[NLA] Discussion: NIFL and the Big Picture

[George E. Demetrion]

Hello Andrea:

Thanks for writing:

Related to your points on the NCL and political ideals, let me by-pass
for now and then incorporate comments in my reflection on Jon's post. 
With a tutor training workshop to begin Monday, a consulting project to
finish up Friday, and an essay to review for an academic journal, I may
not necessarily get to it this weekend.

A brief remark.  As a pragmatist in the philosophical sense, I view
ideas, like other data, as tools, instruments, or pivots in the process
of moving progressively from problems identified to problems resolved. 
In seeking resources for moving forward in these difficult times, certain
key ideals from the neo-conservative perspective (which may be viewed as
a manifestation of "false consciousness" from the perspective of the
political Left), may very well provide such pivots in moving forward in
legitimizing the field in this era.  

What I am suggesting here are that such concepts like "corporate
responsibility" (newly found, to be sure), social inclusivism,
compassionate conservatism, and patriotism, represent certain hooks
through which the field can frame its message.  While from the
perspective of the political Left (not that there's a singular,
monolithic leftist voice), these views very well may be viewed as false
(a view I don't reject), nonetheless, for those holding them, they have
substance. The proof of the pudding would be in pressing the public
rationale of adult literacy through these perspectives and then seeing
what happens rather than rejecting them from the get go as false.

In any event, if there is to be any broad-based national consensus on the
public purposes and values to situate a national policy, there will need
to be a coming to terms with divergent ideological perspectives.  Basing
the rationale for the field *in part* on the professed ideals of the best
of neo-conservative thinking is, in my view, an important strategy to
consider.  That's only part of the picture though.  More on this later.

On a balanced approach to reading, I'm going to by-pass as I do not have
hours to spare.  Here are some previous NLA postings where I have
discussed this:

Field example of balanced approach

Field example

http://literacy.nifl.gov/nifl-nla/2002/0799.html

I also have another post somewhere where I discuss Victoria Purcell-Gates
balanced Theory of Reading.  See also her 1997 Focus on Basics article

 P. David Pearson's slide presentation on Balanced Reading Theory, which
he describes as the radical middle, is also instructive.

http://ed-web3.educ.msu.edu/pearson/ppoint/Balance_CCIRA_VT.htm

There is a good body of work on the balanced theory of reading, some of
which we've discussed on these airwaves this year.

I may shift back to research in my NLA discussions, but for the time
being prefer to keep my focus on policy, politics, and political
philosophy.

George demetrion
sophocles5 at juno.com


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