Out-of-School Literacy is Important for In-School Literacy

When we think of literacy we tend to think of what society learns through formal instruction in a brink and mortar classroom. What tends to be more important to students is what they learn outside of school, this is called this out-of-school literacy. There is almost an infinite number of examples, but some recognized by Jabari Mahiri in his book “What They Don’t Learn in School” (see course text), are rap, low-riders, artwork, comic books, and resources that encompass home-schooling.

As a future teacher I need to look at this out-of-school literacy and see its importance in the lives of the students that I will be teaching. This way I can relate the material to their interest and in turn they will have an interest in the material.

When looking at rap music Mahiri, in his essay “Street Scripts: African American Youth Writing About Crime and Violence”, notes that of his students are “aware of how perceptions of rap music are negatively constructed and how its legitimacy is continually challenged by dominate cultural institutions” (26). Yet, rap really has a lot more meaning. Like an artist expressing himself on a canvas, rap is the medium that many rappers use to express themselves, whether it is for a political, social or religious reason. Mahiri does mention that rap is linked to an image of violence and drug-abuse. In contrast he mentions that to debunk all rap because of this is to be ignorant to rap as an acceptable medium. This literacy is important to students and as a future teacher I need to understand its effects of the lives of students.

To show the importance of out of school literacy Mahiri included an essay by Peter Cowan called, “Devils and Angels: Literacy and Discourse in Lowrider Culture”. Before Cowan researched low riders he assumed that there was a gang association with them. Then he decided to learn about lowriders and see there importance. He purchased a lowrider magazine (http://www.lowridermagazine.com/index.html) and attended a car show. Not only did the information he found out debunk his original assumption, he learned about how deeply rooted the culture is in the life of his students. One of his most important statements is, “it [lowriding culture] reveals a form of visual literacy that is clear and comprehensible to members of a particular discourse community who have been socialized into it” (49). This statement can almost be applied towards any culture or community. I feel that in the broader sense it tells us not to assume a culture until we research it. Even if we do research it we may not be able to fully understand it, therefore we cannot make assumptions.

The images of lowriders or rap or comic books is important to those who are involved in it. Therefore, as a future teacher I need to appreciate my future students interest in this out-of-school literacy. As a teacher, I will expect students to appreciate diverse backgrounds, I also must appreciate the diverse background of my students.