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  • "Literacy is the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute, using printed and written materials associated with varying contexts. Literacy involves a continuum of learning to enable an individual to achieve his or her goals, to develop his or her knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in the wider society" according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. In Scotland literacy is defined as "The ability to read and write and use numeracy, to handle information, to express ideas and opinions, to make decisions and solve problems, as family members, workers, citizens and lifelong learners." The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 defines literacy as "an individual's ability to read, write, speak in English, compute and solve problems at levels of proficiency necessary to function on the job, in the family of the individual and in society.' This is a broader view of literacy than just an individual's ability to read, the more traditional concept of literacy. As information and technology have become increasingly shaped our society [sic], the skills we need to function successfully have gone beyond reading, and literacy has come to include the skills listed in the current definition." Hence the titling of this blog: Literacy is All.
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The Classroom Is Obsolete: It's Time for Something New

In his article, The Classroom Is Obsolete: It's Time for Something New, Prakash Nair, president of Fielding Nair International, a Minneapolis-based school planning and design firm, says that school reform ignores the reality that today’s classrooms are obsolete. Reform discussions are driven by educators and a public that think “yesterday’s classroom equals tomorrow’s school.” Reform efforts are driven by those who define students’ success as their “ability to perform well on a standardized test, rather than their developing skills to navigate a fast-changing world.”

Nair believes that the underlying principles of learning should steer the discussion. That perspective forces educators and the public to address fundamental questions around how students should learn, where they should learn, and with whom should they learn. 

July 30, 2011 |

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