Illuminating Literacy
If one looks to the dictionary to define the word literate, they will see definitions such as “able to read and write; having or showing knowledge of literature; having an education”, or perhaps, “a person who can read or write” (Dictionary, n.d.). While these definitions still ring true, the scope of what it means to be literate has exploded in such a manner that a mere dictionary entry does not begin to expound upon the multiple levels of what literacy embodies. The twenty-first century has brought with it new skills and ideas that transform what it means to be literate and all that the perception of literacy requires. As a future educator, it is my responsibility to recognize and embrace this new multidimensional concept of literacy, while nurturing its growth in my students.
Defining what it means to be literate is no longer a black and white, one dimensional concept, but instead is a multifaceted notion, covering black, white, and the multitudes of gray in between. Literacy in the twenty-first century can be the traditional reading and writing, paper and pen version of my middle school upbringing, or it can be the centuries old tradition of oral literacy, and it goes on to further encompass technological and digital literacies as well as many others. As an educator today, it will not be enough to simply teach reading and writing. Students must be able to perceive, differentiate, and appreciate different forms of text in order to communicate effectively in multiple dimensions.
“To step beyond the flat and narrow [black and white view of literacy], we need a kaleidoscope of views, that convey both our dimensionality and dynamic capability” (Sousanis, 2015, p. 146). No longer can we pigeon hole literacy into the narrow terms of just being able to read and write. James Paul Gee gives one such example of non-traditional literacy in his book Literacy and Education. “Leona” was a little girl who shared a story aloud in class by using all of the techniques of “oral literature” (Gee, 2015, p. 9) that she had acquired from her cultural funds of knowledge. The teacher, who wants a “news-like report” (Gee, 2015, p. 10), views Leona’s story as not making sense and therefore, Leona is not what the teacher defines as classroom literate. What Gee (2015) labels “cultural misunderstanding”, which is “misrecognition, [or] missed opportunities for recognition” (p. 11), can be seen not only in the case of Leona and her oral presentation, but also as applies to literacies other than reading and writing, such as musical, digital, multimedia, technical, and the list goes on.
In this age of multidimensional communication, we as educators have to be prepared to redefine traditional text as it applies to literacy in this new high tech era. In his article “Learning in a Digital Age: Teaching a Different Kind of Literacy”, Aran Levasseur (2011) states, “Those of us living in this digital age are required to learn, unlearn, and learn again and again” (para. 9). The internet has opened a plethora of communication experiences from traditional informational sites, to musical catalogues, to hyperdocs, and multimedia symposiums. Photographs from both past and present convey stories without words. Advertisements rely on prior knowledge and previous experiences to convince would be consumers that they want, need, or require the product that is being peddled.
James Gee (2015), when relating the work of Paulo Friere, stated that “Friere believed that literacy only empowers people when it renders them active questioners of the social reality around them” (p. 42). In his book, Unflattening Nick Sousanis (2015) states this in another way, “To prepare good thinkers we need to cultivate good seers” (p. 81). In other words, literacy is, at its most basic level, a social phenomenon. In order to become truly literate we must look, listen, think and question. We must rely on the self as well as the social to provide experiences from which we grow. The days of handing a student a novel and saying read this and summarize in a five-page book report have passed. “A flat inanimate thing like a written report or essay . . . is no longer the paradigm of communication” (Alber, 2013, para. 7). Students need to read novels for understanding, while using resources such as multimedia platforms to gather insight and support of what they have read. They can put words and thoughts to music to create a different learning experience. Literary devices can be defined through rap songs, and mathematics techniques can be shown in online tutorials. Science literacy can be taught through hands-on experiments and data analysis, while interviews with veterans and photo walks through museums can provide first-hand history sources.
As a graduate student in the Middle Grades program, I was charged with writing a mini lesson to teach one aspect of poetry. I chose to teach the literary device of assonance as it appears in Edgar Allan Poe’s poem, “Annabel Lee”. In researching how I wanted to present this information, I found a rap on YouTube which perfectly aligned with the lesson I was presenting. Not only did my students receive a traditional paper copy of the poem, they could look at it through a digital medium and listen to it in a musical format.
