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Tasmia Alam

Professor Trombley

December 3, 2020

Philosophy of Disciplinary Literacy

At Random High School, diversity is at its highest. With students conversing in 40

different languages, the demographics being mostly minorities (specifically Hispanic), and it

being a Title One School, there are both several opportunities and challenges that teachers must

face to ensure that students are being provided with the best education possible to meet the

demanding needs of the society once they graduate. Not only is the population diverse, the

programs and the disciplinary literacy skills instilled in this school make the content diverse as

well.

As an English teacher, literacy skills are even more crucial, as foundational literacy (the

ability to read and write) is a core necessity to perform successfully in my content area. Although

crucial, there are several other skills that are needed in order to be considered to be literate in the

English discipline. These skills are, but not limited to, the ability to understand text structures

that are beyond the assigned school curriculum, understanding characters thoroughly,

specifically why characters behave the way in which they do both externally and internally,

identifying rhetorical tools to interpret problems created by authors in text, and creating

connections from their knowledge of the text and beyond.

Although the definition of literacy in ELA seems to be a list of daunting expectations, all

of these characteristics can be met by the students. For instance, in order for students to

understand the text at an exemplary level (which is beyond the high school curriculum), students
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have to be engaged. The content has to be met with their standards. In this case, it has to be met

with the students’ digital literacy, as students are now growing up in the digital age. This can be

further applied by hosting discussions regarding the text, allowing students to be more in charge

of the learning process, so talk about different perspectives. This can be through inquiry based

lesson plans, through engaging collaborative platforms such as Stormboard, through videos such

as FlipGrid, as well as through guiding questions that help students get there.

Furthermore, understanding characters from a literary perspective can also help gain

literacy skills in human interactions as well. When understanding character motives and their

internal and external struggles, students are able to apply that acquired skill of analysis to their

day-to-day human interactions with others. The ability to understand a character increases the

readers’ (in this case the students’) ability to be empathetic; a skill needed not only to understand

character motives in ELA, but also in the real world. This is when movies, videos, role-playing

can come into play, where students are allowed to be that character in the book so that they can

understand why and how the particular character decides to do the things they do.

Similar to understanding characters, understanding rhetoric gives students the perspective

in how the work was intended to be read by the author. To deepen the comprehension of rhetoric

within the English discipline, students can have debates, speeches, and analyze current

political/controversial articles to deepen their knowledge and gain perspective in how authors try

to convince or convey a message in a particular way.

Lastly, when creating connections to the text, it is important to give students the ability to

take what they’ve learned from the text and collaboratively discuss as well as implement their

knowledge in different content areas. This practice is called interdisciplinary literacy, in which

the literacy that has been achieved in a specific content area can be applied as an additional
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perspective in another area. A good example of this concept would be linking the history

discipline with English. This allows students to have access and gain literacy skills in both

perspectives which will further increase their engagement with the text and give them enough

information to fully comprehend the text on an exemplary novel. Additionally, making

connections should not simply be just within different disciplines and the English curriculum.

The best way to make any connection to the text and its relevance is discussion. Whether it be a

face to face, or an online discussion tool, students should be able to engage in discussion in order

to understand different perspectives and find relevance in their lives. The more they discuss, the

more culturally and academically enrich the discussions will be as they will be given a place to

talk and ask any question they want.

Of course, this also insinuates that the text must also be relevant, which is crucial to

implement at Random High School, given its diversity. In order to address the needs of diverse

learners, a variety of texts must be provided. Diversity does not simply mean reading and

writing abilities, it also means the unique experiences, languages, and needs that every student

brings to the classroom. One way to ensure the diverse needs are met within the English

curriculum is to provide texts that allow students to connect personally with. This will increase

engagement within the class and will allow the space of true growth and improvement to occur.

As a teacher who has collaborated with a history teacher, implementing disciplinary

literacy, or more specifically, interdisciplinary literacy, is quite possible. My partner and I were

able to implement multiple strategies, standards, and content areas to align with the project. The

challenges were more about ensuring that both of our teaching styles and perspectives were

heard and acknowledged. Through the collaborative process, I began to learn and understand
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more about the history perspective while my partner learned more about the English perspective.

It truly helped us with being an enriched teacher in both disciplines.

Disciplinary literacy is a vital concept to implement in today’s world of learning and

engagement. Students deserve to gain literacy skills that go beyond the assignment and the class

as they grow up in an increasingly demanding and digital world, where knowledge is at one’s

fingertips. Learning, progress, and growth must be emphasized more than the standards, and

disciplinary literacy is exactly how this can be achieved.