Four hours of every one of my weekdays is wasted. I have to commute by bus from the South Hills because I’m unable to drive. It’s two hours in to Oakland, and two hours back at night. The bus is stalled twice on it’s way into town by construction, so this time often stretches into 4 and half, 4 and three quarter hours. It’s inconvenient. It’s annoying. It makes me want a driver’s license more than a degree.
This lack of a relatively common and increasingly necessary ability parallels the difficulties experienced by Purcell-Gates’ observed mother-son pair of Jenny and Donny. Like Jenny, I’m often dependent on other people to provide their skills for me to complete basic tasks–going to the grocery store, seeing a doctor, going anywhere in less than 2 hours.
Perhaps it’s youthful impatience or naivete, but I can’t understand why the daily inconveniences of not being able to read or write weren’t enough of an incentive for either Jenny to seek literacy instruction sooner or for her to at least make sure Donny received better instruction.
Donny Sr.’s decision to rescue books from construction sites and the collection of children’s literature in the attic suggest that the family sees literacy as important. Even though the parents had low literacy, they exposed the children to books and reading (or at least storytelling). It seems like in this household positive associations were made with literacy, but for some reason the children still didn’t gravitate toward these skills.
A supportive environment wasn’t beneficial. Purcell-Gates emphasized the importance of both access to literary material as well as a positive attitude toward reading in a child’s environment to spur achievement in literacy skills, but those don’t seem to be the only factors that could encourage literacy.
Why don’t the negative consequences of being low or non-literate sufficiently compel people to learn to read and write? Why weren’t the efforts made by Donny Sr. and Jenny enough to encourage the children to read? Are there other essential factors that create strong readers and writers that Purcell-Gates does not consider?