Every year I write a column for our local newspaper for International Literacy Day. Below is this year's version. Let me know what you think. If anyone wishes to use any part, or all of the column in your community, do not hesitate to do so. September 8 is International Literacy Day, and we all should spend some time thinking about this subject.
Most people think of literacy as a set of discrete skills that can be used in multiple contexts.
According to this definition, people either possess these skills, and are literate, or do not possess them, and are illiterate. Literacy experts, however, argue that there is not just one literacy, but many literacies that emerge in different contexts and communities and that we all possess different levels of these literacies. The following true story illustrates this. A few months ago, a friend of mine called me because he had a severe pain on his side and wanted my opinion. I, of course, suggested that he visit his doctor, to which he replied that he did not have one.