Different Perspectives on Modern Day Literacy

             How refreshing. A positive outlook on literacy in modern day society has been presented. After reading Hedges and Carr’s extremist articles, I definitely needed a different perspective.

              Scribner takes an attractive approach on defining literacy. The question is actually one that sparks our curiosity. How the heck do you define literacy? It is broad and is composed of various components, it is hard to put a fence around the word and give it a set definition. Diverse definitions of the word shape our conception of what we consider a literate and a non-literate. This causes a clash. As Scribner puts it, we work to hard trying to define literacy as an “attribute of individuals” (Scribner 8) when one should actually look at is as a “social achievement” (Scribner 8). Literacy is the “outcome of cultural transmission” (Scribner 8). Scribner takes literacy and divides it into three metaphors, defining each metaphor individually; she explains how each metaphor describes a part of the definition of literacy: literacy as an adaption, literacy as a power, and literacy as a state of grace.  First, literacy as an adaption “takes into account goals and settings of people’s activities with written language (Scribner 12). It addresses the “proficiency necessary for effective performance in a range of setting and customary activities” (Scribner 10).  Next, literacy as a power is the “relation ship between group and community advancement (Scribner 12). Power with literacy describes how becoming literate can lead to social change within a society and help free a person from a victimized state. Finally, literacy as a state of grace describes how some people associate literacy with having certain special virtues; therefore, one who is literate is “cultured” or “blessed” or “holy”.  Essentially, literacy as a state of grace “leads to intellectual, aesthetic, and spiritual knowledge of the humankind available through written word” (Scribner 14).

         Moreover, while Hedges proposed a radical definition of modern-day literacy, Thompson’s article “Clive Thompson on the New Literacy”, covers the other side of the spectrum. Instead of saying that we have gone from a delusional, print based society to an image based society that doesn’t understand reality, Thompson believes that the written word is becoming more powerful than ever. According to Professor Lundsford (from Thompson’s article) technology is actually “pushing our literacy in bold new directions” (Thompson 1). Because of young people’s large variety of social networks, they actually write much more than any other generation: texting, Facebook chatting, Twitter updates, PLUS extensive academic essays, it all compiles to be a grand quantity of writing. Thompson calls this “life writing”. I’d call that…the perfect term. Before, Americans wouldn’t take the time to write unless school or job related, but now with all of technologies new networking systems, writing is everywhere. But just because writing has become more commonly used in an informal, social setting, it doesn’t mean students don’t know how to address their audience. They know exactly when to be informal and use slang and when to use their intellectual writing abilities. 

           Personally, I enjoyed Carr’s, Scribner’s, and Thompson’s texts, but I honestly extremely disagreed with Hedges. I feel that the rest of the author’s all had valid points. Carr and Thompson had opposite opinions on matters, yet both had true aspects to their writing. Scribner’s piece was more objective, with the purpose of composing a definition, not creating a bias.