Education Through The Attainment Of Literacy

As a future teacher of a fast-changing generation that searches restlessly for new interests, I believe that old and new must meet to keep the basic values of a balanced literacy. Focusing on prior knowledge, collaborating with colleagues, peers, families, and community, creating connections with our surrounding, and empowering students’ learning style throughout the process of gaining knowledge of reading and writing. Foremost, my personal philosophy of teaching literacy is based on constructivism and sociolinguistic, where hands on experience and guidance are priority in an informational world. To facilitate a child’s acquisition of literacy skills , as I plan for literacy instruction for my future classroom, I will take into consideration

One of the most eye opening experiences of my life occurred in the second grade. I would have never thought that doing one simple assignment in elementary school could change my whole perspective on literacy. My understanding of literacy was sparked when I had read my first real book. I remember sitting down on the vividly colorful carpet day dreaming about playing Mario Cart on my Nintendo 64 while everyone was obediently listening to the teacher read a book out loud. It wasn’t that I did not know how to read or listen, I just didn’t care. Reading to me used to be tedious because I did not understand the purpose of it. I did not grow up with the luxury of my parents reading to me because they weren’t literate in English, so I had to figure out for myself why literacy is vital in everyday life. My ongoing learning experience with literacy can be traced back to one simple visit to library.

The aims and importance of learning provisions for literacy development is to give children the opportunities and possibilities open to them and benefit from more effective teaching of reading and to marrow the achievement gap between disadvantaged students and their peers. The importance of reading is at the heart of this insight as pupils that can read are more likely to have a more positive future. They will be more likely to do well in school and get good qualifications and have a rewarding career later on. Compared to those who are constantly at a disadvantage.

Of the nine million dollars spent on African American education system between 1865 and 1870, the Freedmen’s Bureau contributed five million dollars to it (McPherson, 624). This organization’s power and support diminished in time; therefore, how, if at all, did African Americans education change after the Freedmen’s Bureau? Even though the Freedmen’s Bureau was the primary supporter of African Americans’ education, it was not the only organization to support their education. The literacy rate of African Americans drastically increased; the illiteracy rate fell from eighty percent in 1870 to forty-five percent in 1900 (McPherson, 625). This organization already established solid foundations, such as schools, teachers, and supporters, of African American education by the time it lost its power. Nevertheless, African Americans indomitable desire for education was the driving force behind the education

The “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” has been regarded by many as one of the most influential slave narratives in American history. This colorful autobiography has and will forever situate Douglass at the forefront of the American abolitionist movement. Many scholars involved in the study of African American history, including James Matlack, a writer for the Atlanta Review of Race and Culture assert that the effectiveness of Douglass’s narrative rests upon his superior technique in sharing his experience and elating them to the general American population (Matlack 15). In this short narrative Douglass wonderfully exploits several themes that soon

Education is an important aspect in the lives of many individuals. Education is often seen as a means to better oneself. With education, a whole new world can be opened up to individuals. For African Americans education is key to achieving a variety of things in life. During the days of slavery, African Americans were not allowed to be educated. It was frowned upon and strictly discouraged because slave masters knew that they could not dominate an educated person. Any slave caught trying to read or write was punished. There are many individuals whose main purpose is to fight for the rights and equality of African Americans and fighting for the right to be educated was one of these goals. African Americans alike wanted to be educated because they know it would lead to progress and a better overall situation. Now in today’s society we see that even though many before us has fought for the right to be educated some do not see it as a privilege. In this paper, the views of Malcolm X, W.E.B. DuBois and Oliver Cromwell Cox will be examined in regards to their thoughts on education.

According to the author, education was not bestowed upon African-American by enlightened citizens. Literacy is viewed as a valuable commodity that African-Americans have had limited opportunities to acquire. And for them becoming literate is perceived as continuous struggle. So Literacy serves emancipatory function when appropriate to reconstruct a society, so it limits access to those who are not literate to participate in all cultural institutions. According to Harris, European American do not fully support the education of African-American and would prefer not to fund it at the levels comparable to funding for their children and would prefer curricula that do not enable African –American to compete with their children for access to high education and possibly opportunities .

