My Understanding of Literacy

The word "literacy" can be such a broad word, and have many different meanings depending on the individuals. A broad meaning of literacy as everyone would know it, the ability to read and write. A person like me who has an interest for literacy and not just literacy but what literacy can do for other people. For me, the meaning of literacy goes a little deeper than the broad meaning of the word, it also means the comprehension of formal literature and writing. But because I have a certain interest for literacy, I have appreciation for literature and studying the elegance of literature. Therefore literacy may mean having your own definition depending on how you view literacy based on your experience with literature. Everyone has their own relationship with literature and has their own personal likes of literature. The past few years as a student, and studying literature, there is literacy in each and every one of the literature I have encountered (obviously). I have seen different meanings of literacy every time I encounter a literature. Each author has their own definition of literacy as we can see closely in their beautiful writings. So I conclude that the definition of literacy varies and lies within the written or spoken words, and the words are the expression of a view. Those words and expressions is what makes up of what we would call it, literacy, and that is what makes it so complex for all of us to sit down together and try to conclude to only one definition for literacy.
Unfortunately, not everyone has a appreciation for literature, therefore they do not have their own definition of literacy which I think is one of the important accomplishments every student needs to have by the time they finish high school: to have a definition and a relationship with literacy. Not everyone will enjoy literacy/literature, but at least they should have a good amount of knowledge toknow enough they do not like literacy and to have the ability to have a perspective on it just like anyone else. It would definitely help them in their future especially when they go to college, not just in an English class but any class that consists of reading and writing. At age fifteen, I transferred to California School for the Deaf, Riverside, coming from a public high school with Honors and Advance Preparation classes, to classes with many students who are behind in their education. Especially in the area of literature. It saddened me to see that many of my peers did not have the amount of vocabulary they should have, or even at the reading level they should be at. I was the only one who was actually ahead in my education, and there were a few that were on track on theirs. After spending one year in the classrooms with these wonderful, intelligent, brilliant peers, I have grown a passion for literature and the comprehension of literacy. But this passion was not just for me, but when I had finally decided at age 15 I wanted to be a teacher, the passion was also for the deaf students I would teach one day. I want them to have an ability to read and write at a level that can allow them to stretch their opportunities in the future and not just two colleges: Gallaudet University and National Institution of Technology for the Deaf. I also want my students to have a relationship whether it is a positive or a negative one, with literacy. And most of all, I want to allow my students to explore their analytical skills and establish their own definition of literacy based on their experience of learning all about literacy rather than us telling them what to think about literacy. I believe by having them think of what they really think about literacy based on the given information about literacy, it will allow them to comprehend literacy much greater than us as teachers telling them what literacy means. Literacy is such a broad and/or complex word that I strongly believe there is no one true definition for literacy. I would prove that to anyone, including my students by looking closely to the authors that many of us study, the writings many of us studies and best of all, rereading all the papers we wrote over the years, it would definitely show a change in perspectives. Even simply looking over someone else’s paper based on the same topic as yours would be slightly different than yours because the perception is different. No individual is the same, therefore no definition of literacy would be the same just as no relationship with literacy would be the same. Just maybe, this method of teaching and encouragement will allow room for possibilities of young students to gain interest for literacy and if that happens, our education system would be in a much better place. After all, literacy, is in existence of every spoken or written word, and words lie in every subject, matter, relationship, and book.