IAsslmueas F ilno rT eAadcah e&r FE. dIsuacbaetilo Cna, mSupmoymer 2017 115 Critical Creative Literacy for Bilingual Teachers in the 21st Century Alma Flor Ada University of San Francisco F. Isabel Campoy Transformative Education Institute The Power of Language The creation of language is unquestionably the highest human achievement. Language allows us to express all thoughts, share all feel- ings, record all discoveries, pass on to new generations the knowledge acquired in the past. Language can be an instrument for creating all forms of literature. But above all language frees us from the limits of existence, allowing us to imagine and dream new realities. If we, some day, manage to create a just and equitable world it will be because first we have been able to describe it. Language Active nor Passive, Productive nor Receptive Traditionally the four functions of language have been divided in passive or receptive and active or productive. Listening and reading have been seen as receptive and speaking and writing as productive, when through Critical Literacy lens, all forms of language should indeed be active and productive. Even while listening in silence, if we listen criti- cally we will be producing questions and reflections. Alma Flor Ada is professor emerita in the School of Education at the University of San Francisco, San Francisco, California. F. Isabel Campoy is president of the Tranformative Education Institute. Their e-mail ad- dresses are [email protected] & [email protected] Volume 26, Number 2, Summer 2017 116 Critical Creative Literacy for Bilingual Teachers Reading as Dialogue For too long reading has been viewed as the process of extracting meaning from a text, whatever physical form that text may have. This approach to reading corresponds to a traditional form of education, what Paulo Freire described as “banking education”, an education where the student is seen as a receptacle of the content provided by the curriculum, rather than a constructor of meaning. But true reading is far more than understanding what a text says, it is the dialogue that takes place between the reader and the text. It incorporates the reader’s emotional reactions to the words, the consider- ation of what has been said, in view of the reader’s previous knowledge and experiences, the critical reflections of the implications of what the text describes or proposes. When reading is described in its complexity it may sound daunting or difficult to grasp by students. The contrary is true. When students are exposed to the true meaning of reading and the significance it can have for their lives, no matter how young they may be, reading becomes fascinating and they are far more motivated to engage in its process. Initial Approach to Literacy Students deserve to be introduced to reading from the dual perspective of the joy of reading—which includes the joy of being read to—and the profound meaning that reading can have in their lives: in the understand- ing of themselves and others, the understanding of their reality and the possibility of finding new approaches to aspects of their own lives. From a very early age children can enjoy the power of a story or the charm of a poem, they can also appreciate the modeled conducts and situations and, above all, the invitation to relate what they have heard or read to their own reality. The common practice has been to divide the reading process into a number of isolated skills placed along a continuum, scope and sequence. The assumption is that the skills must be mastered sequentially, thus students are moved from readiness to prereading skills, to word at- tack skills, and then to literal comprehension skills. Only when these landmarks are mastered will inferential skills be introduced. Critical thinking, problem solving, and creative responses are restricted to those students who have managed to reach the upper reading levels. The unfortunate result is that a large number of students do not attain these levels. In many settings children begin to fail in kinder- garten and by first grade they fall “below the norm” a situation that rather than improves results in wider gaps as the students are placed Issues in Teacher Education Alma Flor Ada & F. Isabel Campoy 117 in higher grades. These students are condemned as not being sufficiently good, bright, or capable in a system that imposes external norms, that presupposes what every child should learn or do at a given time, and does not provide for the students individual needs nor explores each students’ possibilities for success. If indeed all students are going to have the possibility to acquire a vital literacy that will enable them to participate fully in a 21st century society, we will do well considering a different approach to reading where the goal is to have students read with pleasure, ease, assurance, freedom, and enthusiasm, discovering the full potential of literacy in their lives. Five Conditions Are Essential Materials The materials should be interesting, to awaken the students’ desire to read. They should incorporate diversity in order to become “mirrors” and “windows.” Mirrors that allow students to see themselves and their reality portrayed with dignity in some of the materials and windows to also see the very diverse people who form the society where they live and the world. Oral Language Development Strong attention should be placed on strengthening the students’ oral language throughout their school years. There is a strong correla- tion between language development and reading efficacy, and thus oral language development needs to be seen as an integral part of literacy. Of course, developing strong speaking abilities will also benefit students in multiple ways, including its implications as a professional asset. Oral reading can be an excellent practice for developing oral fluency as well as assurance in public speaking—it must