The Digital Archive of Literacy Narratives (DALN) is a digital space that functions to make the work of literacy narratives public and to both reveal and challenge complex practices and histories of literacy. In the context of Morris Young's work, what he has found fascinating (and gratifying) in the DALN is the range of Asian and Asian American…

In this article Kara Alexander discusses why, as a literacy studies instructor, she believes requiring her students to upload their literacy narratives to the Digital Archive of Literacy Narratives (DALN) is beneficial. She provides three reasons for this requirement: (1) making their work public has the potential to enhance student agency,…

In this personal reflection, Sonia Nieto recounts the lessons she learned about language and literacy from learning to speak Spanish and then English; to reading and writing; and the impact of these lessons on her identity, teaching, research, and life; and, more broadly, on the fields of education and literacy.

Authors Fecho, Coombs, and McAuley discuss the integral role of dialogue in literacy classrooms dominated by standardized testing, curriculum, and instruction. Their argument in support of the dialogical literacy classroom begins with a historical and theoretical justification for these principles, then transitions into a discussion of the…

Considers how writing personal and professional narratives together has taught the author the complicated ways in which he uses his early childhood skills in caring for his parents--the importance of routines, transitions, relationship building--and they in turn have prompted him to rethink the early years of life, including the learning of…

In this article, the author focuses on one of the riches of the country: its people. She interviewed five adult educators who have made significant contributions in Jamaica. The author's interest in this research began from the opportunities that she had to meet some of the participants through their programme's connections with JAMAL (the…

In this article, the author shares his experiences as a teacher in Dine College, a tribal American Indian college. He recalls how teaching there for seventeen years has brought him joy and frustration. He relates that a teaching approach he discovered over the years has helped him become an effective teacher. He also discovered that some of the…

The ability to function independently as a reader and writer in the society is defined here as "functional literacy" and includes, for gay or lesbian students, access to their own cultural literature and the recognition of a multi-cultural literacy that includes gay and lesbian culture. Two central beliefs are at the heart of the…

Delineates what is "the high school viewpoint" for an experienced K-12 educator who has been a teacher, a department chair, an instructional specialist, a staff developer, and a regional school district consultant. Gives her view of "the basics" concerning literacy. (PA)

Relates how, throughout the author's life from early childhood well into adulthood, literacy has been a powerful adventure helping her to survive and thrive. Notes that she teaches reading and writing to her students to share these gifts of language with them. (SR)

In this article, the author relates how he had found solace and diversion in reading aloud while caring for his father who was undergoing chemotherapy. One particular incident left him completely immersed in reading that he did not noticed his father had been awakened from a deep sleep. From those experiences, the author observes how engagement in…

Student-professor conferencing and students' increased self-reflection are two of the unexpected benefits of portfolio assessment. While self-reflection is a key component of meaningful conferencing, it is also clearly evinced in the students' rationale statements. These written reflections address the relevance of students' work to course…

For a composition teacher--comparing a passage from his Caucasian grandmother's (May Blossom Gould's) diary with the autobiographical narrative dictated by an African-American student's great-great grandmother (Violet McNeil) to a literate member of her family--racial politics and the privileges afforded by literacy irrevocably separate the two…

Literacy is inextricably linked to the social context in which literacy is taught, and in which the language is used. Cultural expectations require the use of specific literacies. Who a person is, in terms of a literacy user and a literacy worker are dictated by the culture in which a person chooses to operate. Literacy is not neutral, but an…

Focuses on how various literacy narratives portray passages between language worlds. Considers how such passages are relevant to a writing pedagogy. Stresses the relationship between such literacy passages is useful in basic writing contexts. Analyzes two essays written by one student who portrays such a literacy passage. (HB)