Preview

Literacy and the Politics of Education Summary

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
466 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Literacy and the Politics of Education Summary
Phokey Summary/Argument Essay
9/12/12 ENG 121

In the article, “Literacy and the Politics of Education,” author C.H. Knoblauch touches on a deeper understanding about the concept of literacy. His perspective conveys that literacy is much more than what society usually perceives it as; just reading and writing. Clearly laid out in his essay are four notable types of literacy which are: functional literacy, cultural literacy, critical literacy, and personal growth literacy. Knoblauch chose this subject in order to express his frustration on societies and their lack of motivation to excel being literate. He feels that America is becoming more illiterate since the development of new technology. Not that more Americans are forgetting how to read and write, but that more are failing to use literacy as a means of enriching themselves and furthering themselves through life. The most prevalent form of literacy, especially in the United States, is functional literacy. It exists not as an art, not to paint a picture, or to express emotions. Functional literacy is, in all scenarios, a technical basis of reading and writing; just enough to get by in life. Functionalists will read what concerns them. And they certainly only write what they must, whether it is a legal document or sending a simple email. It is the literacy that exists in the very basic everyday functions for people. Cultural Literacy is just as the title suggests. It is literacy that is dependent on the individual or groups of individuals. It is passed down from generation to generation. The idea is that people rate literacy with judgment values free of influence from any government. This could most purely be portrayed as an American farming family, living far from the nearest town or city. The children are home-schooled so now the parents’ literacy is passed to the children. But more than that, the literacy passed also “includes the awareness of the cultural

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Framing The Reading (331‐32) • Deborah Brandt is a professor of English Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. There is couple of literacy books and scholarly research articles, which were written by her. One of them is “Sponsors of Literacy”. There is some data, which is collected in Literacy American Lives. • Brandt opposes that people will not become literate by themselves.…

    • 690 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Dan Gioia’s essay “Why Literature Matters” he exposes the dangerous connection between America’s lacking literacy rates and decreasing job performance, creativity and understanding of political and societal issues. Gioia exhibits concern for the impact decreasing literacy skills will have on the business world. He argues that even employers “complained that local schools inadequately taught reading comprehension.” This solidifies Gioia’s concern to the reader,as the reader now knows that the businesses directly impacted by lacking literacy also see and recognize the issue Gioia also sets forth an argument for democracy and intelligent political discourse. He worries that due to decreased literacy, the population suffers a lack…

    • 163 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Our very first lesson is to become literate in the language we speak from reading alphabets to novels, we try to achieve literacy. Many people have come to believe that there are many ways to achieve literacy. However, some of the greatest public speakers and writers did not achieve it through the way most people did. This is illustrated in the literary work of Malcolm X, Sherman Alexie and Anne Lamott. According to these people, literacy isn’t achieved by simply going to school. It’s achieved through great determination and through great persistence.…

    • 972 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Knoblauch Summary

    • 394 Words
    • 2 Pages

    It’s Knoblauch’s goal in his essay to show that there isn’t only one definition of literacy. His theory is that there are 4 senses of literacy and he not only defines them, but explains in detail what language is implied by each sense and how the group defining them use these different ways of literacy in everyday life. Knoblauch’s point is that there is no wrong or right way to view literacy but that is more than one way. The groups defining the 4 types are based on their belief system and what they value. The first sense is functional literacy. I would say this is the way most Americans view literacy. It’s basically being able to read and write at a level that makes a person capable to live fine in a society where writing is a big deal. If you have functional literacy, it’s easy to fill out job applications and to participate in activities where you are given writing instructions. It’s basically the low man on the totem pole. People with this literacy have little power in both social and economic groups; you probably wont see someone with only this literacy as a CEO or business owner. The second definition of a literacy being used today is Cultural literacy. This group is more advanced than the functional literacy group because they can not only read and write at a level high enough to survive, they read high culture literature and other types of writing that will help preserve their cultural beliefs and values. They have a more proper language. The next form of literacy would be the personal growth literacy. It’s to my understanding that their type of writing helps them find themselves. It exercises their imaginations and expresses their feelings. Poems may be a popular type of writing; songwriting maybe. And the last is critical literacy, critical meaning its of the most importance to sound smart and know what your talking about because it’s almost as if it’s a means of power, which makes sense. It isn’t often that you see a CEO or owner of a company using…

    • 394 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Reading essay The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society by Jonathan Kozol rekindles the candle of the horrors of illiteracy within us, a candle that has been extinguished by our hectic lives. As he quotes James Madison’s statement, “A people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives”, these words make us think about ourselves and the society around us.…

