Literacy is one of the most emotional, multi-meaning words in education. Quigley quotes the Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus, Paul Woodring of Western Washington University, as saying that "More nonsense is being written about illiteracy than any other subject (Quigley, 1997, p.90). Literacy has become a "catchy word"; numeracy is now also achieving that status. It feels good to use these words and they present an image of privileged information.

Literacy cannot be defined in the sense of a dictionary definition. All one can hope for is to provide an understanding of what literacy entails (Several recent texts addressing an understanding of literacy are given in the bibliography). Literacy is not synonymous with reading, nor with reading and writing. Literacy is not synonymous with adult basic education (ABE). In talking about literacy, the terms "issues", and "training" are often over-used, while terms/concepts like "goals", "development", "curriculum", "methodology", "instructional strategies", "harper assessment", "program evaluation" tend to be minimized. There can be reading and/or writing courses and no literacy development. Reading and writing are sometimes taught as ends in themselves. Literacy can never be an end in itself. It is always for use. We know literacy is occurring when we see it in use in peoples' ordinary, everyday lives, as opposed to in a class or tutoring situation. For reading and writing to become literacy, the learner must go beyond having reading and writing knowledge to using this knowledge for personal, social, economic, political, religious, or other purposes. Reading and writing skills may be compared to reaming how to count. One may count to 100 or more but that does not mean that one will use counting for some purpose. Using counting for some practical purpose in one's life may be compared to literacy. If there are people who CAN read or write or count, but who DON'T, then there is no literacy; there is no application of counting.

Pubic awareness campaigns have long been popular, especially in adult literacy. People are invited, persuaded, or even cajoled to enroll in literacy programs. A big question is what kind of literacy program do we offer them? One way of making sense of this is to provide a grid whereby we can pinpoint the nature of the kinds of programs we offer.

Organizing the Maze
The following grid has two parameters: philosophy/goals and program focus. Finding the intersection of both should help literacy educators find their position within the maze.

Vocational
This philosophy maintains that the goal of a literacy program is employment, either directly or indirectly. The reamers may need a certain standard of literacy to enroll in a trades training program. An employee may need additional literacy skills to cope with changes, or to avail of promotional opportunities. This is referred to as workplace literacy. ABE programs came into existence because other subjects/knowledge, such as math, science, or computer knowledge were also deemed necessary to enter into the workplace. Unfortunately, for the same reason, the literacy component within ABE programs often became lost.

Academic
The goal here is on developing skills of reading and/or writing. The belief is that if learners can successfully engage in tasks such as sounding our words, segmenting words, abstracting main ideas, or answering questions, they will attain literacy. The content of the program material (what it is about) is not a major concern. What is important is that the content allow for the development of the various skills.

Liberal
The philosophical thinking here is that "literate" people should know certain information that is pertinent to their culture. The goal of the literacy program is to develop specific knowledge. This differs from the academic inan that the focus is on knowing the information rather than developing reading and/or writing skills to access the information. Consequently, within a liberal based program, the information may be shared orally.

Humanistic
This philosophy is concerned about reamers' attitudes, beliefs, motivations, self-images, self-esteem, etc. It is based on the assumption that reamers have had difficult past reaming experiences and have test self-confidence in themselves. The goal is to make people fed good about themselves, to become family.

Liberatory
The emphasis here is on personal and social change. Learners learn how to use literacy to better understand themselves and their role in a larger society. They develop a critical awareness/understanding of how they live and why they. live like they do. They understand the constraints placed on mom by others, including government; they formulate problems and plan way. to take action, to resolve them.

Program developers/educators may attempt to achieve their philosophical goals by either of four focuses.

Workbook/Skills
Within this focus, learners are provided with reading passages, exercises, questions, whether in reading or writing. They may read and answer questions, fill in blanks, circle, or check. This focus may be packaged into many modules, chapters, and exercises, or may consist of a number of single stories or exercises. The focus is to have the reamer demonstrate his/her knowledge of the preceding story or exercise. This focus is by and large the most common in adult reaming programs. The term "literacy training" is often used in conjunction with this focus.

Computer
In format, computer programs look very much like the workbook/skills focus. There are the same demands on, or expectations for reamers. What differs is that such material is made available through technology and therefore gives the reamer more direct control over what he/she responds to, omits, circumvents, or repeats. Any interface or interaction is mainly between the reamer and a machine. "Literacy training" is also a common descriptor.

Language
This focus is more common in school literacy programs, especially in the earlier grades and is referred to as "whole language". This focus is on understanding and using language - oral and written language, dialect and standard oral language, different literature genres, etc. Learners become immersed in language and through it, although often incidentally, develop the skills and expertise which lead to literacy. A key term here is literacy or language development.

Transactive
The focus here is on dialogue, challenge, argument, problem formulation, brainstorming, and action in response to the program material. This focus necessitates personal interaction and one person (instructor, facilitator, tutor) must take the lead in directing and challenging the reamers on how print affects their lives and how they can respond. Reading, writing, and literacy strategies are developed through incorporating the text, key words, etc. into the discussion and dialogue, rather than vice versa. A transactive program must contain materials directly pertinent to peoples' everyday lives and problems likely to be encountered. A key term here is "literacy development".

Finding a Starting Point
In any maze we must first find a starting point. This is also a first step in improving literacy offerings. Literacy instructors/tutors can do this by taking the grid and finding the slot which best describes their program in terms of their philosophy/goals and program focus. The next step is determining what goals and focus best meet the needs of the reamers and then attempting to match both.