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Importance of reading and writing to literacy
Importance of reading and writing to literacy
Importance of reading and writing to literacy
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People are constantly on a quest for knowledge. People are discovering and learning new ideas every day. But in this current society, there are interfering obstacles in the way: censorship and illiteracy. Censorship prevents man from gaining knowledge and from seeing the truth. It causes blindness and ignorance. The government uses censorship as an advantage to maintain their hold on society. However, censorship violates the First Amendment and restricts free speech, especially in written word. Illiteracy is the inability to read or write. Illiteracy inhibits man from developing their country because it hinders its people from obtaining knowledge from books. Although the United States clearly defines the First Amendment, its government and …show more content…
It is a hindrance to the social development of the nation. To begin with, illiteracy can be defined as the inability to read or write. This is what most people think of when they hear the word “illiteracy.” Besides this, another ilk of illiteracy is functional illiteracy, a common problem around the globe. Functional illiteracy means that one can read or hear words and understand their meanings, but cannot properly comprehend and assimilate the meaning of a sentence as a whole. For example, some can only read signs when they are driving to know what to do when driving. They just read words to be able to get through their daily lives. But they cannot truly continue their quest for knowledge if they just read to live instead of for the sake of obtaining knowledge. Some may argue that illiteracy is not as serious as it is depicted to be. However, an article, “Illiteracy: The Downfall of American Society,” states that according to the United Nations Literacy Decade one in five adults cannot read or write worldwide.(Simon) Man cannot gain knowledge if they cannot read and learn from the mistakes of the past. Most people just accept that they are illiterate and see it as inevitable, so they just ignore it. Some do not even realize they are illiterate so they do not work to become more literate. Lastly, the availability of education and the literacy rate of a society represents its contribution …show more content…
Web. 1 Nov. 2013. <http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/censorship/bannedbooksthatshapedamerica>
Douglas, William O. “The One Un-American Act.” ALA. Web. 27 Oct. 2013. <http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/aboutbannedbooks/oneunamerican>
Fitzpatrick, Suzanne. “Fear & Censorship in Media.” HubPages. Web. 20 Oct. 2013. <http://siouxtrick.hubpages.com/hub/Fear-Censorship-in-Media>
“Illiteracy Statistics.” Statistic Brain. Web. 27 Oct. 2013. <http://www.statisticbrain.com/number-of-american-adults-who-cant-read/>
Leou, Frank. “How does censorship affect the society?” Blog.nus, 22 Apr. 2012. Web. 22 Oct. 2013. <http://blog.nus.edu.sg/frank/2012/04/22/how-does-censorship-affect-the-society/>
Marx, Gary T. “Censorship and Secrecy, Social and Legal Perspectives.” International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences. 2001. Web. 22 Oct. 2013. <http://web.mit.edu/gtmarx/www/cenandsec.html>
Mattleman, Marciene S., and Joe Torsoella. “The Shame – and Costs – of Illiteracy.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 13 Sept. 1986. Web. 25 Oct. 2013.
Deborah Brandt (1998) wrote “Sponsors of Literacy”, a journal where she explained her findings of the research she has done on how different people across the nation learned to read and write, born between 1900, and 1980 (p. 167). She interviewed many people that had varying forms of their literacy skills, whether it was from being poor, being rich, or just being in the wrong spot at the wrong time.
In an ever so changing society it is expected that principals such as education, demographics and much more continue to evolve each day. While most criticize society, others try to define it. Mike Rose, a professor at the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Informational studies, is well known for his writing on issues of literacy. The article Blue-Collar Brilliance, written by Mike Rose, originally appeared in 2009 in the American Scholar magazine. The article not only presents a strong claim, but it also includes personal narratives, which increases the author 's credibility. In addition, connections between the opposing side and sufficient visuals strengthen Rose’s argument as a whole.
X, Malcolm. "Learning to Read." Rereading America. 9th ed. Boston/NewYork: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2013. 189-97. Print.
