Essay On Critical Literacy

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Literacy From a Different Point of View
What exactly makes someone literate? For most people the definition of being literate is the ability to read and write. Most Americans grow up going to schools, learning their ABC’s through songs, their grammar from practice books, and spelling through homework of consistent writing of words about ten times each and then a spelling test rewarded by some kind of treat. Every child is called smart when they learn to read a book by themselves, but are they really smart or is this massification, the illusion of being educated according to Freire. Are students really understanding context, purpose, and noticing writing strategies, or are they just using memory to sound out words? Critical literacy goes beyond that. It is being able to use …show more content…
It would not make them find root causes and possibilities for change, but would rather fill their heads with other people’s static ideas. Freire called the effects of this kind of teaching massification. Massified students, he said, have the illusion of being educated, of being free, of being able to understand and control their circumstances. But they are not much more conscious or analytical than their illiterate counterparts,” referring to the experience Freire had with urban peasants. This makes a great connection to how the school system works today. Students are taught to pass exams, to remember spelling words, to use the internet to find out what they do not know. They are not taught how to think for themselves, to use their brain to find reason for everything. Students just accept the information they receive instead of questioning it. Critical literacy is not needed just when reading a book, it is needed in the real world. The book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is an example of a society that lacks critical literacy. Books started to be burn because society demanded for things to be shortened, for everything to be faster, and for equality to
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