Blog Post II

Three definitions of literacy that Uta Papen discusses were very informative. She discusses functional, critical and liberal views of literacy. Functional literacy is defined by having certain skills which are "required for a broad range of activities associated with the individual's participation in society" (9). This view is associated solely with individuals being a part of a given society and working within that society to achieve certain goals. According to this view, literacy is perceived "as a set of neutral, technical skills, which have little if anything to do with culture and society" (10). Critical literacy, on the other hand, "refers to the potential of literacy as not only 'reading the word', but also 'reading the world' " (Papen quoting the Brazilian educator Paulo Freire 10). This view of literacy is similar to the one that E.D.Hirsch, Jr describes in his essay "Cultural Literacy:What Every American Needs to Know". He puts forth a concept of cultural literacy, a sort of background knowledge or "a deep understanding of mainstream culture" (Hirsch 10) that forms the basis of the individual's ability to adapt to the social change. The concept of cultural literacy is very appealing to me; it seems that it is crucial for the harmonious well-being of any society. Hirsch also states that cultural literacy has a potential to truly liberate the individuals; he posits that the "civic importance of cultural literacy lies in the fact that true enfranchisement depends upon knowledge, knowledge upon literacy, and literacy upon cultural literacy" (12). Finally, the last concept that Papen discusses is that of the liberal literacy. She explains that "literacy education is seen as a welfare activity by the middle classes for disadvantaged sectors of society" (11). It seems that this concept is somewhat all-encompassing since it does not view literacy as a set of skills but "believes in the right to education of all citizens... [and] emphasises [sic] personal development and individual goals" (11).