Communication is the means in which we form our own identity,

and at the same time, interpret the world around us. There is nothing
more humanizing than the validation of communication, the validation
of language. This validation is what our students need in order to see
their own worth. This need of humanization is a constant for all
students, and is ever-present, and transcends the walls of school. By
broadening the way in which we understand literacy, language, and
communication, we are able to encompass the multifaceted ways in
which people learn, know, and be, allowing us to teach our students as
the complex individuals that they are, ultimately humanizing them.
As with most of my peers, my definition of literacy has drastically
changed from what it was in my first years of at Michigan State
University. I can recall the class where literacy was first brought up to
me. It was in my TE 302 class with my instructor Julie Bell, where she
started to ask the question What does is mean to be literate. I
remember thinking the question was absurd. Im in my junior year at
Michigan State, and Im being asked what being literate is? I carefully
constructed my response, sure I was correct, and I decided that literacy
was, The ability to communicate through writing and reading. Of
course, throughout the class my understanding of what being literate
began to change, and with it, my understanding of literacy.
I began to understand literacy as more than just reading and
writing. It was clear that a broader definition of was going to be needed

in order for me to effectively teach English. Now, I see literacy as the

ability to communicate through and interpret content or text. Vastly
different than my original definition, Literacy is a meaning making
process where meaning derives from readers prior knowledge and
experiences. (Perry, 2012). Text too, is broader than just the traditional
sense of words on a page. Instead, text functions as anything that can
be read, including tattoos, body language, art, dance, and so much
more.
In my own life I realized that I engaged in countless literacy
practices that I had not considered prior to rethinking the definition of
literacy. I have always had a love and appreciation for music, however I
never realized how I used music as a way of meaning making. Using
Genius.com, I am able to collaborate with others and annotate the text
to come to a greater understanding of the messages being conveyed.
Not only do I interpret and interact with music to make meaning, but I
also create my own. I play the guitar, and occasionally will write raps to
the beats my roommate makes in his spare time. It never occurred to
me how much overlap there is between the way I interact with music
and the way I interact with academic texts, however the broader
definition has allowed me to realize the values of home literacies, and
how these literacies can be brought into the classroom.
While I did not predict my definition of literacy to change, what is
more surprising is the dramatic way that this new conceptualization of

literacy and text impacts my teaching. It seemed like a small aspect at

first, but as I applied theories to my unit and lesson plans, I realized
that changing the definition of literacy changes everything. When we
redefine literacy, we are also redefining what we consider text to be.
Thus, we are unearthing more and more ways in which we can teach
our students the skills they need to critically interact with the world in
which they live. When literacy transcends reading and writing, school
becomes dynamic and relevant to the students.
It is important to note that no learning is compromised by this
paradigm shift. In fact, there are great examples of how learning is
increased through the practices of embracing this new definition of
literacy. Mediums that have not previously been not been thought of as
academically beneficial have been used in classrooms to improve
students traditional literacies. When we teach, we must not forget
that, students engage in literacy practices beyond school walls or
normal school settings (Love 2013). A classic example is the use of
social media, such as Twitter, in the classroom. Despite the fact that
social media is often painted in a negative light, this is a literacy that
students are often proficient in. When we position these home
literacies as academic literacies, students are able to bridge the gaps
in learning that they couldnt before be crossed.
While boosting students proficiency in traditional literacies
through the use of home and other literacies, is great, the benefits of a

broader definition of literacy impact our students in far more

meaningful and important ways. Schools are a microcosm of society,
however, these microcosms are training grounds where our students
learn their role, their worth, and their humanity. Just like the society
they exist in, schools are constructed around systems of hierarchy that
oppress and marginalize black and brown youth. While schools are a
microcosm of society, it is important to understand that, literacy
practices (i.e., reading, writing, meaning-making, naming, etc.) belong
neither to the official school day nor to the boundaries that lay beyond
it. (Kirkland 2009). The ways in which people interpret content and
communicate the content that they produce differ from person to
person in school, just like they do outside of school. These differences
often stem from the cultured and racialized past of our society.
However, these differences are not represented in the way the
education system has been historically run. As a result of the narrow
definition of text, there has been a narrow definition of success and a
narrow definition of what is valued. When a student is only valued by
their ability to communicate through reading and writing in the
constructed standard way that privileges whiteness, our black and
brown students are devalued. Furthermore, to be devalued in society is
to make a student believe that they do not matter, to take their voice
away, and to dehumanize them.

Throughout our nations history, this dehumanization of our black

and brown students has been constantly occurring in schools. In order
to dismantle the oppressive power structures that are embedded in our
languages and in our schools, the teachers must redefine what it
means to be literate. We must not make whiteness the goal in our
classrooms. Instead, it is our duty to work diligently and with an open
mind to validate our students and their literacies so that they can use
their literacies to speak back to the dehumanizing system of language
and literacy that has been the cornerstone of education in this country.