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The importance of literature
The importance of literature
The use of literature in teaching
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The Indispensable Role of Literature in Education Reflecting on some of the better qualities that I possess, I realize that many of the skills were developed during my childhood, and among those, I am exceedingly aware that many traits were matured by the literature that I was exposed to as a young, vulnerable, sponge-like being. As my mother read “The Boxcar Children” to me at the age of four, I developed an important understanding that would not only contribute to positive life skills, but an intense appreciation for adversity, a desire to become a leader and work toward my goals, and perseverance in which each played a significant role in nurturing my education. While many students believe that literature is an ineffective and outdated …show more content…
In "Literacy: The Essential Skill for College and Career," the Brandi Hayes and Brittney Wilson share their findings which reveal the importance of literacy throughout the secondary education processes, in which the evidence supports literacy and claims that it is the key to having a successful college and career experience (8-9). No one wants to make it to college and land the perfect job, to eventually recognize that they are educated yet lack the skills necessary to be fruitful on the later course of the process. It is vital that students are prepared for college, have the tools to do well, and are prepared to become productive, well-functioning members of society and of their career fields. Literature exposure equals success in the college and career experience. Despite all of the evidence, some students may argue that literature is an outdated, antiquated method of supplementing one’s education. They may argue that technology and hands on experience play a sufficient role in the education process. They may even believe that education is altogether unimportant or trivial. However, while many do struggle with the reading of literature and are challenged in appreciating its value, it is imperative that the majority recognize the tremendous need of literature because of the various roles it plays throughout the entire education
In “I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read” (1999), Francine Prose argues that literature is not being exposed to and taught to high school students in the way that it should be and that students learn to “loathe” it due to this. Prose provides her audience with her personal experience as both a mother and a college professor along with her own research on the books and suggested purposed of them. She continues to expand on this topic in order to help illuminate the importance of literature itself, not being associated with personal experiences or morals. Prose’s position is valid and she makes her essay directed towards school boards, teachers, and students and continues to maintain a critical tone throughout her essay.
Literacy, or the capability to comprehend, translate, utilize, make, process, assess, and speak information connected with fluctuating settings and displayed in differing organizations, assumes an essential part in molding a young's persons trajectory in life. The ability to read speaks to a key factor of scholarly, social, and financial success (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998). These abilities likewise speak to a fundamental segment to having a satisfying life and turning into an effective worker and overall person (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1999). Interestingly, recent studies have demonstrated that low reading skills lead to critical hindrances in monetary and social achievement. As stated by the National Center for Education Statistics, adults with lower levels of reading skills and literacy have a lower average salary. Another study evaluated that 17 to 18 percent of adults with "below average" literacy aptitudes earned less than $300 a week, though just 3 to 6 percent of adults with "proficient" reading abilities earned less than $300 a week (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998).
In “Why Literature Matters” the author, Dana Gioia, argues that literature is very important in today’s society. He talks about the decline of reading over the years and the effects it has on different companies and communities. Gioia uses many persuasive techniques, such as evidence, jingoism, and diction, to try and persuade the reader that literature is important.
I began to read not out of entertainment but out of curiosity, for in each new book I discovered an element of real life. It is possible that I will learn more about society through literature than I ever will through personal experience. Having lived a safe, relatively sheltered life for only seventeen years, I don’t have much to offer in regards to worldly wisdom. Reading has opened doors to situations I will never encounter myself, giving me a better understanding of others and their situations. Through books, I’ve escaped from slavery, been tried for murder, and lived through the Cambodian genocide. I’ve been an immigrant, permanently disabled, and faced World War II death camps. Without books, I would be a significantly more close-minded person. My perception of the world has been more significantly impacted by the experiences I've gained through literature than those I've gained
It is our duty to students to provide them with the skills to be literate in an increasingly complex world. The skills we teach must build a foundation for not only reading and writing, but literacy in media, science, art and history as well. We are teaching future generations the skills that they will need to grow and thrive in their time, not ours, and so we must prepare them for the next 100 years, where things will be growing and changing in ways that we could never predict. This is why literacy is important, and why it is even more important that we inform student’s sensibilities and ability to make informed decisions based on available facts. Perkins (2009) suggest that literacy is key to the development of life-long learning skills, and so it must be said that developing these “literacy” skills at a young age will lead to more successful learning all through life. It has never been our duty to predict the future, just to equip students with the tools to best work in the
Finding a definition of literacy is not as easy as it sounds. The Webster definition says that to be literate is to be” able to read and write.” But to some researchers, this definition is too simplistic, leading to multiple models of literacy. Most Americans adhere to the autonomous model, which falls closest to the standard, dictionary definition. Believers in this form say that literacy is a cognitive activity that students learn like any other basic skill. It has a set of proficiencies that one must master in order to be capable of decoding and encoding text (Alvermann, 2009; SIL International, 1999). A competing theory is the ideological model, which claims literacy is intrinsically linked to culture, and therefore what constitutes a “literate” individual is ever-changing. Society is the largest influence on literacy, according to this thought, and it is affected by politics, religion, philosophy and more (Alvermann, 2009; SIL International, 1999). These two are just the tip of the iceberg. For example, some studies recognize “literacy as competence,” which is a “measure of competence to do a given task or work in a given field,” (SIL International, 1999) such as being computer literate. Although more researchers are recognizing and exploring multiple literacies, the one that most influences American schools is the autonomous, cognitive model – the ability to read and write. For many, it seems a simple task, but millions of adolescents are struggling or reluctant readers, and there are many reasons why young readers have difficulty with reading. XXXXXX------NEED HELP WITH THESIS STATEMENT HERE PLEASE—(This paper will focus on the effects of low reading skills, some of the possible causes of reluctant and struggling readership...
