Monthly Theme Night: A Step Towards Community Literacy Development - Essay Sample

Introduction

Literacy development should not be a responsibility of schools, teachers, and students only, but also the community at large. A program involving educators, students, parents, and community partnerships can improve the success and achievements of learners. However, active participation of all the parties and cohesion is required for the betterment of the leaning institution (Epstein & Salinas, 2004). To have such a system, the school is initiating a monthly theme night to promote literacy development; all parents and family members are invited! The event will be advertised through email alerts, the school website, infographics, social media pages, and posters, to ensure maximum attendance. If you have not subscribed to the school's newsletter, you are advised to do so on our website to ensure that every critical notification gets to you fast and conveniently. Personalized emails will be sent every time the event date nears to give details on time, outfits, and other requirements. Reminder adverts will also be posted on the school website; please remember to check. This article answers all the crucial questions about the event - when, where, why, what to expect or bring for the occasion, and what dress code is suitable for the night. The article also addresses the role of parents and teachers in literacy development and how it can be enhanced for both adults and children.

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The monthly theme night event mentioned above will be both entertaining and educational; the combination of both items is intended to create longs tasting memory in the minds of the people in attendance. Parents are required to buy the students books of their choosing so that everybody reads a topic that interests them. The students should read and create a summary of the book, majoring on a specific theme or characters. On the night of the event, students with the best summaries will take the stage to tell read their story. Later after reading their summary articles, each student will relate his/her account to a real life situation based on personal experience, the parent's, the school, or the society. Although there is no specific dress code for the occasion (to observe wardrobe freedom), everyone is expected to look beautiful. However, the students making presentations will wear costumes relating to their acts, stories, and ideas they want to promote. The night will feature art or other literature presentations and other performances from the students, and speeches from parents, teachers, and the principal on the importance of literacy, and how it has revolutionized the modern life. In other theme nights to come, any student left out from the presentations will be included, to ensure equal participation for all. Later before the event ends, both parents and teachers voice their ideas on how they can help the students to develop their literacy skills. Parents will be assigned the duty to purchase reading materials for their children and to monitor their reading ability at home.

In my opinion, the theme night event will allow parents to be part of their children's education life, and to learn the challenges they face, and their strengths in academics. The program will also enable parents to identify ways through which they can help to improve their children's literacy skills, thereby creating a school learning community. According to Epstein & Salinas (2004), a school learning community benefits students since it puts more pressure on learning and success. In her research summary, Clark (2007) also stated that parental involvement not only improves children's literacy skills at an early age but also in their teenage and adulthood. Clark (2007) also argued that children who are introduced to books at an early age have an academic advantage over their peers since they exhibit superior reading skills. Parents learning English, or with poor literacy skills are can also help to improve their children's literacy development by joining Family Literacy Programs, which also help them to better their skills (Schwartz, n.d.). Therefore, apart from being primary caregivers, parents should be part of their children's literacy development just as much as teachers.

According to Shanahan (2015), literacy skills can be developed at home through strategies such as introducing books to children early, teach literacy skills, talking and reading stories to children, promoting writing, and teaching phonics. Contrary to a widespread belief that introducing books to children at an early age can harm them, various studies have suggested that it benefits them (Shanahan, 2015). Therefore, parents can buy books for children so that they can develop their reading skills at a young age. Also, parents can help children to read and write different letters, and their name once they are above 18 months old. Reading and talking a lot to children exposes them to a variety of words; this can be the starting point of literacy development. According to Shanahan (2015), talking helps to develop language - and reading depends on language; therefore, acquiring the ability to read and write well depends on the vocabulary learned through communication.

Similarly, teaching phonics at different stages of readability allows children to develop their pronunciation and spelling abilities continually. Also, listening to a child read will enable parents to notice their mistakes; continuous reading makes better readers. Finally, making reading habitual at home makes the activity a more enjoyable routine, thereby improving literacy at home.

According to Uddin (2017), teachers can get parent participation in literacy development by making homework collaborative, giving them feedback on their children's progress, asking parents to visit reading workshops. Additionally, parents can be involved by talking to them through social networks, breaking language barriers to interact with them more, and if possible, visiting their homes. Asking the parents to help with their children's assignments helps them to identify the challenges they face in academics, and also help them to read and write better. Also, Uddin (2017) stated that giving parents good news on the student progress gives them a chance to appreciate their children's efforts, and also motivates them to participate in the education process. According to the article by Uddin (2017), parents with a busy daily schedule can be reached via social platforms, to break down communication barriers, to remind them to participate in their kids' academic lives. For parents learning English or using it as a second, teachers who are familiar with their language can be used to talk to them, to ensure that they are not left out in their children's literacy development.

There are four programs used to promote intergenerational literacy development: Direct Adults-Direct Children, Indirect Adults-Indirect Children, Direct Adults-Indirect Children, and Indirect Adults-Direct Children (Kerka, 1991). The first model offers formal literacy to both children and adults, while the second is less formal and voluntary; it does not put many efforts in reading skills. In the third, literacy skills are only taught to adults through seminars and workshops, to help them to read with their children; therefore, this model is used to help parents to develop literacy skills so that they can help their children to read and write. In the fourth model, literacy skills are taught to children before, during, and after schools; parents are also involved through workshops, school events, and reading rallies. According to Kerka (1991), the models consider family as a single unit and also include it in literacy development to benefit children.

The proposed theme night event will help parents to realize the significance of their involvement in literacy development, and also educate them on how they can participate. Also, the event will allow parents to interact with students, and experience quality educative entertainment with them. It is essential that parents begin literacy development activities in their homes, even when their children are young, so they can have a deep interest in reading and writing as they grow. Also, parents should be teachers to their children before the go to school by reading to them and helping them with their assignments. Teachers play a significant role in literacy development since they are not only expected to ensure active participation of the students but also the parents; therefore, they communicate with both parties regularly. Parents or guardians who are not familiar with English, or lack adequate literacy skills should participate in intergenerational programs; they will benefit not only them but also their children. Therefore, development of literacy skills should not be on teachers and student effort alone, but also family

References

Clark, C. (2007). Why It Is Important to Involve Parents in Their Children's Literacy Development: A Brief Research Summary. National Literacy Trust.

Epstein, J. L., & Salinas, K. C. (2004). Partnering with families and communities. Educational Leadership, 61(8), 12-19.

Kerka, S. (1991). Family and Intergenerational Literacy. ERIC Digest N. 111.

Schwartz, W. (n.d.). Literacy Development Programs. Retrieved from https://www.readingrockets.org/article/family-literacy-programs/

Shanahan, T. (2015, September 9). 11 Ways Parents Can Help Their Children Read. Retrieved from https:www.readingrockets.org/blogs/shanahan-literacy/11-ways-parents-can-help-their-children-read

Uddin, L. (2017, February 24). Family ties: how to get parents involved in children's learning. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2017/feb/24/parents-involved-school-engagement/