Gee's What is Literacy?

Gee takes the word “literacy” and explains it as discourse which he says is a socially accepted association among ways of using language, of thinking, and of acting that can be used to identify oneself as a member of a socially meaningful group or a social network. He thinks of discourse as an identity kit which comes complete with the appropriate costume and instructions on how to act and talk so as to take on a particular role that others will recognize. He basically says there is more than just one meaning to literacy and it can be used in many different ways.

It did not change my mind; it just got me to think deeper about the word that always just seemed so basic and simple.