Are people banning Amanda Gorman because they read words but fail to comprehend them?
🔤 📗 Decoding and comprehension are TWO DIFFERENT skills
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Literacy involves the reading words but is also more than just the reading words.
According to the National Reading Panel, there are FIVE essential components to literacy instruction. Here is my layman’s overview in a nutshell. —>
Phonological awareness: The fact that words have sound parts and the ability to hear those parts.
Phonics: The sound bits and parts, as well as the understanding that certain letters and letter combinations are connected to certain sounds. When students understand phonological patters it helps them say and spell unfamiliar words. This is why memorization is not enough.
Fluency: Being able to read the parts and sound bits effortlessly. This skill is also referred to as automaticity. The latter term is kind of like learning to type where your fingers remember where “asdf” and “;lkj” are on the keyboard without thinking — only it’s within your brain and related to the ability to read words quickly and accurately.
Vocabulary: Big words. Powerful words. Robust words.
Comprehension: Putting all the parts above in a way that provides a deeper sense and memory of what you just read. Comprehension is more than just the individual words, rather the bigger points shared, the story at play, the greater understanding. Plot as well as meaning.
People are allowed to believe what they want. If you deep dive into a topic and do not agree with it, that is 100% your right.
What I fear here is that the practice of book banning isn’t happening simply because the majority of those banning have thoroughly reviewed and studied texts. (Caveat: I do not feel that banning after reviewing and studying texts is a good idea either, but that’s another topic entirely.)
My point here is that there is another negative force having a seat at the table.
It’s poor literacy skills.
As in, people may be able to read certain words but they may be failing to comprehend them on deeper levels.
According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, 43.0 million U.S. adults possess low literacy skills. Let me break down more from that source:
This is only the lowest level of literacy. There are millions and millions more that might be functioning at somewhat higher levels in some ways, but are still floundering with the mastery of all skills, particularly comprehension.
Poor literacy is costing America dollars, also more than dollars.
Misspellings, poor grammar, and inaccuracies are all huge clues making me suspect low literacy skills are at play in some of the book-banning decision-making out there, especially this one.
Illiteracy and poor literacy brings about shame.
Shame drives fear.
As calls out in her post, fear is an underlying driver of book banning.
I mean, it’s a far easier emotional response for people to latch onto a perceived external negative than it is to look inward. In other words, it’s easier to avoid and accuse than to identify a skill you need to work on, to dig into a complicated topic, to ask hard questions, to seek and value perspectives different than yours, to feel uncomfortable with a discussion, to work through the discomfort.
The list goes on.
When the author herself enters the equation, you have to question it. If that is not uncomfortable, then I don’t know what is. Because, damn, it makes me uncomfortable which is why I’m writing about it.
What’s going on?
Quality literacy instruction, or lack thereof in America, has been a topic well covered by Emily Haniford recently. If you have not listened to Sold a Story, please do.
Bonus episodes 1 and 2 call out how layered positive change will be, namely how complicated teaching fundamental literacy skills truly is. Incorporating phonics is not a set it and forget it type deal. Because reading instruction is more than simply phonics and the decoding of words (um, see above!!) New instruction materials as well as legislation are rolling out for America’s schoolchildren but they have not been studied and vetted, and teacher training will be layered, to put it mildly.
It’s complicated.
While the system slowly works to improve the teaching of reading in an equitable way across all components of reading — and more students (fingers crossed!) reach their potential, I hope there are books like The Hill We Climb left in classrooms and libraries for students to read and, more importantly, comprehend.
And the norms and notions of “what is”
Isn’t always Justice. - Amanda Gorman
Fascinating linkages here, thank you!
Considering the people doing the complaining, is there any doubt about the literacy problem.