English scholars say literacy, the ability to read and write, is arguably the most important part of education – enriching people’s lives and thus, empowers societies as a whole.
UNM-Taos English faculty member, Amber Gordon, collaborated with a group of educators from around the state to create, “Exploring Children’s Rights through a Global Literacy Community in the Land of Enchantment.” The University of Arizona's World of Words website recently published the article.
This group had “a common interest in having a rich dialogue with other teachers as members of a learning community,” said Yoo Kyung Sung, UNM associate professor.
Sung and Gordon work with adults in a college setting, the remaining educators work in primary schools, and one is a community leader/educator.
“We have collaborated for the past couple of years on fostering literacy in our classrooms at a variety of levels,” Gordon said. “Working with these folks is great because we talk about the different texts we select and themes that we want to infuse into our curriculums.”
According to Sung, the group decided to focus its theme on children’s rights.
“Thinking about children’s rights as a theme would allow us to rethink the sociopolitical landscape of New Mexico,” Sung said. “We could unfold a wide range of social issues through the theme of children’s rights including immigration issues, bilingual and biliteracy learning, inequality of community resources, poverty, and many more.”
To learn more about this project, visit UNM Taos.
