AY 2020-2021

Ed. 110 – Building and Enhancing New Literacies Across the Curriculum

Indicative Content
Social Literacy
Explore
Lesson 1 The Role of Parents and Teachers in
Module 3 Teaching Social Skills to Children
Lesson 2 Issues in Teaching Social Literacy
Enhance
Reflect
Evaluate

LEARNING OUTCOMES
On completion of this lesson, one should be able to
1. define social literacy ;
2. explain the roles of parents and teachers in teaching social skills to
children;
3. discuss and examine issues in social literacy .
Explore

Social literacy concerns itself with the development of social skills, knowledge
and positive human values that enable human beings to act positively and responsibly in
range of complex social settings. It is the knowledge of how to behave and treat other
people in a way that is morally upright just, and equitable, with a view of promoting
positive and productive relation that are free from unfair prejudices, hate, and
discrimination. These three descriptions will be explained below.
By morally upright, we refer to thoughts, speech, actions, and motivation, that
adhere to a standard of right and wrong. On the other hand, just refer to speech, actions,
and behaviours that are in-line with a fixed standard n justice-a system that promotes and
rewards good and at the same time punishes wrongdoing. Any system of justice, whether
national, regional, or local requires a body of rules or laws by which to measure and
administer reward and punishment. Equitable are the speech, actions, behaviours, and
decisions that treat others fairly, regardless of background or circumstances. Not to be
confused with equality, which connotes a fixed standard of treatment for a people, equity
seeks the good of others, and labours to find means by which everyone gets "what they
need" rather than simply "everyone gets the same thing in the same amount."
Peers and schools play a formative role on the social skills development of
children. these social skills are often expressed as consisting of three inter-related
components: social perception, social cognition and social performance Arthur, Davison,
& Stow, 2000). Increasing emphasis has been placed on the last component, particularly
in terms of outcomes. Social skill is defined in literature as 'the ability to interact with
others in a given social context in specific ways that are socially acceptable or valued and
at the same time personally beneficial mutually beneficial, or primarily beneficial to
others.
There are several types of social skills that must be mastered for a child to be
socially adept. These range from the ability to initiate, maintain, and end a conversation
to reading social signals to more complex skills such as solving problems and resolving
conflict (Lawson, 2003). The following examples represent some of the fundamental
principles of relating well to others. Children with social skill deficits can be taught these

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skills directly by parents, teachers, and/or professionals using the strategies of modeling,
role-playing, rehearsal and practice.
Greeting- Children develop relationships with peers by interacting with them. The
first step in a social interaction is greeting someone. Greeting others is done not only with
words like "Hi!" or "How are you?" but with facial expressions, tone of voice, and
gestures such as a nod or a wave. The nonverbal part of greeting someone is just as
important as the words. It is not so much what one says but how he/ she says it that lets
people know he/she is glad to see them.
Initiating Conversation-In order to carry on a conversation. a child must be able
to initiate, maintain and close conversation appropriately. This requires good listening
and attention skills, as well as the ability to take turns and probe for missing information,
Being a good conversationalist requires turn taking and reciprocity, Children have to
listen as well talk. It they do not show an interest in what the other person has to say they
probably will not be interested in talking. Impulsive children often have trouble knowing
when to talk and when to listen.
Understanding the listener. Once a conversation is initiated, it has to be
maintained. In order to do that, it is important to understand the audience one is talking
to. A socially adept child quickly and unconsciously identifies and categorizes his
listener, measures what he/she has planned to say against the anticipated response of the
listener and then proceeds, alters, avoids what she has planned to say. He/she knows that
talking to authority figures is not done in the same way when talking to peers, A misread
of the listener often leads to a misunderstood message and potential social rejection. To
converse in a socially appropriate manner, children must be able to take the perspective or
point of view of the other person, i.e., think the way they think. To do this a child must
pretend that he/she is the listener and think about what he/she needs to hear to understand
what is being said.
Empathizing - Empathy is more than perspective taking: It means that one is able
to tell what the other person feels. Empathy allows one to really connect with other
people, Other children often think of children who lack empathy as mean, unkind, or self-
centered.
Reading Social Cues - It is very important to read social cues in a conversation.
Cues are the hints and signals that guide us to the next thing to say or do. Social cues can
be verbal or nonverbal. Verbal Cues are the words that the other person is saying. Tone of
voice is an important part of verbal cues. Good detectives pay very close attention to
nonverbal cues.
Previewing or Planning- Conversations also require that one previews or thinks
about what effect the words or actions may have on the listener before she says or does
them. It the impact will be negative, one can adjust what she might say or do.
Problem solving - problems and conflict are often a part of social interactions.
Someone may not agree, get angry, insult, or become aggressive at something that one
says. How one reacts to these conflicts depends on how good her problem solving skills
are. Conflicts cannot be avoided and are often necessary to "clear the air" Turning a
conflict from a "win-lose" situation to a "win - win" situation is the best way to resolve
conflict. This requires negotiation and compromise, give and take that results in a
situation where all parties can live with and help maintain friendships.
Apologizing - Everyone makes social mistakes at one time or another. A person
with good social skills is confident enough to make a sincere apology for her error. This
is a courageous act and is the quickest or easiest way to correct a social blunder. In
reality, other people usually have a higher opinion of someone who apologizes for
making a mistake. Apologizing is a sign of humble and mature character when one
commits mistakes.

