Response to Luke's Precis on Szwed

I definitely concur with Szwed on his concept that literacy is one of the most important aspects of education. Where can an individaul go without it? Nowhere. What is the definition of literacy? Who can define it? Like Szwed said in his writing, literacy can mean different things to a variety of cultures. My definition of literacy is confined to being able to read and write with comprehension. I'm sure that a scholarly individual would expand on this meager definition extensively. As for as literature, another entitiy that Szwed discussed, what is literature? Anything that is readable? The importance of literature is to share with others one's experiences and to learn from others about those experiences. I think that excellent literaure should motivate an individual and inspire him or her as well. Szwed touch on the (5) elements of literature. I am most concerned with two of them: Text, what are we reading and being exposed to in reading such literature? Secondly, context, how are we defining or interpreting these pieces of literature? I think that in the schools whatever literature is used to educate our children should be appropiate for the classroom. Szwed stated that literaure should be current. I don't necessarily agree with him on this issue. I think that history is very important. Some of the most historical pieces of literature were written in the 18th century. Perhaps students should lend a hand in deciding what genre of literature they would enjoy reading in school. If what they want is not appropiate, the school board can always amend their choice.