Not Just Letters
By Mark W.R. Condon, Unite for Literacy vice president
A few years ago during what was described as a “crisis” along America’s southern border, there was an article in The New York Times about U.S. citizens whose response to that situation was to write letters to immigrants who were desperately waiting as detainees along that border. This effort gave each letter writer an outlet for the guilt and frustration they felt about not being able to do anything for such helpless individuals and families who were suffering from having to wait with no easy recourse.
It was a moving example of how literacy enabled Americans to reach from their worlds of freedom into the isolation of incarceration, to touch individuals who were predictably frightened and despondent about their situations.
Regardless of our personal responses to this humanitarian crisis, we can all appreciate the simple act of putting kind and consoling words on paper. Delivering messages in some personal and humane way provided solace for sender and receiver, the simple essence of literate activity.
All the books in libraries, and all the timely newspapers and magazines that we see everyday share in supporting this uniquely human activity. The formula is a simple one. An individual uses writing tools to communicate feelings or information across space (and time) with another individual or group.
Teaching children to read and write with that same kind of purposeful connection requires that they come to appreciate the fundamental concept of communication: that reading and writing are all about making and sharing meanings. That understanding is what moves those new to literacy from focusing upon systematic word identification and decoding strategies, devoid of compelling content or human connection, into writers extending a warm hand to readers.
Sadly, that vital understanding is missing for many who struggle with learning to read and write. Perhaps they were inadvertently taught at home—or directly taught at school—that reading and writing are about mastering letters, letter sounds and words. All are necessary; however, without the goal of communication at its heart, literacy is the equivalent of introducing architecture as simply a combination of wood, bricks, and mortar. Far too many new readers are left with a general concept of literacy that lacks personal purpose and human connection.
Teaching reading and writing should have as its foundation the understanding that new readers benefit in some personally important way from the content of what they read. And the flip side of that is that young authors are learning to craft messages that convey their thoughts.
Individuals who write consoling letters to detainees are not merely writing letters and words. More importantly, they are expressing caring and well-wishes for individuals and families who have found themselves in dire circumstances.
It’s children creating valentines, crafting a “sleepover” invitation, using art and writing to convey sorrow at someone’s loss, sending a sweet note of encouragement, or simply sharing new ideas that are the WHYS of teaching reading and writing. That must never be lost in our eagerness to support children in growth in navigating print and books. The simple use of 26 letters must always include the powerful humanity that makes one person’s message worthy of another’s reading.