Reading, 'riting, 'rithmetic, restlessness
the new 4Rs

By Sharon Gray, The Mun Gazette

In a highly literate lecture that kicked off the Dr. A. M. House Literacy Lecture series at Memorial, acclaimed educator Dr. Barry Sanders called for a fundamental change in the way children are taught to read and write.

"I suggest pulling students out of those situations in which they feel oppressed and in which, when someone asks them to perform, they quite literally choke," said Dr. Sanders, Professor of English and the History of Ideas at Pitzer College in Claremont, California.

Dr. Sanders is worried about all the fidgeting that goes on in classrooms, and the doubling of prescriptions for Ritalin (a drug to control hyperactivity) since 1990. "The new 4Rs are reading, 'riting, 'rithmetic and restlessness."

Literacy begins in orality," said Dr. Sanders. "Before you learned to read and write, you spoke and listened." He views orality as the "noisy, embryonic phase of literacy" which is a preparation for future work with reading and writing.

"I believe we need to protect the pleasure and joy of those years that young people spend in the loud - even boisterous - free-for-all of their early social interaction. It's a special time."

People who have difficulty with reading, whether because they are dyslexic or come from impoverished social conditions, are described by Dr. Sanders as "feeling hopelessly out of control." In working with illiterate students, he tries to get them to enjoy their own spoken sentences so much that they choose to write them down rather than see them "fly away."

In an environment where computers, TV and video games abound, Dr. Sanders defends books because they are technologically simple, and provide a structure - such as chapters - that is a good metaphor for organizing interior life.

His concern is not so much with the content of screen-interactive media, as with its philosophical implications. "What does it mean when you turn the machine off and the screen disappears? The power is in the box, not in the person! I say, put down the mouse and take up residence in your mind."

"The joy of reading cannot be paralleled by technology," said Dr. Sanders. "What a world! So vast it makes cyberspace seem narrow and restricted. Without elaborate programs, without reams of money or machines. . . through literature, I say it's possible to reclaim reading and writing."

Drawing on his own experience in studying Hebrew as a child, Dr. Sanders said that because the Hebrew language has no vowels, singing the text to life is part of the process of learning to read. Carrying this over into literacy in English, he recommends training in rhythmic orality through means such as music education or reading poetry and literature out loud. Students can then be slowly brought back to the text "as a kind of musical score" and hopefully read in a more relaxed manner.

Dr. Sanders' audience included the sponsor of the series, the Honourable D. A. M. House, Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland; Memorial's President, Dr. Arthur May; and Dr. Terry Piper, Dean of Education and organizer of the lecture series.

In his comments prior to Dr. Sanders' lecture, the Lieutenant Governor said the whole community in the province must act together to improve literacy. He emphasized that the early months and years of the child's life are extremely important to future literacy.

The Literacy Development Council's Toll Free Number is 1-800-563-1111.