Reflections

This course has enlightened my knowledge on literacy with the acqusition of it to the reason why we still continue to have so many Americans who cannot read. I have been forced to change my preconceived notions about non-literate people and for me to be an effective educator my ideas had to change. Lazy, incompetent and uninterested are a few of the thoughts I had but this course says I should see all the factors before I make an uninformed judgement.

Seeing how people learn from different socio-cultural and economic backgrounds allows me to be aware of the perceptions that are placed on students before they even enter the classroom. I am challenged to create a learning enviornment that is socially acceptable and equal to all students I encounter where as this was not much of a consideration when the profession began. To be aware of an individual's emergent literacy acquisition is something I would not have known if I had not taken this course. Additionally, the attention to how to teach people of various backgrounds will prove to be invaluable in my pursuit of this degree. The guests we had were informative and helpful in their comments on various subjects and the trip to Columbia University library really grounded me for the course work to come. It is difficult to comment on all that I have taken away as I believe I am still processing some information causing me to see different concepts I would have not known existed. Cultural literacy is just one of those concepts that continue to swirl around in my head as it seems to be a very simple idea but complex to pull it off without the proper planning.

All in all, I will continue to look over the readings and books for this course to reinforce what it is that I have learned.