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Corson, David (1999)
Language Policy in Schools: A Resource for Teachers and
Administrators.
Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates.
This book, directed primarily at K-12 educators,
provides a blueprint for developing a language policy in an
individual school. It provides actual and proposed
language policies as well as questions for discussion at
the end of each chapter. In the tradition of critical
applied linguistics, Corson advocates forming a school
language policy for social justice. Schools have become
hegemonic institutions, where "the dominated become
accomplices in their own domination" (p. 16). To remedy
this, and to allow students to, in the words of Cummins,
"negotiate their own identities" p. (16), schools must
shift from controlling structures to collaborative notions
of power. Inherent in this philosophy is a change in
teacher behaviors and attitudes. Relationships between
teacher and student are never neutral. The reference to
Bourdieu's sociocultural reproduction theory here is
appropriate; the institution itself is a participant in
marginalizing minority cultures and languages when it
disregards cultural capital differing from the dominant.
Chapter 3 outlines fact gathering as the beginning of
language policy planning at the school level. Large-scale
and small-scale approaches to fact gathering are addressed.
Although most schools do not have the time or personnel to
engage in large-scale fact gathering, it is helpful to be
acquainted with large-scale research methods such as
ethnography, transcripting, and triangulation, among
others. Small-scale fact gathering is a less daunting task
for many schools and includes the exploration of teacher
attitudes and stereotypes, current teacher practices, staff
opinions about language, and the analysis of the community
itself. Corson notes that "schools rarely assemble this
information in a systematic way" (p. 52). The fact
gathering process is never complete due to dynamic shifts
in community, power relations, and outside political
attitudes. Schools should revisit the fact gathering stage
often.
Chapter 4 is a response to the critical view of the
devolution of power as structural rather than truly
participatory. The author replies to Smyth's (1996) notion
that the site-based movement tends to increase centralized
control while maintaining the illusion of shared power.
Corson believes that this devolution of power can help
schools find "real emancipatory potential" (p. 60) even if
the aims of the central power holders are less than
democratic. A commonsense approach to policy writing is
advocated here: policies should "say how we will do what we
hope to do" (p. 61). With critical policymaking comes the
necessity for emancipatory leadership. Characteristics of
emancipatory leaders include the removal of personal power
in decision making to rely on the democratic consensus,
referring to outside sources when the scope of their
knowledge is limited, and removing themselves from center
stage in the course of a decision. However, Corson notes
that "this form of leadership asks for a lot of goodwill in
an administrator" and that "emancipatory leadership is not
really suited to routine administrative action" (p. 63)
where administrators must often make decisions
independently and unilaterally. The capacity for
emancipatory leadership may be limited in many schools, for
schools are rarely democratic institutions; rather they are
structured as hierarchies. Bourdieu (1977, p. 153) stated
that schools "[legitimize] the reproduction of the social
hierarchies by transmuting them into academic hierarchies."
This structure is reflective in the teacher-administrator
dichotomy as well, and is thus deeply institutionalized in
the school. On the other hand, Sedlak, Wheeler, Pullin,
and Cusick (1986) pointed out that although teachers
acquiesce to central authority, once their doors are
closed, they are able to exercise great autonomy. The
question of the power of emancipatory leadership is
dependent on the micro-politics of the school. Corson does
address this problem when he discusses changing
administrative discourse in schools. He acknowledges that
the patriarchy of schools is taken for granted and that
schools are generally run with male values.
Chapter 5 discusses the notion of English as a first
language in the curriculum. It emphasizes a "language for
learning" policy (p. 89) and draws from the work of
Vygotsky, Bruner, and Bakhtin that theorizes language as
the instrument for thought and social interaction, central
to the notion of learning. However, one of the biggest
hurdles to providing a language policy for learning is to
change and/or reconcile teacher attitudes about language
and learning. Corson maintains that this can best be done
through professional development activities. Again, this
is not an easy task, considering the resistance to new
ideas and deeply ingrained attitudes about the role of the
teacher. Especially prevalent at the secondary level,
where curriculum is compartmentalized and language is seen
as the "English department's job," professional development
activities that link language and learning must be
carefully and gradually considered. A school language
policy must include a prevalent professional development
component, where teachers are encouraged to "own" their
teaching. However, as Apple (1987) has noted, the trend in
curriculum and instruction has been to see teachers as
technicians of educational delivery systems rather than
creators of pedagogy. Corson suggests that a strong
professional development component written into a school
language policy will help to counter this pressure.
