{"id":529,"date":"2014-06-19T16:36:26","date_gmt":"2014-06-19T16:36:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.messiah.edu\/boyerarchives\/?p=529"},"modified":"2014-06-19T16:40:29","modified_gmt":"2014-06-19T16:40:29","slug":"the-mastery-of-language","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.messiah.edu\/boyerarchives\/2014\/06\/19\/the-mastery-of-language\/","title":{"rendered":"The Mastery of Language"},"content":{"rendered":"

If there is one constant throughout the work of Ernest L. Boyer it is his empahsis on the mastery of language. \u00a0He stressed it in speeches and featured it prominently in Carnegie Foundation publications like Ready to Learn: A Mandate for the Nation<\/em>, High School: Secondary Education in America<\/em>, <\/em>and College: The Undergraduate Experience<\/em>. \u00a0Whether his work pertained to primary education, secondary education, or college, language was a key element regardless. \u00a0Boyer spoke candidly of his own personal joy learning to read while attending Miss Rice’s<\/a> first grade class. \u00a0His earliest introduction of language obviously made a lasting impression and, from an outsider’s perspective, established a sort of lifelong love affair. \u00a0Language was the key to not only a quality education, but a quality life. \u00a0In the words of Boyer, “…language defines our humanity.”<\/p>\n

Combining his leadership in the field of education and his deep personal love of language, Boyer promoted literacy throughout his entire career. \u00a0At the 1988 Virginia State Library and Archives Literacy Conference, he reminded the crowd that advocating for literacy went beyond the mechanics of learning to read. \u00a0That is merely the surface issue. \u00a0But beyond that is comprehension and the ability to make connections. \u00a0“Literacy means the ability to think clearly and creatively, and engage in constructive discourse. \u00a0Above all, we need integrity in literacy – an understanding that the use of language is a sacred trust.” \u00a0Language is a tool all humans use, all day, every day. \u00a0Have you ever considered it a sacred trust? My guess is most of us view it as a common necessity. \u00a0Boyer reminds us, though, that it is anything but a necessity. \u00a0It is the fount of emotion. \u00a0It is the source of connection. \u00a0It is the key to life.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Word cloud of Boyer's speech "Today we learn to read."<\/p><\/div>\n

Read Boyer’s entire speech delivered at the 1988 Virginia State Library and Archives Literacy Conference, “Today we learn to read.”<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If there is one constant throughout the work of Ernest L. Boyer it is his empahsis on the mastery of language. \u00a0He stressed it in speeches and featured it prominently in Carnegie Foundation publications like Ready to Learn: A Mandate for the Nation, High School: Secondary Education in America, and College: The Undergraduate Experience. \u00a0Whether […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1306,1324,185,1431],"class_list":["post-529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-ernest-l-boyer","tag-language","tag-reading","tag-today-we-learn-to-read"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.messiah.edu\/boyerarchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.messiah.edu\/boyerarchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.messiah.edu\/boyerarchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.messiah.edu\/boyerarchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/74"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.messiah.edu\/boyerarchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=529"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.messiah.edu\/boyerarchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/529\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":534,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.messiah.edu\/boyerarchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/529\/revisions\/534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.messiah.edu\/boyerarchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.messiah.edu\/boyerarchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.messiah.edu\/boyerarchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}