by Bridget Webber

Created on: September 05, 2008   Last Updated: February 22, 2009

To be literate means that you have freedom, that is the freedom to fully participate in the literate society which surrounds you. It also means that you have the freedom to gain further knowledge and understanding by being able to comprehend that which takes a written format.

If you are illiterate then you are no better or worse as a person because of that fact. However, those who can read and write have a great advantage over those who cannot. They have access to the power of the written word. They can influence others by utilising this skill, and understand what is going on around them more fully.

In this day and age we have so much red tape, otherwise known as legal and informative paraphernalia. If we cant read this red tape then we cant fully understand our rights and we become either submissive or are in danger of becoming ignorant of exactly 'how' to change things for the better.

When others around us are literate and we are not we can experience a lack of confidence. This lack of confidence comes from feeling inadequate compared to them. In truth, we are certainly not inadequate, just lacking in an important skill that could help us to realise our potential in certain areas of life.

If we feel a lack of confidence due to our illiteracy then we also probably experience a sense of being divided from the rest of society. This can create the illusion that we are outsiders knocking on a locked door.

To unlock the door we need to take steps toward it first. No one can become literate overnight. It takes time and frustration, coupled with determination and strength of character for us to learn to read and write at a different time from our peers. But that's all that it is. Once upon a time they were illiterate too. Keeping this in mind can remind you that you are not below them. You are just learning this particular skill later in life than they did.

Once inside the door we can experience the joys and creativity that come from literacy too. Not only do we have access to knowledge but we have the freedom to express ourselves with writing. By utilising this skill we can emotionally move others. We can tell our stories to the world and we can read and comprehend other peoples stories and feel a connection to them.

By writing we can paint a picture with words that can survive far longer than we do physically. We can share our own knowledge and teach others, just as we can learn from what they have to teach us too.

We can choose to develop our education as far as we wish

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