So harkening back to the discussion that we had in class, I was thinking about a particular experience that I had back in elementary school.
I was thinking about how we discuss literacy and literacy practices as they relate to teachings in school, yet I often wonder: how is it possible to analyze scholastic literacy practices without looking at literacy as it exists outside of the home?
During elementary school, we had this project where we had to bring in a book that we had read or had wanted to read. I had gone to the library, perusing the shelves when I stumbled towards the history shelf and found this behemoth of a book: William L. Shirer’s ‘The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich’. I instantly dove headfirst into this book and was awed by the sheer brutality that was this part of history.
So I bring this book into class one day and am instantly shunned by the teacher. “You shouldn’t be reading this at your age, you’re too young for this.” Yet I had already been playing violent, first-person shooter video games at home, and I wanted some sort of historical and academic complement to my ‘baptism through gaming’. Was it wrong to want to understand the historical background of the fake people that I was shooting on my Xbox at home?
My question is this: is there a point where literacy needs to be addressed in a scholarly way to things learned outside of the classroom, and when that point comes, is it sometimes okay for students to attempt to grasp subjects that may be beyond their ‘maturity level’?
Personally I think it’s kind of difficult for any teacher to asses a students maturity level. Yes – teachers interact with student for hours each day and can come to have an intimate knowledge of that student, but they still only know that student in one context. I’m sure if students were able to asses students in all aspects of their life they would see that some students they had originally labeled as “not mature enough” were in fact very mature and able to handle “mature” tasks.
And I think it is totally okay for students to attempt to grasp subjects that are beyond their maturity level. Even if they don’t get it at first they are still pushing themselves to learn. This initial interaction with a text can open up various mindsets to a student to explore. It can push them to challenge their thinking. Push them to learn more. And isn’t that the point of schooling – to learn?