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CHAPTER
Social
Literacy
OBJECTIVES
A t t h e e n dof thischapter, you should b e able t o :
* develop understanding of theworking definition ofsocial literacy;
explain t h e roles o f parents a n d teachers in t e a c h i n g social skills to
children; a n d
. discuss a n d e x a m i n e issues i nsocial literacy.
Social literacy
concerns itself with t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f
social skills,
k n o w l e d g e a n d positive h u m a n v a l u e s t h a t
e n a b l e h u m a n b e i n g s t o a c t
positively a n d responsibly
in range of complex social settings. It is the knowledge
TT
āy
o f1ow to behave a n d freat other people
in a way t h a t is
morally upright
a equiable.
with a view o f promoting
positive a n d productive
relations
are free from unfair prejudices, hate,
a n d discrimination.
These thre
descriptions
will b e e x p l a i n e d below.
Bymorally
upright, we refer to
thoughts, speech, action
ivati
that a d h e r e t o
a standard o f
right a n dwong,
O n the other hana la
fo Speech, a c t i o n s , a n d
behaviors t h a t are in-line with a fixed standard of
Justiceāa system t h a t
promotes a n d rewards g o o d a n d a t t h e s a m e time
punishes wrongdoing.
A n y system o f justice, whether
national, regional, orlocal
requires a body o f rules o r laws by
which to measure a n d
administer rewards
a n d p u n i s h m e n t. E q u i t a b l e are t h e s p e e c h , actions, behaviors, a n d
decisions
t h a t treat
others fairly,
regardless o f background or
circumstances.
Not to b e
c o n f u s e d with equality, which c o n n o t e sa fixed standard o f treatment for
all
p e o p l e , equity seeks t h e good o fothers, a n d labors to find means by which
everyone g e t s ā w h a t t h e y need" rather t h a n simply āeveryone gets the same
thing in the same amount.ā
:
Peers a n d schools playa formative role o n thesocial skillsdevelopment of
children. These social skillsare oftenexpressed asconsisting ofthree inter-related
components: social perception, social cognition a n d social performance
(Arthur, Davison, &Stow,2000). Increasing emphasis has been placed o nthe last
c o m p o n e n t , particularly
in terms ofoutcomes. Social skill isdefined in literature
a s ā t h eability
to interact with others in a given social contextin specific ways that
are socially
a c c e p t a b l e o r valued a n d a t the sametime personally beneficial,
mutually beneficial, o r
primarily beneficial toothers.ā
There are several types o f
social skillsthat
must b e mastered for
a child
to be socially
a d e p t. These range
from the
ability to
initiate, maintain,
a n d
e n d a
conversation
to reading
social signals
to more complex
skills such as
solving
problems
a n dresolving
conflict (Lawson,
2003). The
following
examples
represent s o m e o f t h e
fundamental
principles
o f relating
well to
others. Children
with social skill
deficits
c a n b e t a u g h t these skills directly by
parents,
teachers,
and/or
professionals
using t h e strategies o f
modeling,
role-playing,
rehearsal,
a n d
practice.
Greeting
ā Children
develop
relationships
with peers
by interacting
with them.
The
first step
in a social
interaction
is greeting
someone.
Greeting
others
is d o n e n o t
only
with words
like
āHilā or
āHow are
y o u? " but
with facial expressions, tone of voice, a n d
gestures
such as
a n o d
or a
wave.
The n o n v e r b a l
part
o f greeting someone is just as
important
as the
words. It is not so
much
what
one says
but how he/
she
says it that lets
people
know he/she is
glad
to see
them.
Conversation-in
ordertocamryona
conversation,
a child
must
itiate,
maintain
a n d close
conversation
appropriately.
This
Initiating
b e a b l e
t o n
requires
.
iy Enhancing
New
Literacies
Across the Curriculum
|
3 6
|
Building?
n
d listening
and attention
skills,
as well
as
the ability
to take
Apologizing
- Everyone makes social mistakes a t o n e time or another,
A person with good socialskillsisconfident enough to makeasincera
apology forher error.Thisis acourageous a c t a n d is thequickest ang
easiest way t o correct asocialblunder. Inreality, o t h e r p e o p l e Usually
h a v e a higher opinion o f someone who apologizes for making q
m i s t a k e ,Apologizing isa sign e fhumble a n d m a t u r e c h a r a c t e r when
o n e commits
mistakes.
The Role of Parents and TeachersinTeaching Social Skills toChildren
Parents
typically p l a y t h e major role i n t e a c h i n
i
.
chil.
Parentscan directly teach social skillsb 9 children social skill
38 | Building andEnhancingNew Literacies Across the Curriculum
programs that often involve group work with peers. Children must then
generalize t h e skills t h e y learn i n t h e g r o u p to s c h o o l a n d other
personal social
situations.
