Mike,
Thank you for your reply. I will check out Jerome Bruner's work. It sounds right up my alley, as it were. I am a doctoral student in LRC at the U of A. Often I read the communications on xmca but do not jump in. It's like jump rope, some people feel comfortable doing double dutch the first time out, and others wait and see. I appreciate your invitation to relax and enjoy.
Re: the use of the term ideology with respect to decoding kids' interactions. I think there are so many facets of an interaction or activity that we can look at. Ideology is one of them. My strong belief is that children develop (are socialized to accept or reject) ideologies of language and language practices. discourse, discourse styles, etc. I've been working on a paper about children's ideologies oflanguage and language practices that result from a conflict between a child's language ideology and a teacher's or school's ideology.
language socialization, I think, includes ideological socialization as a natural part of the process. socialization into the discourse of schooling and schooling practices is probably a good example - I'm thinking of the study by Laosa re: mothers' level of education and child/mother interaction in completing a task. children who understood the 'game' of schooling, seemed to fare better than those who not only had to learn the content but the 'game rules' as well.
STudying ideologies of language in conflict popped up when my daughter was blindsighted by prop 203 (in CA, prop 227). she began to have problems reading English in the first grade. She identified the problem - the teacher wouldn't let her think in Spanish when decoding English text. She resented the teacher's practices which had changed from her kinder year in which she could use any language for thinking or producing at any time. The conflict induced a greater meta awareness of her languages and language practices and, in the end, helped her to get back on track with reading. Notably, in her Spanish language classroom, she did not have trouble reading in Spanish or English. The ideology of language in that classroom was that anyone could use whatever language they wanted to help them figure out a word or a problem or task, whatever.
I like studying this area for the potential for reseasrch in language policy and planning...and other areas. I think that having an ideology of language or about anything really that is flexible creates an environment in which children feel free to explore and push themselves beyond where they are in the moment. conflicts can do the same if they are recognized and discussion or analysis is nourished. I think that's why after-school programs not held at school sites do more to open up children's perspectives and make possible growth than holding a program at a school site. Too many rules at school. it inhibits interaction. too focused on keeping quiet and disciplinary rules. no fun. children, I think, feel hampered just being inside the school. This smacks of an ideology of school and schooling practices in conflict.
As to law, it's always my first love. I often thought of 12 Angry Men when I submitted any case to the jury. You never know what happens back there. A good lawyer is always nervous when entering the courtroom for a trial. When a lawyer gets to talk directly with a jury through questioning you can lay out your ideology of the criminal justice system for them, hopefully to socialize them into thinking like you do - in the presumption of innocence, the right to a fair trial, and so on. You'd be amazed - but maybe not - at how many jurors believe someone is guilty because they've been charged; newspaper accounts hold more clout than courtroom evidence (O.J.) and so on. It is a fabulously rich mine for data. Ideologies of language and discourse come into play too...speaking too informally or too formally can put distance between the lawyer and the jury, speaking with a dialect not 'native' to the region (I'm from NY so that took awhile to change my 'accent' so the jury could !
both
understand me and want to listen to me), and being careful about speaking 'legalese' too much in the jury's presence. It is a complex 'game'...but everyone comes to court with an ideology of all these things I believe the process and the language and language practices - expectations. the clash can produce a positive result - sometimes.
I'll get in touch with Jerome Bruner's work. I think it'd be fun. I just need to figure out my dissertation proposal in the next year...there's all too many things I find interesting.
thanx again...Karen
kspearellinwood@yahoo.com
Department of Language, Reading, and Culture, U of A, Doctoral student
Mike Cole <mcole@weber.ucsd.edu> wrote:
Hi Karen-- Sorry to be slow in responding, but my unix program cuts off
the return address in the long xmca string and you did not sign your note
so I had to wait until it appeared on the webpage and then find a moment to
respond.
I should think that idioculture formation in juries would be a fascinating
subject for study, if it were legal. Twelve Angry Men comes to mind.
Its interesting that in context of that content the word ideology seems
completely appropriate, but I had not thought to use it with respect to the
issue of behavioral coding of kids interacting. Something like "world view"
might has seemed more appropriate, but it amounts to about the same thing.
About being a beginner. Its part of my world view/ideology with respect to the
culture of this list that academic rank, experience with the specific texts,
etc., is irrelevant to participation. Its the content and appropriatability
(if there is such a thing!) of the content that counts. I am referred to
as Mike by the undergraduates I work with so there should be no need for
you or anyone else to Dr. Cole me. Hmmmm. another kind of distance go
accompany Kevin's emphasis on space. Call it social distance?
Jerome Bruner has been writing about the law. Have you had a chance to check
it out? Since he is an old timer in the area of culture, literacy, and
development, but a newcomer with respect to the law, you might find his
take interesting.
mike
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