Cultural Literacy and Your Gifted Child E. Wayne Ingle LFO High School

A Brief Bio  Currently teach English & Journalism at LFO High School  Have been on the Teacher Advisory Board of Heritage High School for a year and will begin teaching duties there in the fall of 2008  Lifelong resident of East Brainerd  1975 graduate of Tyner High School  B.S. Education/English at UTC  Master’s English: Literature at UTC  Currently working on doctorate in Learning & Leadership at UTC  19-year veteran of the classroom  14 years before that? Piggly Wiggly bagboy, security systems installer, steel shear operator, quality control inspector, shipping dock supervisor

What is Cultural Literacy?  “To be culturally literate is to possess the basic information needed to thrive in the modern world. The breadth of that information is great, extending over the major domains of human activity from sports to science” (E.D. Hirsch, Jr. Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know)

What Does This Mean for Us and Our Children?  “The standard of literacy required by a modern society has been rising throughout the developed world, but American literacy rates have not risen to meet this standard.” (E.D. Hirsch, Jr. Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know)

How I Got Interested in Cultural Literacy  My 10-year high school reunion, Alan Kines, and Time Magazine: The Epiphany

We cannot communicate without a common language.  Let’s try a symbolic exercise!

WHAT IS IT?  “Man’s legs”  “Airplane”  Drape holder”  “Zebra”  “Flying Saucer”

WHAT IS IT?  “Mother’s hat”  “Ring”  “Key ring”  “Lion”  “Snake”

WHAT IS IT?  “Somebody running”  “Eagle”  “Throwing sticks”  “Strip-stripe”  “Wire”

WHAT IS IT?  “Daddy’s shirt”  “Milk jug”  “Shoe holder”  “Coffee pot”  “Dog”

WHAT IS IT?  “Another Daddy’s shirt”  “Bird”  “Dress”  “Knife”

WHAT IS IT?  “Mother’s dress”  “Ideal”  “Digger hold”  “Caterpillar”  “Ghost”

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?  Researchers Krauss & Glucksberg inferred that the older children performed poorly not because of their lack of cognitive development, but because of their lack of knowledge.  Their bank of knowledge did not support the sharing of clear symbols and word pictures.

Cultural literacy is a shared system of knowledge that allows us to communicate with  Our families  Our friends  Our teachers  Fellow Georgians  Fellow Americans  The rest of the literate world

“STELLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAAA!”  How will we understand the evening news?  How will we understand politicians’ speeches?  How will we understand the inside jokes in episodes of The Simpsons and clever Disney movies?

Cultural Literacy can unlock a whole world of  HISTORY  LITERATURE  ART  RELIGION  SCIENCE  MATH

You’ve Probably Asked Yourself  Why do we really have to know what a direct object is (or a predicate nominative, for that matter!)?

ARE YOU READY TO ROCK?  MY 9 TH GRADERS:  Harry Truman (7)  Doris Day (0)  Joe DiMaggio (3)  Marilyn Monroe (ALL)  Joe McCarthy (3)  The Catcher in the Rye (7)  Liberace (3)  Joseph Stalin (5)

ARE YOU READY TO ROCK?  Roy Cohn (0)  “Rock Around the Clock” (13)  Princess Grace (1)  Sputnik (6)  Children of Thalidomide (0)  Edsel (0)  Bay of Pigs Invasion (1)  John Glenn (5)  Woodstock (9)

“Call Me Ishmael...”  WHAT ABOUT RELIGIOUS LITERACY?  “... The ability to understand and use in one’s day-to-day life the basic building blocks of religious traditions—their key terms, symbols, practices, sayings, characters, metaphors, and narratives.” (Stephen Prothero Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs To Know—And Doesn’t)

 SWORD DRILLS & COLLEGE RELIGIOUS SURVEY COURSES

Prothero’s Religious Literacy Quiz  Most flunked  9 out of 10 knew Quran/Koran  Most couldn’t list the 4 Gospels  1 out of 8 could name 1 st 5 books of the Bible  1 out of 4 could name a single Hindu scripture  Average of 4 commandments  1 out of 6 knew the Sermon on the Mount  10% thought Paul was one of the Gospels  A vast majority did not know the First Amendment Clauses (Free Exercise & Establishment)

WHAT CAN WE DO?  Encourage your children to take advantage of their studies in school.  Encourage your children to read broadly for pleasure.  Get involved and learn with your children!  Have a “Google Night” weekly or twice a month with specific assignments.

The Future’s So Bright You’ll Have to Wear Shades!  YOU HAVE THE REST OF YOUR LIVES TO LEARN; GET STARTED, AND DO IT TOGETHER!  WHO KNOWS? YOU MAY BE A CHAMP ON JEOPARDY ONE DAY!

FINAL ACTIVITY  DON’T BE INTIMIDATED! THIS DOESN’T MEAN YOU OR YOUR CHILD ARE DUMB! THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF A MARVELOUS JOURNEY TOGETHER!

bibliography  Hirsch, Jr., E.D. Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know. New York: Vintage Books,  Hirsch, Jr., E.D. The New First Dictionary of Cultural Literacy: What Your Child Needs to Know. Boston: Houghton Mifflin,  Hirsch, Jr., E.D., Joseph F. Kett, & James Trefil. The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know. Boston: Houghton Mifflin,  Prothero, Stephen. Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know—And Doesn’t. New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 2007.