Looking too far into the literacies that surround us?

As I read one of our generative words/statements this week, my mind had a field day with one particular question: "The readings this week provide deeper theoretical ways to see the power of literacy; as Discourse, praxis, visual and performance art...But are we going too far?  Is literacy all things to all people?  What's the common thread to all of these ideas?"  So in hopes that this makes sense to others, I would like to make an attempt to put my thoughts to pen (or keyboard)……

I reflected first on a conversation that I had over the weekend with a friend, still enthralled so with the Iddings, McCafferty and da Silva article on Conscientizacao Through Graffiti Literacies in the Streets of a Sao Paulo Neighborhood: An Ecosocial Semiotic Perspective.  Thinking back to Susan’s quip regarding our enthusiasm and desire to discuss our readings with others; I too have become a load of fun at parties!  (Too funnyJ)  But even so, I couldn't resist bringing my thoughts up as I sat over a glass of wine with a friend that had majored in Art some years ago.  I thought, I suppose, about the theory that at times certain text does require a Discourse to truly understand its meaning.  So I was interested in what she knew about this particular form of literacy and the powerful meaning that it may mask from those unfamiliar.  She too was intrigued (FINALLY!!) about the meaning found in the art of Sao Paulo’s graffiti artists, for she knew of a “graffiti movement” and was aware that it can convey more than just a pretty picture.  Her artist’s lens had taught her to look for hidden meaning behind an image or picture, but she did not know the history of the area and so viewed it with her own experiences as she attempted to understand the artist’s intentions.  Her meanings were often different from those intended. 

I also pause as I consider the readings this week and an apparent theme of the Resource Guide for a Do-It-Yourself Education.  The author appears to be a proponent of experiential learning, and makes a compelling case for why it may be found by some more relevant than classroom education.  While I don’t agree that classroom education should be entirely ruled out, I do support her belief that experiential learning can be quite valuable.  While experiential learning and embodied knowing do not necessarily carry the same meaning; the discovery of both has caused me to consider how powerful our experiences and emotions can be when it comes to how and what we take away from our learning.  Often it is because we experience it that the learning holds as much meaning as it does. 

So when asked whether or not we are looking too far into hidden meanings and where we find them, I counter with the question of should we as educators ever stop looking?  Learning can be found in such a variety of places, I am myself learning this anew every day.  And while the viewer (or reader) may take away a message that is not quite what the author/illustrator intended….I beg the consideration of the fact that learning took place at all.  Consider that while the graffiti artists found in the Sao Paulo article hope to create emotion and awareness in the people of their society; I thank them for the emotion and awareness it has created for me in looking at graffiti in a whole new way.   

Literacy, in all of its approaches, provides an opportunity to deliver powerful messages.  It is the viewer’s Discourse(s) that aids in their experience of the message.  Through praxis and theory, we are attempting to understand all that may aid in creating awareness within any one individual.  “Any experience can become part of your education.” (pg. 156)  And as educators, should we not attempt to understand the variety of ways in how one can experience and glean meaning from any text that surrounds them? 

Embodied Learning

I found the article by Christine Woodcock linking "ways of knowing" for me. Embodied knowing is something I have experienced in feminist ideology and theory. The discussion is often concerned with how the Western dominant paradigm of knowledge is constructed as privileging the mind as the sole source of human learning and experience. (Postmodern analysis also takes on how knowledge is constructed and shared.)  Woodcock, however, linked these concepts to literacy events for me and brought my awareness to how we make sense of everyday practices to a deeper level.  There are many "texts" in the world that are hidden and I would venture that many of them are hidden and remain hidden because of how they are connected to the body. Despite our "enlightenment" and tendency to think "clinically" about the body, we still prefer to skim lightly across the surface of its way of knowing.

Why is this? Right now I have a couple of thoughts on this based on this week's readings. One of the questions we were asked to consider concerned the "power of literacy" and whether by looking at literacy through praxis, art and other less traditional means, we were going too far. To peel back the layers of meaning when I am studying something, I frequently pull out my huge Oxford Dictionary. I am fascinated by words and love to tease out nuances of meaning by "rewording" something I am reading by inserting the thematic word from the dictionary in place of the word in question. In this instance, "the power of literacy" became "the power of competency."

Back to Woodcock, who argues that there is a disregard for personhood in literacy practices, and that the body must "be treated as invested with personal meaning, history, and value that are ultimately determinable only by the subject who lives within it."  I would argue that literacy (competency) is an individualized phenomenon and that being literate within a situated discourse/text means making meaning of that situation that allows one to grow, to learn, and even to overcome.  This brings me to Precious Jones. Precious had to go beyond learning ABCs and how to form letters on a page - how to read. She had to 'make sense' of what her embodied experience had taught her. The dialogue of her struggle - recorded through her journals and poetry - allowed her the space, and the method, to become 'literate.'  However, the process was exceedingly difficult for her, difficult for her teacher and others in the class. It was also difficult for us. Why do we skim over embodied ways of learning? They are just hard, and we feel out of control of the learning environment. We don't know how things will turn out. The only way out is through. Ironically, that is also an embodied learning experience, the birth process.

Is literacy all things to all people? I would argue that literacy is a highly individualized construct and that is the common thread in these readings. Moreover, the ability to make sense out of our embodied experiences leads to competency, and that is something we all desire. Embodied learning then, can empower competency.