I can recall being in class during my freshman or sophomore year in college and we started into a conversation about NCLB, English standards, and how all teachers will be expected to contribute to the teaching of those standards.  One of my classmates said, “But we aren’t English teachers.” 

I will never forget what my professor said in response, “Every teacher is an English teacher.”

That really resonated with me and I have never forgotten that.  However, if I were to repeat the same idea to current or future teachers I would have to make an adjustment because I no longer think that “English teacher” is a complete enough statement.

“Read” these three examples:

ONE:

“Examination of temporal and spatial localization of these synaptic proteins indicated that they were differentially regulated in an epithelial sheet (unpublished observations).”

An Exceprt from “Proteomic and bioinformatic analysis of epithelial tight junction reveals an unexpected cluster of synaptic molecules”

By Vivian W Tang

Department of Cell Biology, HarvardMedicalSchool,Boston,MA02115,USA

TWO:

Image Source Page: http://www.sosmath.com/algebra/solve/solve5/s54/s5411/s541103/s541103.html

THREE:

Image Source Page: http://www.lawrence.edu/dept/it/musicguides/mq/index.php

These three ideas represent that not only is every teacher an English teacher, but more importantly, a Literacy teacher.

The following is how the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), as excerpted from Wikipedia, defines literacy:

Literacy is the “ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate, compute and use printed and written materials associated with varying contexts. Literacy involves a continuum of learning in enabling individuals to achieve their goals, to develop their knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in their community and wider society."

WOW!

I would imagine if you teach in an elementary school, you probably associate literacy with reading and writing the English language.  You might even think of DIBELS and RtII.  And I would imagine that as you move further up and away from elementary school you might think of literacy as being further and further away from your role as a teacher unless you are an English teacher.  Yet, you may still embrace the idea that “every teacher is an English teacher” without thinking of yourself as a literacy teacher.

We are all teachers of literacy when it comes to our content areas. 

Let me use DIBELS as a reference and comparative point.  Three areas that are measured using the DIBELS test are (1) Accuracy and Fluency, (2) Vocabulary, and (3) Comprehension (in no particular order).

No matter what the content area is or what example from above you may be responsible for, one would have to begin by teaching vocabulary.  If the students do not understand the parts that make up the whole, they cannot fully understand the whole.  Asking them to “read” it with more accuracy and fluency will not help them understand it either (Thank you, Dr. Frey!).  So, naturally, without understanding there cannot be comprehension because the students will not know what to link the new information to in their prior learning.

However, it is interesting to me that once students understand the vocabulary and are able to understand the material well enough to comprehend it, we as teachers have only helped them become a very small part of what it means to be literate:  “ability to identify, understand, (and) interpret…” 

There is so much more!

In this blogger’s opinion, the most important part of helping students become literate is to enable them as “…individuals to achieve their goals, to develop their knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in their community and wider society." 

I cannot help but to recognize the use of the word “their” in that statement.  It is not our (as in “me, myself, I” nor in “class, school, district”) goals, knowledge, or community.  But, rather theirs…It must be theirs.

As advocates of your content areas (or all content areas), what does it mean “to participate fully” and ponder for a moment what students are not going to be able to participate in and enjoy fully during their time as a student and/or later in life if they are not literate in any given content area? 

Actually, gives me chills.

You can follow Jeff on Twitter @jeffmccoach