What is Literacy?
In my years as an educator I’ve come across many formal definitions of literacy; however, it's in my personal interactions with family and friends that I have formalised my own definition of this complex term. There are three seminal experiences I want to transport you to before I present you with the ‘dictionary definition’ you probably came here for.
It is my first year of university in my bachelor’s degree in secondary education and we are in a tutorial writing a letter to ourselves as a graduate teacher. I am passionate beyond my caffeination and vow to give every student an equal opportunity to read and write competently by the time they leave school. Fast forward to the moment I reopen this letter and realise how narrow minded I was.
It is my second year in the classroom and I am marking draft creative writing pieces from my standard* English students. My most disengaged student has finally produced a piece of work which I personally find brilliant. I am immediately disheartened by the feedback I have to provide, which will gently guide him to produce something totally different in order to excel in the HSC.
A dear family friend has failed their mandatory LANTITE* the total number of times. They are at risk of not graduating. We work together for a year focusing as much on the foundations of language as we do on exam strategy. They are given one final attempt - and pass.
Each of these experiences dramatically shaped and reshaped my understanding of literacy, but most importantly they reminded me how vital it is that every human being becomes literate. And there are many more experiences (which I’m sure you’ve had too) in a blur of application forms, constructing presentations for a big meeting, and even coming up with the perfect message to put in a card.
Literacy is quite simply, the ability to understand and communicate ideas to yourself and others. I would argue that the definition Google gives you is incredibly limited.
I prefer these correlating definitions below:
UNESCO: Literacy is the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute, using printed and written materials associated with varying contexts. Literacy involves a continuum of learning in enabling individuals to achieve their goals, to develop their knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in their community and wider society.
Amber Peterson NCTE: At its simplest, literacy is the way that we interact with the world around us, how we shape it and are shaped by it. It is how we communicate with others via reading and writing, but also by speaking, listening, and creating. It is how we articulate our experience in the world and declare, “We Are Here!”
ACARA: … students become literate as they develop the knowledge, skills and dispositions to interpret and use language confidently for learning and communicating in and out of school and for participating effectively in society. Literacy involves students listening to, reading, viewing, speaking, writing and creating oral, print, visual and digital texts, and using and modifying language for different purposes in a range of contexts …
Success in any learning area depends on being able to use the significant, identifiable and distinctive literacy that is important for learning and representative of the content of that learning area.
These definitions provide a more holistic view on Literacy rather than the definitions that are perpetuated by the Googles and tabloid journalists who would have you believe that the inability to read or write makes you an illiterate person; but more this in future posts.
Has your definition of Literacy changed over the years?
What shaped and moulded your definition?
Let me know in the comments below.
*This is a course offered in the NSW HSC for students who wish to earn a university admissions score. It is preceded by a fundamentals course and proceeded by two extension English courses. It is mandatory and often understood as the “core” course students take if they require an English qualification for university entrance.
*LANTITE stands for Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education and is a compulsory set of tests for all graduating educators in Australia. There are only a few attempts and failure will prevent graduation of the course.
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