Reading Journal
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| Title of Article + Proper MLA Citation for Works Cited page | “Literacy and Cultural Context: A Lesson from the Amish” by Andrea R. Fishman
Fishman, Andrea R. “Literacy and Cultural Context: A Lesson from the Amish.” Language Arts, Vol. 64, No. 8, National Council of Teachers of English, December 1987 pp. 842-854 |
| Summarize the article — include your reaction, thoughts, anything to help you remember its claims. 100 to 150 words | Fishman begins the essay with a scene of her family and an Amish family after dinner. The Amish patriarch, Eli Sr., reads to his son after dinner. She comments on how normal that act seems, but proceeds to dive deeper into how the Amish approach literacy. An element of Amish literacy which is not as prevalent in other people’s lives is ritualized singing, with the children joining in by imitating the older members of the group. Imitation is a common theme in the Amish development of literacy. By allowing children to imitate older children and adults, the Amish are encouraging cultural and intellectual homogeneity. Letting children participate also makes them feel like a contributing member of the group. The Amish also enjoy antiquated practices such as hand-writing letters. Families implicitly reinforce their homogeneous way of writing by all reading their letters out loud to each other. When the children are involved in these activities involving literacy, they begin to understand the importance of it. Fishman points out that as we get older, we lose our ability to learn from life around us. Fishman begins to make her main point. Her argument is that every child starting school for the first time must be treated as someone who has already been engaging in literacy. She uses Eli Jr. as an example. I found her analysis of the Amish literacy interesting. Their literacy is just like everyone else’s except they do not spend any time analyzing literature; they focus on the content. |
| Define new terms and concepts by quoting or paraphrasing the original author. | “Through his at-home experience, Eli had also learned which other, more specific, less obvious abilities count as reading in his world: (1) the ability to select and manage texts, to be able to find his mother’s letter in “Die Botschaft ” or to find a particular verse in the Bible; (2) the ability to empathize with people in texts and discern the implicit lessons their experiences teach, to empathize with Lambert the lion who taught the possibility of peaceful coexistence, and to empathize with the Anabaptist martyrs who taught the Tightness of dying for one’s faith; (3) the ability to recall what was read, to remember stories, riddles, and jokes or to memorize Bible and hymn verses; and (4) the ability to synthesize what is read in a single text with what is already known or to synthesize information across texts in Amish-appropriate ways, relating one Bible portion to another or making coherent sense of what is read in children’s books, newspapers, and the Bible about how people should relate to each other.” Fishman, “Literacy and Cultural Context: A Lesson from the Amish” pp. 851 |
| How does this reading connect to other articles from class and/or your own research?
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This reading is similar to both the Gee reading and the Brandt reading in its focus that every individual develops literacy differently based on their experiences growing up and continues to develop literacy in school and in their job. Fishman also presents what Brandt would call “sponsors of literacy” in her essay. Fishman’s essay also gives an in-depth look into what Gee would call the “primary discourse” of an Amish child. |
| Based on the reading, craft one question to act as a springboard for class discussion. | Does anyone have an older sibling they would imitate when they were younger? |