Sunday, May 4, 2025
Where did the magic go in literacy?
Just a child in the library, sitting on the floor next to my grandfather. He was reading the Irish Independent from the International Papers section. I said Grandad what am I supposed to read.
His face lit up, his mind started turning, he said wait here, ask the librarian for a copy of Don Quixote by Miquel Cerventes illustrated by Gustave Dore. It was big, old, but something about the leather bonding attracted me to this book I could not yet read, but try I would.
Of course, it open new Grandad/Grandson connections. He took the book out, gave it to me. We renewed that book over and over again for a year. That would set us off on hours of adventure, reading, laughing, imagining, and of course acting it out. There is this magical space between books and people, that literacy researchers overlook. They love to study how teachers teach reading, but ignore the magical stuff.
My grandfather was a World War I veteran who never finished elementary school. But, had the largest home library of any man I have met. He loved Cervantes, Hugo, Tolstoy, Dumas, Dickens, Swift, Wells, and all the Irish and Spanish poets. He could quote from any of them on demand. My dream back then was to read all he read. I am just about caught up to the old man these days. His books keep his memory strong in me. I cannot go to sleep with opening a book, finding that magic hidden in the pages of that magical stuff.
Many Literacy Researchers inform my thinking, but few understand, it is less about how we learn to read and more about why children should become readers. A story comes to life not from the print, but from the mind reading it. The imagination gives reason to reading, not the printed word.
Frank Smith, who sadly no one is reading anymore, always talked about inviting children to join the Literacy Club. He said: "It is infinitely more useful for a child to hear a story told by a person than by a computer. Because the greatest part of the learning experience lies not in the particular words of the story but in the involvement with the individual reading it". My Grandad was a master reader, who was an expert in creating invitations to read.
It would be wise for literacy experts to revisit Frank Smith, spending more time thinking about creative and innovative ways to invite children into the Literacy Club.
Just saying the magic is not on the page, but in the reader. Of course, Louise Rosenblatt told us that in 1978 in her book "The Reader, the Text. the Poem: The Transactional Theory of the Literary Work. She is another seldom-read expert these days. She is not a Podcast, she is a lifetime study for any researcher interested in literacy.
I am inspired by old voices and books, Dr. Jesse P. Turner Professor Emeritus of Literacy Just another Literacy Club Kid
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UUDguFEa5E <
Where would I be without libraries
When my father abandoned us, we were homeless for nearly 2 years. My mother worked from 9 to 4, serving tables. The rule was after school I would spend my time in the library.
Homeless kids are the quiet ones. We don’t want to bring attention to us. There is a shame with being homeless that leaves deep wounds. I was not special, not more gifted, but blessed by kind hearts. God sent me angels when I needed them most. Not special, but blessed by others.
Everyday for those two hard years, Mrs. G greeted me with cookies and hot chocolate. She knew without asking. She would always give glowing reports to my mother when she came to pick me up. She did not judge my mother, she understood - there go I, for the grace of God.
Her kindness, her humanity, and her choice of The Count of Monte Christo held me strong. She fed my hunger without asking. Her humanity fed my soul.
Where would I be without a public library?
Dead or in prison. If you are wondering what tune inspired me today....it's Deseree's You Gotta be > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRUwSk9UTrA <