[Reading-hall-of-fame] Re: Five Shades of Gray

[Alan Farstrup]

I fully agree that the "Balkanization" of the profession has lead to poor communication and even rivalries between departments. Certainly schools, classrooms and teachers are not immune to such effects either. We need to look into this set of issues. 

Alan

______________________
Sent from my iPad2
Alan E. Farstrup
afarstrup at me.com

On Nov 28, 2012, at 2:08 PM, Yetta Goodman <ygoodman at u.arizona.edu> wrote:

> Thanks Vicki... I do think this is an important issue to raise. And I do
> hope others take up your  mantel. There should be discussions in reading,
> writing, literacy, early childhood and adult literacy departments about how
> to bridge the kinds of gaps that specialization has imposed on our
> understandings of literacy development and its uses.  Perhaps developing a
> session or symposium before you retire, Vicki might bring folks together on
> this.     Yetta
> 
> On Wed, Nov 28, 2012 at 12:01 PM, <vpurcell.gates at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> Hi all; My appointment as a Canada Research Chair is couched as an 'Early
>> Childhood Literacy' Chair. As some of you may know,though, I approach early
>> literacy through community literacy, adult literacy, and literacy as taught
>> in schools lens. I have found over the years that this is hard for people
>> to understand, especially policy people.
>> Probably, this connection needs to be examined more closely through
>> empirical research but it would take a sophisticated research design and
>> lots of money. I'm about to retire (Yaaay!) so I feel ok about putting this
>> out there for someone else to take up!
>> Best, Vicki
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> 
>> On Nov 27, 2012, at 10:01 AM, Yetta Goodman <ygoodman at u.arizona.edu>
>> wrote:
>> 
>>> Tom has been saying for a long time that adult literacy programs and
>> early
>>> childhood literacy programs should be integrated.
>>> Certainly as a field, we should be involved in acknowledging how related
>>> the two fields are.
>>> There is general agreement that literacy history of parents and
>> involvement
>>> of parents in reading and writing with their children is important to
>>> literacy development
>>> in young children.   Is there a way to make such an important issue more
>>> relevant in the learning to read communities.
>>> Yetta
>>> 
>>> On Mon, Nov 26, 2012 at 3:05 PM, <tsticht at znet.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>>> Thanks to all who sent me info re William S. Gray. I ended up not
>> calling
>>>> him the father or godfather of Dick and Jane in the following note that
>> I
>>>> posted on a couple of adult literacy discussion lists. Thanks again for
>>>> your input!
>>>> 
>>>> Tom Sticht
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 11/26/12
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Five Shades of Gray in Adult Literacy Education
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Tom Sticht
>>>> International Consultant in Adult Education
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Speaking at numerous workshops around the United States I have asked
>>>> participants if they knew who William S. Gray was. Close to 100 percent
>> of
>>>> the time the answer has been “no”. But when I show them pictures, almost
>>>> all the participants recognize the fictional children which, as an
>> editor
>>>> and author at Scott Foresman publishers, Gray helped turn into the
>> American
>>>> cultural icons: Dick and Jane!
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> But Gray did not confine his work to children. His work came in
>> different
>>>> shades of interest in adult literacy and he produced some of the
>>>> foundational work on adult literacy education during the first 60 years
>> of
>>>> the 20th century. Here are five shades of Gray that adult literacy
>>>> educators should know about.
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Shade#1:Gray-The Educator of Adult Literacy Educators
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> In 1929, President Herbert Hoover was persuaded to form a National
>> Advisory
>>>> Committee on Illiteracy. In 1930 the Committee commissioned Gray to
>> produce
>>>> a Manual for Teachers of Adult Illiterates (Gray, 1930;Whipple, Guyton,
>> &
>>>> Morris, 1931).
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> In some 185 pages, the manual offers recommendations for the
>> qualifications
>>>> and preparation of teachers and extensive, multiple chapters present
>>>> information on how to organize programs, how to teach adults to read,
>>>> write, and compute, and how to assess learning progression. (source:
