Literacy Matters!

This blog will be used primarily for my class Reading for the 5-12 Teacher at the University of St. Thomas. However, I hope it also sparks your interest and emphasizes the importance of the role a teacher plays in the life of each and every student that passes through the door of his or her classroom.



Not all children love to read. That does not mean, however, that they lack the potential to learn to enjoy reading. The key lies in motivating students and in their teachers' ability to weave literacy tools into lessons without creating separate islands of content area information.

After reading the first chapters of our textbooks, Content Area Reading and Content Area Writing, the challenge of ensuring that my students will have a strong foundation in literacy seemed both overwhelming and exciting. Literacy is perhaps one of the most important tools for a successful life. When a child becomes literate, a whole new world opens up to him or her. Throughout the early years of education, children learn how to read. Once they reach adolescence, reaching should shift to become a tool to learn. Reading is not the only aspect of being literate. Writing is also an essential aspect of literacy. As the authors of Content Area Writing brilliantly state, "Reading helps us to take in knowledge; writing makes it our own."

Due to the fact that both reading and writing are essential skills, it is clearly important that these skills are stressed in every content area. The authors stressed that even the most unlikely of subjects require students to know how to read and write. What would math be without those beloved (or despised) word problems? The most prestigious of researches write out procedures and publish papers about their findings. History is an eloquent story, packed with information, yet a story all the same. Every single subject has a similar application. The bottom line is this: the task of teaching students to read and write does not fall only on the shoulders of English and literature teachers. Each and every teacher is responsible for fostering a curiosity and a desire to learn how to read, write, think, analyze, (the list goes on) that pertains to the specific content area while avoiding isolating those skills. It is no easy task.

Literacy does matter. (that was an excellent choice for a chapter title). Although all of my lessons will be in another language, the foundation that my students will have in terms of their literacy skills are based on what they have learned from other subjects. Students use prior knowledge to make connections and to help them to learn new things. Spanish and English are very different, but they are both beautiful ways to express thoughts, to comment on a situation, to share experiences, and to grow as an individual. Language is a powerful tool; it is so much more than simply sounds that create words and have meaning. Language contains culture, history, and beauty. I hope that my students will be able to realize that through my classes.

Life is such a rich, rewarding experience, and learning new things is one of the best ways to make the most out of what we are given. Teaching students to read and write, and then to use reading and writing to learn opens an innumerable amount of doors for them to choose to explore at their leisure. What a wonderful privilege it is, to be able to pass on the tools and to instill a desire to learn and grow.