What is Literacy?

My own answer:

I think literacy means more than simply being able to read the words off a page. I believe that to be literate, not only must you be capable of merely reading, but also of comprehending and interpreting what you have read and having the capacity to formulate thoughts and ideas based on those written words.

10 other responses:

Being able to read and comprehend what you have read – being able to read and write.

Literacy is the ability to interpret written language. I interpret the most basic form as the ability to interpret anything, whether body language, shapes, etc., into proper action, vocalization, or understanding.

Having the ability to read and write coherently.

                                                            

The ability to read and comprehend what you have read and write it.

Literacy is how you read and understand words. It is also your ability to correctly write sentences, so that the reader is able to understand what you are trying to say.

Literacy is the ability to read and write.

Literacy deals with the interpretation of things like words, pictures, facial expressions, etc.

Literacy is being able to articulate what you have read. It is more than just comprehension. Being able to speak intelligently. Being grammatically correct.

Literacy is someone being able to read and write.

A person’s ability to read.  

What truly astounded me as I listened to the multitude of viewpoints I received from questioning ten different individuals and from my reading of the articles, was simply how fluid the idea of literacy can be. In any one context, it can take on alternative facets that make it that much more difficult of a concept to grasp in its entirety, but also an open one that can be trimmed down to suit specific circumstances depending on the people and cultures involved.

While I wanted to define literacy in a more broad sense than merely a basic sounding out of the consonants and vowels that make up the syllables of a language, it appears that even the way in which I applied it is far too narrow a scope to capture all the nuances that can be attributed to the single word literacy. In reality, the various meanings I heard from those around me and the ones that I discovered through the readings served to aid me in broadening my thinking on this issue.

Although this might reveal my naïveté, I must admit that I had not previously thought of how literacy might have a unique relevance depending on the situation. Furthermore, even though I knew that the capacity to comprehend and utilize words both in written and verbal forms was significant and key to achieving my life goals, I had not previously equated it with autonomy. I cannot begin to imagine the lack of true freedom available to those without such an essential necessity of life, especially during this age of advancement. Where competency in language and holding knowledge is key to having a voice, it seems ridiculous that the appropriate teaching of literacy can be so hard to come by.

In the reading by Gloria Ladson-Billings, I noticed there was a deep focus on making certain that the method of teaching, and educating on the topic of literacy particularly, was tailored to the specific students being instructed. It is necessary to utilize an individual’s own culture not only to encourage focus, but also to assist in developing a familiarity with one’s identity, background, and the world in which we live today. Moreover, this article, similarly to the others, spoke to how true literacy should be an instrument in enacting change where it is essential.

Alternately to Ladson-Billings approach in discussing literacy in a culturally relevant manner to one’s students and in contradicting negative views on who has the potential to learn, Paterson laments on how our nation’s children, specifically those from a lower socioeconomic background, are not being taught to think and glean from what they have learned and read the information that is crucial to success.

Finally, in contrast to the above writers, Keefe and Copeland, while with a specific group of individuals in mind, worked to not only draw the reader’s attention to potential errors that lie within the most common or, perhaps well known, definitions, but also to exhibiting how easy it can be to eliminate the people represented in any one definition. This article was of specific interest to me both because it relates to my field of study as it relates to individuals with disabilities, but additionally because they revealed the complexities of attempting to derive a single interpretation of what literacy means. Whilst guidelines were created, they had no further set meaning. Furthermore, and as is evident even in how it has changed in the last couple of decades, literacy is a word that is meant to transform as society itself changes.

Overall, the knowledge I garnered from these separate descriptions of literacy exhibit their usefulness in that they assisted in making me realize that literacy will not look the same to any one individual and, therefore, will require distinct methods of instructing each student. It is vital to incorporate the needs of the student when determining a manner of teaching and to include their cultural background in pushing them toward literacy. Lastly, being literate means more than simply knowing how to read and write, but also being able to apply those skills to alternate subjects and being able to formulate your own conclusions from what you have learned.