Liley 1

Catherine Liley
Nancy Roche
Writing 1010-018
30 September 2014
Literacy Myth Argument
The concept of the Literacy Myth is introduced in this article because it
demonstrates how it affects our everyday lives. People perceive it in different ways and use
literacy in different ways. Gee talks about if an individual is not literate, it doesnt mean he
or she isnt intelligent. Every person has there own way of learning discourses and the way
we learn gives us more power over others or set us in a social ranking system. Many people
have different beliefs or dont support this idea of literacy therefore it is called a myth. The
idea of the Literacy Myth is a way to show peoples social standings and power it has over
other people. Gee introduces different peoples point of views on how literacy works and is
defined.
The Church in Sweden took responsibility in teaching people the ways of literacy
living through Christian faith and a Christian life. People were to Learn and read to see
with their own eyes what God bids and commands in His Holy Word (Gee, 54). The church
was controlling literacy by taking the biblical interpretations and forcing people to read
them in order to learn literacy. Catholic churches couldnt stress enough how important the
bible was. People were only known to this and grew up learning literacy from the bible.
They achieved this without the concept of writing because it was not around at the time
until the nineteenth century came around.

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Another belief of literacy that Gee brings up is the belief that those of a higher social
standard should be the ones who interpret text because they have the knowledge to do so
unlike people who dont comprehend the full knowledge. Gee writes that Plato states at
the very least, people should be given differential access to higher places in society based
on their inborn characteristics and various tests (Plato qtd in Gee, 51). This belief of
literacy is that it is a way of establishing power. People should be rewarded with the higher
standards they have and have become trusted more in society because they know exactly
what they are talking about. Certain people have and advantage `over others due to the
importance of knowledge and literacy.
Educational distinctions of how literacy works was found based on a students race,
class, or family-based access to knowledge about college and career routes had more to do
with what track the student ended up in than did inherit intelligence or actual
potential(Oaks qtd in Gee, 56). Students look up to peers for advice and knowledge and if
they are around people who are not reliable they are going to tend to go in that direction
whereas a student with peers who have graduated college with degrees and are successful
they are more likely to take the same path. Gee incorporates in this article interviews from
low track students and high track students and shows the interaction between them and a
teacher as questions are being asked. Low track students answers are shorter and sound
less educated compared to high track students who sound intelligent and confident in their
answers.
Literacy enforces class distinction. The way someone is raised is based on whether
there literacy skills are high track levels or low track levels for example if you go talk to
someone who is homeless on the street and ask them a so called high track question there

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answer is most likely going to be more limited because they are not fully aware of the
knowledge of the question being asked rather then if you ask someone who has the full
knowledge of the question. Every person is exposed to new literacy and believes in a
different view of literacy. This is what helps and builds onto the discourses of our own.

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Works Cited
Gee, James The literacy myth and the history of literacy. Social Linguistics and Literacy.
2008 ed. New York: Falmer Press, 1991. 47-62 Print.