Other People's Words: The Cycle of Low Literacy

by Purcell-Gates

If asked to identify which children rank lowest in relation to national educational norms, have higher school dropout and absence rates, and more commonly experience learning problems, few of us would know the white, urban Appalachian children. These are the children and grandchildren of Appalachian families who migrated to northern cities in the 1950s to look for work. They make up this largely “invisible” urban group, a minority that represents a significant portion of the urban poor. Literacy researchers have rarely studied urban Appalachians, yet, as Victoria Purcell-Gates demonstrates in Other People’s Words , their often severe literacy problems provide a unique perspective on literacy and the relationship between print and culture.

A compelling case study details the author’s work with one such family. The parents, who attended school off and on through the seventh grade, are unable to use public transportation, shop easily, or understand the homework their elementary-school-age son brings home because neither of them can read. But the family is not so much illiterate as low literate―the world they inhabit is an oral one, their heritage one where print had no inherent use and no inherent meaning. They have as much to learn about the culture of literacy as about written language itself.

Purcell-Gates shows how access to literacy has been blocked by a confluence of negative cultural stereotypes, cultural and linguistic elitism, and pedagogical obtuseness. She calls for the recruitment and training of “proactive” teachers who can assess and encourage children’s progress and outlines specific intervention strategies.

Genres: Education, Nonfiction, Teaching, Professional Development, School

254 pages, Paperback

First published February 17, 1995

Reviews

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. This book was fantastic. I read it for an Education, Schooling, and Society course, and it really forced me to reevaluate many of the things that I had assumed to be true about education. Growing up, I was read to every day and I saw my parents reading and writing. I had always known that reading to children helps them to succeed in school later, but I had never even considered the effect that it would have to be raised in an illiterate household in a literate society. My greatest issue with this book is that I got emotionally invested in Donny and Jenny, and there is no way for me to know how they turned out. This book was written over a decade ago, so Donny would be older than I am. I want to know if he stayed in school, if he got caught up in school, and how all of this changed the dynamics of his family. All in all, this was one of the best nonfiction books that I have read in a very long time.

[Alejandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

El libro muestra la manera en que la escritura va más allá de un acto de codificación. La alfabetización es un acto cultural y social. Por este motivo, necesita tener un sentido y un propósito más allá de solo lo instrumental, lo cual también es importante. La historia de Jenny y Donny es inspiradora, cálida y honesta. Revela, por otro lado, que el amor por las letras debe ser trabajado en el hogar familiar, no es un trabajo exclusivamente de los colegios. Finalmente, la historia es una radiografía del deficiente sistema público educativo que tiene Estados Unidos. En el libro se hace la comparación del sistema educativo con un tren que no para y no espera a quien no alcance a tomarlo. La educación a pesar de ser pública no es la misma para todos porque el factor racial y social, en esta oportunidad, excluyó a esta familia de interactuar con el mundo que se mueve a través de la escritura y la lectura. Una última “ñapa”: me encantó el personaje de Jenny. Natural, generoso y muy valiente para decidir romper la cadena de analfabetismo en su familia.

[Cassie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not wonderfully written or spellbinding by any means, but very interesting. Years after reading it in a college class, I find myself still referencing it.

[Shachar · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars / 5 Stars

Read for a health literacy grad class. Found it interesting, especially the narrative following Jenny and Donny. I did find it a bit repetitive however, and ironic that a book about health literacy was written in such an academic and complex manner. It’s obviously meant for more of the academia or student type, but it definitely should have been written in a more comprehensible and simplistic manner than it was, especially with its subject matter. Was fine, didn’t mind it too much.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a case study of two urban Appalachians, Jenny and her son Donny, neither of whom could read. It documents their initial failure to learn how to read due to their inability to access mainstream culture and their eventual success through learning how print could be meaningful to their lives. This was a very good book. I learned a lot about how my attitudes toward another culture may prevent that student from succeeding in my classroom.

[Baily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for a class related to exploring literacy. Overall it seemed to be what I expected. It was interesting to read about southern Appalachian literacy and how texts live and interact (or don’t) in their lives. Jenny’s story is a little heartwarming but it’s just a lot about how she is determined to become “literate” according to Standard American English. A solid read for language and literacy educators.

[Tammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm in the Master's program at CSUF and this was required reading. I enjoyed reading the story of this mother's struggle to learn to read and to fight for her children's education. My grandfather's family lived in the coalmining community in West Virginia and I took Jenny's struggles to heart. It is very informative on the technical side too, with Purcell-Gates giving us insight in how to best approach literacy learning depending on the individual's needs.

