Social Linguistics and Literacies: The Imposing Ideologies of the Elite

I really enjoyed Gee's excerpt because it exposes a lot of the flaws within our capitalist society. What moved me the most is when he related the theories of Karl Marx to the social hierarchy of society based on materialism. Literacy extends beyond reading, writing, academic studies and other traditional values. In modern times, literacy is more about the ability to process what goes on in our environment.  Gee mentioned that

"...Marx warns us to reflect on the fact that people with power have a vested interest to use language and literacy in their own favor, to express views of the world that support and validated their power."

In Art class, we talk a lot about visual culture, politics and the functionality of imagery.  We talk about the idea that children are used in commercials and political ads to manufacture truth.  Also, I question students about the idea of using celebrities to promote various products, while persuading people to live beyond their financial limitations.  Literacy becomes not only the ability to read and write, but the competence to decode the language and ideologies of others. The Arts (visual, performing and language) offer the opportunity to educate the youth to pay attention to the nuances often overlooked by society.  When taught effectively, students will develop the habit of mind to develop the essential questioning skills that will help them flourish.

I believe that teaching children to question, decode then question again will prevent indoctrination from websites, advertisements, radio stations, reality TV shows and other mass communication tools.