Quote: "When our students write, they draw on cultural experiences they have had in their lives. They may come from different parts of the world, and then sit within an urbanized space. They may live in a remote rural community, on an island, but be connected to the world through the internet. If literacy is understood as a global and social practice, this helps us understand why children need to communicate not only across different cultures, but also in relation to changing global communication." (Pahl, 9-10).
Comment:I liked this quote because I usually think and focus so much on the need to help children from all different cultures communicate with each other and be able to understand different social practices; however, Pahl and Roswell present the idea that children need to be able to understand global communication. Even though they might write based on own personal, cultural experiences, with their exposure to the internet they have a much broader base to draw information from. Helping them understand events and situation across the globe with help children develop their own literacy skills.
Question: How do we help children understand and relate to the culture of their peers while allowing them to keep feeling the importance of their own culture? Additionally, how do we reach global communication they are constantly exposed to and help them understand that as well?
I think it is important for all students, not just the multicultural students, to become literate in using technology. In an ever-expanding world, nearly all have access to global communication. This means that students need to be able to communicate not only in person, but through technology, in order to be able to maneuver in this world. I think that as teachers, we need to teach global communication to our students, especially those who are ELLs.
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