Defining Literacy

While reading the first chapter of The Way Literacy Lives, a passage in the text reminded me of a similar situation which I once found myself in. Here, Carter tells of the parent who bemoans her daughter's reading: her daughter reads a lot, but nothing "worthwhile."

In 2006 I had the privilege of spending a semester in Switerland at the University of Bern. I chose to stay with a family whose four children I tutored in English. It seemed that the eldest son, Clemens, was having the roughest time finding his niche in reading in English. Knowing that I would tutor the children, I had brought a few books that I had liked at 14 with the boys in mind: The Giver; A Separate Peace; The Catcher in the Rye; etc. We started reading. Clemens had a knack for reading in English, though his mind always seemed to be somewhere else. I knew that he was bored, but what student isn't bored during tutoring? Despite Clemens' reading skills, he finally told me that he hated the books I chose to read. He told me this half-way through reading my beloved John Knowles. Dumbfounded, I tried to explain that his parents wanted us to read books, literature. He looked back at me heavily. Before our next lesson, I rethought Clemens. He was always reading comic books--thick, 200-pagers. To me, comic books seemed childish, far from the literature a 14 year-old should strive for. Nonetheless, I knew that I had to accomodate Clemens' literacy. I found an English bookstore where I bought the only graphic novel I knew: V for Vendetta. Clemens was thrilled to see that book and didn't want to wait until the next lesson to read on. From that point on--with graphic novels--reading sessions were much more enjoyable and I knew he was taking something from the experience.

Making a connection with Carter's lesson on Defining Literacy, I realize that by switching the readings to graphic novels I recognized Clemens' literate practices, which was needed. Before that, I was defining his literacy, as Carter would say, by my own associations--those which told me that comic books are childish and "worthless." I broke away from the content fetish and went to his level, allowing Clemens a better chance to enjoy reading in English.