In the Essay “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society” by Johnathan Kozol. Mr. Kozol uses quotes, key points, experiences and his knowledge companied by effective forms of rhetoric throughout the essay to speak to highly educated and intelligent individuals who have to power to make a difference. He explains in detail how an illiterate society is affecting not only the illiterate’s life, but also the country’s democracy, and endangering the lives around them as well. He interviews individuals who share their experiences of fear, hopelessness, confusion and frustration when dealing with everyday life situations that most people could figure out on their own.
Censorship, as defined in the dictionary, is, in the case of a book, to take out things thought to be objectionable. Censorship is far more than that. This mere word prohibits us from all things
To possess the ability to read and write, is to be educated, is it not? It is a plausible argument that can be made, but we must ask ourselves what limitations and obligations drive this argument. One can counter that there are none and that literacy is simply not black and white, but a spectrum of many shades and colors. Dennis Barron argues that English, a language prevalently used by people in approximately 61 countries around the world, should be banned instead of formalized in the US. He states that it is not what it used to be and that it places too many stigmas on languages that are not itself or a part of its eminent division. The essay that follows is a continuation of the argument that Barron has made; that English as a whole should be banned instead of formalized. We all possess the ability to be literate, English is not and will never be an instigator or inhibitor of that.
Censorship is a concept with several different meanings. To each individual censorship has its own meaning. Is it a violation of our rights or is it a protection for our well being? Censorship in the generic sense refers to the suppression of information, ideas, or opinions. It occurs in all forms of communication from technological media to print media. Each society, culture, or individual's belief is violated by the codes of censorship that our society instills.
Censorship has been a big part of the world’s history and especially America’s history. One of the most quoted amendments to the United States constitution is the first amendment; “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press ...” This amendment guaranteeing free speech, press, and religion is still heavily debated and contested today. Censorship, as a challenge to free speech and press has been allowed many times and has been heavily debated itself. Many people censor for many different reasons and in many different forms. Censorship itself is not always a bad thing and has in some cases been used for protection of the general population.
To be literate is to have “the ability to read, write and speak English proficiently, to compute and solve problems, and to use technology in order to become a life-long learner and to be effective in the family, in the workplace and in the community” (Roman 81). Literacy is a foundation to almost everything in daily life, from the most basic information on food labels to the most important notice on bank accounts. Reading and writing is crucial to know and useful to have. It is surprising how illiteracy can be so common even though we are living far away from the period which the alphabetical order was first invented. There are many factors that cause illiteracy to keep in mind, for example; poverty, population growth, government corruption, and even gender-based has a part just to name a few. To place the blame solely on one party is not appropriate because each of these factors plays a role in illiteracy in society today.
Headden, Susan. "Tongue-tied in the Schools." U.S. News&World Report. September 25, 1995. Page 44 (4).
Tompkins, G. (2010). Literacy for the 21st century: A balanced approach. (5th ed., pp. 12-286). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.
Censorship is the practice of officially examining books, movies, etc., and suppressing unacceptable parts. Which parts are considered unacceptable, depends entirely on the person viewing them. One person may censor violence, nudity, and certain types of language on television, while another may block the comments section on their social media page. All censorship consists of taking something,
Censorship is the control of communication between people. This includes restrictions on what can be seen and heard. Mostly, censorship is practiced by Governments. But religious and political leaders and special interest groups also try to control the flow of information. Censorship violates individual rights, hides useful information, and limits freedom of speech.
Hence, censorship is essential in society to eliminate discrimination on basis of race and gender, protect children, maintain stability and restore what censor sees as lost moral values. Censorship occurs when expressive materials like books, magazines, movies, videos, music or works of art are restricted to particular audiences based on their age or other characteristics. http://www.ala.org/oif/intellectualfreedeomandcensorship.html) Censorship is not a recent development. It wasn’t imposed properly or there weren’t strict regulations before.
Since the foundation of the United States after a harsh split from Britain, almost 200 years later, an issue that could claim the founding grounds for the country is now being challenged by educators, high-ranking officials, and other countries. Though it is being challenged, many libertarians, democrats, and free-speech thinkers hold the claim that censorship violates our so-called unalienable rights, as it has been proven throughout many court cases. Censorship in the United States is detrimental because it has drastically and negatively altered many significant events. Censorship allows governments more control of society than they already have, slowly progressing governments utilizing censorship to a dictatorship. Often times, this censorship can lead to immense rebellions.