What constitutes literacy?
Literacy is not only being able to read and write. It also includes being competent in doing something. When I hear someone say “…I am illiterate…” in a particular area, to me it means they are not able to do something because they have not learned how to do it. They have little or no understanding of it, lack the ability to talk about it in a meaningful way, and do not use it to achieve any goal, either personally or socially. On the other hand, being let’s say mathematically literate affords someone the ability to use it for a purpose with understanding.
After reading Chapter 5 in Solomon and thinking about the different ideas presented, I also thought about the notion of Depth of Knowledge, better known as DOK level in Kentucky in relation to the Core Content. The DOK level of any objective sets the level of cognitive demands required to master an objective at a particular grade level. Like DOK levels, I think there are levels of literacy that are defined by social classes and the culture in which we live.
You made me think of people that constantly say, “I am computer illiterate!” This makes me wonder, do they really not know anything about computers or are they just scared to step outside of their comfort zone and give it a try. A lot of times, I do believe people are afraid to set outside the box and try something new–I am sure most of us have been guilty of this at one time or another.