School is the p l a c e where children spend the majority of
their time with
peers. It is, therefore, a natural a n d perfect selting for
children t o learn o n d
practice s o c i a l skills. While t e a c h e r s d o n o t h a v e to t e a c h
a class i n social skills,
they c a n t a k e a d v a n t a g e o f e v e r y o p p o r t u n i t y t o h e l p c h i l d r e n i m p r o v e
their
social skills. They s h o u l d b e alert t o teasing a n d bullying a n d a w a r e o f c h i l d r e n
that are rejected or ignored by
their peers. They should work cooperatively with
t h echildren's p a r e n t s to prevent t h e
humiliation, embarrassment, a n d
distress
thatbefall t h e s echildren. Pairing a socially i n e p t c h i l d with
asocially a d e p t one,
involving children in cooperative instead of
competitive learning exercises,
identifying a n d a c k n o w l e d g i n g
t h e strengths o f all children, understanding
social weaknesses, a n d c r e a t i n g a n
environment in w h i c h diversity is a c c e p t e d
a n d
celebrated
c a n greatly enhance
all children's social abilities, sense of
belongingness, a n dself-esteem, n o t just in theclassroom b u t inlife aswell.
| Issues in Teaching Social Literacy
Howchildren
develop their
social literacy is intrinsically
acontextual
matter
a n d is n o t something t h a t c a n b e easily traced in a linear or developmental
fashion. Theacquisition o f socialliteracy isac o m p l e xprocess t h a t is historically
a n dculturally conditioned a n dcontext-specific. Children learnthrough social
practices, b o t h explicit a n d implicit, a n d become h u m a n through social
interaction. Nevertheless, it is also the case that
children engage in social
CHAPTER 3 SocialLiteracy |] 39
oe
Mn
Ne
IARTED wi Ten
own
behavior
is questioned. We
demand
justice when we perceive ourselves
to b e victims of
wrongdoing.
but we
surround
ourselves with excuses when
we d owrong.
We
insistthat
others
treat us
equitably,
but are reluctant when
treating others with
equity costs more t h a n we e x p e c t e d.
Today's students h a v e grown u p with t h e Internet t h a t they h a v e b e c o m e
inseparable
from their gadgets. Blake (2017)
offers helpfulreminders t o y o u n g
professionals
in terms o f
social skills in
t h e m o d e r nage.
This situation underscores
theimportance
of educating studentsin w h a t c o u l d b e called
social literacy
toensure
their a c a d e m i c a n d career
success.
Situational
Awareness
in the Workplace
While casual office
attire has become the norm in many offices, job
interviews typically require moreformal dress a n dbehavior t odemonstrate
ā alevel of respect.
Storiesprevail of young
adults showing u p t o interviews
in casual clothing, texting, or using phones during job interviews or even
bringing their parents with them. Such behavior demonstrates
a lack of
situational awareness about what is appropriate to d o
in
different social
circumstances. While college classrooms or the
actual
office atmosphere
CHAPTER 3 Social Literacy | 41
may allow for amorecasual
dresscode, students need to b e taught
wh,
is socially acceptable
in terms of dress or
behavior for them f o stand g y
āabove their
colleagues. A nability t o r e a d
social situations illustrates strength
t o employersāquickly p i c k i n g u p o n a client's m o o d o r expectations jp,
various business orcross-cultural
situations c a n b e the difference between,
s u c c e s s a n d f a i l u r e.
Social Intelligence
inTechnological
Communication
Text-speak a n d technology use
have affected many young people's ability
to c o m m u n i c a t e.
While
email has deformalized m u c h of t h e
communication
process, students
still n e e d toensure
their writing
d e n o t e s respect a n d
provides
e n o u g h context for professors (or future
employers)
to readily
respond. In
addition,
text-speak
h a s reduced s t u d e n t s ā
ability to
communicate using
correct grammar.
Through studying
particular c o m m u n i c a t i o n
genres
and Ā°
what they
demand, students c a n learn more
about w h a t
individual situations
d e m a n d in
terms o f t h eformality
o fcommunication. For
example, if aprofessor
signs a n
email with "Dr. Smith,ā
this isafairly goodindication
that h eexpects to
be addressed as such a n d not
informally
by his firstname.
Social Intelligence in Traditional
Communication
Whileemail has t a k e nover as t h eprimary
m e t h o d o f communication,
traditional m o d e s o f discourse still exist. Forexample,
m a n y employers still
e x p e c t cover letters i n a d d i t i o n t o resumes, a n d
t h e l a c k o f a thank-you
n o t e fora gift is o f t e n p e r c e i v e d as m o r e t h a n a simple s o c i a loversight.
A nability to craft these types ofdocuments illustrates a n understanding of
s o c i a l e x p e c t a t i o n s a n d d e n o t e sa l e v e l o f r e s p e c t o r a p p r e c i a t i o n. While
n o t r e l a t e d to t h e traditional e d u c a t i o n a l c a n o n , l e a r n i n g t o properly
writea c o v e r letter or business letter ora thank-you c a r d n o t only
teaches
students t h a t these documents exist a n d are o f t e n n e c e s s a r y b u t also
showsthem how to craft such documents, saving them time a n d energy
in t h e future.. o o
Wrap Up
Ā» Social literacy concerns itself with the development o f social skis.
knowledge, a n d positive human values that enable human
beings to act
positively
a n d responsibly
in range o f complex
social settings.
e Social skills range from the ability to initiate, maintain, a n d end @
conversation to reading social signals to more complex skills s u c h a s solving
problems and resolving conflict.
42
| Building andEnhancingNew
LitƩracies Across the
Curriculum
