Literacy as a Culture

The Amy Johnson article, "The Jones Family’s Culture of Literacy" brings up a very interesting point about how and why people learn to read. For some people reading seems so second nature that it's easy to forget it came from somewhere. People, like Kiki, who are fortunate to have a family culture centered around reading will have a stronger grasp of literacy concepts from a younger age that will be helpful when going in top school. Johnson really highlighted how people can be so immersed in literature, whether consciously or not, through religion and finances, entertainment and day-to-day life. I feel that our ability to read is sometimes taken for granted because it is so easy for so many of us. To think about just how many words you read in one day, or how many words I have to know to be able to write this, just the individual words in my vocabulary I have the ability to read, write, and say. The amount of words the average adult must know is mind-boggling and we so often pass it off as something that just happens.

When you do start to think about how central literacy is to our culture as a whole it becomes clear how important it is that students who come into your classroom are good readers when they leave. This means however, that you are going to have to find ways to connect with not only the Kikis in your classroom who have grown up in reading environments, but also with those who have grown up with little to no literacy. Knowing about literacy culture reminds us how different every student is. To be effective teachers we must not only remember how crucial the lessons are, but that every student will be learning them in their own way.
How has your literacy culture shaped how you read? Something to consider.