Local Literacys: Reading and Writing in One Community - Assignment Example

Assignment 1 Name Course Institution Date Introduction Literacy is defined as a person's ability to read, write and think critically. Literacy is a process of learning that begins from childhood, when a child begins to have knowledge of language. According to UNESCO (United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation), literacy is the ability of a person to identify, interpret, and understand any written materials, that originates from varying context. They also view literacy as a continuum of learning that helps individuals to acquire their goals as well as become useful members of the society they live in. a key concept of literacy is the development of reading (UNESCO effective literacy practice database 2011). This is a skill that is acquired with due time, it begins with an individual ability to discern spoken word, and then it proceeds to written word and eventually to acquiring deeper meaning of text. Discussion Literacy is cognitive; it takes place systematically until the full cognitive literacy is achieved. The human and the mind are connected and their development goes hand in hand. Jean Piaget developed a theory of human cognition from childhood to adulthood. He explained how this cognition affects the level of intelligence of a person. According to him at infancy a child actively picks the motor activity, he develops interaction, at childhood, the child develops the skills of language and they begin to recognise symbols. The next stage is at elementary or adolescence, humans can now manipulate symbols to something meaningful or concrete, here operational thinking is present. Lastly, at adulthood, logical thinking is present. According to the cognitive literacy theory, people have their own pace of achieving full cognitive literacy. Some may take longer than others may but they eventually achieve cognitive literacy. All that one requires is lots of trials and guidance. The route to achieving full literacy has plateaus that persons achieve at varying stages in their lives. The first plateau is the cultural literacy stage. This is achieved when individuals interact with others, while at the same time Deeping themselves in their culture. Daigle (2005) relates two towns and their different culture in raising children. In one town, children are believed to struggle and come out as talkers. They are ignored by adults unless they produce meaningful words. On the other hand the children in the other town, children receive such great excitement the moment they utter their first word. This shows that the children from these two towns will achieve literacy at different levels in their life; one may achieve literacy quicker than the other may. The second plateau, is fundamental literacy, this literacy means an individual acquiring basic skills such as writing and reading. These skills are only at the simplest level. To acquire this skills children are first taught from the ground, that is they are taught alphabets, which they then transform to making of words and lastly meaning. According to Kutz & Hephzibah, (2005) though, the learning of alphabets is not important. To them the most important thing is a person's ability to read for meaning. Others disagree with this and consider learning of basics very essential, for a person to be able to develop the skills of writing and reading. They argue that there is no way one can understand text or write without having basic knowledge first. Deen & Ponsot, (2006) in their book common sense, argue that the basic skill of writing enables individual to think. To them for a person to think critically about text they have to read and write what they are going to think about. The third plateau in a person's cognitive development of literacy is learning how to think and read critically. There are individuals who are adults or even students at universities who cannot think critically. Take an example of Rossie, she understands history as facts and events, but when it comes to comparing different historical times and inferring what can happen today through the study of history is a problem for Rossie and many more. Reading critically means that a reader can be able to understand or acquire meaning of a text. On the other hand, to write critically is to be able to transfer the meaning of what the author is trying to say in writing. The last plateau is the achievement of full cognitive literacy. A person at this level can read, write and think critically. Furthermore, they can be able to give deeper meaning of text above the literal meaning. These persons are said to have mega cognitive abilities. Berthoff (2008), in her book describes a person's ability to use their mega cognitive abilities as one who is able to put in use forms of language to determine forms of thoughts (Berthoff, 2008). She believes that a person can use both reading and writing to acquire full meaning. It is worth noting that each individual has their own pace of reaching the full cognitive literacy, others acquire it at a tender age, while others delay until later years. Literacy has also been approached using the socio cultural theory in addition to the cognitive theory. The socio cultural theory is important especially for the assessors to understand the different results emanating from tests administered. Persons will not have the same literacy levels because of their socio cultural environment. The theory of socio culture encourages us to look beyond the human factor as an impending factor to achieving literacy but to also consider the ecological factor. This is the environment surrounding an individual, it may include the class surrounding, the tools provided by the society or even the genetic factors. The socio-cultural theory has three aspects that may influence literacy development in children. The first is the genetic aspect or analysis. In this analysis understanding an individual's origin and the levels of transition that a person has experienced will help one understand the development of literacy in that person. In this aspect one looks at the micro genesis, which is the particular unfolding of events. The ontogenesis, meaning the development of a human being (Brandt & Clinton, 2002). Also, the social cultural history of an individual. These factors help us to identify that literacy has to take in consideration social, cultural and historical events in its development. The second aspect is social learning. This implies that mental functioning originates from a social perspective. This was properly developed by Vygotysky, the Russian psychologist who argued that every aspect of a child development takes place twice (Vygotsky, 2008). The first instance is at a social level, then later at an individual level. Therefore, a child will first obtain something through interacting with others, before he proceeds to develop it within them. He also, emphasised on the importance of learning