Re: some joint activity re contextless reading?

Eugene Matusov (ematusov who-is-at UDel.Edu)
Thu, 25 Mar 1999 14:29:04 -0500

Hi Ilda, Nate, Ken, and everybody--

Ilda asked,
>As for your view as a parent, I am not certain I have understood the part
about
>Diary of Anne Frank, did you mean that your child hates Anne Frank for some
>reason?

My son studied the Diary of Anne Frank twice in California public schools.
Once in an innovative elementary public elementary school (5th grade) where
whole language was wholehearted educational philosophy of the teacher. Then
he studied it in a traditional public Junior High school where whole
language was mandated. I don't know how and what exactly the teachers from
did in the classrooms but I observed and experienced my son's reaction to
these two instructions.

Whole language as wholehearted teacher's philosophy with genuine
institutional support from the school (e.g., no grades, no homework).
It was time of discussion of the antiimmigrant California Proposition 187.
My son asked my wife and me, "If a family of illegal Mexican immigrants asks
us as for refuge, will we allow them to live in our car garage?" We replied
with a question of asking him how we should act and what he expected from
us. He said that he thought we would accept the family. He added that he
would play with the Mexican kids and would not tell about the refuges even
to his closest friends. I asked him why he wanted to put people in the car
garage -- would it be better to put them in one of our rooms? He replied
that it would be more dangerous for them because our neighbors might report
on them to police like in the Diary of Anne Frank book. (It was interesting
that my son identified himself and us -- US legal immigrants, Jews from
Russia -- with Dutch and not with Anne Frank's family).

Whole language as mandate.
Once I asked what they did in school and my son replied that they studied
fractions and the Diary of Anne Frank book to death. I expressed my
surprise because I knew that he used to like that book in the other school.
"Not anymore. I'm sick and tired listening about how brave Anne Frank was
while the only thing she did was hiding and writing a stupid diary." I
asked him why he didn't share his opinion in the class that he didn't think
that Anne was brave. He looked at me as if I came from another planet and
said that he did not want to get "F." Ken's message below reminded my son's
reaction.

----- Original Message -----
From: Ken Goodman <kgoodman who-is-at u.arizona.edu>
To: Eugene Matusov <ematusov who-is-at UDel.Edu>
Sent: Thursday, March 25, 1999 1:01 PM
Subject: Re: some joint activity re contextless reading?

> Here's a story to confirm Eugene's fear;
> A teacher meets a girl on the playground who was in her fifth grade
> class the year earlier. "what are you reading now", she says. "We're all
> reading the Diary of Anne Frank" says the girl- "and we all wish she'd
> die already".
>
> Mandated whole language is and was an oxymoron.
> --
> Kenneth S. Goodman, Professor, Language, Reading & Culture
> 504 College of Education, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
> fax 520 7456895 phone 520 6217868
>
> These are mean times- and in the mean time
> We need to Learn to Live Under Water

Nate wrote,
> Your comment reminded me of what Vygotsky said of teaching literature. It
> was something to the fact that if we want children to appreciate
literature
> to worst thing we can do is explicit teach it. If school is as much
about
> resistance as it is about appropriation/internalization then what we teach
> is also about what a child resists or appropriates. Some of the
literature
> I have been reading questions some of the more contextual-local approaches
> for its lack of resistance. At a certain level I like resistance which is
> part of my attraction to the Vygotsky sig. In a more contextual -
> community of learners approach the insider/outsider is more difficult to
> distinguish which in turn makes resistance less likely. Don't get me wrong
> I like the more contextualist-local approach as in COL but it does bring
up
> the question if its assimilation that works.

I think that the innovative school that I briefly described above promotes
much more critical thinking in kids that resistance promoting traditional
school because it focuses on critical negotiation of meaning (rather than
"appropriation/internalization"). I'm absolutely sure that the teacher from
the innovative school would support kids challenging the idea that Anne
Frank is not brave. I respectfully disagree with Nate that, "If school is
as much about
resistance as it is about appropriation/internalization then what we teach
is also about what a child resists or appropriates" only choices available
(Nate, if misunderstand your position, I'm sorry). I think with all this
focus on "appropriation/internalization" there is too much interest in
culture reproduction.

What do you think?

Eugene
----------------------------
Eugene Matusov
School of Education
University of Delaware
Newark, DE 19716
office: (302) 831-1266
fax: (302) 831-4445
email: ematusov who-is-at udel.edu
WWW: http://ematusov.eds.udel.edu
-------------------------------------