the six language arts

On Wednesday, January 20, in EDU 300, we discussed the six language arts (surprisingly, yes!  There are six!)

• Listening--just because men can hear, doesn't mean they are listening.
  
• Talking--knowing the difference between how one talks with their homies and how one talks at school.
  
• Reading--I think its pretty much self explanatory
  
• Writing--ditto
• Viewing--photographs, DVDs, the Internet, commercials, etc.
  
• Visual Representing--posters, video, drama, etc.  a.k.a. "a visual text."
  

Without a second thought, I easily agreed that listening, talking, reading, writing, and visual representing could be considered "language arts."  When it came to "viewing," I had to think twice.  You mean every time an elementary school teacher popped in a Magic School Bus videocassette (HA!) they weren't just trying to shut us up so they could squeeze in that grading they'd gotten behind on?  And every time they took us to the computer lab and let us play on Kid Pix there was a point to it besides a free period for the teacher?  According to Gail E. Tompkins, writer of Language Arts: Patterns of Practice, "visual media, including the Internet, are commonplace in American life today" and "students need to learn how to comprehend them and to integrate visual knowledge with other literacy knowledge" (Tompkins, 25).  Understanding that the comprehension strategies students use for reading are also important to viewing, added "viewing" to my list of the language arts I agreed with.

Another thing.  Just because teachers use "viewing" and "visual representing" in their classrooms does not mean that we as educators are just condoning all of the digital and media influences on childrens' lives.  Honestly, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.  And as always, moderation is key.

Viewing is important because, like I previously quoted, it helps student comprehend and interpret the media.  Also, the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread.  The idea of the Internet is unfathomable to me, yet, somehow it exists and I use it multiple times a day.  When I need to get in touch with a friend, facebook is just a click away.  When I need a laugh, I can read a (sometimes inappropriate) story or two about the boy who's girlfriend dumped him because he would not share a toothbrush with her.  From an educational point of view, when I need to find out what las chinitas means en español, a professor-approved online dictionary is easily accessible.  The North Carolina Standard Course of Study is right at my fingertips.  Considering the wealth of information available, it seems like a "duh" that viewing is important part of the language arts curriculum.


I feel the same way about "visual representing."  Not every person is a paper-writer or a speech-giver.  Students "create meaning" (Tompkins, 25) from texts, lectures, etc. in a variety of ways (think Gardner's Multiple Intelligences from PSY 101).  A child with high bodily-kinesthetic intellegence would benefit much more from re-enacting scenes from Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, than they would from reading and writing the answers to comprehension questions.  Plus, the more ways you learn something, the more likely you are to remember it.



My personal experiences with the six language arts are vast.  I've done my fair share of movie watching, poster drawing, and drama creating for the "viewing" and "visual representing" language arts.  The amount of "writing" I've done can be proved by the writer's bumps on my middle and pinky fingers.  "Reading" is what most of my teachers called "language arts."  All we ever did was read from the "readers" or a select novel and answer questions.  The "talking" came with the dreaded paideia discussions.  But I don't recall any instruction in the "listening" area of language arts.  I don't think a teacher taught me how to listen.  I think its just something I did as I entered Kindergarten because "mom said so."


Personally, I think my learning preferences are, and always have been, "viewing" and "visual representing."  I'm a visual and tactile learner and don't believe I've ever been a fan of writing essays and reading textbooks.  I don't imagine being interested in my HIS 102 textbook.  Ever.  I don't think I'll ever enjoy writing GEO 200 papers either.  Never ever.  I'm too hands on and my attention span is too short. 




Anyways...I hope I got my point across to the EDU readers and to all others, sorry for most likely being boring.  Grade-school language arts is not a topic most of us choose to rehash.  : )



In other news, I continue to learn from my lil' friends at The Franciscan School Bridges program, I'm trying to study abroad in Mexico this summer, and I got a 11.5/12 on my first GEO 200 quiz.