Power, Privilege, and (il)Literacy: Part 2

Some people would argue that this child has an advantage over some other children when it comes to literacy. Someone, they would say, has introduced this child to the concept of reading, of printed text, of photographic images and the information they convey. This child probably sees people reading and is learning to imitate that behavior.


Because this child probably lives in an environment where people read, the vocabulary to which this child is exposed likely consists of more words and of more complex words.

Fast forward three to four years.

The drawing on the right was produced by the same child.

"There, you see," some people would say.

"Someone put a crayon in that child's hands. That child has tools that will help him or her take advantage of opportunities later in life, opportunities of which other children without those tools will not be able to take advantage. This child is on the road to literacy.

"This child is privileged."

Maybe. 

It depends on how we define literacy. 

A 2009 report to the National Institute for Literacy recommended the definition of literacy be expanded "so researchers can broaden their inquiry to measure multiple aspects of language and literacy" (p. 17). These researchers would be "from many different and complementary fields," including "developmental neurobiology, education, sociology, anthropology, and other fields to develop a full definition of language and literacy" (p. 18). 

Nowhere in the document did the writers offer a definition of literacy. 

What did they do instead?

Stay tuned. . .