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Finding a definition of literacy is not as easy as it sounds. The Webster definition says that to be literate is to be” able to read and write.” But to some researchers, this definition is too simplistic, leading to multiple models of literacy. Most Americans adhere to the autonomous model, which falls closest to the standard, dictionary definition. Believers in this form say that literacy is a cognitive activity that students learn like any other basic skill. It has a set of proficiencies that one must master in order to be capable of decoding and encoding text (Alvermann, 2009; SIL International, 1999). A competing theory is the ideological model, which claims literacy is intrinsically linked to culture, and therefore what constitutes a “literate” individual is ever-changing. Society is the largest influence on literacy, according to this thought, and it is affected by politics, religion, philosophy and more (Alvermann, 2009; SIL International, 1999). These two are just the tip of the iceberg. For example, some studies recognize “literacy as competence,” which is a “measure of competence to do a given task or work in a given field,” (SIL International, 1999) such as being computer literate. Although more researchers are recognizing and exploring multiple literacies, the one that most influences American schools is the autonomous, cognitive model – the ability to read and write. For many, it seems a simple task, but millions of adolescents are struggling or reluctant readers, and there are many reasons why young readers have difficulty with reading. XXXXXX------NEED HELP WITH THESIS STATEMENT HERE PLEASE—(This paper will focus on the effects of low reading skills, some of the possible causes of reluctant and struggling readership... ... middle of paper ... ... 2009). Many methods are available for a variety of different purposes. Conclusion With such high numbers of adolescents falling below basic in reading, illiteracy is a battle that must be fought head on. The largest dilemma with the struggle is the number of variations that cause adolescents to become reluctant, unmotivated or struggling readers. Fortunately, a large number of strategies exist to encourage and strengthen readers of all ages, proving that adolescence is not a time to give up on faltering students. Rather, it is a time to evaluate and intervene in an effort to turn a reluctant reader into an avid one (or near enough). Ultimately, educators must learn to properly assess a student’s strengths and weaknesses (Curtis, 2009) and pair them with the proper intervention techniques. If one method does not work, countless others exist to take its place.
In recent years the meaning of literacy has become much more than that. Now literacy includes things such as, numbers, images, and technology. Literacy can be something that developed through things like Books, the internet, television, family, and many other resources. In this literacy narrative I will discuss the origins of my current attitudes about writing, and reading.
There are many different opinions as to ‘What is literacy?’ and ‘What are literacy difficulties?’ Rassool’s (2009) article looks at literacy from an interdisciplinary approach which demonstrates how multidimensional it is and how literacy should be considered in relation to ‘ideology, culture, knowledge and power’ (Rassool, 2009, p. 7). She looks at the question of ‘What is literacy?’ from the perspective of the individual and the broader issues which shape both government policy and the practice of the individual tutor. In this essay I shall look at Rassool’s multidisciplinary approach in contrast to the view that literacy is a technical skill which involves the cognitive skills of decoding of text and functional literacy is the ‘process and content of learning to read and write in preparation for work ...’ United Nations Educational and Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO, cited in Rassool, 2009 p. 7). It is my belief that this multidisciplinary approach highlights the complexities of how difficult it is to define literacy in an age of new technologies. These different models of literacy affect the definition of literacy difficulties. Are they a deficit or deficiency in the cognitive skills needed to read and write as suggested by the cognitive and developmental psychologists or should we view them from a socio-cultural perspective as suggested by Green and Kostogriz (2002)? These questions are important as they will affect how literacy is taught. After considering the evidence available, it will be argued that the latter approach is more beneficial to the learner.
Literacy, or the capability to comprehend, translate, utilize, make, process, assess, and speak information connected with fluctuating settings and displayed in differing organizations, assumes an essential part in molding a young's persons trajectory in life. The ability to read speaks to a key factor of scholarly, social, and financial success (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998). These abilities likewise speak to a fundamental segment to having a satisfying life and turning into an effective worker and overall person (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1999). Interestingly, recent studies have demonstrated that low reading skills lead to critical hindrances in monetary and social achievement. As stated by the National Center for Education Statistics, adults with lower levels of reading skills and literacy have a lower average salary. Another study evaluated that 17 to 18 percent of adults with "below average" literacy aptitudes earned less than $300 a week, though just 3 to 6 percent of adults with "proficient" reading abilities earned less than $300 a week (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998).
The need for basic literacy skills is vital in order for our nation to continue to operate successfully. With approximately 5 million students, graduating below the National Standard for Literacy and unable to read, we must take a look at the curriculum and teaching techniques to assess whether the current systems need to be revised to better assure ALL students are successful. (Adolescent Literacy: A Policy Research Belief p. 1) The issue begins first with the definition of “Literacy”, and the fact that there are several aspects of literacy which are not currently included in the curriculum. Another issue is the “old” standards which are in place do not support the level of diversity which is now seen in many school systems. Then comes the issue of funding for schools and many schools in better neighborhoods obtain the highest level of private, and public funding and therefore are able to provide the higher level of education. However, in “The Literacy Education for All, Results for the Nation (LEARN) Act”, Senator Patty Murray states, “Research also shows that low income children are less likely to have access to high quality, literacy rich environments. These same children perform 40% lower on assessments of literacy achievement even before they start kindergarten.” (Murray) So, whose responsibility is it to ensure the success of the upcoming generations? Will the Federal Government step in to create a better system for the generations to come? There are quite a few solutions which have been used by Teachers, but with such an “old” system in place the issues of diversity, financial demand, inflexibility of the curriculum to assist individual students, classroom sizes increasing on a yearly basis, pressure to achieve sp...
