What Does It Mean To Be Literate in the 21st Century?

Sep 122017
 

literate

[lit-er-it]

adjective
1. able to read and write
2. having or showing knowledge of literature, writing, etc.; literary; well-read
3. characterized by skill, lucidity, polish, or the like
4. having knowledge or skill in a specified field
5. having an education; educated; learned
  
Fundamentally, the literate person is a “learned person.”

Computer literate, social media literate, etc.  What does it mean to be “learned” these days?

We live in a constantly changing world. Technology has altered our society in ways as profound as the industrial revolution and the invention of the printing press in previous centuries.  To be literate these days means to have skills that allow for cognitive flexibility, to be able to acquire knowledge in order to change professions at any point in a person’s life.  It also means being able to learn new methods or applications in your field since change will happen in so many areas that formerly were static.

How do we educate our students, as well as our adult selves to deal with this fluid world?

The process begins in the early years of education where critical skills of literacy should be developed. Becoming a fluid reader, thoroughly mastering written and verbal communication and acquiring fundamental math skills should be the basics of education throughout the first 12 years of a student’s life. From the springboard of these skills a student can continue a lifetime of learning in the sciences and humanities.

Despite the trend toward specialized learning, commitment to a career path should not be emphasized in high school.  The curriculum at this point should be developing those skills that will allow a student to continue learning and adapting to a changing environment.  

While the definition of “literacy” includes “having knowledge or skill in a specified field,” the ability to learn and maintain that specialized knowledge requires prerequisites that will foster lifetime learning. Since the technological revolution of computers and the internet, few people will continue to work using the same methods or even engage in the same careers they expect to pursue.

How can adult learners keep up with the changing times?

Maintaining or developing the skills necessary to keep up with innovations in your field or taking a new career path remain essential.  In these changing times the executive function skills of organization, time management, mental flexibility and memory have become necessary tools to maintain “literacy” in our society.

Perhaps the key to this goal of lifetime literacy is fostering and pursuing curiosity about the world and the initiative to explore new areas of knowledge and innovation.  

The cognitive flexibility to continue learning requires a basis: the prerequisites of “literacy” as we now know it so it we can grow with the times and continue to be “literate” in the future.

____________________________________________________________________

Check back soon for more articles on executive function skills, communication, writing and speech pathology.

 

 

Why Is My ‘To Do’ List Like Chasing The Impossible Dream?

Jul 012013
 

As a speech pathologist I work on improving executive function skills with individuals who have difficulty in organization and focus. With many of my clients who feel they are never on top of the tasks they must complete, I often advise making a “To Do” list, along with other organizational strategies.  Writing a concrete set of goals for a given time period (a week, a day, etc.), generally helps people stay on task and not lose sight of what they must accomplish.  However, along with creating a list like this, the process of prioritizing remains critically important.  This is where many people veer into trouble: the “To Do” list that becomes an even bigger headache.

What does it mean to prioritize?  If you feel overwhelmed by what you need to do for work, family or your personal life, creating a list of what must be accomplished remains one of the best strategies to ensure that you’re productive.  But prioritizing is more than just deciding what should be done and in what order; prioritizing requires time management, a skill that often causes difficulty all by itself.

Overplanning, by not considering what can be accomplished in a given time period, can sabotage anyone’s efforts to become organized and productive.   Writing an unrealistic list of items often becomes one of the most self-defeating activities for someone with executive function problems.  If the “To Do” list becomes a set of dream goals, not realistically attainable, you set in motion an even worse spiral of not getting anything done.

How to deal with this?  I advise long-range and short-range planning: deciding what must be done each day and making that list a “do-able list,” not an impossible dream.  As you take care of it, scratch it off, or if it carries over, put it on the next day’s agenda.  Group these tasks into a realistic time frame: today, tomorrow, next week, or even the month.  If you have long-range goals, leave room in the daily or weekly agenda and slot in time periods to begin working on these longer projects.  But consider how long tasks should take so you don’t push off long projects and end up frantically working on them at the last minute.

I am often asked, “Will this help me multi-task?”  Creating a realistic “To Do” list by prioritizing, setting attainable goals and considering your available time, can make you more efficient and perhaps bring you closer to the 21st century dream of multi-tasking.  Whether or not multi-tasking is attainable or a desirable skill remains a large question, one that I’ll be writing about in the future.

___________________________________________________________

Check back next week for more thoughts on executive function skills, communciations and speech.

 

 

 

 

 

Could You Repeat That Please, I Wasn’t Listening

May 152013
 

Everyone has moments of inattention and restlessness, but for some people these exist as a constant situation.  Adults, as well as children and adolsecents, need to monitor their behavior and cue themselves to pay attention, but some people have significantly more difficulty maintaining their focus.

Executive functioning represents a set of processes that govern how one manages oneself, including mental control and self regulation.  The skills necessary for planning and organization, memory, making transitions, setting priorities, and  self cueing begin to develop in childhood.  As the child grows, so do the expectations for self management throughout the teenage years.  Adults are expected to have mastered a degree of mental flexibility, including the ability to set priorities and shift strategies.  But adults who remain disorganized, poorly focused, unaware of how much they miss in the environment, often suffer professionally and personally.

Can individuals who have difficulty with executive functioning become more alert to their behavior and improve these  skills?  Self-monitoring strategies and cueing for attentional gaps can be learned by children and adults.   Luckily, for teenagers and adults, electronic devices and planners can assist in memory and organization.  But these external tools don’t help with focus and attention. While some individuals treat their attentional problems with medication, ultimately the responsibility for executive functioning remains a conscious activity.

A professional who specializes in cognitive training can develop a set of strategies tailored to an individual to improve executive functioning.  It takes active thinking to modify one behavior at all ages.  But it’s a worthwhile effort that can create academic, professional and personal success.

__________________________________________________________

Check back next week for more thoughts on communications and speech.