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The Role of Parents and Teachers in Teaching Social Skills to Children

Parents typically play the major role in teaching children social skills. Parents can
directly teach social skills by modelling, role-playing, and providing. Opportunities for
their child to rehearse and practice new skills. They should encourage and praise the child
for successfully using a new skill. Professionals, typically intervene only when children
are having substantial social difficulty with peers. These individuals can implement
structured, guided, and effective programs that often involve group work with peers.
Children must then generalize the skills they learn in the group to school and other
personal social situations.
School is the place where children spend the majority of their time with peers. It
is, therefore, a natural and perfect setting for children to learn and practice social skills.
While teachers do not have to teach a class in social skills, they can take advantage of
every opportunity to help children improve their social skills. They should be alert to
teasing and bullying and aware of children that are rejected or ignored by their peers.
They should work cooperatively with the children's parents to prevent the humiliation,
embarrassment, and distress that befall these children. Pairing a socially inept child with a
socially adept one, involving children in cooperative instead of competitive learning
exercises, identifying and acknowledging the strengths of all children, understanding
social weaknesses, and creating an environment in which diversity is accepted, and
celebrated can greatly enhance all children's social abilities, sense of belongingness, and
self-esteem, not just in the classroom but in life as well.

Issues in Teaching Social Literacy

How children develop their social literacy is intrinsically a contextual matter and
is not something which can be easily traced in a linear or developmental fashion. The
acquisition of social literacy is a complex process which is historically and culturally
conditioned and context specific. Children learn through social practices, both explicit
and implicit, and become human through social interaction. Nevertheless, it is also the
case that children engage in social activity before they are taught in other words,
children are disposed to be social before they learn what sociability is all about.
There are two distinct ways of answering the question on how children learn to
live socially with each other and with adults. The first view is normative and communal.
From their culture, children learn customs that provide them with a guide to act in ways
that minimize conflict. The second view is pragmatic and individualistic. The social order
of children is created by explicit and implicit agreements entered into by self-seeking
individuals for avert the worst consequences of their selfish instincts (Arthur, Davison, &
Stow, 2000). In this last view, social order is dependent on sanctions and formal
agreements. Rules are obeyed because they confer personal advantage on a child. In the
normative view, children are persuaded of the moral force of acting socially through their
voluntary associations with others, both in their immediate circle, such as the family, and
in the wider community, for example, through membership of a church or club. The child
in this normative view will not only know the correct behaviour but will perform the role
without any need for regular, conscious reference to the rules governing it.
Teaching social literacy in schools is not as easy as it appears to be due to
subjective standards of morality and inherent human capacity to judge and make excuses.

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Subjective Standards of Morality

The natural outcome of postmodern philosophies is that truth and morality are
considered subjective and open to individual interpretation. This can be seen in the
current culture, where actions and behavioural patterns that were once considered bad
have now become acceptable - so much so that many now consider them to be even good.
When the standard of measure between good and bad changes, this gives us license to
change as well and opens the gates to all kinds of abuse. This, in effect, pulls fine rug out
from under any and all attempts at true justice and equitability, since they themselves rely
on a fixed moral standard. Interestingly, many of those who insist on a subjective moral
standard be the first to demand for a fixed moral standard when they themselves fall
victim to a subjective morality's inevitable outcome.

Human Nature

While we would all like to believe that people are inherently experience has
taught us that the inherent goodness of humanity is, at best unreliable: Sometimes it is
there, often it is not. We are quick to champion on the cause of moral uprightness, justice,
and equity., but balk that when our words and actions come under their scrutiny. In other
words, we insist that others be judged according to a fixed moral standard, but invoke a
subjective one when our own behaviour is questioned. We demand Justice when we
perceive ourselves to be victims of wrongdoing. But we surround ourselves with excuses
when we do wrong. We insist that others treat us equitably, but are reluctant when
treating others with equity costs more than we expected.

