Every nation aspires to enhance its literacy rate. However it is very much important to look at literacy; beyond the prism of 3 Rs: reading, writing and arithmetic. Now the world has enough academically literate individuals but there is need to extend its ambit by prioritizing emotional literacy, social literacy, moral literacy, psychological literacy, health literacy, eco literacy, economic literacy and digital literacy. Only then the theme of International literacy day (2023) “Promoting literacy for a world in transition: Building the foundation for sustainable and peaceful societies” can be realised.
Real literacy lies in being socially, digitally, psychologically, emotionally, environmentally, economically and morally literate. By prioritizing social literacy in curricula, academia can shape students in such a way that they will become capable enough to live in harmony with people of diverse SES, ethnicity and religion. Social literacy will get reflected through their mannerism, communication, adjustment, social coherence and social contribution. Through social literacy students will learn a healthy balance between enmeshment and estrangement. They will learn the virtues of teamwork, cooperation, sharing and listening to the perspectives of others.
Emotional literacy is about learning to identify and control one’s own emotions and those of others’. It is about learning to control and manage anger, stress and sadness. It is about channelizing emotions in healthy and meaningful pursuits. It is the ability to stay calm in chaos and to stay reassured in doubt. By prioritizing emotional literacy in education; teachers can help in ensuring emotional wellness of students by teaching them the art of delayed gratification and developing greater frustration tolerance. It is through emotional literacy students can enhance their resistance against unhealthy peer pressures and risk taking activities.
Digital literacy means enhancing technical know – how along with enhancing skills to make safe and sensible use of internet. It is very important that cyber psychology and cybernetics be made a part of curricula so that students can learn safe and healthy ways of living in e world. Through digital literacy, students can protect themselves from cyber addictions and cybercrimes like love scams, money scams and sextortion. They will learn how to make productive use of internet.
Health literacy is the ability to process and understand basic health information in order to make informed and right decisions about their health and medical care. Through health literacy, students can be made aware about obesity, diabetes, depression, cardiovascular diseases, various bio markers and the screening and intervention services available along with interceptive care so that they can stay physically and mentally healthy. Besides teachers should work on De-stigmatization of illnesses.
Moral and ethical literacy is the most neglected part in academia; although it is done theoretically but not practically. As goes the saying values can be caught not taught, teachers and parents need to be the exemplars of moral values and ethics. It is side-lining of moral and ethical literacy that has led to the crimes like teenagers killing each other, kids stealing money from their parents or engaging in drugs and other scams.
Eco literacy is about sensitizing students about their responsibilities towards environmental sustainability. By prioritizing eco literacy students will learn the little values of environmental ethics and make it a part of their life. it is about teaching students financial management skills; habit of saving, investment and optimal utilization of resources.
Take away
The strength of a nation lies not in the number of doctors, scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs and teachers it produce but in the quality of work force it raise. Are we degree holders capable enough to think and act for ourselves; do we have a sense of purpose or mission in our life or we are just puppets dancing at the demands of the job market? Are we contributing to our societies?
Are we strong enough to withstand the challenges of life? Do we respect ourselves and others? Do we have a healthy sense or a fragile one that we will kill each other for few likes or over a single negative comment? Are we perseverant enough to follow our dreams? Do we experience happiness? How has my education shaped me? Am I able to control myself from acting on impulses? Answers to these questions will determine where we stand. The real marker of being truly literate is what we are doing practically; not how much grades and certificates we have earned.
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