According to Szwed, what are the 5 elements of literacy? Select one of them and describe it in more detail.
Szwed’s five elements of literacy are text, context, function, participants, and motivation. Participants are who is reading, we can break down who they are by what they are reading. This element ties into motivation. In order to understand a person’s motivation for reading, we must understand the person, or participant, themselves.
What method of studying literacy does Szwed recommend and why?
Ethnography. I see Szwed’s explanation of ethnography as observing people and their ways of absorbing knowledge. Szwed found field observations a useful tool when observing people in natural settings, subways, schools, parks, offices, etc. Studying how people take in knowledge while reading helps us understand what is needed for each individual. It creates an understanding of a school and communities needs. If these needs were properly fulfilled, we could see a rise in literacy and its resources.
What does Szwed mean when he writes, in reference to ethnography, that “we must come to terms with the lives of people without patronizing them”?
I took this statement as not assuming that reading and writing is a one size fits all. We have to reflect on each person’s lives and the consequences of not having adequate ways to achieve literacy. We must take into account the activities readers are using to reinterpret material. We also need to be willing to provide “code-switching” for multilingual speakers.
Imagine you are a literacy instructor at a high school in the Bronx: if you followed Szwed’s advice, how would you teach literacy?
I think the subject of avoiding patronizing students could come to mind here. There are stereotypes that could be put into play for these students due to their environment. Teaching should be open and available for each type of learner. Even among those of privileged backgrounds, we can recognize a struggle for ultimate literacy. We must realize all teaching cannot be distributed the same for each person, and we also cannot assume that everyone, regardless of background or possible privilege, learns the same.
What, according to Perry, are the two models of literacy? How are they different? Which one do you think is better?
The two models of literacy are;
Text
- Genre Purpose
- Textual Features
Function
- Agents in communicative intent for reading and writing text.
I believe function is the better perspective in literacy. Without adequate function how can we expect to absorb our text?
I was really intrigued by the diagram of needed aspects of knowledge. Written knowledge, cultural knowledge and lexicosyntax and graphophonic knowledge are essential. We can see how each aspect plays into literacy and illiteracy perfectly after this week’s research.
What did you learn from researching the term “orality versus literacy?”
Literacy is our ability to read and write. Orality is the quality of writings being spoken or verbally communicated. Orality is how we describe the verbal medium for different cultures that have no exposure to writing. Orality is needed to have universal opportunities in literacy.
How are our literacy practices shaped by communities of which we are part and in which we are raised?
In our reading this week, I realized how complex the patterns in illiteracy can be. Although we assume illiteracy is only present in low socioeconomic standing, we also see it evenly distributed in all backgrounds. However, we see less of a resource or understanding opportunities when we look at the underprivileged society. Some reading is only available in one language. This takes away the change for multilingual communities to partake in certain readings.
How are literacy standards created, who do they serve and how are they assessed for cultural bias?
The ethnographic approach seems to be how we can observe literacy. Sociocultural perspectives that are observed show limitations in literacy. The construct of literacy has been built up through ethnographic studies, and all through they have a means to be broken, these constructs are put in place by observing how each person shows their understanding of literacy.
