Critical Literacy

As a future teacher, I recognize the significance of critical literacy in helping students not just read and understand texts, but also to question, analyze, and challenge the messages they convey. As Mulcahy (2008) writes: critical literacy addresses issues of power, social injustice, and transformative action (p. 16).

Critical literacy is inherently tied to critical thinking, even though it is different, because it offers a framework for critical thought. It focuses on helping students to question the status quo and develop their own informed opinions.

Traditional literacy focuses on understanding the text as it is. However, students today need to be able to read between the lines, discern biases, identify underlying messages, and understand the context in which information is presented. This is the essence of critical literacy and critical thinking united.

When we teach critical thinking/literacy, we give students both a sense of and of how to challenge dominant narratives, recognize propaganda, and become active, informed citizens.

It is necessary to do this because of all the different voices/perspectives that exist in any given classroom. These voices matter, and if a text is blocking them, one should know why. It is a matter of not only knowing what the media is saying but also what it is not saying.

Still, teachers might face resistance from administration, parents, or even students themselves.

Everyone is bombarded with information from various sources. It is part of our responsibility to teach students how to navigate information overload critically and discerningly.

As Mulcahy shows, critical literacy reflects on the relationship between power, knowledge, language, and ideology.

When engaging with colleagues, these elements should remain in focus in all we do.

At root of critical literacy is a call to action: we are all called through it to be transformative forces for good in society.

References

Mulcahy, C. M. (2008). Chapter 1: The Tangled web we weave: Critical literacy and critical thinking.Counterpoints,326, 15-27.