We are experiencing a tumultuous moment: A pandemic of coronavirus that threatens our lives and our livelihood; An isolationist president that cuts off our connection to the rest of the world, weakens our faith in science, and stirs our worst impulses; A fraying social fabric inadequate to ward off the forces of anarchy as the demons of racism, xenophobia, unfettered individualism, and nationalism grow unchecked.
In this diverse, globalized, threatening and disconnected life, we clamor for countervailing influences: strong family mores; exemplary role models; our own solid center; an understanding that united we are stronger; and robust institutions in the fields of religion and education.
The need for an effective schooling grounded in 21st century values is needed more than ever. Because many viewpoints exist on what is amiss with our educational system, what I wish to focus on is literacy. Literacy is more than having an education. It is how we relate this training to the life we lead and the obstacles we confront. Many “educated” individuals are illiterate, and we need not look further than our present crop of political leaders.
The notion of literacy has been transformed in this new century. Under the contemporary set of expectations, I find most of us wanting. Therefore, this is a moment for all of us to face the mirror and reflect – what can I do? How do I stack up when measured in terms of these new values? What does it say about the leaders I ought to demand for the future?
The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) has noted that literacy in the 21st century involves many higher-order skills. We build these more complex skills on top of what most of us consider traditional literacy: the competence to read, write, and do basic mathematics. A literate person in this century needs to be a critical thinker, someone trained in spotting everything from blatant pseudo-facts to questionable content. They become problem solvers, effective communicators, have basic knowledge regarding science and technology, display scientific reasoning and show multi-cultural awareness.
Literacy does not begin nor end with school. A literate individual is someone willing to learn through personalized, self-directed actions throughout a lifetime, while showing flexibility and adaptability in many areas of life. In today’s world, such a person can handle, test, and synthesize multiple currents of information; They can create, critique, analyze, and test multimedia texts. Such an individual shows digital literacy, the ability to use the tools of technology. This means being able to maneuver and know how to use technology for their advantage but also for the general welfare.
From an individual’s perspective, literacy is showing situational awareness of one’s intellectual mindscape. This implies being conscious of the situation you are in, what you are reacting to, the task you are undertaking, your thought processes and the consequences of those thoughts. It suggests being present-moment centered. But beyond this individual awareness, a literate person develops relationships with others, at the local and global level. They work collaboratively and cross-culturally to confront and solve problems with different groups. They attend to the ethical responsibilities required by complex environments. They perceive that their own interest must consider the interest of the larger group. All this develops into an unfamiliar empathy: the awareness of human connections and a greater concern for the welfare of others than for one’s own.
Given these new values: Are you a literate person? Are your actions leading you in that direction?