Ewa McGrail

Mentoring in Literacy Education: A Commentary from Graduate Students, Untenured Professors, and Tenured Professors.

This commentary continues a dialogue which began among literacy teacher educators attending an alternative format session about mentoring in the academy at a national conference. Literacy teacher educators participated in an informal discussion centered on the nature of mentoring in the academy for doctoral students, untenured professors, and tenured professors. Doctoral students focused on their changing identities and roles in the academy, their concerns about navigating the political infrastructure of academia, and the importance of assuming a proactive stance towards obtaining mentoring, especially for part‐time doctoral students. Untenured professors focused on the ways they were inventing and reinventing themselves within the power and politics of academia and their need for more holistic mentoring during these turbulent times. Tenured professors were able to embed mentoring experiences into their scholarly work and find ways to benefit or learn from mentoring experiences. These mentors also found comfort in more informal mentoring that included self‐initiated endeavors centered on mutual interests. Our commentary draws on these discussions as well as the professional literature on mentoring to describe the importance of mutual trust and reciprocity in mentoring throughout all stages of academia with attention to cultural and linguistic diversity.

Exploring Children's Literature With Authentic Representations of Disability

Abstract Given the power of childrens literature to communicate authentic representations of disability and the potential of humor for nurturing social acceptance, teachers should know how to discuss this literature in the inclusive classroom. The authors analyze authentic childrens literature with elements of humor and provide strategies in support of such critical conversations.

Humor in Literature About Children With Disability: What Are We Seeing in Literature?

Abstract This article explores instances of humor in literature as it relates to children with disabilities and offers ways to help children and adolescents build an authentic understanding of disability and disability humor. The prevalent message in the books reviewed is that children with disability not only appreciate humor but also can produce various types of humor.

Overwrought copyright: Why copyright law from the Analog Age does not work in the Digital Age’s society and classroom

In this article, the authors argue that copyright law, conceived of in an “analog” age, yet made stricter in our present Digital Age, actively stifles creativity among today’s student creators, both by its bias toward content owners and its legal vagueness. They also illustrate that copyright law is too stringent in protecting intellectual content, because physical and virtual objects have different properties. They conclude with a call to revise copyright for new media content that meets the needs of both content creators and pre-existing media content owners, and that, most importantly, benefits the education of the creative and innovative mind in today’s mediacentric classrooms.

Literacy Scholars Coming to Know the People in the Parks, Their Literacy Practices and Support Systems

ABSTRACT In this research, literacy scholars present the voices of the people who live in the parks near their state capital and university in a south-eastern city in the United States. Through the recorded, transcribed and analyzed conversations, we report the literacy practices of the people in the parks and their insights into the nested state and university structures that restrict and empower their quality of life opportunities. The general findings show our participants to be avid readers of a variety of genres and users of technology but with limited access to state and university resources and infrastructures due to laws and regulations and community members’ negative perceptions that restrict their use. Recommendations are made for more urban community state and university collaborative initiatives to increase understandings and respect for people who live in the parks to honor their motivations for greater social capital and attainment of their life goals.

Learning Language and Vocabulary in Dialogue with the Real Audience: Exploring Young Writers’ Authentic Writing and Language Learning Experiences

Abstract Purpose To explore the potential of conversations with an authentic audience through blogging for enriching in young writers the understanding of the communicative function of writing, specifically language and vocabulary use. Design/methodology/approach We situate our work in the language acquisition model of language learning, in which learners develop linguistic competence in the process of speaking and using language (Krashen, 1988; Tomasello, 2005). We also believe that language learning benefits from formal instruction (Krashen, 1988). As such, in our work, we likened engaging in blogging to learning a language (here, more broadly conceived as learning to write) through both natural communication (acquisition) and prescription (instruction), and we looked at these forms of learning in our study. We were interested in the communicative function of language learning (Halliday, 1973; 1975; Penrod, 2005) among young blog writers, because we see language learning as socially constructed through interaction with other speakers of a language (Tomasello, 2005; Vygotsky, 1978). Findings The readers and commenters in this study supported young writers in their language study by modeling good writing and effective language use in their communication with these writers. Young writers also benefited from direct instruction through interactions with adults beyond classroom teachers, in our case some of the readers and commenters. Practical implications Blogging can extend conversations to audiences far beyond the classroom and make writing a more authentic endeavor for young writers. Teachers should take advantage of such a powerful tool in their writing classrooms to support their students’ language study and vocabulary development.

Increasing Understanding and Social Acceptance of Individuals With Disabilities Through Exploration of Comics Literature

Research supports the inclusion of children with disabilities in general education classrooms as a way to boost academic and social development, not only for children with disabilities, but also for typically developing children. A wide variety of perspectives and abilities in the classroom builds empathy, understanding, and creativity—all critical skills for children and adults learning, living, and working in increasingly diverse communities. Instead of deficit thinking about individuals with disabilities (considering them only in terms of what they cannot do), current best practices around the world call for a strengths-based approach. All children have the right to a quality education, and separate facilities do not guarantee equitable treatment. In this article, the authors explore the benefits of a classroom study of comics literature featuring characters with disabilities in terms of classroom behavior, learning, and social skills building. In outlining specific classroom activities and linking them to learning objectives, the authors show that comics literature and disability awareness/advocacy can be easily incorporated into existing curricula to support positive classroom experiences and overall learning.