Critical Literacy « Learning, Thinking and Literacy

Critical literacy suggests every text positions itself to privilege certain viewpoints and in so doing, diminishes others. No text can be all to everything. Taking the viewpoint that a text is something that creates meaning, the Detroit Marathon may, in this view, be considered a text.

I ran as a member of a relay team today. We did well, the top 10% of relay teams. Can this event be considered in terms of critical literacy?

When I look at what was privileged it certainly was exercise, not so much slothfulness. It also privileged the right of runners to take over a city, a bridge, and a tunnel. But when I look closer I feel the shadow of my beliefs fall across my interpretation.

This perturbs me. Does critical literacy become a frame for justifying my beliefs or a lens to consider the views of others? I would like to believe I find an open space where the views of the motorist who cannot drive to where she wants to go, to the homeless man who cannot sleep in his usual place, to the local resident who has paper cups strewn across the road, to the runner who staggers to complete the event, sit together and share their views, knowing that no one has the true picture, although everyone has a piece.

So today, the Detroit Marathon became a text that indicated that there are many, legitimate, viewpoints, which coexist, maybe not comfortably, and make a tapestry of life. What I am wrestling with is this; does critical literacy foster this integration or does it become a tool for consolidating one view, … mine?

There are more cell phones than people in the United States. (http://www.dailywireless.org/2011/10/11/cell-phones-exceed-us-population/)

While I am sure most of them are in the hands of drivers, this number includes children, old people, and the poor. A fascinating statistic to consider in light of 21^st Century learning.

How is this changing how we think and learn? I believe that the ease of access to this communication tool has to shape how we communicate. My phone is audio/visual; it has a small screen so I prefer short texts. I understand, and even use, text abbreviations, and often prefer to text than speak. My phone makes different noises for different messages. Whereas once a text was permanent on paper, it now vibrates, moves, makes noise, can be interacted with, and can be deleted.

Is this changing how I learn, how I think? And if I don’t wish to engage with it, am I left behind? Where once words were king (or queen), now that exist beside visuals and even sound at times.

To answer my own question, it is probably self-evident it is changing learning, albeit slowly if we are looking at schools. But what about thinking, do I think differently as a result of my cell phone, my computer, my iPad?

These are exciting and destabilizing times. I feel that I am on the crest of a wave, sometimes caught in the breaking water and a little panicked, sometimes on the face of the wave and exhilarated, but also fearful of losing the ride.

Learning, Thinking and Literacy

Wonderings about 21st Century thinking and learning.

Category Archives: Critical Literacy

Detroit Marathon

Thinking and cell phones

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