As educators we feel that the implications for taking a Critical Literacy stance in the classroom are vast. Firstly it is impossible to deny the benefits to taking a Critical Literacy stance. By teaching children the skills to view texts critically allows children to make their own judgements about texts by considering all of the different features employed by the writer. All texts are produced with a particular purpose in mind and so are written to achieve certain goals. Children need to become aware of features employed by writers in order to form a balanced view.
This means, that as educators we need to ensure that children are exposed to a variety of texts in many forms from TV adverts and web pages to simple fiction often used in the present day classroom. Children need to be taught how to seek meaning from texts, looking at audience, purpose, context and intentions of the writer. However teachers need to make sure that the texts that we expose children to are appropriate, and meaningful to the children and the world in which they live.
Critical Literacy is not just about analysing texts but also about enjoying texts that we encounter during our everyday life. Children need to distinguish between texts that carry a deeper meaning and texts that can be read at face value. Critical Literacy stances are constantly changing and adapting to new demands placed on the Education System.
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