Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Literate Lives: A Human Right. ALATKT No. 422

“Literacy is not an end in itself. It is a fundamental human right.” (UNESCO, 1975). It is linked to other fundamental rights—rights that are universal, indivisible, interconnected and interdependent.
Becoming literate involves much more than language use and singular routes to language acquisition. It calls literate beings to recognize socio-political contexts of teaching and learning, image multiple possibilities for literate activity, and act as agents of change. As educators we have the responsibility to make visible the complexities of becoming literate in the new millennium. This year’s National Council of Teachers of English summer institute will focus on literacy as a human right.

[Thanks, TK].

No comments: