Imagine telling someone something without words. What do you do? Move your hands? Sing? Dance? Maybe you show them a picture or two, but in the end, the point is to get them to interpret the message you are trying to communicate. Life is about conveying and understanding ideas. Literacy is how people do that, but literacy also is — and should not be reduced only to — reading and writing because “text” is everywhere. I believe that literacy should be the ability to go beyond reading and writing and get a deeper sense of the possibilities of language, not forgetting the importance of various modes of literacy such as media literacy, digital literacy, visual literacy, verbal literacy, etc. I’ve seen practices of distinct forms of literacy first hand, whether in or out of the classroom, and I am a testament that the way you present content matters and different forms of literacy work best for others, depending on context. I think understanding the concept that literacy can be diverse could lead to less miscommunication amongst people, be an even more effective way of informing, and us as humans could bridge gaps across our own and other cultures.
Literacy is based on communication. Therefore, language is a way to express yourself and share your ideas. In school, most of my teachers assigned essays to identify what our ideas were, whether the ideas were about the books we read, discussions in class, or ourselves. I’ve always thought this was because administration view essays as unmistakable when it comes to academic writing. That is why essay prompts grace the covers of most college applications. Admission offices want to see if the candidate is literate and view writing as the best way to do so. While writing is a wonderful way to share ideas, some people may feel as if they could express themselves better in their own unique way, and when students aren’t allowed to do so, this education system subconsciously crushes the feeling of appreciation for different literacies. Ta-Nehisi Coates said that “The classroom was a jail for other people’s interests” (48). I would agree with his statement because schools teach that literacy is reading and understanding, and they call it English. They do not emphasize that literacy is so much more. What about when writing an essay is difficult for someone? Are there no other ways for people to share who they are? Of course there are. That is why some universities no longer limit submissions to essays, but ask for something that represents who that person is like a video or an interview. Nonetheless, effective communication does not look the same for each individual and writing only goes so far.
Contrary to school systems’ beliefs today, essays aren’t the only efficient way to show literacy. In fact, excitement for literacy came to me through poetry and spoken word. Although poetry is still writing, it is not the typical academic essay format and spoken word is a form of verbal literacy. In high school, I competed in a spoken word/slam poetry competition. I found that I could ask someone to tell me about themselves, but never get a true sense of who that person was until they got on stage. I realized that for some poets, poetry and spoken word are like an extra voice when their original voice wasn’t loud enough. I learned that a stage and a mic could make people listen in a different way. Spoken word also encompasses different techniques, like variance of voice. Some call it ‘stage presence’ when the poet doesn’t just talk like they normally would in any conversation. Because of spoken word, I’ve seen poetry bouts change people’s thinking, dealing with worldly topics such as politics, gay rights, rape, depression, loneliness, and so many other important issues in today’s society. Debating these same topics with peers at school seemed to get me nowhere. To most of the young men, things like rape could be avoided if she wasn’t asking for it. But when those same people from my school heard my friend, Sonjia, deliver her poem about being raped, their minds were changed. These young men no longer believed it was the woman’s fault and even said, “I never thought about it like that before.” If we were to ask Sonjia to write a paper on the same issue, I don’t believe it would have the same effect. Her choice of literacy was specific to her. While the words are important, the variance of voice in a piece (poem) and the space in which the poem was given made the message more impactful. In a space like that, you have no choice but to truly listen to one person until they have exhausted all they have into saying what they have to share, and sometimes a metaphor makes you feel what a standard sentence cannot. In participating in this poetry competition, I realized that language can be molded, people understand things that are specific to their liking, and that I am a fan of different forms of literacy.
Spoken word is not the only variant for literacy. Images are known to have vast effect on audiences as well. That’s why millions of people flood movie theaters to witness motion pictures. Even though most movies today are not silent films and contain speaking, the visuals enhance the spectators experience so that the message of the film is made that much stronger. Commercials work the exact same. I encountered an example of this when I was younger. I would stay up late and the commercials would change. The ones I remember most were the commercials asking people to donate so a child could eat somewhere in Africa. I remember a woman speaking in the beginning of these commercials, but the most powerful part was when she stopped talking, music played, and you could only see the images of the children. I know now that this was an example of visual literacy. These children were not too much younger than I, but they looked somber, malnourished, and barely filled with life. I remember crying because the images were so moving. Reflecting back on those commercials, I realize visual literacy did something that words alone could not, either written or spoken. This affirms that all effective communication does not look the same.
Literacy is not elusive and is not exact. I am not underestimating the power of reading because there is so much knowledge to gain from books. Malcom X poured himself into literature when he was imprisoned and felt as if a new world had opened up (Malcom X). I am saying that the world needs to know that you can speak without moving your mouth and that sometimes structured writing isn’t the only option when revealing ideas. Most times people don’t understand where others are coming from because they only listen one way. Once we change what is it means to be literate, I believe minds will be opened up and so will people’s hearts, just like the guys from my school and just like me watching the commercial. I believe one is truly literate when they understand that they can hear with their eyes and see with their ears. When one understands that you can read without written text, and that text is everywhere. When one understands that language is unconventional, that is when they are literate. So, the question is not ‘what will you say?’, but ‘how will you say it?’.
