Artifactual Literacies

In the reading for this week, the Pahl and Rowsell's article on artifactual literacies was extremely intriguing to explore.  The emphasis on objects as a form of literacy is very important in understanding the other communities and lives of others.  Pahl sheds light on how objects are a part of every person's life and that they can be powerful.  Literacy is mostly viewed as speaking or listening but it can in fact come in many forms.  A golden nugget I took in this article about artifactual literacies was when Pahl says, "Artifactual literacies takes account of migrant literacies by bringing to life the actual objects, whether remembered in narratives or actually present in homes, that evoke experiences of the country where people have come from."  In the broad sense of things, there is always a story behind the objects that are in every type of community.  In the classroom, this can be an exceptional way for students to share a part of their culture and the story behind the object.  Bringing in objects from their home for presentation to the class would work in any classroom, but personally I see it working best in an urban school setting where there are many different stories that can be told from different types of races.  If these urban students are struggling in the classroom and find it hard to connect to peers or their teacher, bringing in a piece of their culture is a way to get these students to open up.  Writing is one way to get students to open up and tell about their culture but objects and artifacts can sometimes display a stronger message.  When kids see new and exciting things brought into their classroom, it can trigger a sense of excitement and get them to ask questions.  Students cannot get enough positive feedback, especially from their peers because this is where they look for approval and acceptance.  When a student might shares an experience and a piece of themselves with the object this allows for not only the other students to get to know their peer better but also the teacher as well.  If we can understand the background of our students on a deeper level and gauge what they are interested in, this creates a pathway to deeper connections between teacher and student.