Literacy

So far this semester, all of the articles we have read contained material about literacy and literacy acquisition. After reading them, my idea of literacy has completely changed.  Before this class, I always thought of literacy as either an understanding of something or being able to come off as intelligent. However, the authors of these articles have really shown me how much depth there is to these words.

Literacy is more complex than I ever imagined it could be. I resonated most with the idea of literacy being an “identity kit.” It is made by your “home” discourses and school discourses. I think at home you learn your values and the casual way of talking. School is the more formal idea of literacy that I used to associate with. I think one can improve their literacy by practicing through performances. To me, I think an example of this and literacy acquisition could be traveling to a foreign country and staying with a host family. Through this family, this person will be immersed in that culture and become much more literate in the language and style of life. 

As far as academic discourses for literacy, I found the idea of bullshit very amusing and actually true. I think bullshit is an honest definition for much of the work that students do in the university. A lot of times, students are very knowledgeable in their area of study and are well on their way to gaining literacy for that study. However, when learning something one isn’t going to be a master of that topic and it only goes that bullshit will occur. Like home discourses, practice is needed and a good way to increase performance is through peer reviews.

I never really questioned my idea of literacy and its acquisition. However, through the articles we reviewed I dove into the ideas being presented to me and it has changed the way I look at my own discourses in my life.