Abby's Lament: Does Literacy Matter?

Abby's Lament: Does Literacy Matter?

Abby, a high school student in the Adirondack Mountains, believes that anyone her age is irrelevant in society. Bob Yagelski begs to differ, and I agree with him. He says that that "if you're going to have any control over what happens in your lives, especially your political lives, you need to be able to participate in what's happening around you." (1) Yagelski also states that "literacy is central to the ongoing struggle for democracy and self-determination." (2)

When Yagelski came to speak at Abby's school, Abby strongly disagreed with him. She thought that if her views and opinions didn't matter, why is literacy so important? Another argument was that "the people who make decisions don't listen to kids." What she didn't think about was that her voice can be heard through the internet, newspaper, school board and through other forms of writing. Abby wondered how reading authors such as Shakespeare and Wharton will affect her one day. Those texts don't encourage participation in the political life, but knowing how to read and comprehend text does. Consumer slogans and advertising "reduce political awareness to simple desires," (4) says Yagelski.

Bob Yagelski wanted to prove to Abby and her fellow classmates that literacy does in fact matter. By saying, "participate in what's happening around you," he means to take in the information about things that are happening now. With television, internet and the World Wide Web easily accessible, people can obtain information that can later be used for making critical decisions such as voting. Literacy gives you the ability to use language to put your voice and ideas out in political, cultural, social and economic situations. There are many examples of when being able to read, write, comprehend and obtain information on a specific topic is important.