In attempting to pinpoint specific acts of literacy that I perform, I must first consider what the term literacy means to me. With regards to my previous post, literacy was not just reading and writing, but being able to think and being able to coherently and concisely express one’s thoughts. In my own personal definition of literacy, I not only consider being able to comprehend things (such as reading a textbook and understanding what it says) as part of being literate but also being able to explain what it is one just read. This may not be the most accurate definition of literacy, but so many things involved with writing and reading are subjective. I think that “literacy” could be something subjective and mean different things to different people.
That being said, I perform a literacy act everyday in that I read. I always have a novel that I’m reading and though I don’t have as much time to devote to it while classes are in session, it’s still an act. I also write a great deal and make an effort for it to be as eloquent as possible. I believe I perform literacy acts everyday in class when professors ask us to think about what we read and provide comments about it. Another possible literacy act is when I am online and IMing with my friends; I’ll read what they say, think about it, and respond. Whenever I blog (for this class and my personal blog), I’m performing a literacy act. I’d also venture a guess and say that whenever I email someone, I am performing another literacy act. I’m having trouble coming up with more because I feel as though “literacy” is one of those umbrella terms that applies to so many different activities, but when it comes down to it, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly one.
Nice job, Jillian. you seem to have really thought critically about the blog prompt and you answered quite well. You’re right, it’s hard to list all the ways literacy impacts our lives because, especially as students, literacy is really important to us. Nice work.
Comment by bcottri — January 21, 2009 @ 10:07 am