What I've learned

I've taken so many classes here from which I retain little to no knowledge that it is so refreshing to have actually learned some valuable information from this class. I can honestly say I have learned more from this class than from any other. It has taught me just how vital literacy is in our lives. Before this class I was ignorant to the ways that literacy affects individuals, different groups, and society as a whole. "Drafting U.S. Literacy" explored the ways that literacy can affect, dare I say, a nation at risk. The narrative of Frederick Douglas brought into perspective the ways that literacy was a tool for slaves who desperately wanted their freedom. Gilyard explained how literacy can divide and bring together different groups and how code switching was vital to his acceptance in two different subcultures. Fishman explored the ways that Amish literacy reflects their core values and how it is a tool for becoming closer to God. Brant, in LIAL, compiled a large study that shows how acquisition and development of literacy is different for everyone. Finally, Duffy showed how literacy, or the lack thereof, affected the Hmong people. Writing my ethnography paper, I learned how literacy has affected my own life from the early years up until now. It is something that I took for granted throughout most of my life but now I realize just how significant it is for me and everyone else.