Reading for 30 October 2006

Literacy in American Lives by Deborah Brandt

Introduction -- The Pursuit of Literacy

I'm really excited about this study. I think it's awesome that someone has recognized that writing is a huge (and hugely overlooked) part of the literacy lexicon. My only fear is that, by concentrating on people in Wisconsin, that Brandt is going to get a more homogenous sample than she realizes. I know there's not a lot she can do with the money and time restraints. I wish, though, that she had not put American in the title, and had rather put Midwestern, or something. It just seems like it's overreaching to conclude from these eighty people that you have a complete picture of what is and was going on when people are and were learning to write in America. Wisconsin is great, but a mini-model of the United States it is not!

Chapter One -- Literacy, Opportunity and Economic Change

I was surprised that neither of the two women who grew up in a rural location even mentioned the library when they talked about their literacy. Obviously, Barbara Hunt would have used the library for research on her forensics topics. This got me to thinking, are rural locations always underserved? Has this changed at all in the past century or so? And what types of literacy-building activities can the library provide? I thought of some:

• providing writing workshops, for help writing letters, papers, and the like;
• reading lists and bibliographies for learning to read;
• providing tutors or assistants to work with those who wish to be better readers or writers;
  
• running classes/workshops for writers;
• running classes/workshops for readers; and
• running book clubs.

I don't know how feasible all of these are, but I think they might be good options to pull people in to a library and to get them comfortable with the printed word. I especially like the idea of a book club for adults who have a low functionality to their literacy; my imaginings make it a group where, if you haven't finished the book, that's fine. Your fellow readers (and the facilitator) are there to encourage and help you through it. My guess is that I'm probably insane for thinking that this will work, but I like the idea.

Chapter Two -- Literacy and Illiteracy in Documentary America

I really enjoy this style of writing. I like the fact that Brandt has taken two people who grew up around the same time and shown how their experiences with literacy have been different, for sure, but also similar. No matter who you are, there are people who are intensely interested in whether you can read and write or not, and what you're doing with those skills if you have them. I think Brandt is right when she points out that it was in the best interests of corporate America that they get labor disputes legalized, because they then have the edge over the unions. Legal terminology and procedures are very difficult and very specialized, and it does isolate people from being able to participate in their own affairs. Which transitions well into the second fellow, who also had to learn to converse in that specialized tongue called "the law". It's amazing that the skill that started the downfall of the unions is the very same skill that can be the savior of a convicted person! But again, it's this whole situation where the person has to go and make the effort to have special training, and it's limited training -- not just anyone could take part in that schooling. Plus, not everyone knows how to use a library. Prison librarians must have to really take a lot of inmates in hand and help them through the process the first few times. I think that's what this chapter showed me; I want to be an advocate and a helper for the patron, because they aren't necessarily getting that advocacy and assistance elsewhere.

Chapter Three -- Accumulating Literacy

The G.I. Bill . . . I found it interesting that Sam, after World War II, pursued and almost attained a bachelor's degree, while his son Jack only attempted a more technical program. I wonder about the dynamics that brought that about. I also found it sad that the "path of least resistance" in Jack's high school is not more challenging. Minority students are the majority of the enrollment in these programs, even when total numbers are going down. I wonder if we're saying, "These programs aren't good enough for preparing you for college. But we don't really anticipate that minorities are going to be attending college, so it's okay if we keep these programs around so that we have a place to stuff them so they don't get in the way of the 'real' students." I really wonder if there's enough emphasis on pushing minority students to better their literacy skills so that they can go on and get good jobs; if they're coming from an underprivileged background, they need the extra push more than those who don't.