Chapter 6 tackles the inclusion of critical language
awareness in schools and curriculum. The first part of the
chapter outlines nine areas by which teachers can help to
extend their students' language awareness. Knowledge that
there are different varieties within the same language,
that values are a factor in judging appropriateness and
correctness of language use, that there are other languages
used in their own society, and knowledge of the structural
patterns of their language are a few of these areas.
Corson moves to a discussion of Critical Language Awareness
(CLA). Using discourse as an underlying factor, CLA
attempts to enlighten students in terms of language as used
in power and control. Corson highlights four main ideas
that CLA tries to convey to students: - People have
the power to shape the conventions that underlie discourse,
just as much as any other social practices.
- Although we accept the way language is, and the way
discourses operate, they are changing all the time.
- Forms of discourse receive their value according
to the positions of their users in systems of power
relations.
- Struggles over the control of discourse are the
main ways in which power is obtained and exercised in
modern societies. (p. 144)
Several suggestions for classroom activities are
given, such as a study of taboo words for adolescents as an
examination of the culture of power that surrounds these
words. For example, calling certain expressions "slang"
implies a judgment about language, for one person's slang
can be another person's everyday language. I would suggest
that for teachers who are language policy novices, the
activities marked for students would be a good place to
begin in a professional development program and are
complementary to the ideas outlined in Chapter 5.
Corson continues with a mandate that "criticizing the
status quo is not enough for critical language awareness"
(p. 151), that changes in discourse must be made to educate
for social justice. Gender bias, sexism, labeling,
language prejudice, rhetorical language, and discourse
awareness in classrooms and mundane use are all addressed
with some fascinating insights about how we convey messages
without realizing we are doing so. Both educators and
students can learn from Corson's well-positioned examples.
The end of Chapter 6 is a call for critical literacy
and oracy in schools. A profound statement is found here:
Professionals working in schools have good
reasons to think that they are giving students something
that everybody needs. For much of the time, though,
schools spend time giving students things they do not
particularly want" (p. 163). For example,
some families greet school-type literacy with indifference,
or perhaps even dislike and hostility. Often times,
students are literate in their own way rather than the
prescribed literacy (unique to the setting) of schools.
Wagner (1991) suggested an "illiteracy of resistance" where
students subtly revolt against the hegemonic literacy found
in schools by preferring to use spoken rather than written
communication. For many students accepting the school's
notion of literacy means rejecting facets of their culture.
Corson advocates linking literacy and oracy into students'
lives as much as possible.
Chapter 7 discusses the placement of ESL and minority
languages in the curriculum. The research in minority
language policy suggests that most existing policies see
minority language as a problem; the students have a deficit
and are culturally deficient. Corson advocates turning
these perceptions around to see language and culture as an
asset. His position is congruent with Tse (2001) as it
advocates first language support and acceptance of minority
culture. Chapter 8 is a summary and provides what a
school-level language policy may contain.
This book contains a good combination of practical
suggestion with a theoretical orientation. As a
practitioner, I am encouraged that Corson chose to write a
book on school-level language policy. It is a sign that
the teacher, who is closest to the student, can be a
powerful force, an "emancipatory leader," in educating for
social justice through language policy development and
critical language awareness.
References
Apple, M.W. (1987). The de-skilling of teachers. In
F.S. Bolin & J. M. Falk
(Eds.), Teacher renewal: Professional issues,
personal choices (pp.
59-75). New York: Teachers College Press.
Bourdieu, P. (1977) Reproduction in society,
education, and culture (with
J. Passeron). Los Angeles: SAGE Publications.
Sedlak, M. W., Wheeler, C. W., Pullin, D. C. &
Cusick, P. A. (1986). Selling
students short: Classroom bargains and academic reform
in the American high
school. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Smyth, J. (1996) The socially just alternative to the
self-managing school.
