Literacy as a Social Construction Bianca Baskin

Literacy as a social construction is the concept emphasizing that what counts as literate, like how important it is to be literate, varies with the cultural context. The social construct of literacy has been used in educational policy discussions and focuses on its connection to the basic themes of educational promise and real school practice.

Literacy can be discussed as a general condition of access and ability to gain information that can be useful for the pursuit of freedom. Past and present literacy rates are not only affected by differences in social class, race, gender, and region; they are also tied closely to the social norm.

Being illiterate in the early 18th and 19th century did not necessarily mean that a person was handicapped in the pursuit of well being and participation in society. It did not become a phenomenon until the 20th century. Each minority group of the United States wanted and had the desire to educate themselves so that their children could advance socially and economically in society. To be illiterate in today’s culture is to be significantly handicapped in the conduct of everyday affairs, to be so regarded and to be relegated to the “margins” of mainstream life. Agree or disagree?

The first national push for “excellence” in education started with the Nation at Risk movement (Reagan administration), then No Child Left Behind policy (Bush administration) and Race to the Top (Obama administration). These policies were put into place to put emphasis on literacy and learning for children in the elementary classroom setting. The milestone of literacy. Critics believe that the children were the ones that suffered because the basis of one passing is now depending on a standardized state test.

Literacy is not enough https://youtu.be/KN_1hJRgG3U