My Border Collie puppy is 4 months old now and everyday I am amazed at her literacy skills. I know, a dog and literacy, yeah right, but you would be surprised. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, "'Literacy' is the ability to identify, understand, interpret ... communicate, [and] compute ..." Lucky Lu does all of these and more; she is already able to identify all of her toys by name, understand and compute commands, interpret tones and communicate back to me her wants and needs. I have learned that literacy is even broader than I can imagine and the ability to use language and communication can apply to anyone (or thing).
Friday, April 10, 2009
My Border Collie puppy is 4 months old now and everyday I am amazed at her literacy skills. I know, a dog and literacy, yeah right, but you would be surprised. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, "'Literacy' is the ability to identify, understand, interpret ... communicate, [and] compute ..." Lucky Lu does all of these and more; she is already able to identify all of her toys by name, understand and compute commands, interpret tones and communicate back to me her wants and needs. I have learned that literacy is even broader than I can imagine and the ability to use language and communication can apply to anyone (or thing).
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I like this idea of animal literacy because it highlights the fact that being literate doesn't have to involve expressive language--that is, speech. Lucky Lu sounds like she has advanced receptive language skills (what she takes in), but she uses different styles of communication to get her needs met. I guess I should even qualify expressive language by saying the use of words to communicate because I'm certain Lucky Lu has plenty of sounds she uses to send a message. You can transfer this idea of non-verbal literacy to babies--newborns even. Have you read the studies of infants who mimic the facial expressions of adults? How about the variety of cries babies use to communicate?
ReplyDeleteYour photo of Lucky Lu should help us all think about the literacy strengths our students will bring to the classroom--think about what kids HAVE in terms of communication skills, not what they don't have.
I am the first person to admit that I am not an animal person. I have no interest in being near animals or touching them. While I do not know a lot about animals, as I read your caption I thought about the reverse of what you talked about- a pet owner being able to read their pet. I have read stories and heard friends talk about their pets and knowing whether s/he was upset, sick, excited, misbehaving etc. This is an area in which I am grossly illiterate!! To have the ability to read an animal is a skill that is completely foreign to me yet it is something that people go one to get their PHD in.
ReplyDelete...I guess this would be true also in a parent's ability to recognize the reasoning behind a newborn's cry (as Suzy mentioned Newborns being able to communicate) and a babysitter going crazy not knowing why the baby will not stop crying!
I like this idea of animal literacy as well. I have a new puppy too, Aurora, who's 6 months old now. She was adopted when she was 4 months old and hadn't had any training yet. It took a long time for her to learn to sit but as soon as she got it, she was lying down, staying, and dancing within a couple of days. I believe it's true that animals reflect literacy and what you said about owner's reading their pets. I know when she has to go outside by the way she follows me around and the way she walks (weird I know) that my mom doesn't understand. This was a great example of literacy!
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