Negotiating Literacy Pt.2

The second half of Negotiating Cultural Literacy is just as enthusiastic but elusive as the first part. Although one thing must be said right up front. I heart Raffi. When I was little we had a Raffi tap and my sisters and I definitely sang along to Baby Beluga. That section of the book brought back fond memories. Moving on. When I read the second part of the book, I took notes and the rest of the blog will be me randomly commenting on the second part of the book.
I do not understand how Vasquez built this community in her classroom and I have no idea how to build that sort of community in my own room. She addresses issues such as social justice, her students involved the community in their works, and the parents were informed and participated in the classroom. I am not sure if it is because the students are so young that this worked or maybe Vasquez is a miracle worker, but I am in awe. Her 3-5 yr old students are writing letters about vegetarians and changing school policies concerning vegetarians is incredible. The students took a simple comment by a fellow classmate and turned it into a social justice project all the while having a higher order level thinking discussion on the entire issue of vegetarians.
The one thing I think about when I read Vasquez's book is my cooperating teacher. He teaches a course called Applied History. The first half of the course the students read about public history and discuss/debate what is going on in the field. The second part of the year the students are at internships at various sites over VA/DC. They practice what they have read. They are actively involved in history by role playing or collecting evidence from primary source documents. It is a hands-on learning experience for these students who get to read about history and then do it. It seems like a college course, which anyone who has been to college can recognize this style of teaching, but it is unheard of in a high school. The teacher provides the materials for the students, but they take it where they want to go. Just like Vasquez does with her students, they guide but do not blindly lead. I think that is a major part of critical literacy. The students need to go on the journey alone with only guidance from the teacher. It is the discoveries they make on their own that are the most rewarding to everyone.
Finally, I think Vasquez makes two excellent points in her book. 1) Everything is socially constructed. 2) When paired with other texts, students can see alternate views. As a history teacher these two points ring loud and clear. With the textbook debates raging in history education classes, it is important to realize that everything in print has an agenda and if paired with another source - the meaning can change dramatically. In history it is imperative that students learn that there are multiple layers of truths and half truths at any given time. It is the job of the teacher and eventually the students to peel back those layers and analyze each one to get some meaning. By situating every document in its socially constructed meaning, analyzing that meaning, read about the document in other sources, analyze the new information compared to the old information, and sit back and digest. This is what historians do and this is what our kids should be doing. This peeling back cycle is important for their everyday lives when confronted by propaganda and biased writing/photos/movies/speeches/etc. Critical literacy is a vital part of our lives and we need to teach the next generation how to "see" the world.

I think I just made a break through in my own critical literacy definition. YAY!!!