Blog 2

I think that the “social view of literacy” we have been discussing these last couple weeks refers to the various ways in which literacy is defined according to a persons culture, priorities, and access to information. Individuals may find themselves literate in many different pursuits. For example, in Brandt’s “Sponsors of Literacy,” she discusses two women’s successes and literacies in clerical work. At the time, women weren’t given opportunities to excel in different careers and forms of education. These women took on a career that was more socially acceptable for women to have, and became very successful in that particular profession. Economics inspires people to become more literate in specific genres. Most people’s goals in receiving an education is the desire to enter a profession. Literacies in things like writing for law firms, programming computers, or performing open heart surgery are things that are all incredibly important for specific professions. Literacies vary according to what a person’s profession calls for and this does not mean that being literate in one thing instead of another makes one illiterate.

When I first heard the idea of “literacy as social,” the most basic form of literacy came to mind. The idea of just knowing words, as well as the ability to form sentences to communicate with others. This reminded me of a discussion I had had in my American Literature class. We were discussing The Narrative in the Life of Frederick Douglass, and I remember my professor reiterating the idea that when Frederick Douglass, a slave, tricked the white children into teaching him how to read and write he was better able to articulate his situation and this eventually led. Learning to read and write was a defining moment for a slave. The white slaveowners prevented their slaves from learning to read and write, to keep them vulnerable. Learning the word “slavery” became a defining moment for Frederick Douglas because he became fully conscious of the horrible conditions of being a slave.

Ever since I was very young I have done a lot of reading outside of school. I can definitely attribute this to the sponsors of literacy I have had in my life. Most importantly I have always had access to books, my parents supported my reading by purchasing books for me to read. They never really censored my reading and let me read whatever I wanted. My house was always quiet enough for me to read and I had the time to do so. My grandparents are huge literature buffs, and as I got older they inspired me to read classics and dabble outside of the young adult genre (which I still read a lot of novels from.)