To begin with...what is Literacy and Numeracy?

As an introductory to my blog, 'L1t3r4cy & Num3r4cy (birth - 4yo)', I think it is highly important we kick off simply by first covering the basics; What is Literacy? and What is Numeracy? 

The two primary texts for this post are:

1.  Kennedy, A., Ridgway, A., & Surman, L. (2006). Boundary Crossing: Negotiating understandings of early literacy and numeracy. Australian Journal of Early Childhood, 31 (4), 15-22.
2.  Erickson, F. (1984). School literacy, reasoning, and civility: An anthropologist's perspective. Review of Educational Research, 54(4), 525-546.

Other established texts, which will continue to be used for the purpose of this blog, will be the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia (EYLF). This Framework is part of the Council of Australian Governments’ reform agenda for early childhood education and care, and is a key component of the Australian Government’s National Quality Framework for early childhood education and care. 

The Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians will also be referred to regualrly throughout this blog as a key government document, which essentially sets the direction for Australian schooling through specific goals, developed by Education Ministers in collaboration with the Catholic and independent school sectors. This text will continue to be used throughout this blog, as it also supports the Australian Curriculum. The Australian Curriculum will be mentioned and used to support key elements around the development in the areas of literacy and numeracy also. 

Although Erikson's text 'School literacy, reasoning, and civility: An anthropologist's perspective' was published in 1984, i found great insight throughout the text as it gave great explanation around literacy and numeracy. The ideas published around literacy, in particular the description from Scribner and Cole (1981, pg. 236) , proved very much similar to the definitions included in our current curriculum and learning frameworks. It has been made clear that literacy and numeracy are no different from previous decades, but there are many suggesting that, especially with the rapid increase in technology, etc, what and how we teach and develop literacy and numeracy skills have changed. I will go further into the whats, hows and whys in my next post. 

Kennesy, Ridgway and Surman (2006) also included great literature around both literacy and numeracy in Boundary Crossing: Negotiating understandings of early literacy and numeracy. Within the text, McMillan (2001) describes (as cited in Kennesy, Ridgway and Surman, 2006, p.15)  numeracy as symbolic knowledge based from mathematics embedded within meaningful social contexts where children participate in particular purposeful experiences. This connected well to the Early Years Learning Framework and the perspective from the Australian Curriculum, in the way it highlights the important of 'social' experiences, and more importantly the 'meaningfulness' within these social contexts.

Below I have gathered each of the texts descriptions around what it means to be literate and numerate, put them together in a small diagram, followed by a simple summary to express my own understanding around the basic meaning of each. 

What is Literacy?

In summary: literacy is the ability to read, view, write, design, speak and listen in a way that allows us to communicate effectively and to make sense of the world. 

What is Numeracy?

In summary: numeracy involves confidently and effectively using mathematics to meet 

the everyday demands of life.

Since beginning our new topic around literacy and numeracy, my attention as been drawn much more closely to the my own literacy and numeracy skills, and it has been interesting recognising all the literacy and numeracy experiences i generally engage in throughout my day. I am actually shocked by how often I am required to be numerate and literate to complete specific tasks. My day begins before I go to bed, when I am required to set my alarm to get up in time to get ready fro the new day; I use my numeracy skills to work out what time the alarm must go off in order to ensure I can get ready on time. I also often find myself counting how many hours of sleep I will be getting that night. When I wake up, after turning off my alarm, (as sad as it is) the first thing I tend to do is scroll through my Facebook news feed, reading all the posts from my friends and family; this requires my literacy skills in order to be able to read and comprehend what it is I am reading. I am required to use my numeracy skills for breakfast when I am measuring my 1cup of cereal, then adding 3/4cup of milk. I must be time-wise whilst showering to make sure I am not late for wherever I am headed for the day, and also I need to turn the shower taps on to particular strengths to ensure my shower is not too hot, nor too cold. Brushing my teeth again requires measurement of time. (I have not even left the house and already have used many literacy and numeracy skills!!)
Some days I use the bus, where I am required to organise some money to pay my fare. Other days I drive my car, which it is important to ensure I will have enough petrol to get from point A to point B. Meanwhile, I typically would have went a few texts messages or made some phone calls, both of which I am required to be literate to effectively communicate. Before entering my Uni class, I often find myself having a quick glance over the weekly set readings (which I always seem to forget to do beforehand, whoops!); it is important that I can not only read and understand, but also be able to elaborate and make further connections, etc, through the readings to be able to participate and expand my learning in class. Even for preparing dinner, as I was threading a piece of mushroom, then some capsicum, then onion, then another piece of mushroom onto skewers, I realised I was using my numeracy skills to create a pattern/sequence to ensure my kebabs were even with flavour. As you can see, my literacy and numeracy skills play a huge role in my day to day activities. This shows how truly important it is for humans to develop these life demanding skills, in order to become socially independent beings. 



Wait- don't leave this page just yet, only a couple more minutes!!! Check out this short video- it connects to my next post where I will be looking further into the importance and benefits of developing literacy and numeracy skills, including the whats, the hows, and the whys around teaching and developing literacy and numeracy in Early Childhood. :) 

Australia Government, 2013, http://www.literacyandnumeracy.gov.au/video/why-i-love-literacy-and-numeracy 

References:

Australian Government (2013). Literacy and Numeracy. Retrieved August 30, 2013, from http://www.literacyandnumeracy.gov.au/video/why-i-love-literacy-and-numeracy  

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) (2009). Becoming, Being and Belonging: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia. Canberra, ACT: DEEWR.

Erickson, F. (1984). School literacy, reasoning, and civility: An anthropologist's perspective. Review of Educational Research, 54(4), 525-546.

Kennedy, A., Ridgway, A., & Surman, L. (2006). Boundary Crossing: Negotiating understandings of early literacy and numeracy. Australian Journal of Early Childhood, 31 (4), 15-22.

MCEETYA (2009). The Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australian. Retrieved August 30, 2013, from http://www.mceecdya.edu.au/verve/_resources/National_Declaration_on_the_Educational_Goals_for_Young_Australians.pdf

Scribner, S., & Cole, M. (1981). The psychology of literacy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard

University Press.