A New Chapter: 21st Century Literacies

Welcome back fellow bloggers! I am so excited to continue on my educational journey towards teaching. Previously, the blogs I have posted were based around the course EDUC 4P17 which involved learning about curriculum and classroom assessment. From now onward, I will be blogging about 21^st century literacies while taking the course EDUC 4P27. To begin, I would like to give a little introductory and background of myself. My name is Jessica Le Pera or otherwise known as Miss Le Pera, and I am currently in my fourth year at Brock University studying in the Concurrent Education Program at the Primary/Junior level. I have worked with children as soon as I landed my first job at the age of 14 and have worked in daycares, camps and programs where I have taught children both recreationally and academically. I have always aspired to become a teacher as it has been my dream ever since I was a young child. I would always visualize what it would be like to have my very own classroom and would play “teacher” in my room with all of my stuffed animals. I hope for this aspiration to one day come true! 

So what exactly is literacy? What comes to mind when I hear the word literacy, I automatically think.. paper, pencil, writing, reading, words. The truth is, there is so much more to literacy. Already absorbing information from the first lecture of EDUC 4P27, I learned that literacy is about exploring multiple sets of skills and contexts while finding meaning in these practices. This is where 21^st century literacies fall into play. Previously, I always thought that 21^st century skills meant technology and the future. Well it does, but 21^st century skills include so much more. Critical thinking, collaboration, communication and creativity are only just a few aspects of contemporary education that are crucial to have in modern society. Along with 21^st century skills, come 21^st century literacies, such as critical literacy. Critical literacy in my own words is having the ability to vigorously read and decipher texts that endorses a thorough understanding of underlying concepts that include question and sometimes challenge. I believe it is extremely important as a future educator to guide students with this type of mindset in order for them to not only reach academic success, but success at life itself. Power, reflection, transformation and action as highlighted in lecture, are key points to being critically literate.

There are also many other literacies I hadn’t thought about before that all interconnect to one another. The two literacies that caught my eye the most were global literacy and moral literacy as it is crucial that students learn how to interpret the world around them while being respectful towards ones another. It is also important for teachers to be competent in all literacies to better the knowledge and understanding of their students. I hope to learn more about 21^st century skills as a whole and ways to incorporate them into my teaching practices as I am not confident just yet with what I know. I can’t wait to learn about all the different kinds of literacies to strengthen my understanding of this aspect of education and to also become a more competent learner and teacher throughout the whole spectrum of 21^st century literacies and skills. We are the future!

Thank you for reading! 

Miss Le Pera