The Responsibility for Literacy Instruction, Essay Example

The responsibility for literacy instruction lying only on reading and English teachers is a myth; any educational institution is an embodiment of literacy and striving to literacy. Therefore, all stakeholders in the educational process have to contribute to the child’s literacy development. Even a teacher of math or physics can reveal some literacy issues for children because he or she is an educator. In addition, according to the opinion of Epstein et al.(2008), the family and community also have to contribute to the literacy development of a child in the framework of the general education process.

If a child has problems with one literacy, it does not necessarily mean that he or she will find all other literacies challenging. For example, a child who experiences problems with academic literacy, i.e. reading and writing, may be very sensitive culturally, which means that he or she will be culturally literate. Digital literacy also does not refer to the academic kind thereof – children are more inclined to spend time working and playing on their computers nowadays than reading or writing, which contributes to this discrepancy.

Learning to read and write is a lifelong process; even students at college may find much new information about academic writing or critical reading. In addition, reading and writing become more thoughtful with years, which involves learning new shades of meaning and techniques of writing and reading.

Acculturation is a necessary precondition of successful language learning and acquaintance with a certain culture. However, immersion is not the only factor contributing to cultural literacy. Cultural tolerance, respect towards diversity, curiosity about authentic cultural elements, etc. may help a person become culturally competent in a society different from his or hers.

A single member of a minority group can never become a representative of the interests and concerns of the whole group, since ethnic belonging is coupled with individual diversity. The latter always affects the individual perception, making the person unique, and not subject to a unifying stereotype about the whole community.

References

Epstein, J. L., Sanders, M. G., Sheldon, S. B., Simon, B. S., & Salinas, K. C. (2008). School, family, and community partnerships: Your handbook for action (3^rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.