Kyle's Notes

From Mizzou Wiki

Cultural literacy is a way to understand crucially important intellectual, artistic, and cultural ideas which have shaped the culture of our time.

My Definition of Cultural literacy is a way to understand how other cultures teach there language, beliefs, work style, and artistic values and why they do it the way they do.

Understanding the meanings of words in other languages and the stories of cultures help describe the beliefs and values that make up there culture. Malcolm X decided that in order to understand our culture in America he was determined to learn our language and the meaning of all the words he learned to advance his knowledge in American culture. He learned how to write our language with excellent penmanship and was able to remember our words and the meaning of it by copying it from the dictionary and reviewing each word over and over until it was implanted in his brain. By reviewing each word and its definition he had made himself more intelligent in American culture and it kept him out of trouble after he was out of prison.

Cultural literacy is about understanding the meaning of words based on a background of common knowledge that enables one to make sense of what is read. It is a simple fact that the more one reads, the more one can understand what is read, the more enjoyable reading becomes and the more culturally literate one becomes. (http://www.readfaster.com/culturalliteracy.asp)

Welch's video showed how much students waste there time on the computer or with other activities all during college. It goes to show how with today's technology students take advantage of being able to socialize while in class on facebook rather than learn what is being taught in a class that you must pass to graduate. It may not be a class that if you pass will be a job by the time you graduate but you need to in order to be able to get a job after college cause any job is better than none.