What is a Literacy?

What is Literacy?

            A literacy addresses communications and calculations such as reading, writing, and arithmetic. The purpose of a literacy shifts with the needs of society, such as once cursive writing was important for students' to learn in thrive in society, but now it is more important for students to know how to type and code on a computer. Technological skills are becoming more important to have in order to function in this tech savvy world.  The term "21st-Century Skills" usually refer to core competencies such as critical thinking, communication, collaboration, creativity, and innovation.

            21^st century literacy skills are skills that are mandated by the Ontario curriculum and are designed to be included in every grade for each subject. These skills are meant to aid students in acquiring the knowledge that is  meant to help them in the way that society functions today. There are designed to help students succeed in the future and to develop to be leaders, scholars, labour market experts, and educators. All these literacies are different from past education requirements as they are a response to the drastically changing  21^st century society. These changes have occured because of the technological and social advances that have been the result of industrial revolution and the rise of technology.

The Ontario Curriculum discusses the need to have schools for the 21^st century. In the curriculum document for grade 1-8 social studies, geography and history it describes 21^st century schools and the need to critically literate in the 21^st century. 

“It recognizes that, today and in the future, students need to be critically literate in order to synthesize information, make informed decisions, communicate effectively, and thrive in an ever-changing global community. It is important that students be connected to the curriculum, that they see themselves in what is taught, how it is taught, and how it applies to the world at large” (2013, p.3)

Each literacy is both separate but intertwined together in order to help students create a tool kit that can aid them in navigating the technological society. The literacies are as follows:

1)      Media Literacy

2)      Critical Literacy

3)      Moral Literacy

4)      Character Literacy

5)      Environmental Literacy

6)      Financial Literacy

7)      Global Literacy

8)      Multicultural Literacy

9)      Technological Literacy

10)  Mental Health Literacy

11)  Discipline-Based Literacy  

CONNECTING LINKS AND POINTS OF REFERENCE:

21st Century Competencies: Foundation Document for Discussion (Winter 2016 Edition)

·         http://www.edugains.ca/resources21CL/About21stCentury/21CL_21stCenturyCompetencies.pdf

·          

21st- Century Skills: Are We Succeeding in Preparing Ontario's Students? EQAU Connects

·         http://www.eqao.com/en/Our_Data_in_Action/articles/Pages/21st-century-skills.aspx

·         http://www.edweek.org/tsb/articles/2010/10/12/01panel.h04.html