Running head: USING CULTURE TO ENHANCE READING

Using Culture to Enhance Reading

Johnny Allred
Weber State University

USING CULTURE TO ENHANCE READING

Using Culture to Enhance Reading

Reading teachers want their students to become lifelong readers who find pleasure in the
reading process. The ability to read is an important skill in our world, so basic reading
comprehension instruction is a foundational priority in the secondary classroom. Reading has
been called a prerequisite for social and cultural interaction (Clark & Rumbold, 2006). However,
once a student leaves the classroom, this reading ability wont benefit him much if he never
chooses to read again. Cultivating a desire to read should be a primary goal of a secondary
Language Arts teacher (Ediger, 2002). One challenge presented to reading teachers is the

Formatted: Highlight

question of how to get students engaged in the reading, how to make the text come alive for the
student so that she wants to read on her own. This challenge is best approached when looking
through a multicultural lens. A classroom is made up of many students, each from a unique
family background, experiencing different cultures and personal beliefs. A reading teacher will
be more effective, then, if he is able to put literature in front of a student that connects with her
cultural background. This paper will give insight into the importance of this multicultural lens,
especially using popular culture as a tool for connecting with diverse students.

Students find more joy in the reading process when they are given freedom to choose
what to read and time in the classroom to read independently (Manning et al., 2012). Further, the
freedom to choose what to read helps increase a students intrinsic and extrinsic motivation for
the reading process and aids in the development of reading comprehension skills at the same
time (Krashen, 1993). Dedicated reading time in the classroom, where students read the books
they have chosen, allows students the opportunity to grapple with texts they are motivated to
read while still providing assistance from the Language Arts teacher (Miller & Anderson, 2009).

Commented [JC1]: This is the section that I moved from

below. I felt it was really well said and powerful, really
explaining what the paper was about. I felt like it should be
more prominent rather than hidden in the body of the paper.
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USING CULTURE TO ENHANCE READING

Literature as a Tool for Accessing Reality

Students generally seem to care about and respond to the popular culture surrounding

Commented [JC2]: Maybe instead of specific movies, talk

how using movies and seeing themes, and can apply/discuss
books with same theme, or how classic books first developed
themes being used in contemporary books/movies now

them on a daily basis. Whether it is films, books, social media, or the evening news, students
connect with whats going on around them. Film is one of the strongest media for reaching out to
a diverse audience of students. Giroux (1994) identified several films with plots that can speak to
students that may have been raised differently than the majority of kids in their classes. The first,
My Own Private Idaho, depicts a young man who has broken memories of his mom, who
abandoned him when he was a young child. This character dreams of escaping his tough world,
and he becomes a metaphor for all lower middle-class young people who seem to have lost hope
in an unforgiving world (Giroux, 1994). Students could watch a movie like this and find hope for
their own situation. Similarly, students could read a story of a young characterlike Hazel from
Fault in our Starswho seems to have no hope, and they might have a similar response as when
they watched My Own Private Idaho. These forms of popular culture, whether in film or text
form, are powerful tools to speak to youth and help the oppressed feel a little more freedom.
Felman and Laub (1992) argue that reading literature is a treasured mode of accessing reality,
and that we as readers interpret the plot, characters, and themes of books in ways that give
meaning to our own lives and reality. That claim is supported by countless lifelong readers who
read because they feel something, because the stories relate to their lives, because they are
somehow changed by the reading experience. Too few of our young students are having these
positive experiences with books, and it is because they havent been given the freedom or the
knowledge to choose a book that speaks to their individual culture and heritage.
The problem is, the novels that tell challenging stories such as have been discussed are
rarely taught in the classroom, or, if they are taught, they are censored and eventually banned. So,

Commented [JC3]: Maybe put this at the beginning of the

section, here is the problem, and then how it can be
addressed with movies and relating to books once they see
themes

USING CULTURE TO ENHANCE READING

we could continue to hope that teachers are more successful in organizing texts and experiences
in their classrooms that reach a more culturally and economically diverse audience, or we could
give the freedom to choose to the students, letting them select novels, stories, and characters that
connect to their backgrounds, thus helping them have these powerful experiences with support
from the teacher and the classroom community. This freedom of choice would require a
curriculum shift in many language arts classrooms.
Challenging Power While Honoring Tradition
In order to achieve a language arts classroom where students have more freedom and
where different cultures are valued, a shift of power and norms is needed. Euben (1994) argues
that a multicultural and diverse education should encourage students to become better citizens, to
challenge the accepted norms created by those in power, and to honor traditions within the
existing culture that should be honored.
It is tricky to walk the line of challenging those in power while still honoring the
traditions of a society, but it starts with the balance of power in the classroom. Following the
example of the language arts classroom, if a teacher forces all students to read the same classic
novel that she has taught for her whole career, she is in powerand shes probably comfortable
with that role. However, that doesnt acknowledge the diverse audience of students in front of her.
If she, alternately, allowed students to choose a novel that interests them (within an acceptable
range or category), the power shifts into the hands of the students. This is a crucial shift, and one
that will bring the classroom closer to what it should be in regards to curriculum diversity
(Giroux, 1994).
The issue of multiculturalism in the classroom is one that will not fade away. Teachers
will need to be aware of and make plans for reaching out to the diversity of their students life

USING CULTURE TO ENHANCE READING

situations. These topics, according to Gaztambide-Fernndez, Harding, and Sorde-Marti (2004)

include race, identity, power, knowledge, ethics, and work, and they will play a major role in
defining the meaning and purpose of schooling, the relationship between teachers and students,
and the critical content of their exchange in terms of how to live in a world that will be vastly
more globalized, high tech, and racially diverse than at any other time in history (p. 235). Using
culturally diverse texts, especially in the language arts classroom, will help connect with and
empower the lives of all students, aiding them in their quest to more fully understand themselves
and to be a valuable asset to society.

USING CULTURE TO ENHANCE READING

REFERENCES
Clark, C., & Rumbold, K. (2006). Reading for pleasure: A research overview. National Literacy
Trust.
Ediger, M. (2002). Reading for enjoyment and pleasure. ERIC Processing and Reference Facility.
Euben, P. (1994). The debate over the canon. The Civic Arts Review, 7(1), 4-15.
Gaztambide-Fernndez, R. A., Harding, H., & Sorde-Marti, T. (2004). Cultural Studies and
Education: Perspectives on Theory, Methodology, and Practice. Cambridge, MA:
Harvard Education Publishing Group.
Giroux, H. (1994). Doing cultural studies: Youth and the challenge of pedagogy. Harvard
educational review, 64(3), 278-309.
Krashen, S. (1993). The power of reading. Englewood, Colorado: Libraries Unlimited, Inc.
Manning, C., Aliefendic, J., Chiarelli, M., Haas, L., & Williams, S. (2012). Inspirational
impetuous: Lifelong learning. SRATE Journal, 21(1), 11-17.
Miller, D., & Anderson, J. (2009). The book whisperer: Awakening the inner reader in every
child. San Francisco, Calif: Jossey-Bass.