Literacy and the Politics of Education Summary Essay

In the article, Literacy and the Politics of Education, author C. H. Knoblauch touches on a deeper brain about the concept of literacy. His perspective conveys that literacy is much more than what society unremarkably perceives it as honourable reading and writing. Clearly laid out in his essay are four notable founts of literacy which are functional literacy, ethnic literacy, critical literacy, and personal growth literacy. Knoblauch chose this subject in order to demo his frustration on societies and their lack of motivation to excel being literate.He feels that America is becoming more illiterate since the catchment of new technology. not that more Americans are forgetting how to read and write, but that more are weakness to use literacy as a means of enriching themselves and furthering themselves through life. The most familiar form of literacy, especially in the United States, is functional literacy. It exists not as an art, not to paint a picture, or to express emotion s. Functional literacy is, in all scenarios, a technical basis of reading and writing just enough to get by in life. Functionalists will read what concerns them.And they certainly only write what they must, whether it is a legal document or send a simple email. It is the literacy that exists in the very basic everyday functions for people. ethnical Literacy is just as the title suggests. It is literacy that is dependent on the individual or groups of individuals. It is passed down from generation to generation. The idea is that people rate literacy with judgment determine free of influence from any government. This could most purely be pictured as an American farming family, living far from the nearest townspeople or city.The children are home-schooled so now the parents literacy is passed to the children. But more than that, the literacy passed alike includes the awareness of the cultural heritage. (Knoblauch) The third type of literacy noted is called critical literacy. This ty pe stems from the Marxist theory, and is also deemed as a negative in our American society. It is the type of literacy that motivates people to urge for change in their current society. It refutes dominating organizations, and urges that all people have equal opportunities.The final form of literacy, the personal growth belief, states that language is a tool to communicate the greater midland power of the human mind. This type of literacy is connected to the way humans develop cognitive thinking. It thrives on achievement and power. This type of literacy argues for the sake of literacy itself. It wants individuals to embrace literacy and permit their minds wander into their own imaginations. In conclusion, literacy indeed takes many forms. Literacy is one of those tight subjects. (Knoblauch).