10-1 Blog Post

We all know how important it is to teach literacy to the youth of the United States, though it seems that despite our determination and intention, the results are not shown. Reading is a skill that one typically learns in reading class, or whatever it may be called. I think the problem with teaching our youth is to show them that reading is more than just comprehension. Being an engaged reader may seem a bit tedious, and it can be, but there are positive results to come from it. According to the text Foregrounding the Disciplines in Secondary Literacy Teaching and Learning: A Call for Change, "Young people do not need to go to school to learn what they already know; content literacy instruction can help youth gain access to the accepted knowledge of the disciplines, thereby allowing them also to critique and change that knowledge" (Moje). This quote seems to suggest that if a student were able to acquire the necessary reading skills, he or she would be best able to approach any text and make the most of it by critically engaging with it. This connects to a quote mentioned shortly after, which states, "Conducting historical investigation demands knowledge, skill, and 'a modicum of irreverence toward the received wisdom,' because, “if you are willing to accept unquestioningly what ‘everyone’ says, then the story is over before the investigation begins” (p. 2080, citing Ravitch, 2003). Without questioning, students have no real interaction, nor is learning actually taking place because it is as if the brain is solely accepting the information and just accepting for it to be true. There is an increase of knowledge going on, but there is no exchange. I think there is a huge flaw to this because to start off, it is almost unlikely that one will completely "understand" or learn something solely by reading the text. It is good to ask questions because the mind is going on step further or ahead of the reading, and from that, understanding can take place. Students are not merely accepting the information as is, which is vital today with all the politics happening, which connects with being a productive member of society.

Internationally, despite the economic power of the United States, and the claims people make of it being "the best country in the world," despite what people may think, it does not compete with other nations in the areas of science, math, and reading. It is interesting to think about this because more often than not, you hear people say we are in the "Land of Opportunity" and we do indeed, have economic and educational opportunities for everyone, but how is it that students are still unable to make the most of these opportunities? Clearly, something is wrong here. Perhaps there are external factors that play a role in why this is, rather than it just being the need for better literacy instruction. What do you think?

Despite all the good that arrived from the SHAPE and its standards, I believe there is room for criticism. Yes, one does not need to specialize in a sport or anything along those lines to be defined as a "physically literate" individual (Wickens, 2015). However, I think comparing a physical education classroom with the likes of a math, science, language, or history class, is insufficient. Usually, at least from my experience, there are not really any definitive assessments used in physical education classrooms that have a major impact on your grade as opposed to the other subjects. Although you may be able to read body language and physical signs, I think that the physical education classroom may be best to help in social skills, since body language is a major part when socializing. Also, to add on, the unambiguity of not having an expert on physical education may be athletes, but I would imagine that the PE teacher is the expert. Another criticism I have is in regards to the SHAPE national standarsds. It states that a physically literate individual "is a person who 'has learned the skills necessary to participate in a variety of physical activities, 'knows the implications and the benefits of involvement in various types of physical activities,' 'participates regularly in physical activity,' 'is physically active,' and 'values physical activity and its contributions to a healthful lifestyle'" (Wickens, 2015). I would just say that since these standards are for the students, have the standards start off with "Students will..." and list more specific verbs than "know" or "values" because that is not measurable. How will you know these standards are being met if they cannot be measured?