3rd= Teachers/Educators

Thirdly, I think teachers and educators have had a major influence...possibly even the most important influence, on my learning and perception of literacy. From the superintendents and school board directors who help make decisions about the curriculum, all the way down to my pre-school teacher, I have been directed and instructed to read/write certain things because of their decisions. I think the education system is one of the largest influences on children learning literacy, because it IS the society they are surrounded by. I know some of the readings we have discussed talked about how society forms the concept of literacy for individuals, but at the age of 7, the school and one's classmates are the society they are learning in. At that point in my life, I didn't even know the word 'literacy', or even what it meant to be 'literate'. But I did know what an assignment to read a certain book meant. Children don't critically learn to think about texts until much later in their development. I know it was one of the arguments we looked at, whether to teach children to think critically as they learn to read, or teach them critical thinking after they master the skill. At this point in a child's development, I believe it would be awfully difficult to get a child to answer critical and intellectual questions about things they have read/written. I mean, at the age of 11, I was still day dreaming about what game we would play at recess. I don't think that children could handle learning to analyze texts as they simultaneously learn to read. Also, I think children learn a lot from their teacher's actions and viewpoints, which also plays into the idea of society conforming their young minds. Children look up to adults, especially one's they see 9 months out of the year. They want to please their teacher and to be accepted in the classroom, and how do they accomplish this? By acting and responding in ways that validate their wishes. If they want the teacher's approval, they need to carry out certain societal actions that deem the student as a 'good student'. Now I'm just going on rambling, but I think there are major institutionalized isssues working at hand. If critics want to improve or critique the education system, they need to first analyze the development of human beings, and how they socialize into the world, BEFORE thinking about what they should read/write about.

2nd= Influences of the Government

The Government influences almost every aspect of society through regulating, allowing, or prohibiting certain things dealing with literacy. Figures in society, as well as important literacy leaders, deem certain texts as valuable and worthy of teaching or supporting in the classroom. Or, these same leaders can taint certain work as being not valuable to society or worthwhile to be read. This type of influence carries down to every student in a public education system through its curriculum.
The Government also controls what is allowed to be shown on TV or said on the radio, by prohibiting certain topics of discussion. The freedom of speech is considered the most valuable right Americans have...but do they truly HAVE it? The media in and of istelf is a mass producer and distributor of information. What viewers see affects their outlook on the world around them. Important political figures, speeches, elections, informative documents, soap operas, and daytime dramas are all available 24/7. And this can be both an amazing technological accomplishment, but also a negative downfall to society's critical thinking.
The media has a negative stigma attached when it comes to violence, sex, and profanity. These are all major categorical topics that are viewed as 'bad'...but what about the TV/media programs that are deceitful, misconstruing issues, giving a lack of information, or misleading its viewers? Many people don't seem to critically think through the bombarding messages being sent their way. The emssages that are superficially bad are somewhat easier to ignore and not be tricked or deceived by them...but the subversive implications of certain media messages can alter your views and perceptions on something without you even realizing it. This is one of the most dangerous issues the media presents. Individuals need to learn a new kind of Media Literacy in order to critically and analytically think through the informaiton being presented to them, not only through literal works of text.

1st= Government

CNN always has something to say about it, our local news coverage always includes it, and the classroom can't live without it: The Government. It is the first thing on my diagram of literacy in my life. I put the government first, along with the American flag and money, because of all the things that our democratic government can both provide, and take away. The American flag symbolizes the American ideal and our goal to provide every child with an education. This also includes the "No Child Left Behind" plan of our leaders. The dollar symbols enveloping the capital illustrates what must back these ideals in order for them to take hold. Without money, our government would have no tools to aid others, and without the aid, some students may never have the opportunity to have literacy taught to them. I also believe that this is an idealistic view of our government and how it can help others. In all reality, the upper-elite of our society can control the agenda of bills by either backing them or deciding to forgo plans. This type of influence implies that whether our society realizes it or not, the upper class of our society is somewhat deciding what things should be taught in schools across the nation, what morals and lessons should be told, and what things should be omitted from the curriculum. These congressman, senators, politicians, etc. are imposing their views of what literacy should be taught as into our public education systems. This is why I view the government sitting at the top of my pyramid of literacy influences.