Reflection – Revised

Max Struble

Dr Kim Jaxon

English 332

11, December 2013

 

What I Believe About Literacy Learning and Teaching at This Moment

Before taking this course, it is safe to say that my definition of literacy was not all-encompassing. I defined literacy as whether or not a person can read. I stated early in a post that 32 million people are illiterate in the United States, however Professor Jaxon was quick to point out that statistics like this one are misleading. As Scribner asserts in Literacy in Three Metaphors, “[It is unrealistic] to try to specify some uniform set of skills as constituting functional literacy for all adults”(16).

The concept that struck me as interesting is the fact that there are many ways to define literacy, and these narrow definitions used in an educational setting can often exclude people of different backgrounds, labeling these potentially intelligent people as unintelligent. If someone were to read a series of instant messages between a friend and myself, they would quickly assume that I do not understand basics of grammar, because in a casual setting, I am comfortable using informal writing practices such as ignoring proper punctuation, grammar and spelling. In addition, Those who define literacy often ignore the fact that those who cannot read or comprehend encyclopedia-like documents may find their literacy in other places.

Szwed emphasizes the fact the there are many ways to examine literacy, and narrow definitions are often insufficient.This was my first hint that literacy studies were much more complex than simply labeling a person literate or illiterate. Scribner wrote that “Ideal literacy is simultaneously adaptive, socially empowering, and self-enhancing.” I understood immediately that literacy is empowering and self-enhancing, but until reading “Literacy in Three Metaphors”, I did understand how literacy is adaptive. The scale for judging literacy is not set in stone. “Today’s standards for functional competency need to be considered in the light of tomorrow’s requirements”(17).

The need for literacy comes only with the need to communicate. If there is no one with which to communicate there is no reason for literacy. If this is believed to be true, then one must examine literacy within a given sphere. A man who has never been lectured on the intricacies of the English language cannot offer any input into a sophisticated conversation between English professors, just as those same English professors may not be able to effectively comprehend the stat sheet of the less-educated man’s favorite sports team.

“Literacy is not a necessity for personal survival. As far as we could determine, non-literacy status does not exclude a person from full participation in economic activities or in town or society life (Szwed 22).

Literacy is relative, and much broader than it’s Merriam-Webster definition: “the ability to read and write.” Merriam-Webster recognizes this, as it continues, defining literacy as:”knowledge that relates to a specified subject.”