>>>> Whipple, Caroline A., Guyton, Mary L., Morris, Elizabeth C. (1931).
>> Manual
>>>> for Teachers of Adult Elementary Students. United States Office of
>>>> Education, Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C.
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Shade#2:Gray-The Adult Literacy Education Researcher
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> In 1932 Gray served as first author of what appears to me to be the
>> first
>>>> rigorous study of adult literacy education in the U. S. The research
>>>> examined the results of four week, residential summer courses on
>> literacy
>>>> and other subjects, in separate schools for Whites and Blacks.
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> The researchers concluded that: Quote: "In summary, the facts which have
>>>> been presented in the study show clearly that agencies of adult
>> education
>>>> may render invaluable service to adults of limited education. Because of
>>>> the very nature of the training provided, an opportunity school of the
>> type
>>>> described in this report has unique possibilities of service. Such
>> schools
>>>> should be far more widely established. They should supplement the public
>>>> school and be supported by public funds.” End quote (source: Gray,
>> William
>>>> S., Gray, Wil Lou, & Tilton, J. Warren. (1932). The opportunity schools
>> of
>>>> South Carolina: An experimental study. New York: American Association
>> for
>>>> Adult Education.)
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Shade#3:Gray-The Adult Literacy and Readability Assessor
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> To find out which aspects of written materials caused problems in
>>>> comprehension for adults of limited reading ability, in 1935 Gray teamed
>>>> with Bernice Leary, and conducted an early survey of the reading skills
>> of
>>>> some 1700 adults around the nation. They developed a reading test
>>>> consisting of the comprehension of paragraphs of increasing difficulty
>> and
>>>> administered this test and the Monroe Standardized Reading Tests and
>>>> determined that the average adult scored just below the 8th grade level.
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> To determine features of paragraphs causing adults problems in
>>>> comprehending
>>>> the materials Gray and Leary counted numerous features of writing such
>> as
>>>> average sentence length in syllables, number of “easy” words, etc. and
>>>> correlated them with paragraph comprehension scores. By combining five
>> such
>>>> features into a formula, they found a correlation of +.645 with
>>>> comprehension scores. This work by Gray and Leary helped to stimulate
>>>> numerous other researchers to develop a wide variety of readability
>>>> formulas. (source: Gray, William S. & Bernice E Leary. 1935. What Makes
>> a
>>>> Book Readable. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.)
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Shade#4:Gray-The International Literacy Expert
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> In 1956, UNESCO published a four year study of literacy by Gray in a
>> report
>>>> entitled The Teaching of Reading and Writing: An International Survey
>> (the
>>>> information here is taken from the online second edition published in
>>>> 1969). In his chapter on Teaching Adults to Read he expresses what many
>>>> adult literacy educators have found regarding the reluctance of many
>> adults
>>>> to participate in adult literacy programs and their changed attitudes
>> about
>>>> themselves once they discover that they can learn. He states:
>>>> 
>>>> Quote ”…many illiterates look upon ability to read as a superior
>>>> achievement
>>>> and lack confidence in their own ability to acquire the art. They
>> either do
>>>> not join literacy classes or are so timid that they make little progress
>>>> after they enroll. The fact has been demonstrated repeatedly that once
>>>> confidence has been established many of these adults make very
>> satisfactory
>>>> progress.” end quote (p.154).
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Shade#5:Gray-The Reading Profession Organizational Man
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> In 1956 the International Council for the Improvement of Reading
>>>> Instruction
>>>> and the National Association of Remedial Teachers were merged to form
>> the
>>>> International Reading Association and Gray was elected the first
>> President
>>>> of the IRA. In this capacity he argued for attention to the improvement
>> of
>>>> reading not just in the primary and middle grades, but in high school,
>>>> college and throughout adulthood. He brought attention to the need for
>>>> improving reading in the content areas of English, mathematics, history,
