Our group (David, Matt, Matt, Vincent, Yiding, and myself) met at the downtown bus depot at 2 pm on a Tuesday. Upon boarding the bus (and spending some time at the depot) it was clear that our rationale for riding the city bus would have to be amended from "a unique environment to observe literacy events situated in students' real lives," to "a unique environment to observe literacy events situated in some students' real lives." Bus riders, as it turns out, are not representative of the population of our mid-size town as a whole. Although we observed variation in race and gender, bus riders (at 2 pm on a Tuesday) appeared to have the same low socio-economic status (SES). We inferred their low SES from their speech (lots of talk about money), hygiene, and material goods. For example, one man used towels instead of blankets to shield his baby from the cold.
Our group noted that there were two different ways to observe literacy on the bus. The first was to consider the types of literacy one would need as a first-time bus rider. The second was to imagine the types of literacy one uses as a frequent bus rider. As a first-time rider, one would be more likely, we felt, to take note of the various safety warnings and instructions posted throughout the bus. This would, for example, require reading short, declarative statements, such as "pull to signal," in either Spanish or English. One must be able to interpret that the signal in question alerts the driver and is required to stop the bus. A frequent bus rider, on the other hand, would likely know how the bus "works" and not process the texts around the bus.
We also discovered that the literacies involved in knowing how the bus "works" operate differently than the literacies required to know where exactly you would like to depart the bus. If you have ridden a bus in another city, you likely know how to ride the bus here--like the frequent riders, you will pay little attention to the safety or instructional texts on the bus. If you are new to the route or the city, however, we felt you would use a map, converse with a neighbor, read street signs, or watch for landmarks to make your way on the bus. The literacies involved in knowing when you'd like to get off the bus, then, can again be divided into two types: literacy for first-time route riders and literacy for frequent route riders. To ensure they board the correct bus, first-time route riders begin interpreting bus routes and maps before they step foot on a bus. Once on the bus, these riders must still connect the progression of the bus through the town to the features of the map. Conversely, frequent route riders are unlikely to use a map to locate their desired stop.
In thinking about how to connect our bus ride to the Powell and Davidson article (2005), I was struck by the idea of how students might reimagine the bus as a place of empowerment. Powell and Davidson mention the efforts of several educators, including John Gust and Sandy Adams, to link literacy and students’ sense of efficacy by helping them to recognize their capacity for solving real-world problems. In these examples, students transform playgrounds and endeavor to save a mountain from strip mining. How would these same students reinvent the rules of the bus? How would they map our town? Would they, for example, devise routes that only went to parks? Or insist every route go by a park? How would students invite you to signal for your stop? Would saying "please" and "thank you" play a role?
As it currently exists, riding the city bus is frankly a depressing endeavor. The depot is dingy, riders complain to one another about their place in the world, etc. Riding the bus is not nearly as fun as the children's song implies it will be, and I truly do not know why a pigeon would want the job as bus driver in the first place. The changes children might make to the all-too-real-world activity of riding the bus would, I think, empower not only themselves, but bus riders in general. Instead of being a dreary means of moving from Point A to Point B, the city bus could be the beacon of possibility children's media purports it to be.
References:
Powell, R., & Davidson, N. (2005). The Donut House: Real World Literacy in an Urban Kindergarten Classroom. Language Arts, 82(4), 248.
Greetings Meg,
ReplyDeleteI like your field notes! As an international student, I spent my first year by taking a bus to campus almost everyday. When I read your notes, I feel like I was going back to those times. In term of literacy, since I am an international student, and English is not my first language, I was having difficulties of reading those complicated route schedule and maps at first. It was tough for me even though I am the student who passes the TOEFL and GRE exam. So I couldn't help but think, what about the young kids who are learning English? How do they understand bus schedule and the routes they operate? In my personal experience, I would say the bus announcement helps a lot. Listening to the announcement or asking the bus driver is a more efficient way for me. :)
There is an interesting thing that I want to share with you. In my country, Taiwan, no matter it is on a bus or the MRT(our metro rapid transportation), every time when the bus or the train stop, we will hear the announcement with four languages: Chinese(official language), Taiwanese, Hakka, and English. How crazy it is, right? I believe many tourists may wonder about it, but that is another long story. I am thinking if we do the literacy dig on the MRT in my country, that might be interesting too. :)
The city bus is such an interesting location for a literacy dig. I am intrigued by the types of literacy you mentioned that don't involve linguistics, like reading the landscape to understand the bus route and anticipate your stop, or understanding the rhythms of how bus riding functions. I know from my daily experience as a bus rider that I tend to become frustrated with "first-time route riders" who do not know to move to the back of the bus when boarding, or to push on the rear door to exit.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of students re-imagining the bus to solve problems and fit their ideals. I can imagine many activities for a city bus situated literacy project: acting out riding the bus (how they currently experience it vs. their ideal riding experience), writing letters, drawing route maps...I think it could lead to some very creative thinking.
Such a thoughtful and thought-provoking post, Meg! There are many, many layers to our everyday experiences and of course, children experience these too. Just think of the depth of knowledge that is quickly glossed in children's songs and books about riding the bus.
ReplyDeleteYou made a great point about the literacy shift from first-time rider to regular rider. Certainly, children would notice different things and probably have different kinds of conversations on their first bus ride versus a regular, daily bus trip. I wonder, too if students of different SES levels would notice different things. Would a student from a low SES family notice that a man used a towel to wrap his baby? Would a student from a higher SES family point something like that out? It's so interesting to think about all the background knowledge students might bring to daily situations.
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