Education has always been valued in the African American community. During slavery freed slaves and those held captive, organized to educate themselves. After emancipation the value of education became even more important to ex-slaves, as it was their emblem of freedom and a means to full participation in American Society (Newby & Tyack, 1971). During this time many schools for African Americans were both founded and maintained by African Americans. African Americans continued to provide education throughout their own communities well into the 1930’s (Green, McIntosh, Cook-Morales, & Robinson-Zanartu, 2005). The atmosphere of these schools resembled a family. The

The book Transformation of the African American Intelligentsia: 1880-2012 by Martin Kilson of Harvard, reinforces to the reader that from the end of the slave era in 1865, education was viewed by most African Americans as one of the primary roads to success in American society. Learning how to read was the first thing free slaves. They poured into schools ran by the Freedman's Bureau, as well as attending the church-sponsored black colleges that sprung up across the South.

Receiving an education has been the coined in Americas’ society as any individual only way to gain access to the key for success equally for all. However, in history blacks were deprived from this right many today take for granted.

Throughout my first year as a middle school Language Arts teacher, I have developed a theoretical understanding of what I believe are the necessary components to providing a meaningful and generative environment in which students develop and expand literacy skills. The teaching of literacy needs to include a balance of reading, writing, speaking and listening activities, and needs to be a social endeavor that provides a variety of instructional strategies to meet the needs of all diverse learners. My teaching strategies, beliefs and personality that I bring to my classroom can be characterized as a blend of two types of philosophical theories: social constructivism and relational teaching and

Literacy is defined as being literate, that is, being able to read and write in a language. My personal experience with literacy began at an early age, at the age of 4 when I began to sit and read words and letters in the back of my mother’s car. Soon enough, she would bring me a magazine called “Majed” which, in the 90’s, was a popular magazine. With this, I began even more interested in reading and writing and reviewed every word in the magazine associated with each of the short pictured stories. It was the first memory I deeply recall of literacy and it was what laid the foundation for my personal love of reading and writing. The methodology used for this is an interview. There are three interviews which are analyzed and brought together in the form of a narrative. This narrative serves to better explain the emotions and thoughts that the interviewees had about the idea of literacy.

To myself, the definition of literacy is having the ability and means to read and/or write. Although this seems as though it is a stereotypical and common definition, I have found during the course of my life that this definition holds to be true to my personal being. When I was younger, I used to think literacy was simply the literacy book that we read out of during English class. The more that I grew, the more I realized that literacy was having the ability to read the book- not the book itself. While in junior high, my English course was referred to as a literacy course. During this course, we learned on what basis literacy forms. The teacher explained that literacy is not the words on the page; literacy is having the means of reading the words, and having the ability to comprehend what exactly it is that we were reading. Though this seems similar to cultural literacy, it is actually quite different. Cultural literacy is having the ability to comprehend and participate fluently in a particular culture, whereas literacy is just having the ability and means to read and/or write in general.

Literacy pedagogies have a developing and complex history in education, intertwined with social and cultural change and evolution. Each change has paved a new path for more significant approaches and strategies, which cater to diverse learners allowing them to create meaning and communicate more effectively. These literacy pedagogies brought out by the changes in education have both strengths and weaknesses. As such, educators need to explore and understand the four knowledge processes portrayed by Kalantzis, Cope, Chan and Dalley-Trim; didactic, authentic, functional, and critical literacy approach (2016), to be able to consider how they can influence teaching and learning so they are able to make informed decisions with regards to their students’ literacy learning. Teaching is becoming increasingly complex; this is particularly evident in the area of literacy. This paper will explore the four literacy pedagogies, their limitations and their strengths, and how they have impacted literacy learning within the Australian educational context.

Literacy has changed the way that people live since the beginning of time. From cavemen communicating with drawings and hand signals to the earliest form of Latin. At that time reading was a skill that very few had. It was believed to be that only the wealthy and the noble class were taught this skill. Peasants did not need it in their everyday life. Reading was considered a privilege and was also used to suppress the lower class. Knowledge is power. For me, this knowledge has molded the way that I live and communicate.