Resolution on El día de los niños/El día de los libros

(Children’s Day/Book Day)

in English Language Arts Curricula

2005

Background

El día de los niños/El día de los libros is a celebration of childhood and multilingual literacy.   Under the leadership of author Pat Mora, this program was launched in 1996 to bring attention to family literacy.  April 30, a traditional day for celebrating children throughout the Americas, was selected to begin a nationwide effort to observe a special day for promoting literacy for children of all ages and cultural and linguistic backgrounds.  El día de los niños/El día de los libros focuses on strengthening the practice of making books and reading in many languages an integral part of children’s lives.  Most importantly, El día de los niños/El día de los libros promotes linking all children to books, languages, and cultures.

Libraries, school districts, professional organizations, and community-based organizations have developed unique ways of celebrating April 30^th.   In Texas, the Texas Library Association developed resources and online materials to support projects throughout the state.   Many libraries, such as the Austin, El Paso, and Houston public libraries, have increased programming since the event was first introduced.   Other states participating include Arizona and Florida state libraries.  Programming is currently led by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association.  Since 1996, the organization REFORMA, an affiliate of American Library Association, has also been active in the observance of this program.

Developing readers and writers are expected to achieve and value reading, writing, and multilingualism in their lives.   A socially embedded event, literacy is an essential part of situating the self within society.   Block (2000) comments on the practice and reflection of “meaning making” through language and literacy and writes, “Children do not learn to talk so that they can find a place within their families; their talk produces and determines that place.  Literacy is, ultimately, the construction of one’s voice, the construction of identity.”  Recognition of these acts and practices is essential whether it takes place in the home, school, or broader civic community.

Recent research led by Kylene Beers reveals the need to engage children and young adults in strategies so they can apply thinking skills to reading situations and “to connect personally with a text.”   Beers (2003) explains,

While reading may begin as a solitary act, it quickly becomes a way to interact with a group, to take part in discussions, to swap favorite stories, or to argue over themes.   These readers want to choose their own books, become familiar with authors, go to the library, keep reading journals, and have small group discussions.   They define reading as “a way to go to new places,” “a way to be in another world,” or “something that creates a movie in my mind.”

The engagement described by Beers can serve as a model for the family literacy and multilingual program El día de los niños/El día de los libros that supports oral language, reading, and writing.

It is important to note that a body of research provides data showing that students who participate in literacy activities both at home and at school perform better on testing and in language arts courses.   In a research article published in the International Reading Association’s The Reading Teacher, Prasky and Bailey (2002) show students of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds engaged in acts of reading that are both culturally and linguistically relevant to support reading achievement.   They write, “A teacher’s willingness to think flexibly, explicitly connect school learning to children’s own life experiences, and differentiate between cognitive skills and the particular social and cultural context in which those academic skills are set can yield good results.” 

Related Information

In 1995, the NCTE issued the Literacy Compact to achieve high English language arts standards.   It has been ten years since the NCTE passed a resolution on reaffirming the compact in the twenty-first century to meet our democratic society’s needs.   The Literacy Compact called for students, teachers, parents, administrators, and diverse communities to work together to achieve higher standards of achievement.   In particular, the standards emphasize the ability to communicate effectively in diverse situations, “including those requiring standard English,” and recognizes students’ knowledge of world languages.   In the intervening years, English language arts studies have included the study of world literatures and cultures in response to the changing study of liberal arts alongside global studies.  Now is the time for the NCTE to recognize and promote family literacy and multilingualism as a vital part of the discipline of English.

Works Cited

Beers, Kylene.   All America Reads: Secondary Reading Strategies Applied to David Baldacci's    Novel Wish You Well.  Richmond, VA: All America Reads, Virginia Foundation for     Humanities, 2003.

―.   When Kids Can’t Read—What Teachers Can Do: A Guide for Teachers 6-12.            Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2003.

Block, Alan A. “Language Arts Education.” Knowledge and Power in the Global Economy:              Politics and the Rhetoric of School Reform. Ed. David A. Gabbard. Mahwah, NJ:     Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers, 2000.  191-201.

Cooper, J. David, and Nancy D. Kiger. Literacy: Helping Children Construct Meaning.   6^th ed.       Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006.

Mora, Pat. "Confessions of a Latina Author." New Advocate 11.4 (1998): 279-90.

―.   “Practice, Practice.” Leading from the Heart: The Passion to Make a Difference,         Leadership Stories Told by Kellogg National Fellowship Program Fellows.  Ed. Roger H.       Sublett. Battle Creek, MI: W.K. Kellogg Foundation, 2001.  54-59.

Pransky, Ken, and Francis Bailey.   “To Meet Your Students Where They Are, First You Have to     Find Them: Working with Culturally and Linguistically Diverse At-Risk Students.” The   Reading Teacher  56.4 (2002/2003): 370-383.

Teaching Children to Read: An Evidence-Based Assessment of the Scientific Research Literature on Reading and Its Implications for Reading Instruction. Washington, DC:     National Institute of Child Health andHuman Development, National Reading Panel,          2000.

Be it therefore

Resolution

Resolved, in light of recent efforts to support the Literacy Compact, that the National Council of Teachers of English develop a policy statement that

• reaffirms family literacy and the value of home languages as part of the English language arts curriculum;
• supports creating more public awareness opportunities to promote El día de los niños/El día de los libros; and
• promotes the value of family literacy and multilingual programs that give young people and their families a voice through positive representations of diverse cultures.

Be it further resolved, that NCTE

• working collaboratively with the American Library Association, strengthen its relationship to provide leadership to support family literacy programs and home languages at all levels of education;
• develop materials and programs to serve as models in other states, communities, and organizations;
• promote library collection development that reflects a multicultural nation; and
• highlight and support the professional contributions and continuing development of family literacy and multilingual studies through NCTE publications and other means.

Submitted on October 15, 2005

1. Jorge Luis Arredondo
2. Bobbi Ciriza Houtchens, Co-Chair, NCTE Latino Caucus
3. R. Joseph Rodríguez
4. Mary Alexandra Rojas
5. Scott M. Wille