The Perceptions of Literacy in College Students

     After finishing Chasing Literacy by Daniel Keller, my eyes were opened wide by how today’s students have to be able to adapt in using multiple literacies in the classroom or risk the chance of being left behind by an education system that swore against that very practice. Throughout this fantastic case study, Keller details the successes and struggles that students can have when literacy not only has multiple meanings but also has multiple practices. In the conclusion, Keller notes how “perceptions affect what people do with literacy” (161). I have to agree with that assertion from personal and teaching experience. Before taking a class in literacy theory, I had the naïve belief that literacy just related to reading books and writing academic papers and short stories. However, that is not all that we read and write. Every day, we read and write text messages, social media posts, and television listings, not to mention all of the reading and writing that is needed for school purposes. But, this quote, along with the rest of Keller’s work, got me to thinking about how my own students would respond. After all, I teach upperclassmen that would not fall into the same trap that I did, right?

            So, I decided to ask my students two very simple questions. The first one was “What do you read on a regular basis?” The second one was “What do you write on a regular basis?” I was clear that I would not aid them in answering these questions, because I did not want to lead them into answers that would prove Keller correct or incorrect, thus rendering this “experiment” invalid. But, there was no reason because they answer as Keller predicted. According to the majority of these students, the only thing that they read is textbooks and other school materials and the only thing they write is papers and other homework assignments. Some of them mentioned texts and social media, but not all of them did. When I brought this up and asked why they did not mention the other “non-academic” literacies, they said that they were writing down what they thought I wanted to read. Imagine their shock when I reminded them that I just wanted to know what they read and write on a regular basis.

            What does this all mean? It means that in this ever-changing world, people do not realize how much we read and write. It also means that they have more chances to improve their reading and writing skills along with other abilities that will allow them to become better readers and writers. So, as a teacher, I will have to work on constantly reminding them that they read and write more than what they think they do. I will also do a better job of bring multiple literacies into the classroom in order to make learning how to write better more grounded in reality.

Do you have any tips for me?

Works Cited

Keller, Daniel. Chasing Literacy: Reading and Writing in an Age of Acceleration. Logan: Utah State UP, 2013