Throughout this course, I have consistently viewed critical literacy as the ‘gateway to all literacies’. What I mean by this is that each literacy requires a critical lens and therefore, being critically literate provides a foundation for engaging in the rest of the literacies. For example, to engage with media literacy, one needs to be able to use a critical lens to examine the type of media and the message it is portraying. Furthermore, to engage in environmental literacy, having a critical literacy background aids in thinking of ways to act that do not harm the earth, about society's positive and negative impacts on the environment and of creative and critical ways to solve environmental issues such as global warming. Evidently, the majority of literacies are intertwined and interrelated, and can therefore not be taught in isolation.
As Hardwood (2008) explains, infusing critical literacy into the pedagogy of elementary schools is essential to begin preparing students for the changing world that they will be entering. These children will be working and living in a world that is different from the one they are being educated in, therefore, they need to learn the skills that will allow them to adapt and thrive. Overall, critical literacy can be defined as the interrogation of any kind of text with the goal of promoting social change through looking at power relations, deconstructing norms, ideologies and social constructs (Wallowitz, 2008). Essentially, critical literacy is letting students see something in a new light. The increase in media and technology also brings forward the issue of critical and media literacy. Together, with these two skills, students will be able to examine and interpret what messages are in the media and how they influence our society.
As Hardwood (2008) explains, infusing critical literacy into the pedagogy of elementary schools is essential to begin preparing students for the changing world that they will be entering. These children will be working and living in a world that is different from the one they are being educated in, therefore, they need to learn the skills that will allow them to adapt and thrive. Overall, critical literacy can be defined as the interrogation of any kind of text with the goal of promoting social change through looking at power relations, deconstructing norms, ideologies and social constructs (Wallowitz, 2008). Essentially, critical literacy is letting students see something in a new light. The increase in media and technology also brings forward the issue of critical and media literacy. Together, with these two skills, students will be able to examine and interpret what messages are in the media and how they influence our society.
Being critically literate in a continually changing world is one of the most valuable skills we can provide students with. The video below is not specific to critical literacy, but it does demonstrate how rapidly the world is changing, in which adapting a critical lens is a necessity. Educating children on how to live in a world that does not exist yet seems like a daunting task however with the proper skills provided to preservice teachers, such as this course on 21st century literacies, we can be better prepared to prepare our students for the changing world. I think that teacher adaption to the literacies is essential. Although a flipped classroom approach could work for something like technology, where students may know more than the teacher, teachers much also be able to embody these literacies to demonstrate their importance to students. Student-directed learning with teacher facilitation is a great way to encourage critical literacy because it is not something that can be taught, but rather something that needs to be discovered and understood.
Implementing critical literacy into the classroom seems like something that can only be done in junior or intermediate grades, however, as this video demonstrates, students of all ages have the capacity to critically engage with texts. I think that this is something that teachers must be cognizant of; students in kindergarten have the ability to be critical, and teachers need to foster it and provide the resources and space for them to do so. If teachers assume that young children cannot engage in critical literacy, then the students will be at a disadvantage. In terms of strategies to use in the classroom, Ontario Ministry of Education’s 'Capacity Building Series' outlines three key strategies to enhance critical literacy:
 |
| Ontario Ministry of Education (2009) |
These strategies are a great start to implementing critical literacy into the classroom because they can work with all ages, texts and subjects. This document regarding critical literacy explains the importance of it, as well as a few more specific techniques that can be used to teach critical literacy. It also includes a section about "Classroom Culture" which I think is very important; students need to be in an environment where critical thought and different opinions are encouraged. Providing a safe environment for students to be able to willingly express their point of view will allow for a better experience of engaging in critical literacy in the classroom.
I feel as though my undergraduate degree has provided me with the critical thinking skills and knowledge for me to engage with this on a daily basis, as well as to comfortably implement it in my future classroom. I think that being critical is essential in today’s world based on the experiences I have had, and I want my future students to be able to look at the world in a different way as well. Overall, providing students with the necessary skills such as critical literacy, can help them not only interpret and be successful in using other literacies, but also thrive in the world they will be living and working in.
References
Harwood, D. (2008). Deconstructing and reconstructing Cinderella: Theoretical defense of critical literacy for young children.
Language and Literacy, 10(2).
Ontario Ministry of Education. (2009). The literacy and numeracy secretariat: Capacity building series. Retrieved from
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/Critical_Literacy.pdf
Wallowitz, L. (2008). Critical literacy as resistance: Teaching for social justice across the secondary curriculum (Vol. 326). NY:
Peter Lang Publishing.