[Sarah Ochocki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this while I was tutoring a low-literacy student and loved the book. It balanced the human aspect, the educational undertaking, and the historical narrative of the Appalachian region beautifully in this case study. While it’s not written to be a literary masterpiece, the care and attention given to mother and child makes this book worthwhile.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

mind blowing. also an easy, quick read, but still powerful.

[Wendy Gardiner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread this a part of course preparation. It has been around for a while. Yet, sadly, it's still as relevant as when it came out.

[brittany · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was going to give it 2 stars but man was this dreadful...

[Kinsey Clark]

It was an inspiring book about an illiterate mother trying to get a better education for her children. This book highlighted the struggles this family went through on their journey to literacy.

[Laura Cohran · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It was interesting to me to read it so many years after publication and consider what literacy education has looked like since the book was published.

[LeahBeth]

read for school

[Casey Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

very insight

[Sharon Honeycutt · Rating 5 out of 5]

EVERY reading teacher, especially of the early grades, needs to read this. It will help you challenge your assumptions about what emerging literacy means and what can be expected for families.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an old book, especially for those of us working in ever advancing education field, but it's absolutely worth the time to read. This is a case study of generational illiteracy, and the efforts of Purcell-Gates Victoria to teach a mother and son how to read in the late 1980's. For me this book changed how I understand illiteracy - both the functionality of it in the home, but also how the literate mind operates differently to navigate our high language load society. Purcell-Gates does a wonderful job of illustrating not only the academic challenges for this mother and son, but also the social, economic, and societal affects of this state. She also outlines the theory and practice she put in place to help them learn to read. In all, the only thing missing here is an overdue follow up to the story.

[shawn mcmichael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Victory Purcell-Gates did a masterful job of bring the reader into the lives of Jenny and Donny a mother and son that are struggling to bring literacy in to their urban Appalachian home and culture. Jenny want to desperately want to learn to read so can read to her children, help her sons with their school education and navigate the world around. After learning that Donny, her oldest boy was, not going to be held back to repeat 1st grade because he could not read she sought out help at the literacy center at her local University. The story cover a two-year journey in which both Jenny and Donnie struggle become literate.

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

"At the beginning of his second-grade year, Donny could read only his first name and, with prodding and time to reflect, the word the...Like any other seven-year-old with at least normal intelligence, he had conceptualized his world as he had experienced it."

Other People's Words gives us an invaluable window into the life of a nonliterate family in the United States-an essential narrative to tell-as there are still many people capably navigating life without literacy. By investing two years in Jenny and Donny, Victoria Purcell-Gates shows us the benefits of realizing the abilities that these families *are* endowed with in order to include them in the life of print.

[Adam Gutschenritter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book and learning about this one example of teaching illiterate family how to read, (well two of the four). The writing was simple and the methodology readily apparent. I am looking forward to trying some of the ideas with my own children to encourage stronger reading.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gave me SO much to think about. It looks at the impact of growing up in a non-literate or low-literate family has on a child's development of literacy. It speaks of the author's experiences teaching literacy to a mother and son in an entirely non-literate family. It was intriguing and insightful.

[Mary Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This ruled. Purcell-Gates used the same method of recording/transcription that we use in some of our zine-making classes, and it's nice to be reaffirmed that it works well in getting kids excited about expresing themselves.

[Evangeline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt like this book gave a great example of the unknown minority and their often time struggles to achieve in a literate world. It was also nice to see that it is possible to teach a completely non-literate person to read!

[Ann Yanchura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful record of Purcell-Gates relationship with a non-literate Appalachian family. Although the work is over 15 years old, the problems with education of vulnerable students outside the mainstream persist today.

[Risa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Other People's Words: The Cycle of Low Literacy by Victoria Purcell-Gates (1997)

[Jen Freymond · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just read this for a class I was taking. It was required reading, but an interesting story about illiteracy and its implications in terms of family and social class.

[Krystin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather interesting subject but a bit pessimistic at the end. Probably a realistic depiction, even today.
Very quick read.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book which speaks to the relationship between extensive vocabulary knowledge and its correlation to academic success

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very important read for all educators and those who work with youth. The cycle of low literacy in a "hidden" culture is an untalked about but real phenomenon.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

read this for literacy class in grad school.....changed way I see the world of print!