"A World Without Print"

As I sat down to write this blog for this particular article, it struck me how I much I take my own literacy for granted. I wake up every morning, read the box of cereal, the shampoo bottle, the toothpaste, my schedule, and random postings and signs as I walk to class.

When I see a letter or letters together I read them often times without thinking. As I read the article, it really struck me time and time again how much reading has just become a part of my daily life, just as the absence of reading is a part of their daily life.

I realized that for many people seeing letters, words does not mean anything (in the sense that they don't read them, nor could they if they wanted).

I appreciated that the author not only talked about the how they set out learning to read, she always talked about the fundamental differences between written and oral language. She created a context for understanding the many facets of language. In this way, she addresses the myth that if you can speak language you ought to be able to read and write it or that it somehow makes it easier to read & write.

The article also implicitly addresses the profound psychological affect on the the family because they appear to deviate from mainstream society, they can't read. Although reading is important for our culture because so much of what we do is print-based, there is a misconception that one can not survive in a literate world when one is illiterate. Or that one's life will be less fulfilling without the ability to read.

I was struck by the fact that when Jenny told the school that they cannot read, the school continued to send things home (in this instance from the perspective of the school, they just seemed to be following some kind of protocol & we do not know if they cared or did not care about the situation discussed in the article). Rather it was disconcerting that the school appeared to ignore whatever information Jenny was giving them to assist her son.

Although I think reading is an excellent past time & I recommend it to anyone who will listen, I realize that for many reading is a chore, something to be done, not something that is fun or enjoyable.

What I find interesting is that if someone can read & chooses not too, our culture finds that less objectionable compared to someone who cannot read, whether by choice or circumstance.

Purcell-Gates did an excellent job of allowing the reader to (or at least try to) look at the family from an objective standpoint.

It was refreshing to read the article because she never made it seem as if the family were abnormal or that they must learn to read immediately. It was not meant to demonstrate how reading & writing are better or worse, rather something that is culturally constructed and endorsed by the people who live in it. You also come away from the article understanding that often times people are illiterate by circumstances and then indirectly because of that circumstance they choose to remain illiterate.