On Being Literate

by Sarah Tambucci, Ph.D.
Director, AEC

lit-er-ate (noun)

Somebody capable of reading and writing somebody who is able to read and write
Somebody with extensive education a well-educated, learned, or cultured person

Is being able to read and write enough in today’s society? What is it we want to be able to read? Is writing merely penmanship? Or is writing the ability to communicate ideas, solutions, and dreams?

A colleague of mine once said that she always thought that learning to read was somehow ‘like magic.’ “As a child, one day, all of a sudden I could read”. Perhaps, for some, being able to read is like magic – an unexpected delightful skill set – decoding and encoding and making meaning. For others, I think that being able to read is magic – like waving a wand and entering endless lands of make believe, stirring emotions, and developing dendrites that fill in gaps of not knowing.

I worry about what has become a narrow definition of literacy. While no one can argue the value of being able to master the skills of reading and writing, it is the broader definition of being literate that I advocate should be our mantra for all of our children. Taking stalk of what it means to be well educated, learned, and cultured is not exactly a national pastime. Yet, our global society requires us to be able to ‘read’ languages that are nonverbal, symbolic, and invented. Our increasing use and interest in technologies requires us to ‘write’ intuitively as we navigate new texts and decode meaning presented not only in symbol systems but also in the multi-faceted and multi-dimensional dynamic of multimedia.

Our children are being required to function in a world of meaning making not always understood by adults. Theirs is a world of multi-opportunity. In this issue of Essential Learning in the Arts, Amy Puffenberger provides a personal perspective that captures the dreams of growing up in rural America with a passion for making films. Amy’s study of literacy began, perhaps, when she ‘read’ her first film. It is her skill in using this craft as a medium to communicate that goes far beyond ‘readin’ and ‘ritin’.

Elliot Eisner, Professor Emeritus, Stanford University, reminds us eloquently that “literacy is far more than being able to read and write. Because meaning is the core of literacy, it is the ability to decode or encode in any of the forms through which meaning is conveyed.” Are we providing our children the opportunity to realize their potential as well educated, learned, and cultured citizens?

On Being Literate

lit-er-ate (noun)

Somebody capable of reading and writing somebody who is able to read and write

Somebody with extensive education a well-educated, learned, or cultured person

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