Making sense of texts: teachers and children responding to literary texts

Abstract

The subject of this study is literacy. In it, we explore literacy as a concept and, more particularly, what we mean by schooled literacy. The first issue addressed is what we regard as literature and how we, as practising teachers, go about judging what is a good book for children. We then move beyond the book into the risky area of reader response. Does the text invite response? Does the child reader respond because of an innate need for narrative, or is response to text learned? Are there ways in which the child reader might be encouraged to develop response within the social setting of the classroom, yet be allowed to develop a response which is personal but not individual? From this, we move to a consideration of the effect of schooled literacy upon the development of the child's identity as a reader. We examine whether the traditional view of literacy is detrimental or beneficial to the child's development as a literate being, and consider how we reconcile judging readers by absolute standards with what we know about the continuum of literacy and the child's position on it. This leads us to an examination of the teacher's role as a mediator, and of how his or her perceptions of the reading process affect the child. The teacher as collaborator is viewed against the teacher as assessor, and the tensions between these two roles are considered. This is extended to include an examination of the teacher's perceptions of the role of literature in the teaching of literacy. The conclusion reached is of the importance of the child's perception of him or herself as a reader, as well as the crucial nature of the teacher's role as collaborator.