DataAnalysis+Mr.+George+Baker+Gr3

Social and Political Issues: Podcasters presented literacy as a personal resource, a means for learning new things, or a means towards pleasure. (Reading’s fun). 2 Podcasters also present literacy as a more political resource, something that allows people to function in society: reading newspapers, reading traffic signs. 2 podcasters tie literacy into future economic resources by connecting literacy with college and and connecting college with Good jobs, nice homes. School literacy gives you something now and perhaps something later. Only 2 kids mention college and these 2 don't assume that they will have access to higher education. One podcaster claims, "I want to go to college when I grow up," indicating that he doesn't assume he will be going. Another podcaster (Elijah) says that if you are smart, you can go to college. while podcasters take up the issue of literacy being a right, they do not make claims for literacy being a guarantee for future success. They acknowledged that some people (adults and kids) are not given access to literacy and that there is unfair distribution of this resource worldwide. One podcasters thinks of school as a privilege, that some kids get and some don’t. There’s an indication here that there’s some luck involved with who gets literacy and who doesn’t and that schooling is doled out to some, but not to all. This same podcaster draws on class work about school segregation and asserts that racism and dumb laws in the U.S. have been the cause of illiteracy for Mr. George Baker. The uses of literacy in school and out of school are mentioned in the podcast. Without literacy, life is hard and you can’t complete basic tasks. Podcasters present facts from The Literacy Site to demonstrate that access to schooling and books is denied to great #’s of people around the world, both adults and children. There is some talk about what that means: People can’t complete daily tasks and they can not enjoy the fun of reading and they can not have future, higher education, and “good” incomes. There’s no talk about how literacy can lead to social participation in social justice work.

Taking Action for Justice

Podcasters reflected on illiteracy and lack of access to schooling world wide. They encouraged their audience to “do something” by clicking on the literacy site for kids to get books. Two podcasters talked about how they could personally promote literacy. While Abby will teach some day, Shane will help out a person who wants to know how to ready by first giving them books, and then by teaching them. Podcasters broadcast information from the literacy site to show their audience that book ownership correlates with literacy. Many share statistics from the site. This podcast has more social and political information. The podcasters use language to persuade listeners about the importance of educational access. They don’t question why these inequities exist, but simply acknowledge that they do. Students have learned that many kids and adults don’t have access to literacy. They share information about how illiteracy impacts your basic daily functions, your pleasure, and your future economic success. Because podcasters discuss world wide statistics, they’ve become border crossers in a way. They want their audience to know about literacy around the world. They also cross age borders by pointing out to their audience that there are many adults who do not know how to read.

Multiple Perspectives

While the podcasters believe literacy should be for everyone, they know that everyone does not have access to it. Their podcast is an invitation for others to reflect on this contradiction, as they have done. The podcast consists of sixteen voices, but few contradictory perspectives. Students advocate for kids and adults who don’t have access to literacy, but it may have led more depth to the work if we had created some sketches from the perspective of people who have literacy and people who don’t. We did talk about having representatives from VITAL come and talk to the class, but we didn’t follow up. The podcast does work to make difference visible. Listeners can not assume that all kids go to school or that literacy is evenly distributed. They do make difference visible by focusing on adult illiteracy.

Disrupting the Commonplace

We didn’t interrogate the connection between literacy and economic success. Tho students were invited to write about any negative connotations to reading, they did not choose to do this. Negative contexts that were discussed in class were the ways literacy could be used to oppress others through “dumb laws.”

One podcaster brings up historical perspective for Mr. Baker’s illiteracy. None of the picture books we read delve into the why of the problem. I could have done more with the background info. The podcasters are presented as literate people who believe in the importance of reading, schooling and literacy for everyone. I brought up the idea that some people think computers are impacting literacy. Shane defends the use of computers and claims that computer work increases literacy. Another podcaster presents school as a helpful alternative to wasted time at home playing video games. If school wasn’t around, this podcaster would be home playing video games. He’s decided that this isn’t an avenue for future success. The podcasters critique inequities and offer a quick action that could help get some books in other’s hands. It’s too bad other solutions weren’t explored so that they had other resources to share.