Literacy and Defining the Self

Literacy is an oft used word with a plurality of meanings that ultimately serve to underscore our human inability to conceptualize a universal definition of self.
Is Paris Hilton literate? ""I used to act dumb. ... That act is no longer cute," ABC quoted Hilton as saying. Is Girls Gone Wild creator Joe Francis or actor Tom Cruise literate? How would you - the reader - define their literacy? Our educational system promotes literacy but we bestow fame upon almost anyone without defining the parameters of their literacy. It seems that the meaning of Literacy varies in direct relation to how the word is used. "The traditional definition of literacy is the ability to use language-to read, write, listen, and speak. In modern contexts, the word means reading and writing in a level adequate for written communication and generally a level that enables one to successfully function at certain levels of any modern society, thus literacy plays a role in providing access to power" (Wikipedia, 2006). Overall, literacy can refer to cultural literacy, basic literacy, functional literacy or content literacy.

Cultural literacy is highly dependant on family or societal parameters, norms and values. "In 1965, UNESCO adopted the view that rather than an end in itself, literacy should be regarded as a way of preparing man [or woman] for a social, civic and economic role that goes far beyond the limits of rudimentary literacy training consisting merely in the teaching of reading and writing" ('Literacy, Gateway to Fulfillment', special issue of UNESCO Courier, June 1980 cited in the Oxford Companion to the English Language, 1992). A person who has sought and attained higher levels of cultural literacy has the ability to utilize the paradigms inherent within any given culture in order to function within the societal framework of that culture. However, that same person may have achieved a high degree of cultural literacy without possessing either the basic or functional literacy that are needed to thrive in that culture. Persons lacking a basic or functional level of literacy may struggle to find economic prosperity. And those individuals may eventually choose pathways that are not beneficial to the culture as a whole.

Basic literacy is an artificially constructed attempt to use educational concepts or benchmarks to demonstrate personal development. In our culture, basic literacy is usually established by graduating from high school or having taken and passed the GED exam. A basically literate adult is capable of finding a job and earning an income but they may not possess the ability to significantly contribute to their culture. The idea of basic literacy stems from decades old research methodologies such as the writings of John Dewey. "Reflective intelligence for Dewey is expressed in metaphors of reading and re-reading and more generally in metaphors of literacy" (Giarelli, 1997). Basic literacy sets forth the peculiar notion that we can manufacture a consistent level of literacy in any given generation of learners by using the same concepts, books and educational facilities during the formative years in the life of any individual within a fixed culture.

The core concepts of basic literacy break down when faced with rapid societal changes and transient populations. In this sense, the transmission of basic literacy tenants from teacher to classroom are highly dependant on stable school populations and rigid skill level requirements. Educational systems using standardized teacher training systems have difficulty maintaining basic literacy goals in a society that is prone to constant and unending cultural diversity and change. How can a teacher create individual training goals in a classroom being taught with a fixed curricula that can only be changed by updating State and Federal standards? Again, educational theories usually delineate between the two worlds of basic and cultural literacy rather than create a unified definition so the teacher in the classroom must both be able to work with varying literacy values of a variety of cultures while maintaining the status quo in teaching students how to read and write.

On the other hand, the developmental theme of functional literacy halfway bridges the gap between basic and cultural literacy. Family norms and educational constants intertwine and lead to the development of a person who both understands their cultural values and is capable of creating new knowledge based on learned material. A functionally literate person moves beyond the point of simple adaptability within a culture and heads toward establishing a more universal understanding of literacy that steps beyond the limitations of Public Education systems and potentially restrictive culturally norms. Still, functional literacy stops short of questioning or redefining the purposes of literacy because the main focus of the functionally literate adult is to economically succeed or prosper rather than add to the maturity level or group knowledge of the culture.. A functionally literate adult may be prosperous but lack cultural literacy skills that lead to an enriched understanding of the individual's role within that culture.

Specifically, the academically oriented concept of Content Literacy refers to "learning across content areas (e.g., social studies, science) and requires middle-grades students to acquire and apply reading and writing strategies to construct knowledge. Constructing knowledge, a meaning-making process, goes beyond just acquiring information" (Literacy Matters, 2006). Furthermore, "to make meaning and build understanding, students need both general literacy skills and content-specific literacy skills. For example, in reading they need to activate prior knowledge, monitor comprehension, repair comprehension, determine important ideas, synthesize information, draw inferences, and ask questions" (Literacy Matters, 2006). Content literacy attempts to use the educational process to move beyond the narrow focus of functional literacy while reinforcing key values of cultural literacy.

In this sense, content literacy may become an important tool for our culture to undertake the search for a more universal definition of literacy. Defining literacy may become more than the cultural leap between two generations or the transmission of data from one person to the next. The reflective and active dimensions of of culture and education may utilize literacy to redefine concepts or goals that have become outdated in a world with changeable values , emerging technologies and migrating populations. New concepts in literacy will serve as guideposts for people to develop new questions about what is or what is not important for the individuals in a culture while retaining the adhesive qualities necessary for promoting the ability to work together and prosper within a culture.

In short, Literacy must become more than the ability to access information and utilize what has been gathered. Previous goals of the literate person included the ability to acquire information, analyze what has been learned, utilize prior knowledge and construct new data that may be unrelated to what has been learned in the past. Today, the literate person must question and come to understand their ability to construct meaning within the cultural framework of our society. Literacy has become a thinking skill. "Those who will have the ability to collect information in real time, as well as the ability to analyze, classify and organize it, will be those to achieve a social, cultural and economical advantage" (Passig, 2003).

Complete references:

Associated Press (2007). Hilton Says she will no Longer Act Dumb retrieved June 11, 2007 from http://tv.yahoo.com/news/article/urn:newsml:tv.ap.org:20070611:paris_hilton__ER:50945

Giarelli, J. (1997). On Reading the New Scholarsjip of John Dewey retrieved June 10, 2007 from http://www.ed.uiuc.edu/EPS/PES-Yearbook/97_docs/giarelli.html

Literacy (1992). Gateway to Fulfillment', special issue of UNESCO Courier, June 1980 cited in the Oxford Companion to the English Language

Literacy Matters (2006). Definition: What is Content Literacy? retrieved November 4, 2006 from http://www.literacymatters.org/content/overview/definition.htm

Passig, D. (2003). A Taxonomy of Future Thinking Skills retrieved November 4, 2006 from http://www.passig.com/pic/PassigInformatica2003.pdf#search='Passig%20future%20skills%20Israel'

Wikipedia (2006). The Free Encyclopedia Literacy retrieved November 3, 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literate