Getting Started

I named my blog "Breaking It Down" because I feel it echoes my preliminary understanding of Critical Literacy as going beyond decoding language for its explicit meaing but breaking it down further to reveal what that language says about the society, what's embedded in the text and who its most accessible to. In addition, throughout the course and on this blog I hope to break down for myself what Critical Literacy is and how it applies to my field of study which is primarily international nonformal education.
I must admit that I was really clueless on the first day of class. I didn't know what Critical Literacy was. I thought it would have more to do with literacy in general, as many of the programs in my field involve basic literacy training for adults and youth as a vehicle for health education, vocational training and improving life skills. Now that I'm gaining an understanding of all the aspects involved in Critical Literacy I can see possible relations to my field, expecially in global education and adult education theory (Especially the writings of Paolo Freire).
I hope that in this course I will discover ways to use critical literacy in educational and experiential learning programs for older students and adult students. Right now I have more questions than answers. First of all, much of the reading I've done so far seems to pertain to raising awareness of systematic inequities that occur in multicultural societies with one dominant group such as the United States, Australia and Great Britain. Does Critical Literacy also include using literature and symbols to spark discussion and dialogue surrounding other issues? For example, does critical literacy also involve using literature and media to bring up discussions on gender norms, conservation or simply to help learners gain understand the realities of other people's lives? I imagine so, the trick is to find the right literature and media to use. I have also done considerable research on education programs that use art-making to help learners examine critical issues in their lives and to help build social and learning competencies and self esteem. Can it still be considered critical literacy if we use non-literary forms of expression (such as visual arts, media images) as the basis for exploration and discussion?

-Erin