Abstract:These are good questions. Indeed, many of the manuscripts we are now adjudicating provide a picture of what it means to be a reader and writer in the 21st century and, more often, what the teaching of reading and writing looks like or might look like in light of changing times and changing notions of literacy in New Times.As we near the end of the first decade of the 21st century, there is much yet to explore in the questions posed by Luke, Elkins, and Goodson. However, as educators and researchers become incr… Show more
“…Yet, as JAAL editors Tom Bean and Helen Harper () noted in their inaugural editorial, the new times that celebrated multimodality 10 years ago have become hard times. Looking back at a decade of research and writing on literacy in “new times,” they posed a question made urgent by the unsettling developments of the 21st century's first decade:[A]s educators and researchers become increasingly comfortable with new literacies and the teaching of 21st‐century textual practices, we may want to focus on broader questions of meaning and significance in these times—in our times; some might say, hard times.…”
As new times become hard times, there may be little time for multimodality in school unless educators confront the accountability culture. This commentary reviews the arguments for multimodal transformations of school literacy curricula and explores the potential of reflective talk about multimodal meaning‐making as an assessment practice. Talking about how multimodality works may enable educators and students alike to talk back to an accountability culture that limits what counts as literacy.
“…Yet, as JAAL editors Tom Bean and Helen Harper () noted in their inaugural editorial, the new times that celebrated multimodality 10 years ago have become hard times. Looking back at a decade of research and writing on literacy in “new times,” they posed a question made urgent by the unsettling developments of the 21st century's first decade:[A]s educators and researchers become increasingly comfortable with new literacies and the teaching of 21st‐century textual practices, we may want to focus on broader questions of meaning and significance in these times—in our times; some might say, hard times.…”
As new times become hard times, there may be little time for multimodality in school unless educators confront the accountability culture. This commentary reviews the arguments for multimodal transformations of school literacy curricula and explores the potential of reflective talk about multimodal meaning‐making as an assessment practice. Talking about how multimodality works may enable educators and students alike to talk back to an accountability culture that limits what counts as literacy.
“…This definition of literacy is consistent with scholars who see literacy as a cultural practice that involves multiple sign-and-symbol systems (Hull & Nelson, 2005;New London Group, 1996). That is, individuals and groups communicate by using more than just words (Bean & Harper, 2008;Gallego & Hollingsworth, 2000;New London Group, 1996). Youth, in particular, practice literacy by weaving together identities and common world views.…”
This article reports findings from an ethnographic study of the literacy practices of a group of 11-to 14-year-old black males who called themselves "the cool kids." The study is framed using theories that view literacy as a social and cultural practice involving multiple sign-and-symbol systems. Two research questions guided the study: How did coolness relate to literacy among "the cool kids," and what symbolic patterns helped to shape these relations? The findings describe how race, gender, and pop culture marked the group's use of language and style and reveal how coolness, as a pop-cultural artifact of black manhood, contributed to the literacy practices of the young men and to the construction of their symbolic selves. These findings contribute to building a theory of black masculine literacies. F or the young men in the "My Brother's Keeper" (MBK) Program, playing with language and style seemed central to literacy practice. Even their body was a tablet that rendered the self textually, allowing powerful forms of composing to be accomplished and shared. Regularly, we observed the young men of MBK-who, by school accounts, were thought to be barely literate in the narrow, print-based sense of the term-operate within multiple symbolic systems to define themselves and shape what they saw as "cool." They made literate decisions, indeed, scribing identity texts in unstable social situations, for example, in the events of dress and speech. The texts that defined these events-and we include here "cool" vernacular and apparel in addition to traditional print and other multimodal semiotic forms (Hull & Nelson, 2005), such as songs, films, etc.-were circulated, shared, and picked up by the young men in sophisticated ways. The texts they produced were also symbolic, offering a narrative of who these young men were and wanted to be.As we sought to locate meaning in their texts, this study took shape around a particular set of literacy practices firmly rooted within black masculine and popcultural models. Although a growing body of literacy research on urban youth has seemed to harden literacy into a performance of race and gender, we have resisted this impulse. Instead, we present the constructs of race (blackness) and gender (masculinity) merely to present a telling case (Mitchell, 1984). What follows is an examination of literacy revealed through the language and style of 11-to 14-year-old black boys.The initial purpose of the study was to examine the critical literacy practices of the young men of MBK. As we became more familiar with the young men, we became more aware of the social ecology of the group. Important to us was understanding how the literacy practices of seven of its members, "the cool kids" (the phrase "the cool kids" is actual language taken from one of the students in the program), had lifted literacy off the page. As two young black men ourselves, the literacy practices of these young men were both unique and familiar. However, we experienced difficulty finding theories of literacy that acknowledged t...
“…“What will it mean to be a reader and writer in the 21st century?” (Luke & Elkins, , JAAL coeditors 1998–2002)“How will we teach reading and writing in the 21st century?” (Goodson, , JAAL editor 2002–2008)“What does the teaching of reading and writing mean in these times for adolescents and adult learners, their teachers, and the larger society?” (Bean & Harper, , JAAL coeditors, along with associate editor Dunkerly 2008–2012)…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…“What does the teaching of reading and writing mean in these times for adolescents and adult learners, their teachers, and the larger society?” (Bean & Harper, , JAAL coeditors, along with associate editor Dunkerly 2008–2012)…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…With the shifts in production and consumption of texts in a mere 14‐year span, literacy −education is more important and vital than ever before. The learner central to Luke and Elkins (), the teaching practices emphasized by Goodson (), and the meaning and context of reading and writing described by Bean and Harper () remain critical components for understanding and advancing adolescent and adult literacies. Building upon their editorial visions, we envision two other components crucial for study.…”
This editorial focuses on connecting literacy education contexts (e.g., local and global), stakeholders (e.g., policymakers, scholars, and practitioners), and literacies (e.g., foundational print‐based and new, digital). The editors outline their vision to build upon previous editorships in building a participatory culture where Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy (JAAL) readers not only consume content but also produce new ideas through conversations. The editorial outlines how JAAL will serve as a forum for discussion of innovative research and practical applications of diverse adolescent and adult literacy learners engaged in reading, writing, speaking, viewing, listening, and designing in print and online formats.
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