In International handbook for educational leadership
and administration
(pp. 1097-1131). Boston: Kluwer.
Tse, L. (2001) "Why don't they learn English?"
Separating fact from fallacy
in the U.S. language debate. New York, NY: Teachers
College Press.
Wagner, S. (1991). Analphabétisme de minorité et
alphabétisation d'affirmation
nationale à propos de l'Ontario français. Volume 1:
Synthèse théorique et
historique (avec la collaboration de Pierre
Granier). Ottawa: Mutual
Press.
Pages: 252
Price: $29.95
ISBN: 0-80583-296-3
Reviewed by Ann Dutton Ewbank, Cholla Middle School,
Phoenix, Arizona
Falk, John H. & Dierking, Lynn D. (2002).
Lessons Without Limit: How Free-Choice Learning is
Transforming Education.
Walnut Creek, CA:
AltaMira Press.
John Falk and Lynn Dierking are co-founders of the
Institute for Learning Innovation, (www.ilinet.org) a non-
profit organization devoted to advocating free-choice
learning as a model for lifelong learning. The Institute
collaborates with a variety of institutions and
organizations to encourage the growth of free-choice
learning through the cultural and educational offerings of
museums, libraries, community-based organizations, etc.
Lessons Without Limits was written to spread the
word to a wide audience about the possibilities of such
free-choice learning opportunities and about the rewards
that such learning can provide to families, individuals or
groups interested in pursuing informal educational
opportunities. The authors hope that through the adoption
of free-choice learning, education in the United States can
be transformed and extended throughout life. Their goal is
to create a "learning society" where informal learning
takes place continuously and continually.
The book is divided into three major sections:
- The Hows and Whys of Learning,
- Learning Over A Lifetime, and
- Transforming Education In America.
The four chapters in the "Hows and Whys of Learning"
define free-choice learning as "self-directed, voluntary,
and guided by individual needs and interests" (p. 9),
taking place largely outside formal educational structures.
The authors build a solid foundation for their advocacy of
this lifelong learning, describing the rationale and
motivation for free-choice learning and the environment in
which such learning takes place as well as summarizing
learning theories which support the benefits of informal,
self-directed learning. The six chapters in the "Learning
Over A Lifetime" section trace characteristics of learning
from birth to old age, using a variety of examples to
illustrate the ways in which informal learning can be
effective, creative and fun. In the final section,
"Transforming Education In America," the authors lay out
their Free-Choice Learner’s Bill of Rights and their
recommendations for developing the learning society that
they envision.
The authors’ enthusiasm for their vision permeates the
book. It is written in an engaging and popular style with
many personal anecdotes and examples. They have written
about learning outside the classroom (museums, field trips,
or outdoor excursions), since the mid 1970’s. Their vision
is based on considerable study. This is an inspirational
and idealistic book, filled with wonderful examples of
informal learning experiences and environments. The
authors hope to inspire everyone to engage in free-choice
learning and certainly succeed in getting the reader to
think about all the possibilities beyond the school and
beyond the school years where learning can take place.
While not a practical, how-to book, it fosters a way of
thinking about learning that expands the educational
horizon. For the teacher and student teacher, the book
offers a panorama of possibilities for engaging students
through activities outside the classroom. For home-
schoolers, the book offers both support and inspiration.
For anyone interested in lifelong learning, Lessons
Without Limit offers an ideal toward which society can
aspire.
Pages: 189
Price: $16.95
ISBN: 0-7591-0160-4
Reviewed by Carla A.Hendrix, Plattsburgh State University
of New York
Foster, Graham, Sawicki, Evelyn, Schaeffer, Hyacinth, &
Zelinski, Victor (2002)
I Think Therefore I Learn!
Markham, Ontario: Pembroke Publishers,
distributed by Stenhouse.
How can we get students thinking more about their
learning? The authors of I Think Therefore I Learn!
strongly believe that part of the answer may come from
understanding and using the concept of metacognition.
Cognition refers to how we come to know, Meta
means beyond. So it means going beyond knowing and coming
to understand how we learn best and control our learning.