be addressed with sensitivity, never making students embarrassed. Students can read to a very diverse audience all of which must be sympathetic and receptive. Approach The approach to the literacy process, whether at the initial stages or throughout schooling, must instill in the students confidence in their ability to learn. Method A transformative approach to reading allows students to experience that reading is immediately meaningful. They see reading as relevant to their lives and to the process of effecting positive changes in their world. Volume 26, Number 2, Summer 2017 118 Critical Creative Literacy for Bilingual Teachers The Creative Reading Method, based on Transformative Education Methods, will be described later on in this article. Parents The school will make all efforts to have parents involved in the process both at school and home. There are multiple versions of parent involvement projects around literacy and processes for facilitating that parents become authors and share their writing with the class. See www. authorsintheclassroom.com Creative Reading Methodology The feud about initial reading methods took a great deal of educa- tors’ energy during the second half of the 20th century, with two major opposite camps: those advocating strict phonetic methods and those proposing a sight reading approach. Somehow the merits and disadvantages of both approaches seem to have been recognized and it would seem that the most frequent implementations combine elements of both. The third approach, the “language experience” approach which gained support during the1970s and 1980s, seems to have remained only in the classrooms of highly dedicated and creative teachers that see the importance of facilitat- ing that children see their words in print and literacy as an integral reading and writing process. The Creative Reading Methodology developed by us, supported by the theoretical principles of Transforming Education, is concerned with presenting reading to students in a way that reflects what reading represents for adults who are successful readers. In ideal conditions it can be initiated even before children are able to decode and continue throughout, but it can be initiated and implemented at any point. The Creative Reading Method proposes that true reading is a dia- logue between the reader and the text, whose relevance goes beyond the transmission of the information set forth in the text. This act involves four aspects. For the sake of exposition, we are naming them and dis- cussing them separately, although in a reading act they may happen concurrently and be interwoven. Descriptive Phase The first thing that occurs when the reader encounters the text is discovering the meaning of the words. While this is necessary, it is certainly not the full act of reading, but merely its beginning. Tradition- ally, schools have approached reading as if this would be where reading Issues in Teacher Education Alma Flor Ada & F. Isabel Campoy 119 begins and ends. Here it is merely the beginning. While it is important that students indeed understand the information contained in the text, we suggest that the dialogue must not be limited to finding the “Who? When? Where? How? Why?”—the usual reading comprehension questions. The answers to these questions can be found in the text, are known by the teacher, and indicate whether or not the students have understood and can recall the information. These questions may be a starting point to the dialogue. They are important, but they are not enough. Should the discussion remain at this level it would suggest that reading is a passive, receptive, and in a way, domesticating process. Personal Interpretative Phase It is only natural that the reader will have an immediate reaction to the information received. Sometimes the nature of the information will be such as to evoke similar reactions in most readers, for example a tragedy, or a disaster. Yet, in truth, the reactions to the text will be determined by the individual reader’s personal knowledge and experience. These personal reactions are part of the reading process and as such, ought to receive recognition in the classroom. Traditionally, students are sometimes asked if they liked the text or which part they preferred. We are talking of something more here. Students should be encouraged to weigh the information against their own experiences, feelings and emo- tions. This step is extremely important. It brings the reading process to the students’ grasp and makes it more meaningful. It also helps develop the students’ self-esteem by showing that their feelings, emotions, and experiences are valued by both the teacher and their classmates. More- over, it helps students understand that the true learning occurs when the information received is analyzed in the light of one’s own previous experiences and knowledge. Much has been said about the need for affective instruction that recognizes the emotional needs of students and the importance of ac- knowledging the realities of minority students. Unfortunately these considerations frequently remain peripheral, not truly essential to the learning process. Creative Reading, on the other hand, stresses the recognition of each student’s individuality as an integral part of that process. Clearly, as the student’s own experiences are being validated, so too are those of their family and community. Cultural validation is not something to be superimposed or added, but it constitutes part of the very core of the process. Questions to stimulate the dialogue in this second phase might be: • Do you know (or have you seen, felt, experienced) something like this? Volume 26, Number 2, Summer 2017 120 Critical Creative Literacy for Bilingual Teachers • Have you ever (done, felt, thought, wanted, wished for) something similar? • How is what you saw (experienced, did) different from what appears in the text? • What