Blog 2: Social Literacy

 

According to Scribner, “literacy is an outcome of cultural transmission”. She states that literacy is acquired through socially organized activities and practices. We learn to read and write through interaction with adults and our peers—or our literacy sponsors. They encourage and motivate us by being role models and supporters. Literacy is maintained through social relationships, but we are also taught literacy by participating in society. When you look at literacy in social terms it takes our nation’s reading and writing skills as a whole and groups people with different backgrounds together. Although this makes it hard to come to a conclusion about what literacy means, I think looking at it socially is the only way we can make any progress.

Learning to read and write on your own is possible, but without the social constructs telling you that you need to be literate you would probably not have a desire to do so. Just as Kim said in class, kids won’t read unless they see their parents reading. We need the example of others to motivate us to learn to read and write. Literacy as an individual, I believe, comes after you learn literacy in society. You have to learn to read and write before you can acquire your own personal literacy: your voice, your favorite genre, your academic tone, your style, and what you choose to do with your literacy. These are all things that you are more likely to cultivate on your own, but the basics we leave up to society to teach.

Since we have become a technologically advanced society there are multitudes of new literacy pathways that have become apparent. As our culture shifts and changes—so does the scope of our literacy. Perhaps it was your Grandma that taught you how to read, but now you’re teaching her how to use a computer and what a hash tag is. The definition of literacy is a social one because it is tied so closely to societal communication and our changing culture.

My literacy has definitely changed and adapted since I first began to read and write, mostly due to computers and cell phones. I remember needing/wanting to know certain HTML codes on Myspace in order to write in bold or italic fonts, or even just how to make a heart emoji. I also remember not knowing the difference between SMS and MMS messaging; I still don’t think I do. Certain authors and characters then personally influenced my literacy; The Catcher and the Rye was the first book that I really loved, and from there I wanted to read more. I developed a professional style of writing as I went through school, and have a different style that I write creatively or on social websites with. Basically my idea of literacy is that it is a social concept, and that only after we learn it through others may be deepen our personal literacy.