Why Literacy Is Important

The power of literacy enables one to become self-aware and opens up new opportunities, leading to a better life. Not only does literacy have the capability to impact significant lives like those of Malcolm X and Frederick Douglass but also a mere individual like myself. Learning how to read and write allowed me to gain knowledge and opened up the opportunity to be able to attend college where I was able to gain even more knowledge. With that knowledge, I became more aware of the opportunities I had and how an individual like myself could contribute to society. I was able to forge my own path that will lead to a successful

Literacy has the power to transform us. By reading we learn new things and we are more likely to express ourselves to others. We can understand another’s language, other cultures, and know the way others way of thought.

Literacy plays a huge role in many people’s lives everyday, whether it is learning how to read and write for the first time or writing a five-page essay for the hundredth time. We experience literacy differently and have our very own unique stories on how it has impacted our lives and had made us who we are today. It is an essential aspect that I use in my everyday life, such as in relationships, daily interactions with others, and learning. It has become such a powerful aspect and human right in which it allows one to speak his/her mind and in some cases express their opinion to the world. My personal literacy history has shaped me into who I am today because without my experiences I would not have been able to gain the confidence and

Since a child going up, literacy was not my strong suit. Literacy throughout my life seem not to cope with me. Later as I grew up, literacy meant to me that it is one’s ability to read, write, and speak. More importantly there is a more meaning of literacy, meaning that not only writing, reading, and speaking, but able to understand, analyze, and communicate with other peoples’ ideas. Soon enough literacy has made an impact on my life, it has been and will be a lifelong process. Literacy will always be with me, starting from my past and ending in my future.

My literacy narrative first unfolded in the playroom of my childhood home when I was an inquisitive two-year-old. My parents would sit down with me on the carpet and patiently teach me sight words. Every time I would

Literacy is fundamental to all areas of learning from an early age, as it unlocks access to the wider curriculum. Being literate increases opportunities for pupils in all aspects of life and lays the foundations for lifelong learning and work.

If you were to ask me what literacy meant to me when I was younger I would tell you, that it represented reading a book, and simply writing. The first thing that would come to my mind is English, reading and writing is what I do when it comes to that subject. Being young I was never taught the true meaning of literacy, and if you’re anything like me, you would eventually have to just learn on your own. Growing up I rarely thought what literacy truly meant, yet growing up it was a question I was always curious about, because this is when my writing became more serious. The more I began to write essays, the more it seemed to bother me. I asked myself, how could I truly write a good paper without knowing the basic true meaning of it all?

In society today, people are judged by their level of education. Education is the key in society today. According to begintoread.com, today in the United States 1 out of 4 children grow up without learning how to read. Also at early stage of life the brain start developing and adjusting to the environment that they were raised in. In addition, books and education helps develop the brain especially in early age. According to the National Center for Education, Statistics shows that the majority of people who don’t complete high school have basic or below-basic literacy skills. 26% of prison inmates nationwide had parents who had not completed high school, and 37% of inmates had not completed high school themselves. Literacy is powerful in times of development because it leads to success in life and helps with solving a problem.

Our view of literacy upon commencing this course, was that it is the ability to read and write. Our understanding of it however was partially true because, reading and writing are essential of any person’s literacy, but reading and

In American society, literacy, or the ability to read and write, is taken for granted. In many areas around the world, and even America before public schooling, the power you carried with literacy was priceless. Deborah Brandt, an English professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison said “Literacy like land, is a valued commodity in this economy, a key resource in gaining profit and edge. This value helps to explain, of course, the lengths people will go to secure literacy for them- selves or their children. But it also explains why the powerful work so persistently to conscript and ration the powers of literacy” (Brandt 169). This quote from her publication, Sponsors of Literacy, shows how literacy is power and the people who are in control of it need to influence, or as Brandt would say “Sponsor” (167) those who are illiterate.

In Jonathan Kozol’s “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society” and Malcolm X’s “Literacy Behind Bars” they both talk about the advantages of being literate, as well as the hardships that those who are illiterate goes through. Using these articles, we can see that it’s important to be as literate as possible because, a literate person would be more confidant in interacting with others, they’re less likely to be cheated, they don’t have to rely on others, and ultimately their world view is much bigger.

Literacy is not only knowing how to read and write. I believe it is much more than that. Being literate is more or less being knowledgeable in a specific area. That being said, it is hard to understand anything without first knowing how to read and write and that is why it's so important. I do not believe anyone knows their purpose in life if they are not literate in some area of life.

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” (Mahatma Gandhi). Learning is essential to grow as an individual and expand your knowledge. Literacy is key for broadening our mentality and a person will only benefit from it. For me, especially, literacy has been essential for my growth and the challenges I have taken on. Everything in my life has depended on my knowledge and skills that I have acquired, and I am continuously developing new techniques.

Everyday our lives are affected by literacy and most people do not even notice it. When I read a menu at a restaurant or a book from a library I do not realize how unbelievable it is to read such things. I do not notice how amazing and extraordinary it is to be able to have this privilege. Literature is everywhere and it not only changes our lives for the better but it also changes who you are and how you choose to see things.

Is it important to be a literate person in today’s society? The ability to function well depends on whether or not a person is literate and can comprehend what is going on around them. If a person doesn’t have the basic ability to read, they will feel the stress and dependency on others because of their illiteracy. Illiteracy is a big problem because without the knowledge of reading, illiterate people can’t perform daily tasks and responsibilities in daily life. When all it would take is a mere two minutes out of your day, don’t you think illiteracy can be helped or even extinguished?