Parkland Teachers' Workshop Prepares for Family Literacy Celebrations

(18-Jan-2005) A group of dedicated teaching professionals met at the offices of Parkland Teachers on Tuesday, January 18 to prepare for school celebrations of Family Literacy Day. FLD is a national initiative that promotes the importance of reading and learning together as a family. Every year, on January 27, families and communities across Canada celebrate this special day at literacy-themed events coordinated by literacy organizations, schools and libraries. The honourary celebrity chair for 2005 is Robert Munsch, and a Family Literacy Day Website is available with games, activities, and worksheets for educators and families. The Parkland Teachers' group, led by local president Robert Twerdoclib, shared many successful strategies for promoting literacy. A particularly lively discussion arose about the sometimes large difference between literacy as it is taught in an educational setting (for example, novel studies and creative writing assignments) as opposed to functional literacy skills that everyone needs in order to cope with the "real world" (tax forms, job applications, employee training manuals, etc.). Why not encourage families to read together all the time — not only books but cereal boxes, menus, signs, directions, and other places where parents and children encounter written language every day. Teachers ended the session by viewing a segment of a video entitled Penny's Odyssey, based on the true story of a 15-year old girl who successfully kept her inability to read hidden from the adults in her life. The thought-provoking story sent educators, laden with Family Literacy Day promotional items, back into their schools with renewed purpose and determination.