Overview

“In a word, most solutions offered for the problems of Latino students in U.S. schools have failed to acknowledge that the major problem is not that they speak Spanish (many do not), but that their identities as Latinos are dismissed as resources in the development of their literacy.

…the core of our society’s widespread negative attitudes and beliefs concerning Latino children’s intellectual abilities is their status as children of working-class and poor families who speak a devalued language and share a largely disrespected culture.”

~ Sonia Nieto, University of Massachusetts

Overview

Several authors are represented, and each offer insights on issues, theories, and practices of literacy that exclude Latino students from traditional academic discourse.

They also provide alternative and inclusive strategies proven to work well with such students.

It is divided into three themes:• Sociocultural, Sociohistorical, Sociopolitical• Biliteracy, Hybridity, and other Literacies• Reading the word by reading the world

Part I: Sociocultural, Sociohistorical, Sociopolitical Context of Literacy

• Lays the theoretical foundations of literacy within a cultural context.– Funds of knowledge– Negative proximal development– Need for political and ideological clarity– Historical trajectory of bilingual education

• My focus for part I will be Funds of Knowledge.

Funds of Knowledge ProjectLuis C. Moll, Univ. of AZ

• The cultural-historical theoretical emphasis on understanding human development in social context, how people engage life with the cultural resources at their disposal, and how we come to think through the use of these resources, can orient us to positive actions in turning diversity into assets for schooling.

Funds of Knowledge ProjectLuis C. Moll, Univ. of AZ

• Teachers, researches worked in the community to find common knowledge in mechanisms of social exchange.

• Teachers visit students’ homes/communities as learners to understand how people use resources, or funds of knowledge.

• La Clase Magica: an after school program where this approach is put into practice.

Funds of Knowledge

• Following in Vygostky fashion, who conceptualized school settings as cultural settings, funds of knowledge asks that teachers make house visits.

• Teachers document productive and other activities of each household to reveal family knowledge. For example, in this study extensive knowledge in carpentry, repairs, and masonry was extensive.

Funds of Knowledge

• Teachers visit several times, collecting funds of knowledge about the families’ life, work, hobbies, culture, etc.

• The teachers then create strategic connections in the classroom as the central purpose of teaching literacy.

• Ex: One teacher built a curriculum unit based on her students’ households had vast knowledge of medicinal plants.

Bilingual, Hybridity, and Other Literacies

• Addresses the issues of Latinos as linguistic minorities and the use of language dominance to strategically exclude other languages and dialects.

• The authors in this section offer success stories under the theories of critical pedagogy and cultural-historical perspectives.

Bilingual, Hybridity, and Other Literacies

Maria de la Luz presents a study:• Where students can unleash their

possibilities through their writing.• Students were free to use their natural

linguistic resources to build meaning in a sociocultural context.

Bilingual, Hybridity, and Other Literacies

Profs Gutierrez and Baguedano-Lopez:• View literacy not only as a learning goal,

but as the central means of appropriating knowledge.

• Have after school program where the zone of proximal development is defined by what the child knows and his/her potential, not what the adult thinks the child should know.

Bilingual, Hybridity, and Other Literacies

A former teacher from Colorado:• Recants her past as an English learner

and her feelings of inadequacy.• Gets her students hooked on writing by

opening writing projects that focused on the process of writing instead of the product, linking literacy to students’ lived experiences.

Reading the Word by Reading the World

A collection of success stories of literacy and the voices of Latino parents:

• Story about Sara who was nearly referred to Special Ed due to her reading problems.

• Sara represents Latino students who are systematically ignored due to language background.

Reading the Word by Reading the World

Carmen Mercado:• Reflects on the power of Spanish as a vital

language among Latino youth. • Highlights 4 case studies where multiple

dialects of Latinos demonstrate Latino youths’ bilingual and multidialectal capabilities.

• Uses the value of Spanish to lessen the social distance between Latino students and their teachers.

Reading the Word by Reading the World

Roberta Maldonado,Title I Coordinator, CO:• Expands literacy lessons to help students

with real-life struggles • Reads for purpose, not just for academics• Both student and teacher learn about each

other’s background• Makes real-world connections to literature

by knowing their experiences.

Reading the Word by Reading the World

Roberta Maldonado,Title I Coordinator, CO:• Expands literacy lessons to help students

with real-life struggles • Reads for purpose, not just for academics• Both student and teacher learn about each

other’s background• Makes real-world connections to literature

by knowing their experiences.

Lesson Activity

Think of two or three things that you would consider yourself an expert or knowledgeable in.

Use one post-it note for each thing you know.Place the notes on the poster board.