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Welcome to the 20th edition of the Literacy Materials Bulletin. Our thanks to the National Literacy Secretariat: Human Resources Development Canada and the BC Ministry of Advanced Education, Training and Technology for ten years of funding and support. In the Literacy Materials Bulletin committee, we have been struggling with some difficult questions about materials. One is the question of historical material. If material tries to describe the past and uses words that were recorded then or describes attitudes that were commonly held then, there may be problems. Women may be described as weak or helpmates rather than full, able participants in their own lives. First Nations people may be explained in ways that they would never use about themselves. What does an instructor do with that in the teaching situation? Is it good enough to say, “That’s what people thought then (or that’s what white people or men thought then), but we don’t accept that today”? How do you protect those in the classroom who are still struggling against those attitudes in their world today? Do you decide not to use these materials at all? If so, what materials do you use to study history? If you are considering these questions, we suggest that you discuss the issues with your students and colleagues. If you would like to suggest a guideline to us at the Bulletin, please contact the editor; we’d love to get some feedback to help us in our on-going conversation. In this issue, we are promoting the video Forgotten Warriors which describes the experience of First Nations people’s opinions about these facts. It does not tell the “other side”, if there is another side. This video will require you to work with some of the issues history has posed. Other materials in this Bulletin will also challenge, and we hope you find the selection useful. With this issue, the Bulletin says good-bye to Lorrie Lane and Jan Sawyer. They have been wonderful to work with. Our thanks to you. We have two new members to welcome, Ruth Chambers and Lil McPhail. We are looking forward to working with their new insights and energy. Finally, thanks to proof-reader, Judith Jeffery and desk-topper, Joanna Lord. Without you - no Bulletin. |
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