This one lesson in literary devices used three different forms of text in its presentation. By touching on multiple modalities, students were given various ways in which to decode and retain the information.
In researching the question “what does it mean to be literate?”, I found reading and music share certain traits that allow for use in communication. Literacy skills of reading and writing, and musical literacy share some basic components that can be used to strengthen a child’s ability to interpret certain text (Table 1).
Table 1
James Paul Gee (1989) states that literacy is “control of secondary use of language” (n.p.). The home environment is one’s primary use of language and the secondary use is all the context and situations outside of the home milieu. Secondary use, or secondary discourse , includes multimedia, professional jargon, technical talk, music, and many other specialized forms of communication. Education as a whole “should embrace the development of all of these skills [literacies] as a holistic goal and not only focus on reading and writing” (Tarbert). As Gee (2015) points out in Literacy and Education, “Saying (language) and doing (action) are also inextricably linked to being (identity)” (p. 91). Literacy is social because the mind is social. That said, the institution of education must rise above the drudgery of ink to paper, and embrace literacy in all forms, in order not to attach the word illiterate to one who does not understand one secondary discourse (i.e. academia), but who may excel in another (i.e. music). To be literate is to be able to communicate whether orally, in writing, by body language, in music, or whatever discourse we are emerged in. As society changes and evolves so must our educational systems. Only by embracing the every changing notion of what it means to be literate, can we as educators continue to impact the lives of our students and the world at large.
What does it mean to be literate? It means growth, change, and differentiation of perspectives within the world we live. Literacy involves communication through multiple mediums. It is knowing that books and music, photographs and digital images, spoken words and body language are all parts of the many secondary discourses present in society today. Being literate means being fluid, freely moving from my home discourse through my chosen secondary discourse of academia (both as student and future educator). But my understanding of literacy cannot stop there. To truly comprehend what it means to be literate, I must not only respect, but embrace the discourses of others. I must venerate the differing perspectives that I am introduced to. As Sousanis (2015) states “Reliance on a solitary vantage point fails to illuminate the whole picture” (p. 36). To be truly literate, I must be a light, ever shining, illuminating multiple discourses, as I weave my life’s literacies among them.
References:
Alber, R. (2013, January 21). Deeper Learning: Defining Twenty-First Century Literacy. Retrieved September 04, 2017, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/twenty-first-century-literacy-deeper-learning-rebecca-alber
Dictionary.com | Meanings and Definitions of Word … (n.d.). Retrieved September 4, 2017, from http://www.bing.com/cr?IG=758D61346F194F709B40012772DD6DAE&CID=3F97D310A8096A9C1B2BD9E4A90F6BCA&rd=1&h=b5ayfWSsgGrwBWqEWwJ0F-b7fQZ8W8UvH2-qQk4LPeQ&v=1&r=http%3a%2f%2fwww.dictionary.com%2f&p=DevEx,5061.1
Edgar Allan Poe — Annabel Lee (Rap Version). (2015, June 13). Retrieved September 04, 2017, from https://youtu.be/XqkoWdW1OAo
Gee, J. P. (2015). Literacy and education. New York, NY: Routledge.
Gee, J. P. (1989). What is literacy? Journal of Education, 171(1), 18–25.
Levasseur, A. (2011, October 04). Learning in a Digital Age: Teaching a Different Kind of Literacy. Retrieved September 04, 2017, from http://mediashift.org/2011/learning-in-a-digital-age-teaching-a-different-kind-of-literacy277/
Sousanis, N. (2015). Unflattening. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Tarbert, K. (n.d.). Learning Literacy through Music | Oneota Reading Journal. Retrieved September 04, 2017, from http://www.luther.edu/oneota-reading-journal/archive/2012/learning-literacy-through-music/
This Little Light of Mine — Singing Bell. (2017, February 12). Retrieved September 05, 2017, from http://www.singing -bell.com/this-little-light-of-mine-mp3/
