C' H' Knoblauchs Literacy and the Politics of Education

1
C. H. KnoblauchsLiteracy and the Politics of
Education

• A Presentation
• by
• Amy Kallio Bollman

2
Knoblauchs Thesis

• Literacy cannot be defined concretely because
  it is an abstract concept. Therefore, each
  definition of literacy depends on the political
  view of the person who defines it. Definitions
  of literacy can be used to maintain or subvert
  a status quo--and those being made literate in
  a given way are being remade in a way that will
  benefit the person(s) who defined that literacy.

3
Knoblauchs Literacies

• Functional Literacy
• Cultural Literacy
• Literacy-for-personal-growth
• Critical Literacy

4
Functional Literacy

• Knoblauch says that functional literacy
  benefits the capitalist class--which has the most
  to gain by having workers who are literate enough
  to perform tasks and to obey written rules, but
  not literate enough to think critically about
  the tasks they are performing (especially if they
  endanger themselves or someone else) or to
  question the written rules.

5
Cultural Literacy

• Knoblauch says that cultural literacy
  benefits those who are threatened by cultural
  diversity--who would impose one culture as the
  correct one and force all others to become
  familiar with it (therefore, lessening the impact
  of other cultures). Knoblauch refers to
  cultural and functional literacy as
  conservative.

6
Literacy-for-personal-growth

• Knoblauch attributes this brand of literacy to
  liberal views, especially of educators. This
  brand has much power because it appeals to the
  expressive individualism which is greatly
  valued in America. However, literacy-for-persona
  l-growth can be made to benefit the status quo
  because it limits change to the individual and
  does not promote class awareness.

7
Critical Literacy

• Critical literacy, the ability to read and
  understand the real world implications of what
  one reads--be it a book or a social trend or an
  advertisement--is attributed by Knoblauch to the
  radical left. Since it is designed make people
  question the status quo, it is deemed to be
  dangerous to the status quo. Knoblauch says it
  is resisted by the establishment--particularly
  educators.

8
Empowerment

• Knoblauch implies that all those who talk
  about literacy imply that being able to read
  and write (print literacy) necessarily makes one
  more powerful and capable--but he points out
  that other cultures have survived with neither
  the ability to read or write. He asks if being
  trained to read and write benefits the individual
  or just a culture which is largely dependent on
  print.

9
Knoblauchs Proof

• In my opinion, Knoblauch offers little proof
  of his argument in the form of examples or
  statistics. His argument depends on a chain of
  reasoning which one must be willing to follow
  without question. Though he has some excellent
  points, finding proof might have caused him to
  rethink his points and make them more persuasive
  to those who dont already agree.

10
First point to consider about Knoblauch

• When someone is taught to read and write only on
  a basic level--to benefit those who only want him
  to read and write on that level--is that person
  necessarily going to stop learning now that s/he
  has the ability to read and access to many forms
  of text?

11
Second point to consider about Knoblauch

• While it is true that it is the industrialized
  West which prizes literacy above all, are
  non-industrialized societies unaffected by
  literacy because there is no internal need for
  literacy? Wouldnt it be to the benefit of a
  non-industrialized society to have some
  literate people to protect it from exploitation
  by an industrialized society?

12
Third point to consider about Knoblauch

• Is cultural literacy necessarily limited to
  literacy in one culture? Isnt multicultural
  literacy a form of literacy worth considering?
  Would it be as extreme as critical literacy, or
  would it be compatible with critical literacy,
  or might it modify critical literacy by
  pointing out the benefits of the status quo
  (presuming some exist)?

13
First Essay Exam Question

• Is literacy-for-personal-growth really as
  pervasive in the educational establishment as
  Knoblauch thinks it is? If we consider Anyons
  points about the different types of educational
  systems, and Kozols description of one lower
  class system, which type of system actually does
  promote this kind of literacy, and why? Which do
  not, and why?

14
Second Essay Exam Question

• Think about the black women writers mentioned
  by Royster in terms of Knoblauchs assumptions
  about literacy Knoblauch suggests that
  literacy is taught by an establishment to the
  illiterate (whether it is in school or an
  adult literacy program) he suggests that
  functional literacy is limiting he suggests that
  critical literacy is a new concept of the radical
  left. Do Roysters specific examples support
  Knoblauchs points? If so, how so? If not, how
  would you modify his points to account for black
  women writers?

15
The End

• C. H. Knoblauch
• Literacy and the Policies of Education
• Presentation by Amy Kallio Bollman