Barriers to Literacy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Barriers to Literacy - Essay Example Over the years different legislations have been passed by government to facilitate the literacy and learning environment but at times these laws become a barrier as laws are difficult to understand and implement. Also, there could be administrative barriers at school, college, university, and district and state levels. Multicultural environments pose barriers to learning and literacy as students seek companionship with the people of same background and language. Interactions among classmates who are from vastly diverse linguistic backgrounds are different from the students with mainly same ethnic or linguistic background. â€Å"Traditionally, some of the factors that restrict access to full literacy for language-minority students have included (a) xenophobic English-only movements (Donahue, 1995); (b) limited resources and personnel within ESL (August & Hakuta, 1997); (c) controversy about bilingual education (Faltis & Hudelson, 1998; Krashen, 1996); (d) differences about the durati on and type of language services children should receive (Collier, 1987); and (e) cultural and linguistic deficit models (Luke, 1986)† (Grant & Wong, 2003). Motivation of individuals for stirring the process of literacy and human development is considered one of the main barriers to learning. â€Å"For adult learners, however, learning is not usually an externally imposed, secondary role, but one that they freely choose. Adults learn to achieve both intrinsic (Bruner, 1966) and extrinsic rewards† (Dinmore, 1997).

How Has Being a Christian Affected the Life Essay

How Has Being a Christian Affected the Life - Essay Example The researcher states that until he was about 12 years-old that he began to understand why the pilgrimage to church each week was important to his parents and soon after, what had been a mindless and somewhat boring routine became important to him.   Maybe it was because the author was a little bored in church and the Bible was the only reading material available but regardless of the motivations, he started his own routine of reading the red-letter parts of the New Testament each Sunday. Entranced by the words of Jesus, this habit progressed to late evenings at home and even on the bus to school. The researcher found the words of Christ simple, to the point and ultimately a path to inner contentment and happiness. His words are, essentially, a guidebook for life. It was during this period in the author’s life, early teenage years, that the spirit of God entered his life through the words of His Son and this connection has grown stronger by the year. The researcher made the transition from attending church as a matter of custom to being a devoted Christian gradually throughout the middle-school years; a time when having faith is certainly a benefit. Though the author knew it wasn’t uncommon for everyone to have feelings of awkwardness at this age, this knowledge did not help soothe his own feelings of inadequacy. The researcher wasn’t considered one of the cool, popular kids and neither were 99 percent of the students but again, this mathematical fact did not help either. Most of the author’s friends from church attended other schools and the couple of people he associated with in elementary school had different class schedules. The researcher felt very alone, vulnerable and intimidated. The ‘other’ students seemed more mature and sure of themselves which was more a result of his distorted self-perception than a reality nevertheless this feeling was very real at that time. The researcher did not feel comfortable tellin g anyone close to him such as his parents or his once-a-week friends from church so the author took solace in prayer. It gave him inner-strength in a time of self-doubt and confusion. Reading the Bible also helped considerably. Besides the lessons and wisdom gained from its pages, the realization that Jesus was not a popular figure either and had also a small circle of friends was of some comfort. Being a Christian at this time of great uncertainty was very beneficial.   It gave the author something solid in his life to hold on to at a time when he needed it the most.