Post for Thursday, September 2

Literacy and culture are two concepts that are fundamentally connected.  Both of these terms are also very broad terms that really encompass so many facets that it is hard to define either word.  I like to think of culture as some type of baggage that you carry with you all the time.  This baggage is full of experiences, ideas, traditions, values, beliefs, and many other things that a person can identify themselves with.  It is apparent to me that sometimes when you are learning something new, the cultural baggage that you've acquired to this point in your life, will affect the view you see or the way that you approach something.  Sometimes gaining a deeper knowledge on a particular subject can drastically change the way you see your own culture.  This is a two way street in this sense.  It is very hard to have one of these concepts without the other, unless you live in a society whose culture is based on not communicating, learning, or doing anything to better themselves or their futures... highly unlikely.  When I was in high school I was a part of an electrical trades program.  My teacher was very inspiring to me and showed me that there was a time when it was appropriate to do things I wanted to do, and there is a time for business.  Before he presented this lesson to me in a way that spoke to me, I was very rebellious and literally chose to do only those things i found beneficial.  This just goes to show that things in your culture are what causes a lot of literacy.  The literacy in turn changes your beliefs and thus your culture.