>>>> science, etc. and for remedial education at the college level.
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> For over half a century, the IRA has built on Gray’s early work on adult
>>>> illiteracy. My personal experience with this work came during 1975-76
>> when
>>>> I had the opportunity to serve as Chairperson of the IRA Committee on
>> Basic
>>>> Education and Reading and again from 1979-2003 when I served yearly as
>> the
>>>> IRA representative on UNESCO’s International Literacy Prize Jury. Today,
>>>> the IRA continues to sponsor initiatives on adult literacy instruction
>> in
>>>> the United States and around the world building on the five shades of
>> Gray!
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> tsticht at aznet.net
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Reading-hall-of-fame mailing list
>>>> Reading-hall-of-fame at lists.nottingham.ac.uk
>>>> http://lists.nottingham.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/reading-hall-of-fame
>>>> This message and any attachment are intended solely for the addressee
>> and
>>>> may contain confidential information. If you have received this message
>> in
>>>> error, please send it back to me, and immediately delete it.   Please do
>>>> not use, copy or disclose the information contained in this message or
>> in
>>>> any attachment.  Any views or opinions expressed by the author of this
>>>> email do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of
>> Nottingham.
>>>> 
>>>> This message has been checked for viruses but the contents of an
>> attachment
>>>> may still contain software viruses which could damage your computer
>> system:
>>>> you are advised to perform your own checks. Email communications with
>> the
>>>> University of Nottingham may be monitored as permitted by UK
>> legislation.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> --
>>> Yetta Goodman, Regents Professor Emerita
>>> 7914 S Galilleo Lane, Tucson Arizona 85747
>>> *
>>> *
>>> *May 2013 be a healthy and productive year for you and yours. *
>>> *May 2013 bring a little more peace to the world. *
>>> *
>>> *
>>> *No child needs to be motivated to learn. To learn is their trade.*
>>> *They can't stop learning because they can't stop growing.*
>>> *Emilia Ferreiro, 2003 *
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Reading-hall-of-fame mailing list
>>> Reading-hall-of-fame at lists.nottingham.ac.uk
>>> http://lists.nottingham.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/reading-hall-of-fame
>>> This message and any attachment are intended solely for the addressee
>> and may contain confidential information. If you have received this message
>> in error, please send it back to me, and immediately delete it.   Please do
>> not use, copy or disclose the information contained in this message or in
>> any attachment.  Any views or opinions expressed by the author of this
>> email do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Nottingham.
>>> 
>>> This message has been checked for viruses but the contents of an
>> attachment
>>> may still contain software viruses which could damage your computer
>> system:
>>> you are advised to perform your own checks. Email communications with the
>>> University of Nottingham may be monitored as permitted by UK legislation.
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Yetta Goodman, Regents Professor Emerita
> 7914 S Galilleo Lane, Tucson Arizona 85747
> *
> *
> *May 2013 be a healthy and productive year for you and yours. *
> *May 2013 bring a little more peace to the world. *
> *
> *
> *No child needs to be motivated to learn. To learn is their trade.*
> *They can't stop learning because they can't stop growing.*
> *Emilia Ferreiro, 2003 *
> _______________________________________________
> Reading-hall-of-fame mailing list
> Reading-hall-of-fame at lists.nottingham.ac.uk
> http://lists.nottingham.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/reading-hall-of-fame
> This message and any attachment are intended solely for the addressee and may contain confidential information. If you have received this message in error, please send it back to me, and immediately delete it.   Please do not use, copy or disclose the information contained in this message or in any attachment.  Any views or opinions expressed by the author of this email do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Nottingham.
> 
> This message has been checked for viruses but the contents of an attachment
> may still contain software viruses which could damage your computer system:
> you are advised to perform your own checks. Email communications with the
> University of Nottingham may be monitored as permitted by UK legislation.