http://dx.doi.org/10.14483/udistrital.jour.calj.2014.1.a10

Literacy as a resource to build resilency

Received: 27-Jan-2014/ Accepted:15-May-2014.

To cite this article
Rojas, L. K. (2014). Literacy as a resource to build resiliency [review of the book Literacy as a resource to build resiliency]. Colombian Applied Linguistics Journal, 16(1). 114-115.
Chapetón, C. (2007). Literacy as a resource to build resiliency. (1st ed., Vol. 1, p. 132). Bogotá, Colombia: Editorial Géminis. ISBN: 978-958-8316-10-9.

Searching for ways in which readers can transform their reality in a critical way, Chapetón (2007) worked within a group of displaced adults in a reading club where they were able to share perspectives, backgrounds, and emotions regarding their own problematic issues by using a dialogic basis. In our field, it is important that more pedagogues observe these activities as a manner of exploring students' thoughts. Chapetón was able to accomplish this by examining an interdisciplinary background as psychology to more deeply understand the reader's world reality.

In the first part of this four-part text, Chapetón (2007) explains that reading includes not only a set of symbols but also a group of social processes in which literacy plays an important role. Dialogues and discussions hold great value within a community because it is through such interaction that people can share ideas, opinions and even emotions that result from reading and texts. Additionally, Chapetón (2007) asserts that resiliency is needed within this specific community to reconstruct an environment and overcome crisis.

Secondly, the author deals with the core concepts of her study in order to help the reader to understand how literacy practices are involved in the process of building resiliency. Chapetón uses terms such as "situated social practice" and "reader transactions," and offers an overview of the situation of "forced internal displacement" which characterizes the members of this reading club. Her effort to clarify these interdisciplinary areas is important, and the impact of the reading club in the lives of these adults is remarkable due to the conditions they are experiencing.

Next, in the third chapter, we become privy to participants' voices when responding to reading. Here, the author depicts an exploratory phase where they could explore the text; then, they found a literal translation or retelling the characteristics of the story. Finally, the most important part was when they became engaged in discussion by interpreting the content and connecting it with their own realities. Furthermore, Chapetón (2007) established a set of categories as a result of the several types of statements encountered in which we can find, among others, essential topics such as "strong family bonds" and "community networking" regarding readers' interactions, and others such as "family relationships" or "land abandonment" dealing with the factors of adversity that caused their displacement condition.

In my opinion, I consider this categorization very convenient as it makes clear the way in which critical thinking acts in the construction of the participants' resiliency which includes their initiative to take action, to move to different places to protect their family, as well as realizing how being at risk has shown their abilities to be problem solvers and overcome adversity are linked to the process of building resiliency that is the core of this study.

Having provided the reader with the theoretical assumptions needed to interpret the data obtained, Chapetón (2007) closes her book by asserting that the readers are now resilient individuals able to use the factors of difficult situations in order to build hope for their future, and that this experience can be taught to relatives and friends that have similar social issues.

It is worthy to note how hopeful the author was with participants' opinions in their interactions. This hopefulness lends great authenticity to this book and that serves as an inspiring proposal for novice teachers who want to explore new perspectives in teaching. If teachers in general could examine students' realities, more meaningful classroom experiences could be constructed and more motivation could be inspired based on those experiences.

This book, indeed, shows the need of examining sociocultural and political realities in the field of education. These perspectives cannot be ignored and should be included in the school curriculum in order to orient teaching practices immersed in these vulnerable communities. As Shor (1987) asserts, students and teachers have to be involved in a liberationist interaction where both are learners as well as critical agents within their context. This is the beginning of a transformative classroom in which they become empowered to change communities and even society.

Professionals in education must take into account this study for the creation of spaces for dialogue and reflection in specific contexts. Furthermore, it is mandatory to revise the way in which we exercise and promote exchanges of collaboration in the classroom where students can listen to each other's voices and share life experiences.

References

Shor, I. (1987). Freire for the classroom: A sourcebook for liberatory teaching. (1st ed.). New Hampshire: Boynton/Cook.         [ Links ]

THE AUTHOR

LAURA KATHERINE ROJAS, B.A in English at Universidad Distrital. She is a full-time teacher in the University Manuela Beltran.