Looking into Literacy: A Synthesis So Far

I suppose were are supposed to have “synthesized” quite a bit about literacy studies by now. Well, I must admit that I’m still fuzzy on many aspects of our readings, but I can also say that I feel like it is all slowly starting to come together.

It is now clear to me that literacy is far more of a community, group pursuit than an individual one. The paradigm “it take a village to raise a child” supports this notion. For instance, each individual has a sponsor of their literacies in some way. My parents largely shaped me into the reader and writer I am today. Then there is the fact that social media, email, and texting have made literacy such a collaborative and social endeavour. It is safe to say that our generation and those following close behind are the most literate generation in the history of the world. We consume so much media and content thanks to technology that literacy is evident everywhere.

Furthermore, an additional major takeaway from our class readings that I’ve keyed in on is Brandt’s idea of literacy “piling up” over time. My interview with my my mom illustrates how much literacy as changed in the last 30 years or so. My mom went from typing her college papers on a typewriter,  somehow working as a secretary at Apple for a few years, to finally being able to text message at an acceptable speed and becoming proficient in the use of email and using an iPad.

As an aspiring educator, there is a quote from Szed (remember him?) that I feel is another vital point of the collected readings. In regards to literacy, “…the focus should be on the school and its relation to the community’s needs and wishes…” (pg 429 of packet). My take on Szed’s works is that students need not only to be academically literate, but they should also be literate in their community’s function and inner workings. They need to be motivated to become extra-literate, and if they have real-world examples of what being literate in more than just school related literacies can do for them, they will appreciate their skills and yearn for more.

I do have questions regarding Williams’ text, “Why Johnny Can Never, Ever Read”. I was really interested by the “Literacy as Cultural Capital” section. Williams’ asserts that middle class life is not about accumulating wealth, but by the ability to “convincingly adopt and perform a set of bourgeois behavior” (PDF pg 4). To reach and remain in the middle class, one must have the requisite literacy to survive there. I wonder as to what extent this is true. I feel that there is much more going into determining one’s social class, but literacy certainly is a powerful factor as we are quickly learning. Williams’ says that certain cultural capital is necessary to be middle class, and the examples she provides make some sense. Assumingly, the poor are not literate in the ways of the middle and upper class, which means they cannot move up in the social hierarchy.