Learning to read and write

The literacy campaign article this week was really interesting and kind of scary. It was a reminder to me that our country is one of the only societies in which modern day man is taught to read as a way not just to adopt a religious or political perspective, but to name their world. Naming the world is a new term to me, and I think about it a lot. To me the world has always been the world. People see the world differently, but naming the world carries so much more cultural information. Reading about how different groups learn to name their world and the consequences makes me wonder if I've named my world or just lived in it. I have some really interesting discussions with a friend who walks with me every morning (at 5:45 : ) We talk about my readings, and sometimes I share them with her. Talking about things I've learned or we've discussed helps me put them into the proper place in my own database and explaining things sometimes helps me clarify concepts and vocabulary in my own mind. But getting back to Arnove & Graff, I think one would have to look backward in history to be able to clearly see the purpose of a literacy campaign. I'm so impressed at the people who have been able to research and clarify these literacy campaigns. It reminds me that I have such a long way to go.