Response to Mona's post

I think literacy is concept that has no one set definition and that will continue to be interpreted differently by individuals. I do think there is a difference between being literate and illiterate. To me being literate, is knowing how to read, write, interpret and understand text and language. Being illiterate is not knowing how to do any of those things and not being able to comprehend what it entails. I do think by reading and understanding the different writers works, we can grasp a better understanding of what it means to be literate and what literacy is.

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.

The Self-Realization of Illiteracy

In a nutshell (a very small nutshell), having literacy means a person is capable of effectively communicating with another person. Back when I was in junior high, one of our assignments for writing proficiency was to write an essay on what it means to be literate. I was only about 12, or 13 so the topic of my paper was “People that know how to read are literate. People that can’t read will not be successful in life.”
Fast forward 10+ years, and literacy has taken all different kinds of meanings. It is no longer specifically applied to reading, but there can also be mathematical, computer, cultural, technological, as well as many other types of literacy. You’re computer literate if you know how to use the machine. Culturally literate means you know a little something about your and other’s cultures. Being mathematically literate is probably one of the most complex forms of literacy known to me. I’d say I’m a pretty “literate” individual. I haven’t encountered a person that I couldn’t communicate with. Nor have I been unable to accomplish a task because I didn’t have the proper literacy for whatever it was that I was doing. Mathematical literacy is another thing though.I thought I was smart until I had to take the same math class like 10 times.
With that being said, am I really literate? Am I really a whole literate person or am I just partially literate? I never thought about it until now and I must say that it is very disappointing. Before being posed the question of literacy, I thought I was at the top of the pyramid since I was on my way to be a college graduate as an English major. I may be literate in a few aspects of the word, but I am not nearly as literate as I could be. There are so many different areas to be literate or illiterate in and I bet most people in this class are on the same side of literacy as I am: the losing side.
Just because we know how to read and write and all of that, big deal? Don’t you want to know more than just that taught skill? I know I do. Literacy isn’t just limited to inside the classroom and reading words. Therefore I will publicly declare myself as an illiterate person in regard to the real and outside world. Will I ever become fully literate? I don’t know. I am going to try though.

P.S. Thank you, Dr. B for helping me realize just how much I don’t know. =)

What literacy means to me

The definition of literacy is a diffficult one to answer. When the word literacy comes to mind I think of it first in basic terms of just being able to read, but I know it contains more elements of being just able to read. In my mind literacy as a whole defines the relationship that people have with literature.

            Literacy as a whole means the relationship with different types of literture and how well people can comprehend them. There is the basic standard of literacy which would be reading. Then the next step  would be how well the reader could comprehend what is being read.Understanding the words writen and know most of their meaning. After that it would be how well the reader could analyze the text. The next step from there would be if the writer could then analye the text well enough to point out anomilies, binaries,patterns, strands, and any repitition that the literature being read may have. After the interpataion of readint and understading the literature one should be able to write about it.

            When writing on the literature the reader should be able to communicate clear deciseive thoughts about the text that isint already spelled out in the literature. With a sharp focused analytical claim. This shows that the reader understood the literature and is capable of translating it to others without retelling the literature that has already been read.

            When I become a teacher I would like to help my students understand literacy by first expossing them to different literature. Then I would like to teach them how to write different types of literature as well. In my senior year I had a teacher who took us outside and made us describe the clouds. This had an impact on my life as a student because it was unexpected, and then it was special because it tought me how to describe a physical object in text formation. After this experience I was deeply impressed wih my teacher and knew that I wanted to give my students positive learning experiences.  It didn’t cost her any money we didn’t have to leave the campus and we got out of the classroom away from the desk the chalkboards and set my mind free to look at the clouds and really describe them the way I needed to.

            In my own classroom I would like to take away some of the standard student teacher relationship. I always wonderd how the teachers got addressed as mr or ms so and so but the students always are called by first names. I know it has something to do with respect but I think that in a student eacher relationship it should go both ways. I see myself havin a very positve relationship with a majority of my students where they want to learn from me as well as having to. 

What literacy is to me

My definition of literacy is being able to read words and conjuring up an understanding and meaning for those words. By doing so, you are able to interpret a meaning and create your thoughts and ideas on that meaning. This helps you to be able to indulge in conversation with someone else. Being literate is very important, because without being able to read and understand what your reading, life is just too unbearable. Everything you encounter has to deal with being literate and able to understand. You also have to be able to recognize dialect and different forms of language, not just what your prone to.

I know the word literacy because it is a term that has been thrown around in conversation and associated with knowing how to read. I can’t remember if it was ever taught to me in school in depth or just understanding how it relates to being literate and knowing how to read. I do remember the context it is mainly used in, for instance “Are you illiterate or do you know how to read the paper?” It’s mainly used in a question or comical way, very seldom is it used for the topic of an in depth discussion. My use of literacy stems from using the word as a basis to explain someone who can read and understands what he or she’ve read. To be honest, I’ve never thought about the definition of literacy and the deeper concepts it could contain.

I can’t recall any experiences of literacy being taught to me, if it weren’t for this English 329 class it would’ve never crossed my mine and something I wouldn’t have tried to pursue further. So my learning experience about literacy is thin. I can’t say that it’s unsatisfying because I don’t know too much about it therefore I don’t know how much I’ve missed or don’t know. One thing is obvious; since I can’t recall or remember the experience it must have not played a large role in my education. If it had, I should be able to remember way more than what I presently do.