    • 868 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    1. In this essay, Brandt explained the relationship between literacy for individuals and economics of literacy, which was called “sponsors of literacy” in this article. At the same time, Brandt explained the sponsors as different forms in the text “any agents, local or distant, concrete or abstract, who enable, support, teach or model, as well as recruit, regulate, suppress, or withhold literacy, and gain advantage by it in some way” (Brandt 2). Those people who sponsored gained the benefits from literacy, and they also got benefits from the relationship.…

    • 551 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cultural Literacy According to E.D. Hirsch According to E.D. Hirsch, to be culturally literate is to possess the basic information to thrive in the modern world. It is the "grasp on the background information that writers and speakers assume their audience already has." In his book, Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know, Hirsch sets forth 5,000 essential words and phrases of which each person should be knowledgeable.…

    • 958 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Literacy Literacy, as we all know is the ability that we have to read and write that includes the capacity that we have to use and learn a language as well as any other things like understanding how to communicate. It is also the most important structure that our parents teach us, without it we would not be able to communicate with each other, we would not be able to learn new skills, such as learning how to use a computer, how to use internet, how to speak properly, without it the world would not be what it is right now, without it we would not be able to achieve our goals. Literacy can be found in newspaper, in books, in articles, in the internet, in the way we socialize with each other, it can be found almost everywhere because is something…

    • 993 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Remember when we used to sing the alphabet song, letters resonate in our ears for the entire day. With those letters, we learned how to express ourselves and understand the idea of someone without actually hearing from them in person. Today, I am able to write this essay because I valued my education since I started to sing that song. Literacy is the most powerful weapon for a human being because it allows us to see the world not just from our own perspective but also from other people’s as well. There are millions of people like me who are able to make a difference in their lives under the light of literacy.…

    • 1102 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Philosophy Essay I was a terrible reader and writer. I stumbled my way through most of my public education honors English courses and never fully grasped how to read and write fluently. Even to this day, I fear reading long passages or writing large papers. However, life has taught me a very important lesson.…

    • 1091 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    In our society today, literacy is no longer defined as being able to read and write very little just to get by, but it is being able to read, write, and comprehend the information presented to you which you can use in order to be a functional and efficient member of society. Even in one of the wealthiest, most technologically advanced countries in the world, literacy is still a matter of concern in modern day America. It is alarming to know that 1 in 4 children in America grow up without learning how to read and approximately 35 million adults read below the level needed to function in society, many of whom cannot read at all (Kozol 248, "11 Facts About Literacy in America."). How is this even possible? What problems can undereducation and illiteracy bring? Who does this issue really affect?…

    • 1218 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    My Literacy

    • 1531 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Like most, when I think of the word literacy my mind automatically goes towards my english classes, poems, papers or readings. This may be because the word has more than one definition, one being “the ability to read or write”. Although, there is another meaning that changes the words interpretation around, “Competence or knowledge in a specific area”. This means anything you consider yourself knowledgeable about is a literacy. Everyone encounters different literacies in their lives.…

    • 1531 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Rebecca Alber in her article, How Important is Teaching Literacy in All Content Areas? emphasizes that in today’s world it’s about being able to make sense of and engage in advance reading, writing, listening, and speaking. This is unreachable if you are not fluent in your literacy skills. That is why…

    • 790 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    According to Harvey & Goudvis (2007), literacy is the ability to “teach our students to think when they read so that they can access information and learn, understand and remember what they read” (p. 15). It is the skill of comprehension. Prior to the 1980's, literacy was limited to decoding skills and oral language (Harvey & Goudvis, 2007). In essence, if a child could read words, the child could read a book. (This is where I fell as a young learner.) As the concept of content area literacy developed, the art of literacy matured beyond the identification of words to include interaction with words through schema and connection to experiences (p. 17). Lee and Spratley conclude that content area literacy, the art of using reading and writing…

    • 262 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    According to a study conducted by the U.S. Department of Education and the National Institute of Literacy, “14 percent of American adults can 't read, and 19 percent of high school graduates can 't read.” What’s more, the number of functionally illiterate adults is increasing by approximately two and one quarter million persons each year. Why does this condition exist? There are four primary reasons students might graduate from high school without knowing how to read. There could be additional factors such as geographical factors, individual disabilities, gender bias, inadequate facilities and poverty; however, illiteracy continues to have these four main causes: cheating on the exams, social promotion, a kind of special talent and proficiency…

    • 916 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays

Related Topics