Metacognitive students utilize skills that help them
analyze what they have to do. This is at the heart of the
book. There are numerous suggestions of how teachers can
foster task analysis, teach students to know themselves,
use learning strategies, etc.
Several testimonials present teachers who have tried a
metacognitive approach with their students. All report a
positive outcome, and some report surprising results such
as a decrease in classroom management and disciplinary
problems. There is also support to reflect that this
process helps students to develop skills they will use in
their future careers. It is always of benefit when we can
see present and future application. There are ideas for
activities in the Language Arts, Science, Math, etc. It is
fascinating to see how metacognitive learning can serve as
an integral thread across the curriculum. Throughout the
book there are numerous student assessment and
work/response pages. These will really be of help to a
novice teacher trying to apply what we know about
metacognition to teaching and learning. Numerous helpful
suggestions for developing and refining learning strategies
are given.
One of the components that really stood out was a page
called “A Parental Guide to Promoting Reflective Learning.”
This is so appropriate. Most parents want to know how they
can support their child and the page offers excellent
suggestions.
The authors lay claim that this approach is a
skillbuilding one which will serve children throughout
their curriculum studies and possibly throughout their
lives.
Pages: 96
Price: $19.00
ISBN: 1-55138-148-6
Reviewed by Dr. Kathleen E. Fite, Southwest Texas State
University
Kohn, Alfie & Shannon, Patrick, eds. (2002)
Education, Inc: Turning Learning into a Business.
Revised edition.
Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann.
Not convinced that corporate America has an influence
on American education? Then you need to read Education,
Inc.: Turning Learning into a Business, where the depth
and breadth of corporate infiltration into the America
learning process is clearly outlined. Editors Alfie Kohn,
former teacher and current educational advocate, and
Patrick Shannon, Professor of Education at Penn State
University, make no apologies for their straight talk,
"this book makes no pretense of offering a 'balanced'
treatment of its subject" (p. 9).
At the heart of this small volume of essays, is the
belief that education is more than turning out good
employees who make the mark and thus increase the Gross
National Product. Education, as defined here, strengthens
democracy, promotes social justice and fosters the well
being and development of students (p. 7).
According to these authors, there are three primary
ways big business extends its reach into education. The
first involves commercialism in the schools. Along with
learning the three "Rs", student’s attention is being
sought through corporate sponsorship of not only projects
and programs, but also curriculum. Pop machines in the
hallways and advertising on Channel One are just a few
examples of commercialism in American education as noted in
the essays.
In section two, the essays examine how our schools now
follow a market approach to learning where the bottom line
is standardized test scores, which dominates the daily
learning process. Even the vocabulary of our schools now
follows the business approach, contends Kohn in his essay,
"Student’s Don’t Work—They Learn". The other five
essays explore how the need for money gives corporate
America sway over what is taught and how it is taught. This
section also discusses how educational products, textbooks,
for example, are governed by corporate causes.
Among the most controversial of the school reform
efforts of the last few decades, privatization of schools
is the focus of section three, where five essays
investigate the impact of allowing corporations to take
over the educational system. The implications of school
choice and voucher system and the ramifications of for-
profit schools are examined here, including a case study
essay on school choice in Colorado that questions the
achievements lauded by school choice advocates.
Education, Inc. isn’t passive reading. The
authors cut straight to the issues, ruffle many feathers
and question common practices in educational institutions
aimed at making students and schools more business like.
This book is recommended reading for everyone interested in
the American educational system. Most essays include a
reference list and there is a helpful index.
Pages: 179
Price: $19.00
ISBN: 0-325-00489-7
Reviewed by Stephanie D. Davis, Spring Arbor
University
Larry Swartz has revised and updated his remarkable
book, Dramathemes, which enables teachers to bring
drama into their classrooms. Larry Swartz has revised and
updated his remarkable book, Dramathemes. The third
edition, The New Dramathemes, provides more
practical ideas and games for teachers to bring drama into
their K-6 classrooms. Swartz’s philosophy of integration of
drama into the classroom is best reflected in the quote
from Philip Taylor. “Drama is a collaborative group art
form where people transform, act, and reflect upon the
human condition.” (p. 57) The Dramathemes books
demonstrate how teachers and students can transform their
understanding of the “human condition” by exploring
different themes in society and culture.
