Literacy and the Literacy Myth: From Plato to Freire
When I saw the word 'literacy' at first in a graduate school, I searched the dictionary. In English it means 'the ability to read and write', and in Korean it also means 'the ability to read and write'. In a English-Korean dictionary, it literally says like that in Korean, which means we do not have any particular word for 'literacy'. 'Literacy' seems to be very important for many countries like USA and Eropean countries. Many people think it's been playing very significant roles in a lot of fields like sicientific civilization, modern civilization, liberty, democratic society.... (It may be just myth like someone said..)
If it's that important, why do we have no word for 'literacy'? Korean people don't care for 'literacy'? What is literacy in Korean? What does that mean to us? How has the 'literacy' influenced Korean society?
.... Let's say a computer is broken. A person asks some help to his friends or family. Or he could call the A/S center and ask some help. B person reads the instruction carefully and tries to fix the computer by following the instructions there. ... Anyway both fixed the computer. Which one is more intelligent?
'Literacy' seems to be difficult to define. In a English dictionary, it means 'the ability to read and write' but many people think it's more than it.
Then,
What is literacy?
Why is it important?
If there are certain age when chidren can get a 'literacy', what should we do for them? How can we help them? What are the roles of parents, schools, and so on?
good questions... the one question my old professor used to ask was: "are we talking about literacy or literacies?" gee gives examples of how 'literacy' has been both a means of empowerment and a means of oppression. i don't know the history of korea very well, but i wonder what the historical context for the creation of hangeul was. did the creation of the phonetic alphabet and the higher literacy rates really empower people? i heard that up until the japanese colonized korea, hangeul was considered a language/literacy of peasants and women. then it became a literacy of resistance and national pride. it's strange how the seemingly simple idea of 'literacy' can be so slippery.
ReplyDeletethanks for your questions and comments... i always enjoy them.
I found a blog, and he said the reason why there is no particular word for 'literacy' in Korean is because Korean people didn't really think oral messages and literal messages are different. I think we might have thought it's important to decode or interpret not only what is written but also what is spoken. (or behaviors as well)
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