NLA Discussion: 21st Century Act

[Mary Siedow]

The discussion of family literacy (see Janet Isserlis' remarks) encourages
me. Three cheers for the Canadians for advocating a broad definition and
for using "intergenerational" as a descriptor.

I have long thought that we make a mistake by focusing so much
attention on mothers (primarily) and their small children. The IRA's
family literacy commission made a five year study of literacy practices
in families and spoke out for a broader, more expansive definition.  The
other day I heard an NPR story about a "mothers and daughters book club"
that involved mothers and pre-teen to teen aged daughters.  Wonderful
idea!!! and what a great example of literacy in families.  Let's avoid
prescriptive  definitions and encourage expansive interpretations and
applications of family literacy and other terms.

Mary Dunn Siedow, Director
NC Literacy Resource Center		phone: 919-715-5794, 
530 N Wilmington St			       800-553-9759 (NC only)
Raleigh, NC 27604			fax:   919-715-5796

	http://www.state.nc.us/NCLRC/home
			
		




On Mon, 28 Apr 1997, Janet Isserlis wrote:

> 
> David,
> 
> I'm glad that you called attention to this:
> 
> >  2.  I wonder if the definition of "family literacy services" is too
> > narrow.  It appears to focus only on parents and their children,
> > and perhaps only their youngest children.  Could this be
> > broadened to include other adults in the family, at least other
> > adult care givers, and could it explicitly include children
> > through adolescence?
> 
> There was some work done in Canada (and no doubt elsewhere, as well) around
> this narrow definition of family literacy.  Lee Weinstein and others have
> worked with the idea of community literacy (working to make ties between
> literacy and community development more explicit).  Others talk about
> intergenerational literacy in hopes that at the least, adults and children,
> younger and older people who share homes/communities/ neighborhoods be
> acknowledged as people who use literacy and may need assistance with
> developing literacy abilities.
> 
> I hope that the definition can be expanded greatly.  Otherwise, we risk the
> potential tyranny of somewhat constrained and narrowly conceived notions of
> what a 'family literacy' program should or shouldn't do.  (I'm also hearing
> about 'family' programs with work-related outcomes.  Am I the only one who
> finds this frightening?)
> 
> Janet Isserlis
> Literacy Resources/RI
> 
> 
>