Professor Honey

In reading the arguments over literacy between the left and the right, I had the opportunity of reading Professor John Honey's book: Language is Power: The Story of Standard English and its Enemies (1997) again. In this book Professor Honey takes on those, like Brian Street and James Gee who advocate a tolerance and appreciation of literacy in all of its forms and shows that the way people use language has been hard fought over as a means to dominate society. From this perspective, standard English is not simply a neutral and benign way to communicate across cultures, but a hard fought sign of domination by one class and culture over others. Those who control the literacy curriculum ensures social reproduction through success at school and other institutions that privilege those who already have begun to master these forms of literacy and language-use before they come to school. In finding favour in one form of literacy over another others lose out. Professor Honey says:

"We know that the particular values which dominate our educational systems, which have to do with cultivation of the mind by reading, by trained methods of thinking and observing, etc., are not in fact found interesting by a significant proportion of people in out society. They may defer to those interests in other people but do not desire them for themselves, indeed they may feel the symbols of educatedness to be threatening" (1997:234)

"Are Footballers who do not make the first team, but only play for the second or third, robbed of their human worth?"

MA in Literacy and Learning

Numbers for the MA in Literacy and Learning are on the rise and once again, we should have more than enough applications to run the programme. There has been more interest than most years. As usual, I ran two promotion evenings in Chatham and Canterbury, with a very large group attending the Canterbury session. I have a list of contacts which I send promo material to and plug the MA where ever I go. Nothing new there. So, what has made the difference this year? I can't know.

The book is underway with the first chapter about to be finished in draft form. This chapter needs to draw in the reader and I attempt this by perversely offering intellectual discomfort and challenge. I declare, that after reading the book, readers will be able to plot their attitude and approach to literacy education on the political spectrum.

A friend of mine has just bought the house that appeared in the film 'Withnail and I' as Monty's Cottage. A favourite film. He intends to restore the house to how it appeared in the movie and rent it out for holidays to the faithful - "free to those who can afford it, very expensive to those who can't"

Return from Holiday: UKLA Key Note Speech

I am home from Tuscany and Umbria. We stayed at two great places, one in Tuscany and the other in Umbria. Leave continues until the end of August.

My task now is to write 'Literacy on the Left'. I also learn that the United Kingdom Literacy Association (UKLA) has invited me to give a Key Note speech at their International Conference next year, to be held in the University of Winchester. I see Gunther Kress is giving one too...

Whilst staying in Umbria, we witnessed the most ferocious thunderstorm I have ever seen. The hotel was high up in the hills. We sheltered with hotel staff in the main house which was struck twice during the storm. Mean while outside, a tree was hit and cut in two (see picture above). This storm was not typical of the weather during our stay. Sunny and warm for most of the time.