Technically, literacy means the ability to read and write letters, alphabets and texts.
But the implication behind that is much more profound than it looks.
It's kind of chain of syllogism;
being literate means having the ability to read and write,
having the ability to read and write means how to manage things related to human behavior,
management of human behavior means having control over them,
control is power and government.
Literacy or being literate implies the social status of an individual's involvement in a community/society.
Teaching literacy?
Maybe (or probably I believe) teaching how to gain a certain social status which allows people a certain amount of power, to the extent that is allowed by the governing power-the highest literate group in that community/society.
Most of the time, we don't recognize that we are teaching people how to gain the tool for people's unconscious desire to be in the governing position.
In EFL/ESL context?
In most occasions, in human history, being multi-lingual has been a strong heritage. Being able to communicate with people of other tongues have let multi-lingual people have more information and this more information have led them to higher social status by having more chances to access to wealth and richness. We don't recognize but there always exists the game of money and power, i.e. the law of economy and politics.
Meanwhile, 10 months later.
14 years ago
1 comment:
Until reading your blog, I had never really thought about how teachers (to a certain extent)are helping students gain a certain social status in order to get a certain amount of power. Most students come to college in order to get the credentials needed to obtain a good paying job. Being college-educated can be seen as a ticket to power--a way to climb up the ladder of society. It's an interesting question to probe further...
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