Philosophy of Literacy Essay

mavin thing I will never forget in my c atomic number 18er is the miles I laissez passered to School. I tramp still remember those muddy and mothy roads I walked on the dot to get to School. Sometimes I use up to Stay all day with pop out food and water non estimable because I wasnt hungry or thirsty but because my pargonnts had no money to buy them. I did non and walk to initiate but I did walk without shoes or slippers on. Walking was real normal because we had no cars. T here was absolutely no means of transportation. I was just 4 years old when I started walking to School.I had always admired my teachers and all the people who could select and publish. I just loved the way they talked to people. I enjoyed get wording to them. School to me was a first of Hope that my life will change and it did changed my life. Without me going to school, I would give up still been in Africa or may be dead. I was competent to get a scholarship from Africa through my school to t he United States and here am I living the dreams of my life. So if I can walk well-nigh 6 miles on those muddy and dusty roads just to get to school each day, anyone can go to School if they actually want to.Defining literacy in our changing world is not easy. some(prenominal) years ago, cosmos literate meant being able to examine and bring through a little. Now, being literate means being able to read and write at a level to be successful in todays world and also being proficient at math, knowing how to use technology, and knowing how to solve problems and make decisions. To me, the power of literacy lies not only in the ability to read and write, but instead in an individuals capacity to put those skills to work in moldable the course of his or her own life.There be basically collar kinds of literacy I know. The first one is called Functional literacy which refers to the ability to read and write well enough to take in basic written information such(prenominal) as Newspa per headlines, Job application forms and Signs. Functional literacy incorporates reading materials that plug into directly to community knowledge and to teaching applicable or utile life skills. This to me is the most essential of all the kinds of Literacy. The second one is heathenish Literacy.Cultural literacy is the ability to engage with a culture not only as a solvent of rote learning like the technicalities of the language, customs and so on but also as a result of a deeper understanding of the idioms and informal content of that culture. Although literature, language and history are useful means of gaining a deeper understanding of a culture, these alone are not sufficient if one wants to attain a state of cultural literacy it is equally, important to be able to converse using the common-day phrases and cultural references that are used by natives of that culture.One common example of this is the US harlequinade series The Simpsons. Someone who has no cultural litera cy regarding the US would have irritate understanding umpteen of the jokes, while if the show suddenly made wads of jokes about Chinese culture, for example, many in the US audience would be equally perplexed. Another example is that when the US was trying to persuade France to jut its cause in the War of Independence in the 18th century, many learned diplomats were sent to Paris, but were unsuccessful.Benjamin Franklin was eventually sent and although he did not know the french language very well, Franklin had an understanding of French culture and he was successful in his mission. The last kind of literacy is small Literacy. Critical literacy is not culture specific. It is associated with a broad range of ideas and perspectives rather than with one viewpoint. Critical literacy refers to the ability to recognize the social essence of literacy, understand the fundamentally political nature of literacy and to be able to figure out the agenda of the writer or a text.Literacy is an important indicator of development and status. It provides access to information necessary for growth and decent living. It also provides an forecast of the socio-economic condition of an individual and his/her family. On the other hand, illiteracy stands for ignorance, defeatism, frustration and insufficiency of aspiration. Literacy and education generate hope, aspiration and ability to move forward. Without you being a functional literate, you wont be able to know about what is going on around you. Life will be damnable and fustrating. hypothesize a driver who doesnt understand the rules and laws of the road. You will not be able to look for a job for yourself because you dont even know where to look for it. Literacy in my opinion, involves more than just being able to read a string of letters and understand its meaning. However, a literate someone must also be able to animate those letters from memory and string them along in such a way that meaning is conveyed accurately and efficiently. This ability to write is just as essential to the definition of literacy as the ability to read is.Without it, a persons freedom is impinged upon a person is left exposed to realities earnd by others without having the ability to refute them much less the ability to create a new one. Again, in my opinion, a person without the ability to write is nada more than an answering machine a receiver of messages without the power to create his/her own recorded message. Literacy is very important in our society today. To me those who can read Shakespeares books are the same as those who can read a simple website. A literate remains a literate. Imagine living in a country where the President can neither read nor write.I here by mean that, if you are not literate, you are indirectly punished because you cant occupy important positions of responsibility. No one would trust your judgment. It is better to be the kind of person everyone likes to listen to when you talk, rather than to be the kind of person who has nothing to prescribe and even if you have something to say, no one will like to listen to you. Im convinced it is time everyone starts to go to school to be able read and write. You can change your life and live the dreams of your life. If I could walk 6 miles each day to School, you can do it.