Expanding My Horizons

My mind has been expanded regarding the idea of literacy.  Before this semester began I had a definition of literacy that I would say is a very common.  At this moment however, my definition has changed drastically.  Before, I would have said that literacy is easy to define, but now after taking this class I cannot say the same.  I would now define literacy as the ability to communicate, understand, and interact via language, technology, and more.

One interesting thing about literacy that will remain with me is who gets defines it.  At the very highest level the government tells us.  It sets the standards which schools follow of what is consider literate and illiterate levels of reading and writing.  During this semester we have heard many examples about the flaws of this system.  In one of the books I read for this class (Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out) I came across a story about an American boy who scored poorly is his exams when it came to reading and writing.  Some people would say this boy is uneducated and will not be successful when he grows up and starts his career.  If you too have this opinion then you are very wrong.  This boy possessed a very entrepreneurial spirit and he also had impressive computer literacy skills.  This computer literacy provided him an avenue to become successful in his life.  In the same high school where he scored poorly in reading and writing levels, he began fixing computers for the faculty and staff.  One story which shows this boy has ‘brains’ was when his school was replacing their old computers with new ones; this boy asked if he could take the old ones home.  Once he had them at his house he began upgrading some of the hardware and software.  He then sold the computers on eBay for a profit.  What this example shows us is that the system that is set which defines literacy is not something set-in-stone, and is not absolute.  This is something that I did not know before taking this course.  Another thing that I learned was the influence people around us have on our literacy.

Sponsors are people or things in life that have an influence on what we read and write.  It is a term that I never used before when discussing or contemplating literacy.  Sponsors are different to each individual, but as a whole they usually include: parents, teachers, siblings, extended family, friends, and media, etc.  Sponsors play a big role when it comes to literacy because they dictate what we both like and dislike about reading and writing.  Some of the examples we discussed in class included bad memories of teachers people have had, and how they influenced heavily what some people decided they disliked about reading.  My sponsors have been both good and bad.

Growing up I enjoyed when my mom would read to us before bed.  It was a rare occurrence though and my sister and I always wanted more of it.  Once I started school, reading was not a habit I developed.  It was never fun for me and I couldn’t connect to the material on a personal level.  It was simply monotonous work.  It remained that way throughout middle school and high school, but once I began college things changed.

My professors in college have been great sponsors of my literacy.  I was now presented with material that I related to and reading became extremely interesting.  It has continued up to today and as I get closer to finishing my college career, I leave with new and different attitudes toward literacy.  One thing that will always remain is the complexity of literacy.  It will no longer be something that I’d say is easy to pin down.  I’ve learned that it encompasses many different topics and subjects, and we should take the official definition with a grain of salt.  Also I will forever remain mindful of the influence sponsors of literacy have on the youth.  I look forward to the time when I have my own children so I can view how they interact with the different literacies in the world.  I feel that it’s important to allow kids to develop their literacy, because it is theirs, not mine or their professors.  This class has been a very good one; it has taught me a lot, and it also did something that I always hope a class does.  It expanded my view on literacy and if a class can expand something in my mind, it is then is a great class.