The Lighthouse Diary # 36: When Language Expands and Limits Our World

There is a favorite quote I have of Unlce Iroh in Avatar: The Last Airbender. He said this to Zuko while teaching him how to bend thunder: It is important to draw wisdom from many places. If we take it only from one place, it becomes rigid and stale. This quote comes to mind at the heels of two teacher trainings and professional growth activities at work and in my learning communities. By the later I mean the BTS fandom known as ARMY. 

At the beginning of February, a colleague from work shared her learning from the teacher training she attended where I was a co-facilitator. It was a month of intensive training on language ang literacy teaching for K-12 teachers. This module focused on academic writing and the teaching of language and literacy skills across content areas. Content area teachers teach their subject principles and topics. The language in which a particular subject is taught is a part of the knowledge that students must learn. Reading, writing, listening and speaking skills factor in language learning as tools to navigate and understand knowledge of the subject. It is can be complicated so the best metaphor I can use is that of a twine or a rope that is braided by several threads. 

This rope metaphor to teach the content, the language used for that specific discipline and the literacy skills that go with it is espoused by M. Scarborough. Knowing the theory is the beginning of putting methods and strategies into action. In this framework, the subject area teacher teaches three things: the content, the knowledge of language for that discipline, and the skills needed to communicate and comprehend content and language knowledge.

In the elementary level, language teaching and learning happens through vocabulary acquisition and development. As I have shared in last week's training,  vocabulary is challenging to teach because it straddles language learning and reading comprehension. However, this presents an opportunity to learn an interdisciplinary approach to teaching as well as flexibility to use methods appropriately for different learners. When to focus on the teaching of skills in isolation? When does integration come in? 

This is when Uncle Iroh's quote about wisdom from all places came in. I realized I need to constantly look at multiple views and varied ways of examining, even sensing  content and knowledge. If I stick to what I know, I will not be able to gather an understanding of the big picture and how in its entirety, it is made up of small pieces. The learner's profile and learning modalities are a set of knowledge that I too can use to teach language and literacy. 

Uncle Iroh knows his student so well. Such is the inspiration I take from a fictional character that looms larger than life. 

Apparently, BTS' Kim Namjoon has something to say about language expanding horizons and breaking down barriers. It is interesting how he is leading Bangtan into an expansion of worlds and worldviews through their English songs, Dynamite, Butter, PTD and the most recent collab with Coldplay, My Universe. 

Below is a short interview that the Tannies had last year in August about language.

 

 There is much to learn from these Bangtan young men about language. They sing in Korean, Japanese and English. And everyone is welcome to enjoy it. Everyone is WELCOME to be a part of it. No exclusivity. It is something all ARMYs must consider when coining terms, inventing words and portmanteaus. Language is knowledge we can all share, grow and develop. What ever happened to Bangtan's message of a generation that welcomes if we keep language, those we use and those we create, at the gates?