Enhance

Today's students have grown up with the Internet that they have become
inseparable from their gadgets. Blake (2017) offers helpful reminders to young
professionals in terms of social skills in the modern age. This situation underscores the
importance of educating students in what could be called social literacy to ensure their
academic and career success.

Situational Awareness in the Workplace

While casual office attire has become the norm in many offices, job interviews
typically require more formal dress and behaviour to demonstrate a level of respect.
Stories prevail of young adults showing up to interview in casual clothing, texting, or
using phones during job interviews or even bringing their parents with them such
behaviour demonstrates a lack of situational awareness about what is appropriate to do in
different social circumstances. While college classrooms or the actual office atmosphere
may allow for a more casual dress code, students need to be taught what is socially
acceptable in terms of dress or behaviour for them to stand out above their colleagues. An
ability to read social situations illustrates strength to employers-quickly picking up on a
client's mood or expectations in various business or cross-cultural situations can be the
difference between
success and failure.

Social Intelligence in Technological Communication

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Text-speak and technology use have affected many young people's ability to
communicate. While email has deformalized much of the communication process,
students still need to ensure their writing denotes respect and provides enough context for
professors (or future employers) to readily respond. In addition, text-speak has reduced
students' ability to communicate using correct grammar. Through studying particular
communication genres and what they demand, students can learn more about what
individual situations demand in terms of the formality of communication. For example, if
a professor signs an email with "Dr. Smith," this is a fairly good indication that he expects
to be addressed as such and not informally by his first name.

Social Intelligence in Traditional Communication

While email has taken over as the primary method of communication, traditional
modes of discourse still exist. For example, many employers still expect cover letters in
addition to resumes, and the lack of a thank-you note fora gift is often perceived as more
than a simple social oversight. An ability to craft these types of documents illustrates an
understanding of social expectations and denotes a level of respect or appreciation. While
not related to the traditional educational canon, learning to properly write a cover letter or
business letter or a thank-you card not only teaches students that these documents exist
and are often necessary but also shows them how to craft such documents, saving them
time and energy in the future.

Reflect

Wrap Up

 Social literacy concerns itself with the development of social skill, knowledge,
and positive human values that enable human beings to act positively and responsibly in
range of complex social settings.
 Social skills range from the ability to initiate, maintain, and end a conversation to
reading social signals to more complex skills such as solving problems and resolving
conflict.
 The modern age calls for young professionals to develop situational awareness
and social intelligence in both technological and traditional communication to succeed in
their academic and career endeavours.
 Peers and schools play a formative role on the social skill development of
children.

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INDIVIDUAL/and/or TEAM WRITTEN OUTPUT

Significant Points to Remember:

A. Individual:
A. Individual:
1. Be guided with the attached rubrics. This will be the basis in rating your answers.
2. You are expected to follow the stated questions or tasks required.
3. Answers are found in the lecture notes, however other sources of information can be
considered as long as references was reflected in the answer sheets.
4. All written outputs either individual or team will be submitted at the CoEd building
and to be placed in a box intended for our course Ed.110 .

B. Written output by team/dyad/triad.

1. A plus factor of 5 points will be added to the total scores if the team showed
collaboration, cooperation and active involvement in accomplishing the group output.
2. As a team, each member will be given the opportunity to be a leader. Therefore,
member number 1 will be the leader of the first task and others will follow.
3. Assign tasks of topics for each member.
4. Document your interactions/ conversations through messenger group chat. It must
be reflected as evidences.

Questions to Ponder (Personal/ Individual written output)

On your own, read the questions and instructions carefully. Write/type your
answer
on a long size bond paper and submit it or place it in a box provided at the CapSU
CoEd
Building.
1. Are you more of a listener or a talker? Which social skill/s do you think you
need to develop? In what ways can you develop it/them

2. If you were a parent at this time, what would you teach your children on
social literacy? How would you teach them?

3. If you were an employer, what would you look for in aspirants or applicants
for your company?

4. How do teachers educate children of social literacy nowadays? What specific content
and learning experiences are there in the curriculum that develop social literacy?

Evaluate (Team written output)

As a team, read the questions and instructions carefully. Write/type your answer on
a
long size bond paper and submit it or place it in a box provided at the CapSU CoEd
Building.
1. How do computer technology and social media affect your social skills and that of
your
peers? Cite positive and negative impacts of digital technology to communication.

2. Make a list of Dos and Don'ts in the school and the workplace in relation

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to social literacy. Present it creatively through an info graph.

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