would you (your family, your friends) have done (said, thought) in a similar situation? • How do you feel after reading this text? Did you like it? Dislike it? Did it worry you? Made you happy (sad, angry)? Did it upset (frightened) you? Made you hopeful? A better understanding of one’s self, and of others, is an added benefit of this part of the dialogue. The respect for each person’s experiences, modeled by the teacher, and encouraged in all, will contribute to increase the sense of self and self-assurance of everyone. Critical/Multicultural/Anti-bias Phase Once students have compared and contrasted what is presented in the reading, with their personal experiences and given the opportunity to acknowledge their feelings, they are ready to move on to a critical analysis and to the level of generalized reflection. The questions asked at this level will help students draw inferences about the information presented. • Is this right (moral, appropriate, healthy, kind, courageous, generous, just, equitable)? • Who benefits (suffers) from these conditions? Does it benefit everyone alike? Or does it favor some at the expenses of others? • What would be the consequences if all would adopt this idea (behavior)? • Are there alternatives to this situation? What are the alternatives? What do they depend on? • In which way would diverse people (of different ethnicity, culture, genre, age, sexual orientation, physical ableness, class, education) react to this? • Has anyone been excluded from this text? Who is left out? Why? • What are the author’s intentions? Is there a point the author tries to prove? The analysis, of course, will be determined by the students’ level of maturity and previous experiences. Yet let’s be aware that critical think- ing is a process that can and should get underway very early, though naturally in terms of that which is familiar to the students. Issues in Teacher Education Alma Flor Ada & F. Isabel Campoy 121 Creative/Transformative Phase The goal of the process is not met with the awakening of the stu- dents’ critical awareness as a mere intellectual exercise. Rather, the process is completed only when the students can draw on it in order to make decisions regarding the world around them. Precisely, the power of reading is not only that it can delight, entertain, or enrich us, but also that it enhances our sense of self and gives us tools to make decisions for improving or enriching our lives. The dialogue can be encouraged with questions like: • In which ways do you understand your reality better? • How can I act to transform my inner self? My social reality? • What can you do in a situation like the one in the text? • In which ways would you speak/act differently now? • How can you improve your life/conditions/relations? The dialogue at this phase is aimed at guiding students to discover aspects of their lives that they can improve and encouraging them to make decisions with that purpose in mind. Of course, it is not a ques- tion of the children changing the entire world, but of changing their own world, by beginning to assume responsibility for their own lives and for their relations with others. The Significant Role of Parents The reasons why students in the United States whose home language is other than English may develop their oral language skills at a slower pace are generally thought to include the following: The displacement of the nuclear family (parents and children) and the separation from the extended family (grandparents, uncles and aunts), thus lessening child/adult interaction. The absence of one parent from the home, or the need for both parents to work outside the home, frequently at odd hours, thus reducing not only the time but the quality of attention that parents can make avail- able to their children. The relatively low levels of literacy and formal schooling of many par- ents. Yet, there is another reason for the lag in the acquisition of oral language skills, even more prevalent and detrimental than those men- tioned above: Volume 26, Number 2, Summer 2017 122 Critical Creative Literacy for Bilingual Teachers Parents and children alike perceive, in too many instances, the home language to be less important than English and have the mistaken notion that the best way to learn English is to give up the home language. Parents who hold to this idea reflect the natural desire of all par- ents to have their children acquire a strong command of the English language. Their very human attitude is deeply rooted in the unconscious. Their mistake lies not in wanting their children to speak English well, but in thinking that turning away from one’s first language makes it easier to acquire a second. Yet, all evidence indicates that the opposite is true. Surprising as it may be to some, the best way for a child in the process of acquiring English as a second language to master English is to continue developing the home language and to master it well. The skills required for mastering a language are basic and general, and unrelated to the specific language (English, Spanish, Chinese, Fili- pino, etc.) in which they are applied. When children develop language skills in their first language those skills will lay the groundwork for acquiring and perfecting the second language. Furthermore, if children do not fully develop language skills in their first language, this limita- tion can adversely affect not only their cognitive growth but also the acquisition of higher language skills in the second language. Aside from serving as the basis for children’s cognitive growth and for their acquisition of a second language, there are other equally important reasons for the development of the home language or mother tongue. Some of these reasons are sociocultural: • Only by using their home language will children be able to fully re- late to their culture and come into possession of the cultural heritage