Quote: "Who we are and who we are allowed to be is shaped in part by the way we use literacy." Pahl (23)
Comment:
This quote describes the influence literacy has in an individual's life. I have always loved literacy and I know that I am the person-persistent, happy, friendly, loving, and kind-that I am today because of the books I read and the writings I wrote. My mother taught me the importance of reading for pleasure and knowledge as a child when she read to me before bedtime. As I grew older and didn't know how to express my emotions my mother also taught me to write my feelings in journals, and even in poetry. For many years I wrote poems to express my frustrations, happiness, curiosity, and doubt that filled my adolescence. It is because of the emphasis I put in writing and reading to release the 'beast' inside me (hormonal girl that I was) that I became a more open person who looks to books and writing as an escape from the troubles that come.
Also, there are so many types of literacy's, beyond reading and writing as I learned in my TELL 430 class today. For example, we use literacy as a way of thinking about the world and how we relate to it, we use literacy to understand social contexts, and we use literacy to present information. When a person uses literacy to express himself, such as through a computer game that he has created, then he is showing how he can become a computer game programmer. The way we use literacy really does determine how we see ourselves, both present and future.
Question: How can I best use this knowledge of literacy as a means to encourage my students to use literacy (speaking, thinking, reading, writing, etc) so they can become the best person they are able to be?
I think that as a teacher you can demonstrate though both your words and your actions. Show your students how much you love to read and write by doing it in front of them. You could also tell them what you read and wrote when you were their age so that they can relate to you. Not every child is going to feel like they are the best reader or writer and some may not like reading and writing at all. Encourage these children to keep trying and help them find books that spark their interest. As teachers, we want balanced children, so explain how they can be literate in other things. Have the children practice listening and speaking or take turn sharing one of their interests to the class and relate that back to literacy.
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