MIDDLE LEVEL ISSUES

Vol. 5 #8, November 2005
Literacy Development for the 21stCentury
byMarcia Rossand Robert C. Spear Ed.D.

No matter where you are in these days of standards, assessment, and “leaving no child behind,” adolescent literacy skills development is on everyone’s mind. For many of us, adolescent literacy, often a neglected area when compared to elementary literacy efforts, has been determined to be a critical area for action.

The standard definition of literacy has always been the ability to read, write, speak, listen, and think effectively. InAdolescent Literacy Resources: Linking Research and Practice, Meltzer describes the significance of literacy as enabling “people to access power through the ability to become informed, to inform others, and to make informed decisions.” In today’s information loaded world, the greater question may be what are the skills that adolescents will need to be literate in the 21stcentury? What skills will they need to access the opportunities that are available and to have some power and control in the world in which they will live?

Historically, literacy skills development has focused on reading, writing and arithmetic. The core of this approach has not changed significantly over time. While some students have always mastered the skills that were deemed necessary to be successful in school and in the world beyond school, others were always at a disadvantage. Current research indicates that today’s adolescents do not consistently have the skills necessary to be successful in learning, let alone in the world at large. For example, according to Joyce, Hyraces, and Calhoun, 2001, 33% of secondary students have withdrawn from active participation in class and are reading below grade level. (Melvina Phillips in thePower of Strategic Literacy Immersion/ NASSP Annual Conference,San Francisco, CaFebruary 25, 2005).

David Warlick, ed-tech expert and author ofRedefining Literacy for the 21stCentury, describes the 3R’s (reading, writing, and arithmetic) as evolving into the four E’s (exposing knowledge, employing information, expressing ideas compellingly, and ethics on the internet. This approach to literacy is based on the fact that the nature of information is changing. “What it looks like, what we use to view it, where and how we find it, what we can do with it, and how we communicate it” is changing according to Warlick. The redefinition of literacy and the subsequent integration of these ideas into the curriculum will provide a stronger and more relevant avenue for modernizing instruction and better preparing students for the future.

Successful literacy skills development for today’s adolescents requires a comprehensive approach. The responsibility for developing a comprehensive skills development program belongs to each and every one of us. It should be reflected in the total curriculum, technology acquisition and use, allocation of resources, and should have priority in professional development planning. It should take into account current research identifying successful adolescent literacy programs and should encompass approaches to improve the skills of all learners, not just those at either end of the achievement curve. As is true for all middle level programs, the literacy initiative should have high expectations for all learners and be presented in a developmentally appropriate learning environment.

Editor’s Note: The New England League of Middle Schools is the service provider for theSTEPS to Middle Level Literacyprofessional development experience. Please contact NELMS if you desire further information on this school wide professional learning experience that will improve literacy learning for all students.