It’s Never to Late…

I learned a lot new terms concepts about literacy that I didn’t know existed. Before I entered your class I was under the expression that when I heard the most commonly word in institutionalized learning literacy, meant that you either could read or you couldn’t read or write. I didn’t understand how to define literacy or even how it was measured. I can in this class a as blank canvas, only ready for colorful ideas to be mixed and to applied upon to create a master piece of unimaginable proportion.
To my surprise that is exactly what happened, I left any preconceived notions about literacy at the front door as I entered class on the first day. As we discussed many complex readings in class I began to notice common patterns of literacy in very different cultural, soci-economic and political environments with one common theme passing valuable knowledge to future generation to use for their future children’s success. Literacy unveiled itself as a means of learning not limited to reading of writing but everyday life. Just being able to function as a member in society makes you literate. You may suffer as a student in a classroom setting and excel at understanding the daily complexities of routine life like filing out DMV forms, filing IRS taxes, Social networking like Face book, Gaming or maybe your interest lay in a isolated subject that you are most passionate about.
But the way that Institutions measure Literacy is way too sterile and standardized and are unqualified to give a any truly accurate results that can help us be more decisive about how to fix high literacy rates in varying schools. The one thing that test result did truly shed light on, was the fact that what policies are currently being solidified into administrative orders are failing both for the system and its subjects. How? For example these traditional ways of teaching must evolve to suit its ever evolving generations of subjects. The educational system needs to respect and encourage cultural, social, religious and racial differences within a healthy environment where ideas are free to grow and be shared for future participants to utilize.
Our system is collapsing because our foundation for learning is too narrow minded and weak to support the pressures of change, our traditional styles of teaching must evolve into more efficient and productive forms of learning and teaching. We continue to pass a torch of knowledge from one generation to the next, yet we are so blind not to see that the light of wisdom has been dead for too long and we pass only a torch not out of foresight, truth, integrity or even justice, But we pass this torch out of ignorance, because that’s what the last generation did so we’re to stupid and lazy to take some responsibility and become active participants in our children’s future education. We can only look to blame ourselves for lack of active involvement in our life’s as a reflection of the problems of our society and the struggles that the generation will face if we stand silently by yet again and watch actively the destruction of our children’s futures.