Literacy, as a concept, has been evolving during the last few decades, presenting itself as a more complex term to comprehend. The deeper understanding of this notion has made the process of learning it, a bigger and more elaborate challenge.
Traditionally, literacy referred to reading, writing, and understanding the printed language. Presently, the definition of literacy as evolved to include a proficiency in other areas that our culture has determined as important skills to master. These additional literacies can include, digital literacy, financial literacy, and cultural literacy. Literacy has been, and still is, a tool that influences a person's success and status. In our assigned text, Other Peoples' Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom, the author, Lisa Delpit states, "I tell them that their language and cultural style is unique and wonderful but that there is a political power game that is also being played, and if they want to be in
The ‘functional model’ of literacy is a model that describes the literacy skills gained that lead us to function within society. The skills that can lead to us achieving goals such as higher education study, entering the world of work and becoming a contributor to the community. These are aspects of our lives that could be effected by having poor functioning language and literacy skills, leading to poor opportunities, limited socially mobility and an ethos of disengagement within certain communities. Considering these issues the great importance of understanding the effects of not gaining these skills can be
“A nation that does not read much does not know much. And a nation that does not know much is more likely to make poor choices in the home, the marketplace, the jury box, and the voting booth. And those decisions ultimately affect the entire nation...the literate and illiterate.” This quote by Jim Trelease accurately describes the state of our society today. The ability to read is so vital to our past, present, and future. However, though we have raised our standards, demanded higher test scores, and increased the pressure on our educators, there is little to show for it. Jim Trelease shares the statistic in his book, The Read-Aloud Handbook, that despite our desperate efforts, there has only been a one-point improvement in reading scores between
If a person is unable to read this essay, then that person is illiterate and therefore unintelligent. Inversely, any person who is able to read this essay must clearly be an intelligent person. Those two sentences reflect what American society as a whole would consider a fair description of literacy: the ability to read and write. There is a negative cultural assumption attached to this definition: one who can read and write is educated and intelligent and can contribute to our society, which an illiterate person is simple and stupid and can make no such contribution. Whether one agrees or disagrees with the prior claims, what cannot be argued is that it takes the guidance of many mentors, or literacy sponsors, to help a single student become literate.
But we in the United States have the financial means and intellectual means to improve, if not to erase, the illiteracy rate. We can do this by maintaining a high standard in literacy instruction. Using the Readers Workshop format throughout the grades will be a starting point to create a new society of fluid readers. Methods like Readers Workshop lend itself to developing a culture of not only competent readers, but readers who love to
Literacy is an important part of life; whether in school or on the job, words are all around. Today, fourteen percent of the United States population does not know how to read (The U.S. Illiteracy Rate Hasn’t Changed In 10 Years). Though fourteen percent seems trivial, when put into a number it is equivalent to 5,460,000 people who cannot read at a functional level in the United States. For literacy rates to rise, our country needs to take a more active role in homes, communities, and in schools. To solve this problem, literacy must be defined, statistics need to be examined, issues which arise due to illiteracy must be recognized, diagnostics of reading problems need to be understood and acknowledged, and solutions should be brought to the
In, Youth Literacies, the author is providing the readers an extension of work in communications towards new literacies. There are thirteen points that the author mentions about youth literacy and two that stood out for myself, as a reader, will be the YouthCLAIM project the Leave Out Violence (LOVE) project. To enumerate, the YouthCLAIM project is mainly about youth critical literacies and arts-intergrated media towards diversity in Vancouver, Canada. Therefore, there were three different groups for this particular project. These educators will be providing students, ages fourteen to twenty-six, with eclectic ethnics and cultural diversities. There will be three groups of literacy, technology, photo journalism, video production, new multimodal
Reading is a difficult task. If it were easy for your student to succeed in their learning, it's likely that it would have already taken place. They will run into roadblocks and difficulties--not to mention the emotional issues that come with the stigma of illiteracy.
While the literature supports that there are a multitude of strategies and methods to increase adolescent literacy rates, the research supports that low achieving readers in the middle grades are difficult to remediate and often require intensive support in order to make noticeable gains in a reasonable amount of time. Research also indicates that most schools do not have the resources allotted in order to provide for these gains at the pace needed to ensure that students will graduate college and career ready. Clearly, the literature and data present there is a need to improve methods and professional development for increasing adolescent literacy rates at both Edge Middle School and across the nation. The literature reviewed also provides a solid set of indications of instructional methods, professional development and teacher reflective activities which need to be committed to daily practice and embedded within lesson planning, data analysis and student
Flood, J., & Lapp, D. (1995). Broadenening the lens: Toward an expanded conceptualization of literacy. In K.A. Hinchman, D.J. Leu, & C.K. Kinzer (Eds.), Perspectives on literacy research and practice: Forty-fourth yearbook of the National Reading Conference (pp. 1-16). Chicago: National Reading Conference.