What do you think is the main reason someone would come for help with literacy?
Read each of the following questions to help you come to a decision. The question that best identifies your belief is your philosophy of literacy.
1. Should adult literacy be mainly to help learners acquire knowledge?
If you answer, “Yes, acquiring knowledge is valuable in itself and is basically why I am involved in adult literacy,” then you will focus on teaching skills for the workplace, or focus on great literature, history and other subjects.
2. Should adult literacy be mainly for solving problems in society?
If you answer, “Yes, I am here mainly to help learners identify and solve their own problems, enhance their problem-solving ability and empower them to bring about social change where necessary,” then you will focus on helping the learner to solve problems in his personal life.
3. Should adult literacy be mainly for self-esteem building and self-actualization?
If you answer, “Yes, my main purpose is to help literacy learners feel better about themselves, learn more about themselves, and develop their abilities and their potential,” then you will focus on using materials and resources that can help the learner to feel better about himself.
Based on Quigley, A. (1996). Rethinking literacy education: The critical need for practice-based change. San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass. ISBN 978-0-7879-0287-2.
Handout 5.3