Swartz divides the book into ten popular themes or
“explorations”: Humor, Mystery, Fantasy, Animals,
Relationships, Folklore, Community, The Past, The Future,
and Diversity and Equity. Each theme can be explored using
an interesting assortment of games and various drama
methods. Additional recommended sources are provided after
each theme.
The overall goals for each theme are clearly stated, as
are the overviews and objectives. The game portions focus
on physical activity. Other suggested activities provide
alternatives and extensions to each theme. Here again, each
activity has clearly stated instructions. The drama
exploration and drama structure sections follow the same
format.
Each dramatheme is based on a different source material
(“Animals” uses Karen Hesse’s The Music of
Dolphins). After each section there is a list of
additional sources that could be helpful in further
exploring the dramatheme.The final part of each dramatheme
includes an assessment sheet. Each assessment is unique to
the individual theme and focuses on student social
interactions.
Swartz’s thirty plus years of experience in drama
education give him the authority and experience necessary
when addressing student learning in a creative manner. The
integration of the arts, literature, writing, social
skills, and physical activities makes his book an excellent
choice for teachers looking for ways to work across
disciplines.
Pages: 160
Price: $18.95
ISBN: 1-55138-141-9
Reviewed by Rita Kohrman, Grand Valley State University
Wilde, Sandra (2002).
Testing and Standards: A Brief Encyclopedia.
Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann.
Testing and Standards is indeed a brief encyclopedia of
110 pages in small, pocketbook size format. Sandra Wilde,
professor at the Graduate School of Education at Portland
State University in Oregon and one of Heinemann’s
Professional Development program speakers, states in the
Introduction that her "goal in writing this book is to help
teachers, and by extension their students, to be less
victimized by (indeed, to regain jurisdiction of their
classrooms from) forces outside their control that are
currently embodied in this standards and testing
juggernaut" (p. ix). She goes on to enumerate two goals:
- understanding the concepts and vocabulary of testing
and measurement, and
- understanding the wider context of standards and
testing.
At the end of the Introduction, she describes her
perspective on testing and standards. Her belief is that
"many current testing and standards practices undermine
rather than support these larger goals" (p. ix) of
creating standards and expectations for teaching and
student learning and fostering student learning while
decreasing differences in student achievement.
Dr. Wilde appropriately describes the form of the book
as a mini-encyclopedia. There are brief entries on
approximately thirty-five topics arranged alphabetically
and ranging from "accountability (consumers, taxpayers, and
citizens)" to "where do we go from here?" As there is no
index, finding information can be difficult. Most entries
are broken into three parts:
- What It Means
- Example, and
- What You Need To Know About It.
As her background is in literacy, the majority of the
examples are from that field. The entry length varies from
one to three pages. The book also includes entries
entitled "Essential Readings" and one on "Internet
Resources." The Internet Resources section lists two
quite standard resources, Education Week and the New York
Times and the Web site for the National Education Writers
Association, an educational journalists group. The
advocacy sites support the author’s beliefs regarding the
testing and standards movement. The book concludes with an
eight page bibliography and an appendix containing the
AERA’s Position
Statement Concerning High-Stakes Testing in PreK-12
Education.
The first question that came to mind in perusing this small
book was why would anyone buy this book? It is a difficult
question to answer. It is not a book libraries would
purchase for their reference collection. Much of the
information can be found on the Web, along with more
balanced presentations of the issues. The use of the word
encyclopedia, in the title is misleading, as teachers and
students generally assume both broader coverage and a more
balanced perspective from an encyclopedia. As a primer for
those interested in opposing the standards and testing
movement, this could provide some useful advocacy
information, but nothing in the title and little in the
introduction provide any clues to the book’s perspective,
so that audience might never discover the book. At a time
when the use of standards and tests daily confronts
teachers, students and parents, it is unfortunate that this
book does not deliver on the promise of its title.
Pages: 110
Price: $13.00
ISBN: 0-325-00360-2
Reviewed by Carla A.Hendrix, Plattsburgh State University
of New York
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