WA1 Literacy is Double Sided

Literacy can be compared to the concept of general knowledge. Knowledge is an infinite mental skill and just alike so is literacy. Both aspects can be used in the physical world but literacy can affect the way we learn, read and write because of the different forms of literacy. Literacy can be a way of understanding literature and the use of it in certain situations. The general concept of literacy is the ability to read and write, but in terms of understanding literacy, there is a single minded mentality of conformity. Literacy is the ability to not only to be able to read and write but to also be able to understand the reading and writing not of only common literature but also of different cultures and forms. Szwed touches on this, “But the stunning fact is that we do not fully know what literacy is.” He further continues that literacy has been viewed as a yes-or-no matter but it is much more complex than that basing his main reasoning on diversity and socioeconomic classes (Szwed 4-5). There is a general belief that with further education comes literacy such as for doctors, lawyers and other professions that require a mass of schooling. With this in mind, to be literate is to be well-rounded in literature as a whole in multiple cultures not only the literacy you were taught. Each country, culture, race, subculture and even neighborhoods have different forms of literacy and with so many forms and types of literacy, there is no way to be one hundred percent literate. In EIIW, the general term of literacy is used in most of its discussions but includes excerpts that explain that literacy is not a conformation or shouldn’t be in that matter and although many theorist have tried to define literacy, because it’s such a broad skillset, not only can someone not be completely literate but also it cannot be concretely defined.

Literacy events are social events in which writing, reading or even speaking is used amongst the participants’ interactions and the systems in which they interpret each other. Literacy events can also be loosely defined as an event in which if a person arrives having no affiliation with the group, they might have little to no understanding of the literatures that’s used within the group. These literacy events are where groups practice their literacy and they are largely inspired or shaped by their forms of literacy. Literacy events can be any form of communication such as discussing a subject, telling a story or writing and reading. Practicing literacy is largely influenced by the general population of an area and also the cultural aspects of everyday life of a group. A literacy event is the act of using a literacy such as a photo-shoot. You must be literate in the use of cameras in also directing a scene to get the photograph that you want. The shooting and directing of that scene is the event in which you use those literacies. Also driving long distances, there is a separate literacy compared to the casual drive within the city. There are universal courtesies that long distance drivers use to help the highway flow freely and the drive is the event to where you use those courtesies. The different cultural aspects of a group shape the literacy and the way they use it by forming values and rules that apply to the literacy group.

Literacy is all around us, in almost everything we do. You can see literacy in its natural habitat just by looking at workers of a certain store, or a group playing video games or even avid readers. There is a form of literacy to most events that happen in everyday life but those events are just our practice and use of literacy. Understanding EIIW, although many may think literacy requires knowledge and you will only see it in educational or professional settings, there is a literacy for everyone and everything they do. When looking for literacy you must consider the trivial works of literature and understanding because literacy is everywhere in all types of forms. Szwed also explains that everyone has literacy in their own form especially reading; everyone reads certain texts and documents and there is a literacy of understanding to those texts (7).

            There is an ever evolving understanding and definition of literacy that changes over time as society advances and many new forms of literacy surface and different forms of literacy are accepted. Alternative forms of literacy provide diversity and the more we are able to accept these forms of being different, the more literate we are. Primary literacy shouldn’t discourage alternative literacies because with more literacy comes knowledge which creates a circle for a gain in both skillsets. Your primary literacy is only a stepping stone setting you up to be able to use other forms of literacy creating unity between groups of people and nations because not only are we accepting other forms of being and literacy, but we are understanding them and maybe even putting them to use in our own lives for the betterment of literacy and knowledge.