Making 21st Century Literacy Sound a Little Less Greek
My dad is probably the smartest man I know. His vast scope of knowledge absolutely amazes me. Not only is he freakishly skilled when it comes to math, he is just as talented at drawing, painting, gardening, cooking, you name it. In fact, I’m fairly certain that if I approached him with a cardboard box, an empty soda can, and a paper clip he could build me a two-story house with a wrap-around porch. He truly is a Jack-of-all-trades, and for that reason, he is my go-to person. However, while he seems to always know just what to say in most situations, there are times when his tall filing cabinet of answers would come up short. Say, for instance, I initiated a conversation about my sorority life here at Clemson. More than likely, my utterance of colloquial terms such as rush, PNM, panhellenic, COB, pi chi, bid, and mixer would go right over his head. It truly would be Greek to him (pun intended).
In this example, my dad would be a stranger to the vernacular and lingo I used. Because he hasn’t shared the same experiences I have, he would be unable to fully grasp the point I was trying to make. Often times, this same situation occurs when readers encounter texts they cannot comprehend, thereby prohibiting them from achieving literacy. This model then constitutes a new question- even though he is immensely intelligent in other arenas of life, would it be accurate for me to label my dad as illiterate? Well, based off this particular conversation…. yes. This answer may come as a shock to some, but it is a truth that is so essential for everyone to understand. When it comes to 21st century literacy, there is no single, fixed, unwavering form.
Literacy is one of those words that most people think they understand — until they’re asked about it. The issue at hand is that the majority of individuals, especially educators, have an outdated definition of literacy. The quintessential explanation of literacy being the ability to read and write is just the tip of the iceberg. More accurately, literacy is “the process by which people learn how to use language through interacting with others and the world” (Warner, 2017, p. 72). It is being able to actively engage with a text, all while filtering the information through one’s own perspective. It helps to think of literacy as a tree, with the branches representing the various forms it can take on. These branches range from digital, political, cultural, and technological literacies, alongside a plethora of other offshoots (Garcia, 2013). As an aspiring social studies teacher, I would consider myself to be literate in navigating through primary and secondary sources. On the other hand, because I struggle with numbers, I could easily be tagged as math illiterate. And that, folks, is the beauty of literacy. Everyone has their own personal strengths and weaknesses that they can build and learn from to see the world in a whole new light. One of the first keys to building more effective literacy is to reform reading as a constructive process. This essentially entails that readers should “construct meaning from a text rather than merely reproducing what is seen on the page” (Buehl, 1995, p. 8). In other words, modern literacy is all about breaking through surface level understanding by connecting with texts on a personal level.
Like literacy, a text is far deeper than an average person’s shallow understanding. Texts go beyond just words on a paper. In a literate environment, texts are expanded upon to encompass theories of multimodality such as pictures, charts, graphics, videos, gestures, and even the natural world (Alvermann & Wilson, 2011, p. 118). Multimodal texts are beneficial in introducing students to various materials, thereby enhancing their interpretations and evaluations of the affordances. By incorporating multiple texts into one’s literary toolbox, lessons can better appeal to visual, auditory, reading, and kinesthetic learners.
“[L]iteracy is the most basic currency of the knowledge economy we’re living in today. Only a few generations ago, it was okay to enter the workforce as a high school dropout who could only read at a third-grade level. Whether it was on a farm or in a factory, you could still hope to find a job that would allow you to pay the bills and raise your family.”- Barack Obama (Alber, 2013)
Rightfully so, there is a prevailing fear among educators that technology will become a distraction. It is important to remember, however, that students are constantly interacting through social medias and other online platforms. Obviously, the digital world plays a huge role in the lives of this generation. Instead of trying to completely cut that off the minute they step foot into school, why not utilize these technologies that they are already so familiar with? Not only is it helpful in broadening their access to resources, but it also acts as motivation for them to learn the content.
Literacy doesn’t have to seem like one steep, unobtainable pedestal of knowledge. To be fully literate in the 21st century, we all have room for improvement. It is about becoming fluent in the ways we communicate and running a tight race with the developing world. Literacy is multimodal. Literacy is new ways of thinking. Literacy is continuous learning. Literacy does not have to be words on a page. Literacy does not have to be something you have, or something you don’t. Most importantly, literacy does not have to be Greek.
Sources:
Alber, R. (2013). Deeper Learning: Defining Twenty-First Century Literacy. Retrieved May 20, 2018, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/twenty-first-century-literacy-deeper-learning-rebecca-alber
Alvermann, Donna E. and Wilson, Amy Alexandra (2011) ‘Comprehension Strategy Instruction for Multimodal Texts in Science’, Theory Into Practice, 50:2, 116–124.
Buehl, D. (1995). An Interactive View of Reading and Learning. In Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning(pp. 8–13). Wisconsin State Reading Association.
Confused Laura Dern GIF[GIF]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://media.giphy.com/media/wSCAy1zJbcUG4/giphy.gif
Don’t Worry, Old Sport. You Will Get Your Cellphone Back After Class. [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://memegenerator.net/instance/66277177/great-gatsby-celebration-dont-worry-old-sport-you-will-get-your-cell-phone-back-after-class
Garcia, A. (2013). The Many Forms of Literacy. Retrieved September 20, 2018, from https://thecurrent.educatorinnovator.org/resource_section/the-many-forms-of-literacy
Scheer, K. (n.d.). On Demand Learning in the 21st Century Classroom. Lecture presented at TEDxABQED. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bS7AFS0WmWQ
Warner, J. (2017). Adolescents’ New Literacies with and through Mobile Phones. New York, NY: Peter Lang Publishing.
