS TO

READ

IF WE FAIL TO OFFER THESE REDEFINITIONS, THESE REIMAGININGS,

REENVISIONINGS, THESE RE-PURPOSINGS, OTHERS WILL DO THAT

FOR US. WE WILL CEDE CONTROL; WE WILL LOSE, I THINK, OUR

ROLE ON CENTER STAGE WHEN IT COMES TO DEVELOPING 21ST

CENTURY LEARNERS. SO, TAKE ON SOME “RIGHTS” OF YOUR OWN

AND PLACE YOURSELF SQUARE IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT

CONTINUUM I MENTIONED AT THE OUTSET OF THESE REMARKS.

THERE IS NO DICHOTOMY THAT EXISTS BETWEEN LITERATURE AND

TECHNOLOGY, TO ANSWER THE QUESTION: YES, WE CAN GET

ALONG JUST FINE.

THANKS YOU.

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