that is theirs. • Mastery of two languages is useful and valuable in its own right and provides many positive opportunities of interaction with people. • The society of the United States needs bilingual people in order to maintain relations with non-English speakers throughout the world and with many members of this society. There are educational reasons: • Languages are part of the academic curriculum and in many instances they are a requirement for admission to universities. It is a painful contradiction that students be encouraged or allowed to lose at an early age abilities that later could be of academic advantage. There are also psychological reasons: • A person’s psychological strength is derived from his or her self-concept. Issues in Teacher Education Alma Flor Ada & F. Isabel Campoy 123 One’s home language is a part of one’s personal identity. Renouncing that language is tantamount to renouncing a part of one, and this is harmful to a positive self-image. • Emotional well-being is linked to interpersonal communication, to family relationships, and to the degree of integration within the nuclear family, the extended family and the community. • Giving up one’s first language diminishes the interaction between children, their family and their community. A common saying states: “A bilingual person is worth twice as much.” A more significant expression if we are to believe we educate our students not only for their own self-development, but also for their potential to contribute to society, could be “A bilingual person can do twice as much good and contribute to the betterment of twice as many people.” Parents can offer the most effective collaboration in oral language development and in the acquisition of literacy skills. So that they may better fulfill that role, it is frequently necessary to assist them in un- derstanding the meaning and importance of those processes. A Creative Literacy program will facilitate a continuous parents’ participation. While this participation can take place daily at home, it is very valuable to have the opportunity to share with parents our goals for their children, to listen to the parents’ goals, and to discuss how they can best be acquired. A good way to ensure parents’ presence at the school is to create a program where their children participate: staging a play for example, or designing an evening in which the students sing, recite, and read some of their writing. Storytelling sessions, which give parents a model of how they interact with their children and books, followed by a display of books parents can borrow are excellent possibilities. Once the parents are at the school, the importance of their children having a strong command of the mother tongue might be explained to them. Any doubts the parents may have in this regard should be dis- cussed and dispelled. Ways in which they can best help their children’s oral language development will be described. They might include: • Ask their children to describe what they did and learned at school on a daily basis, asking for specific details • Encourage their children to share their thoughts and feelings with them. The parents should not feel compelled to offer solutions, but they should know that it is important for their children to have someone with whom they feel close and share their feelings. • Talk with their children about their own experiences, both current Volume 26, Number 2, Summer 2017 124 Critical Creative Literacy for Bilingual Teachers ones and those of their childhood and youth. These experiences will not only enrich their children’s lives, but also give the children confidence in sharing their experiences as well. • Ask their children for suggestions when there is something to be done, bought, or repaired. Once the children have expressed their opinions and suggestions, they should be asked to explain their reasons. Their opinions deserve respect. • Encourage their children to reflect on everyday experiences, including what they see on television or Internet through questions like: Why did this happen? Could it have turned out differently? What possible solutions can you think of? • Teach their children songs, sayings, games, and riddles; tell them stories or legends they remember, and, whenever possible, read books with their children. If students acquiring English as a second language are to find a successful role in a highly technological, information-oriented society, if they are going to escape from the present statistical predictions, they need to master the art of communication. They need to become truly literate and develop critical and creative thinking skills. Transferability of Language and Literacy Skills from First to Second Language The reading process is highly dependent on the person’s command of the oral language. A reader unfamiliar with many words in a text will not be able to derive meaning. A student uncertain of the grammatical patterns of the language will not be able to anticipate them in the text. Reading will become a painful and meaningless experience and can lead to functional illiteracy. Asking students to learn to read English without sufficient oral command of the language is to expect far more than the average person is able to accomplish. The basic nature of literacy skills is not limited to a given language. Although the application of some skills such as decoding and vocabulary building may be language specific, and vary from language to language, the nature of the skills themselves are common across languages. Students who are accustomed to look for details and contextual clues, to identify cause-effect relationships, to infer meaning and to evaluate and react to what is written in their native language will certainly be able to transfer all of these skills to reading a second language. Furthermore, even in those aspects of reading which are language Issues in Teacher Education