through interaction with parents, teachers and their peers. This apprenticeship in learning according to Lave & Wenger, (2007) is not only applicable to children but also adults. The third aspect is that of mediation. Literacy in human beings is mediated by the use of tools. Such tools include language and computers. This tools acts as mediators to human action. These tools enable individuals to acquire and practice literacy. Socio cultural theory has enabled teachers or tutors to identify the causes of literacy disabilities do not only lie in the individual but also in the family functioning and the community that surrounds that individual. Literacy is practiced at both the social and individual level. In the social practice, it is practiced through discourse communities. Literacy is not only achieved by individuals as they attend school but also as they socialise in their day-to-day life (Lankshear, 2004). In this instance, literacy does not only mean the ability to read and write but that ability to be able to fit in society. An individual who is literate learns how to communicate with others, manners to follow in public places and even courtesy. The discourse communities that include social, educational and even cultural have an impact on the literal practises of individuals. There is also the argument that local literacy practices echoes practices from a global perspective. Individuals start by learning or practising the literacy’s that surround them, which include, social literacy’s, cultural and even bureaucracies (Barton & Hamilton, 2008). These local practices are then transferred to the global perspective. According to Brandt and Clinton, local literacy’s act as shock absorbers for the global or distant literacy’s. The above theories regarding literacy can be used to improve the situation in the classroom and also in the society. The use of cognitive theory for instance has led to the increase of adults who are now literate. This numbers have increased from the 1992 to 2004. The use of cognitive therapy is used to show adults that they can choose to become literate even at an older age if only they choose to do so. They do not have to consider the outside circumstances but only those within themselves (Brandt, 2001). This theory is also being widely used in schools, where the teachers encourage students to become literate for their own benefit and no one else. The cognitive theory can also be used by teachers to understand that students will not have the same cognitive literacy. This will be determined by their ability to pass through the different plateau. The teachers must also understand in a class situation there are those that have already acquired full cognitive literacy while others struggle and they may take time to get full cognitive literacy. The theory can also be applicable in situation where there is a presence of bilinguals. These are individual who understand and can write more than one language. Such individuals according to the theory have higher literacy levels. The socio-cultural theory can be applied to understand the types of individuals that are in class. This can be used in vocational education programs. The teacher must understand that each student comes from a different cultural and community context. The instructor therefore has to take these factors into consideration and understand that literacy levels will vary between these students. The instructor can use a highly responsive communication style to ensure that their students respond positively. In teaching adults, the instructor could use the socio cultural theory especially when teaching adults. These adults may be coming from different culture. In addition, it is important to note that some of these adults may have English as their second language. In this case, the instructor must be sensitive to their literacy level because of the new language and culture that these adults are experiencing. Instructors should also understand that literacy is a social practice and therefore they should engage the adult students in such activities as emailing, which will help them acquire literacy especially for the second language users. The theory of cognitive literacy also encourages the instructor to teach by encouraging their students to read more. Reading is the basic stage in the cognitive theory. This will especially work for the adults who have low self-esteem to re engage in learning. The instructors also need to understand the linkage between numeracy, literacy and vocational learning (Language, Literacy and Numeracy Program 2009-2010). After this links are identified, they can then be reflected in the learning programs that will be used by the instructor. This links have to be clear and easily identifiable for the learners so that they can easily understand them even with their different literacy levels. The instruction in these programs must be clear for both the instructor and the students to make learning effective. Conclusion Literacy is defined as the ability to write and read. Literacy has various theories, this include; the cognitive literacy theory and the socio cultural theory. The cognitive literacy theory argues that literacy develops in stages as people grow. This determines the rate at which individuals become literate. Some achieve full literacy levels at a younger age while others at an old age. The social cultural theory argues that literacy is gained through a wider social capital, cultural and through interaction. These theories can be put in practice to help instructors while they are conducting lessons so that they can understand the different levels of literacy amongst the students. The theories can also be applied in adults by students themselves, especially the cognitive theory. References Barton, D. & Hamilton, M. (2008).Local literacy’s: Reading and writing in one community. New York, NY: Routledge. Berthoff, Ann E. (1988). Forming, Thinking, Writing. New York: Boynton: Sage publishers. Brandt, D., & Clinton, K. (2002). Limits of the local: Expanding perspectives on literacy as a social practice. Journal of Literacy Research 34(3), 337–356. Brandt, D. (2001). Literacy in American lives. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Daigle, M. (2005). Full cognitive literacy: a juxtaposition of critical reading, writing, thinking and speaking. Retrieved from: http://www.southernct.edu/organizations/hcr/2001/nonfiction/fullcoglit.htm Deen, R., & Marie, P. (2006). The Common Sense. Portsmouth: Boynton. Rout ledge Lankshear, C. (2004). Critical literacy. Belconnen, Australia: Australian Curriculum Studies Association. Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (2007). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Kutz, E., & Hephzibah, R. (2007). An Unquiet Pedagogy. Portsmouth: Rout ledge. UNESCO. Effective literacy practice database (2011). UNESCO. Vygotsky, L. S. (2008). Mind and society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Read More