The Importance of Definitions for
Literature and Literacy

Your readings and discussions will or have provided much information and thought about what literature, children’s literature, and literacy are and how they combine to facilitate literacy or not. It is important to continue to struggle, inquire, and reflect about different definitions and understandings of terminology to build assurances that what we advocate and implement is in the best interest of our children today and in their futures. The purpose of this essay is to encourage and support continued discussion of definitions and the consequences different definitions have on students.

If people are asked for their personal definition of something and then brought together to combine those individual definitions each desire to have certain elements included in a group definition. I imagine we all can relate to situations where groups and individuals within those groups place extreme importance on the exactness of the wording of what they are defining. What value do differences of definitions have that make us desire one over the other? Often it is not the inherent meaning of the word that raises a person’s concern. The dictionary is filled with words and definitions and most people do not actively engage in trying to write or rewrite those definitions. It is the use of certain words in relation to something we value that initiates a struggle. When this happens it is important for individuals to explain how the use of certain words or phrases is important. It is through this kind of discussion that community awareness is built and common values can be created.

With this understanding the definition must be created according to the purpose for which we desire to use the words that we are defining and the values associate with that purpose. If I am a librarian or media specialist one purpose for which I would need a definition of children’s literature is for the purposes related to my job. I would need to know what kinds of media the media center or library should purchase under the heading of children’s literature. I would need to know how to catalog the items obtained. It would be the definition that limits the holdings and purchases in different ways. In the same manner a definition a selection committee uses to award prizes for children’s books limits the type of books that would be eligible for the awards. Similarly the definitions used to create curriculum can either limit or expand the focus of what students will experience and learn.

With respect to curriculum development it is important to put the cards on the table and attempt to make people aware of the consequences of their definitions. It is okay to define literature as text based when the focus is reading and writing. However, when the focus is literacy, critical thinking, or related to any other curricular goal, then textual literacy alone is not comprehensive enough for the needs of our children. Therefore, in defining educational terms we must discuss how they are going to be used. What value and what limits will result in such definitions. We must not narrowly define the kinds of knowledge that might be valuable without serious inquiry and reflection on the consequences of those decisions both for students and society now and in the future. Not doing so can have negative consequences. It is not a question of will it; it is a question of when. Those that have read Carole Edelsky, With Literacy and Justice for All will know her passionate arguments with respect to these ideas. Similar justification is given by proponents of media literacy.

Another issue related to this discussion is research that has accumulated with respect to how children learn, how they generalize their learning from one idea to another, and how the process can be facilitated. The evidence suggests that one of the brain's functions can be compared to a net. As children learn they make connections from one idea to another and the more connected their ideas are the greater the likelihood of them being able to generalize information from a past experience to a new experience in a meaningful manner. A bigger net catches more fish. The implication of this is: if our definitions and hence our curriculum is too narrow the connections and nets are smaller and generalizations less likely. This would imply that curriculums based on broader definitions would have a greater likelihood for students experiencing those curriculums to be more successful in the future. Therefore, a definition of literacy that includes multiple literacies will result in students being better prepared for their future. Of course this hinges on the ability of teachers to identify relationships, thinking skills, and habits of mind that enable students to make and use those connections.

A last issue related to this discussion is the impact of emotions on learning. Again accumulated research and our wisdom of practice seem to support that the positive and negative feelings learners have while engaged in activities will have a respective effect on learning. Not only will the immediate atmosphere and environment come to play on the learners' emotions when learning in school, but their entire cultural experiences will impact them in ways that most people don't imagine.

I hope this motivates you to include multiple literacies and different pieces of literature to represent them as essential to facilitate literacy. The evidence for this will be evident in the definitions you choose, the goals you set, the outcomes and activities selected, and what you choose to assess.

Additional references to explore can be found at teacher's tools.

I look forward to your creations.