Head

Cameron Courage

Nold

ENG101

4/24/12

Evolution of Language

In today’s society, reading and writing is essential to achieve success or even basic forms of communication with others. Reading and writing are often described as being literate, however to be more specific, literacy is more about the understanding of the material. Basic understanding of text and speech applies everywhere, and without this crucial skill, failure within almost every society is imminent. Cultural literacy can be described as having a basic and general knowledge of one’s own culture. E.D. Hirsch Jr., author of Literacy and Cultural Literacy he believes that almost everyone in American society is culturally illiterate and this is because of the education. He claims that all education within America is teaching the wrong material to students and that in order for any of them to thrive in American society they need to be taught the basic materials that fit into his definition of cultural literacy. This argument then leads to his next claim that social class and being culturally literate do not correlate. He believes that with the proper determination and the right resources, anyone, no matter their social standing, can achieve cultural literacy. However, personally I believe that being within a certain social standing it is close to impossible to become culturally literate because it’s much more difficult to obtain any materials or resources without a certain sum of money. Those with higher power and much more currency are able to pay for large universities and the books that come with them, leading them on a much easier path to being culturally literate. E.D. Hirsch Jr. continually supports his claim by stating that cultural literacy and its evolution into the modern day world cannot be tied to any specific class. However, this is where Ernest R. House, author of Cultural Literacy Reconsidered, counters this idea with the concept that everything has a beginning, and it was due...