Liternation, What a sensation!

Literacy could encompass such a large range of explanations. Although it has a standard, dictionary definition, it can also be defined subjectively based on one’s own attitude towards relative subjects like the degradation or success of the educational system or one’s own need for it in their work field. Used in context to literature or education, it involves the ability to read and write. However, there is no simplicity to just reading and writing. Literacy includes a person’s ability to comprehend what she is reading in order to obtain information and/ or feel entertained. Her knowledge of grammar, punctuations, syntax, and letters are all essential to mastering literacy. It is an effort made by many parts of the body. From your eyes and hands to your infinite brain capabilities, reading and writing can sometimes be exhausting. Control of the eyes is necessary in order to follow one sentence to the next and the hands are scribers for the words floating around in your head. Literacy can be quite a workout.

The human capacity to memorize and categorize the many combinations of letters, words, and sentences are all part of a wonderful cultural relationship. Literacy gives us the opportunity to communicate between one another, express private thoughts, and imagine dynamic worlds apart from our own. Imagining a world without the written word is horrifying because such epic works exist all around the world. Oral tradition has its own magnificent history but some stories would not exist without having been recorded on some sort of written medium. Literacy is also history.

Literacy is inherently linked to language in our society; language defines a culture. Someone who is literate is elevated to a higher standard of living that another who is incapable of reading Dr. Seuss. As a society that claims to value higher education, the United States of America instills a belief that reading and writing is a crucial part of assimilating into the culture. My friend’s young nephews (three and four years old) have already been greatly exposed to the alphabet. Although they may not fully understand the functions of the letters, they are able to remember their sequence and their sounds. Before they are even in kindergarten, they are expected to have a grasp on the alphabet or at least be familiar of what it is. Students are constantly tested on how they can write, what they can write, and what they can understand from what they read. From annual state wide tests to high school exit exams, literacy is a persistent instigator of knowledge and communication.

Planning to be an English teacher is sometimes unnerving for me because of the statistics of children who have a harder time grasping the two abilities. When I was a senior in high school, I encountered in coming freshmen who were literally reading at the third and fourth grade level. As a high school student who was used to being in Advanced Placement classes, I was shocked to hear the truth about low literacy levels actually were at that time. My freshman class was the first to take the High School Exit Exam and I was surprised at the number of students were not able to pass it. As an intended teacher, I would like to address the issues of literacy by going straight to the students. I understand it’s difficult to teach one to one with a student who needs help when thirty others are in trouble also, but it is worth a try to uncover the various levels of difficulty a student has learning or if they are merely slackers or both. Is the educational system just underfunded and understaffed (of course it is)? There are many influences and causes to literacy issues that have to be properly and openly acknowledged.

If I end up teaching young children, I’d want to try and prevent making reading and writing unwanted chores thus letting the students enjoy them as recreational activities. One essay that really influenced my approach towards handling literacy is “How Teachers Make Children Hate Reading” by John Holt who is also a teacher. In the essay, he discusses how great a teacher impacts a student’s desire to learn and enjoy reading and writing by their treatment of assignments and grading. Holt states that children are much more open to reading and writing when they are given greater opportunities to write what they want and when are not pressured by receiving a bad grade. After changes in his curriculum such as having some ungraded free writes and reading out loud to his classes, he saw a significant increase in his students’ desire to read different and more challenging books and write more and better because they are not being criticized. I want to adopt Holt’s idea of promoting literacy as something meaningful, entertaining, and rewarding rather that just another statistic to scare the students away.

Because I plan more on teaching college students, it seems like an entirely different aspect of teaching. As a college student right now, it is sometimes difficult for me to value reading novels and textbooks and writing ten page papers simply because they are seen as work. When I am not required to read a book or write a poem is when I can most enjoy it. College is a choice for many students. By the time someone reaches college, they are expected to be able to make their own choices of whether or not they can do what is expected. If and when I reach that level of college professor, I would expect my students to be able to be more competent in literacy. Depending on my teaching subject, I will assign classic literary readings but also try and find something contemporary or popular to expose to the students. One of my past professors used an Eminem rap song to illustrate a point in her lecture which, believe it or not, was a great example. Finding things the students are interested in and relating it to the lecture helps so much and take so little time to research.