The ThunderBlogs

A wall was covered with grass, fish and waves at the end of a literacy gathering Friday and Saturday at the Cedar Cottage Neighbourhood House. Over 200 people crowded into a 400-square-feet room to discuss the community’s new literacy plan.

The literacy gathering, “Sea of Change,” was organized by Joanna Lemay, facilitator for the Kensington-Cedar Cottage neighbourhood literacy plan. Participants jotted down their thoughts, ideas and suggestions on colourful paper cut-outs that were all stuck onto the back wall.

“We want to look at what’s going on and what people would like to see,” said Lemay.

According to recent data published by the Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP) in B.C., kindergarten children in the Kensington-Cedar Cottage neighbourhood are the third least ready developmentally compared to other Vancouver communities.

Lemay was aware of these findings and emphasized the importance of community-based discussions to help address shortcomings. The new literacy plan is funded by Legacies Now.

As the attendees funnelled in through the single door, excitement and anxiety permeated the room. Children, parents and seniors, inspired to be part of the new change, were greeted with the smell of warm soup and traditional Cree bread, bannock. They gathered around tables covered with colourful paper cut-outs.

Translators for Chinese, Vietnamese and Spanish positioned themselves at all the tables. The majority of attendees were visible minorities. Many were Chinese, but there were also Filipinos, aboriginal people, Vietnamese and Spanish-speaking people.

On grass-shaped green paper, participants wrote down what they currently see in the neighbourhood around literacy. Some complained about the increasingly expensive childcare facilities, and the overall increase in cost-of-living in the neighbourhood. Some expressed their fears over the impending closure of several elementary schools in neighbouring communities.

The strengths on which the community can build on to improve literacy were identified on pink fish cut-outs. A popular characteristic participants identified was the multicultural integration inherent to their community. Many agreed that the community was built on sharing and having family get-togethers. They were also proud of First Nations programs available to help aboriginal children integrate without denying their heritage and ancestry.

Finally, on the wave-shaped blue cut-outs, participants identified what they would like to see in the new plan. The major concerns they had were racism in school and the lack of resources to breakdown language barriers. They expressed a need for more adult E.S.L. classes, and classes for children under the age of three to learn writing.

Most of the children wanted more comic books, one child wrote on his blue wave, “More Spiderman stuff!” In response, a librarian from the Kensington Library said they had just ordered over $4000 worth of graphic novels.

Lemay was satisfied by the turnout and discussions at the event, and said she will strive to incorporate the community’s thoughts into the new literacy plan. What started off as a bare wall at the back of a solitary room was now filled with colours, shapes and ideas.