“Literacy—the ability to access, evaluate, and integrate information from a wide range of textual sources—is a prerequisite not only for individual educational success but for upward mobility both socially and economically,” states Sean Reardon (18). Literacy plays a significant role in civilized society. As Reardon mentioned, literacy is an important part of social and economic progression; therefore, it is unsurprising that thousands of dollars are poured into the education system each year to ensure that students can be considered literate. Reardon continues on to claim, “by third grade virtually all students can “read” in the procedural sense—they can sound out words and recognize simple words in context” (20). However,
My dad taught me that books could be my teachers, my mom taught me that our backyard could be my classroom, and my sister showed me that you could bring books into the swimming pool. I did not know it when I would spend hours in the pool reading a book that my parents weren’t encouraging it in vain, but my family life, for good reason, was centered on books. We were the planets orbiting around one sun that was the bookshelf. Little did I know that books would be the catalyst to academic success in my early life, and I owe it all to my family. Although a life with a book in your nose might seem boring, I was never bored. Living through the characters vicariously, I explored Narnia with Lucy, attended Hogwarts with Harry, and rode dragons with Eragon. Of course
Literature is a key component when speaking of literacy. Teachers need to provide students with endless amounts of practice experiences in reading to build their fluency rate. This should be done with different genres of texts and different levels. Reading a wide variety of literature help children develop rich vocabularies.
Growing up in working class family, my mom worked all the time for the living of a big family with five kids, and my dad was in re-education camp because of his association with U.S. government before 1975. My grandma was my primary guardian. “Go to study, go to read your books, read anything you like to read if you want to have a better life,” my grandma kept bouncing that phrase in my childhood. It becomes the sole rule for me to have better future. I become curious and wonder what the inside of reading and write can make my life difference. In my old days, there was no computer, no laptop, no phone…etc, to play or to spend time with, other than books. I had no other choice than read, and read and tended to dig deep in science books, math books, and chemistry books. I tended to interest in how the problem was solved. I even used my saving money to buy my own math books to read more problems and how to solve the problem. I remembered that I ended up reading the same math book as my seventh grade teacher. She used to throw the challenge questions on every quiz to pick out the brighter student. There was few students know how to solve those challenge questions. I was the one who fortunately nailed it every single time. My passion and my logic for reading and writing came to me through that experience, and also through my grandma and my mom who plant the seed in me, who want their kids to have happy and better life than they were. In my own dictionary, literacy is not just the ability to read and write, it is a strong foundation to build up the knowledge to have better life, to become who I am today.
In today’s society, a vast number of people are well educated. They have the equal opportunity to choose their own path in life by getting an education. A primary educational aspect of every human being is to learn to read. Being able to read is a primary goal of people in human society, as well as important in itself to society; it takes people far beyond their wildest dreams. A person who is literate has few limitations on what they can do; the world is an open playing field, because a person that is literate has the ability to become very successful in life.
Every child deserves a positive, safe, nurturing, and stimulating learning environment where they will grow academically, socially, emotionally, and physically. My role as an educator is to provide my students with this type of environment as well as an education that will help them succeed academically and become life long learners. It is the responsibility of a literacy educator to provide students with this type of environment, but also to provide instruction that will help students become successful readers and writers. There are numerous programs and philosophies about literacy and reading. Through years of experience and research, one begins to develop their own creative approach on teaching these skills. After looking at different programs and seeing the positive and negatives of each, an integrated and balanced approach of literacy seems to be the best way to teach the differing needs of each student.
Literature has many purposes, and opens doors to unique worlds. Through Literature, we discover ourselves and world time and again.
"The Value of Children's Literature | Education.com." Education.com | An Education & Child Development Site for Parents | Parenting & Educational Resource. Web. 20 Oct. 2010. .
Literature has an enormous impact on a child’s development during the early years of his or her life. It is important for parents and teachers to instill a love of reading in children while they are still young and impressionable. They are very naive and trusting because they are just beginning to develop their own thoughts, so they will believe anything they read (Lesnik, 1998). This is why it is so important to give them literature that will have a positive impact. Literature can make children more loving, intelligent and open minded because reading books gives them a much wider perspective on the world. Through reading, children’s behavior can be changed, modified or extended, which is why books are so influential in children’s lives while they are young (Hunt, 1998). Literature has the power to affect many aspects of a child’s life and shapes their future adult life.