Critical Literacy

For this blog I wanted to reflect on a concept that we discussed in lecture and that would be critical literacy.  I feel that growing up the term “critical thinker” was something on rubrics that kind of just went over my head.  I did not know what it really encompassed or what actually made me a good critical thinker or not, it was just two words on my report card.  Discussing different literacies has really opened my eyes about how critical literacy is not just one part of a report card, it is actually an entire approach that changes the way both teachers and students look at curriculum, and just all information in general.  

The reason I wanted to discuss this is because I do not want students having the same experience I did and simply look at critical thinking as a box that needed to get checked off rather than actually understanding it’s importance.  Our world is constantly becoming more diverse so being able to understand not only the perspectives and opinions of people around you, but also having the ability to determine fact from fiction in the information that is being presented to us whether it be in textbooks or in the media.  Youths today are exposed to so many sources of information, television, magazines, social media, even Buzzfeed articles that decide they are the expert on telling us “what we really need to know.”  Critical literacy is so important to teach in these times because students need to be able to see the bias in different sources.  They need to understand the motivations authors may have for making certain truth claims instead of blindly soaking it up as fact.  

This educating can start at such a young age so that the time they are starting to grasp larger global concepts they already know how to question what is being presented to them.  The video below from Pear Tree Education Inc. (2013) shows some ways of how critical literacy can be tackled in the classrooms at young ages.  

Some of the methods of critical literacy that really stood out to me from lecture were ‘problem posing,’ ‘juxtaposing,’ and ‘making connections,’ (personal communication, Lane, February 3, 2016).  I was really interested in them because I believe they are practices that can be carried through all of a student’s educative journey, no matter the age, and into the rest of their lives. 

Problem posing is something that can come so natural in conversation so to me it seems like such an interesting tool to use in the classroom.  Playing devil’s advocate can be so fun so using it to encourage students to see both sides of a story, who the information is targeted at, is there other meanings, etc. can really help them build their ability to think critically and even help them become better and simply explaining their thought processes.  

Juxtaposing was a really interesting idea to me because it seems like something that can be built on so much over the years.  Books like “The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs” are fun ways to get students comparing perspectives that can eventually turn into companies news stories or articles on major issues!  Even tasks such as class debates could be effective as students learn about opposing sides and can even learn to argue a topic they might not necessarily side with and gain new knowledge.  

Finally, making connections was in my mind one of the most important strategies in learning critical literacy.  All teachers want their students to fully understand the concepts that are being taught not just have surface learning like memorization.  Having students be able to take the information they are receiving, look at it, and recognize how it can affect their lives or make some connection will really help them internalize the knowledge and hopefully help them become a life long learner.  To me that is the true goal of teaching.  

Making critical literacy practices common in the classroom will help them not only become better learners but better citizens as they will be able to reflect information and understand the perspectives of those around them.  So instead of just seeing a box to check off on the rubric, they see new ways to examine the world.