Let's get Critical. Some musings from last year...

“Thought is made in the mouth.”

–Trisian Tzara

This week I have been thinking about critical literacies and the use of language to depict different meanings. I appear to have more questions than answers. What is critical literacy? How does critical literacy relate to education and how does the English teacher engage with it on a practical level? Anything can be a text. I’m a text. You’re a text. The plastic bottle on the table is a text. Ideas and things are communicated through language. Is there a difference between the written and the spoken? With all these thoughts mulling through my mind, I decided to visit the library and was dazzled by this illuminating sign announcing that, “The basic material is not the word but the letter”. What does this mean? Turner Prize nominated artist Nathan Coley explains,

“I see the work as a new site-specific sculpture for the foyer of the Main Library – a building full of books, words, ideas and students. A sculpture using words – words from the library, words from within the building where the artwork now sits.”

Text is everywhere. It is a woven part of society with a multitude of different meanings depending on the context. Examining different types of literature is something English teachers do on a regular basis. Putting things into a real life context often makes literature accessible and pupils can see how text is relevant to their own lives.

In order to understand critical literacies better, I have been reading some articles by Hilary Janks. Specifically, ‘Domination, Access, Diversity and Design: A synthesis for critical literacy education’ and ‘Texts, Identities, and Ethics: Critical Literacy in a Post-Truth World.’ Janks is a current critic within the field and a professor in the School of Education at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Within the first article Janks discusses political tensions in South Africa and draws upon The Truth and Reconciliation Act. She discusses the different shifts in power and relates this to politics, history and society. (2000) Interestingly there is no mention of language. There are many different types of languages spoken in South Africa, each rich with their own cultural roots. Janks omits even mentioning the existence of different languages which confuses me as language is intrinsically linked to identity. However, she is working in South Africa so perhaps it is an obvious fact that does not need mentioning? She also writes extensively about critical literacies so I’m sure it is a topic that is addressed elsewhere.

Scotland also has a different types of language/dialects ranging from Doric to Gaelic. In Scotland, teachers teach Scottish texts as part of the curriculum and as a means for exploring the “Scottish voice”. Dialects within rural communities are changing and evolving. There are arguments that some local dialects could be in danger of dying out and identities being marginalised? I really enjoy texts that feature dialects such as Nan Shepherd and James Kelman. It is important to remember that language, power and identities are intrinsically linked. It is the responsibility of the teacher to approach these texts with sensitivity and consider the treatment of language. Is everything becoming too universal? What are the positive and negative aspects of this? I want to be mindful of different issues during my future teaching practice. Within the classroom there will be pupils from all sorts of backgrounds and I would like to encourage pupils to investigate different ideas, but come to their own conclusions and to also appreciate different forms of language and dialects.

Within, ‘Texts, Identities and Ethics: Critical Literacy in a Post –Truth World’ Janks encourages educators “to give students the skills they need to engage meaningfully with texts. They need to be taught reason, and they need to have sophisticated literacy skills to engage with and interrogate texts.” (2018) Within education there is often a presumption that there is one magical right answer leaving pupils lacking in confidence to engage fully with their thoughts. English is a subject that encourages different perspectives and it would be a useful tool to see how critical approaches can encourage discussion, confidence and engagement within the classroom.

Observation week is just around the corner so as well as engaging with ideas about critical literacies I have been thinking about how to frame a research question and create an observation schedule. I do not know anything about classroom research techniques so I looked at the book Doing Classroom Research, edited by Sally Elton-Chalcraft, Alice Hansen and Samantha Twiselton. I also looked online to see what type of methods could be applied. I feel a little uncertain about whether the task will work? How do I collect my data and what will I do with it? I am treating the exercise as a practical learning curve. Dipping my toes into the world of practical research. Perhaps I also find it challenging as I don’t know what I will do with my data? I feel I need a solid goal. I’ll treat it as an exploratory exercise. Sometimes doing things in practice provides clarity.

My research question is:

Is the use of value questions to elicit group discussion a valid teaching tool in the English classroom?

I found discussing my research ideas in professional studies helpful as it was good to see how others were approaching the task. Everyone has different ideas. I am interested to hear what happens when we return. I feel I learnt a lot from the science based subjects who are good at creating tables and handling data. My research will be mainly qualitative. The scientists encouraged me to think about potential answers. I also enjoyed hearing about the different journal articles from other subject areas. As a group we collectively thought about whether the ideas could be applied to our own subject area. In my group there was a mix of practical and theoretical journals discussed. I feel inspired to read more practice based research.

Whilst on the topic of practice I want to take the opportunity to reflect on a creative writing workshop led by Jane Cooper. I think activities are a good way to learn and discover things. It is one thing to read a “How to cook” book and then another to actually participate. It has been a long time since I have written creatively. I have many friends who are ‘real’ writers so I’m often intimidated to even pick up my pencil. Jane reminded us how hard it can be to find the right writing environment and find a comfortable space to write in. She was excellent at creating the right type of writing atmosphere.

I want to read more Janks. I feel she will help me position critical literacies in an educational context. As a side note: I’m finding the South African perspective fascinating as I spent the summer being obsessed with J.M Coetzee who discusses his own school experiences within Boyhood: Scenes from a Provisional Life.

Works cited:

Edinburgh University, Artwork Lights up Library with letters (2018) https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2018/artwork-lights-up-library-with-letters (Last accessed – 21.9.2018)

Janks, H., (2000) Domination, Access, Diversity and Design: A synthesis for critical literacy education. Educational Review, Vol. 52 No.2, pp.175 -186.

Janks, H. (2018) Texts, Identities and Ethics: Critical Literacy in a Post –Truth World Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, Vol. 62 No.1, pp.95-99.

Tzara, T., (2016) Seven Dada Manifesto and Lampisteries, London: Alma Classics.

#Education #CriticalLiteracies