I invite each of you reading this to join in a discussion around Adora Svitak's talk at ILA's 2016 conference. Daughter of immigrants, one Chinese and one Czech, Adora is a very articulate and entertaining literacy advocate, who also addresses issues of diversity in her promotion of literacy that goes beyond the dollar sign. You can read Wikipedia's description of Adora at https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adora_Svitak.
In her talk, Adora asks the question, What is literacy for? Too often the answer is matched to money, she says. In Adora's view, literacy represents something broader than the immediate objective of passing through school and getting a job. Teaching people how to read and write well is about so much more than economic necessity. It's about giving them the ability to feel for someone whose life is nothing like what they know, giving them the words to describe their emotions. It's about making everyone a little less "other" because we live in a nation that has always been rooted in diversity.
The video clip of Adora's talk is just under 25 minutes; however, the message it delivers is worth hours of reflection and discussion, which I hope we will take the time to consider here.
Please watch the video, and then return here with your notes, and let's discuss the issues that are raised in the clip.
Comments
Leecy, the link you provided did not work. Perhaps this is the link to the video you were aiming for?
That's it, Ed! Thanks for the correction. I'll fix the link in my post as well! Leecy
Adora mentioned many times in her speech concerns about the focus of financial potential as a driving force in efforts to promote literacy I am conflicted with this.
In our world today, we have full time workers, often with multiple jobs, not being able to have financial stability. The arguments about why this situation exists are many, but the end result is that there is a very large portion of the population (is it close to half yet) that must focus on financial potential in most any efforts they can find time for. Is it presumptuous of financially stable, or well off, academics to be lecturing about too much focus on financial potential to people whom live in a very financially unstable world?
At the same time, I strongly advocate that identifying passions and developing individual's passions should be the main goal of all education. Literacy helps people explore the passions of others and to help discover possibilities that may kindle the individual's fires and voice. Literacy also gives people the means to share their passions with others or to refine their passions in the world around them.
Later in her talk she shares the limited literature materials available and how bias and unrepresentative literature available is today. Who drives this? Is it because many diverse people lack stories or the literacy to share those stories? Is it because the for-profit publishers often dictate what is put on the shelves for consumption based on what has the best profit margins or what is hot right now? Perhaps as more individuals gravitate towards digital consumption and video viewing, the publishing communities are desperate to keep any books popular so appealing to their main demographic is their focus? Whatever the reasons, I have felt the variety of literature being produced today is dwindling.
Towards the end of her talk she brings up empathy concerns. Our news, our literature, our interactions road rage and so many daily experiences lack empathy today. She focuses on how literacy can help bolster empathy and I agree. When readers put themselves into the plot of a good book, the reader builds empathy. Notice I stated "good book". I personally struggle to find good authors today. So many of my favorite authors are dead now or in bad health. I find it interesting that most of my "favorite" authors today are writing television and movie scripts for entertainment sensations like Marvel Studios. Do good authors get published today, especially if the author has a passion to share something publishers deem "unsexy", "unmarketable", or "unprofitable"? Are good writers being assimilated by other entertainment agencies that still need good stories?
Literacy can be a negatively powerful tool to limit an individual's passions, perceptions and reactions as well. If the new book stands are full of literature that highlight only the stresses and negatives of life, there can be some negative consequences. Likewise, an increasing portion of our news print and periodicals dwell on negatives or directives indicating what we all "should do" or "must do". Adora shares how the main characters of so many text are young, white boys and how bias that is. I would extend that the tone and focus of modern literature continues to lack equal representation of positive vs negative foci. Are there concerns that developing strong literacy skills becomes less valuable if there is a decreasing value of things to read?
Literacy skills have helped me explore and refine my passions, perceptions and reactions to the world around me throughout my life and I have a great respect for that. As we all look to better ourselves in life and the lives of those around us, literacy is an important means of letting us explore what could be, in spite of the societal pushes of what should be. As we promote literacy, let us not forget to promote the individual and how important that individual's experiences, voice, and text are to others in the world. There are so many pressures on our adults today that indicate what you can say, how you should say it and where you are allowed to say such things. The ability to read and to write effectively has the power to enrich the lives of us all by allowing the passions, experiences, and perceptions of all individuals to be heard.
What is literacy? Literacy is the exchange of passions and experiences in humans beyond a single moment in time in a way that allows the consumer to grow as an individual.
Ed, you bring up many more points that invite further reflection, along with your own definition of literacy. I wonder how others here will define it.
To encourage further dialogue on this critical topic, I'm pasting one of your paragraphs below and asking all of us to comment on their views in response.
Leecy