Literacy is a discipline.

Wisconsin recently revised our ELA standards (Common Core). I was a part of this committee, one of many educators coming together from all over the state. We spent time in Madison and in Zoom chats going through one area of ELA as subcommittees. (I was assigned to the speaking and listening standards.) This update is now available for anyone to review and offer feedback on before they are adopted statewide.

This experience reinforced for me one belief I hold: literacy is a discipline. Similar to mathematics, to science, to social studies, literacy/ELA exists for itself. Reading, writing, and communicating do not merely provide support for these other subject areas. There are structures and rules that guide writers and help provide purpose for readers. For example, it's important that a persuasive essay have an interesting lead, sound evidence, and a closing that reinforces the main idea. (By the way, how am I doing so far?)

Even if I had not participated on the ELA standards committee, I would believe literacy is a discipline. Four years ago, I started writing for Choice Literacy. As I received feedback from the editor about my article drafts, my writing improved. "Matt, I feel like readers would already know this," I can almost hear Brenda Power sharing. This response would help me remember who my audience was and, subsequently, I would revise my work to reflect this.

As a classroom teacher is when I first embraced this belief fully. I recall reading aloud Rose Blanche by Roberto Innocenti to 5th graders as I modeled making inferences. We weren't reading this picture book together to learn content for history; the text was presented to support practicing this comprehension strategy. We were learning to read like writers and maybe apply the author's craft to our own pieces.

While I can appreciate the push to embrace "disciplinary literacy", especially in the secondary grades, we cannot at the same time lose sight of the so-important skill of comprehending and communicating in our world. I couldn't write this post without some sense of structure and style. ELA is the vehicle for finding meaning within and around ideas. Whatever the topic or content, that information is dependent on literacy.

I'll be sharing more on my newsletter this week about attributing value to literacy and our work in general. Sign up today!