My Community's Literacy

All throughout my life I have belonged to numerous communities, some that I probable don’t even remember. Some of the most important communities I feel that I have belonged to or still do is my family and my High School Swim Team. All of these communities have many similarities but the rules and expectations for the members in these groups most certainly differ from one another. Literacy plays a very important role when it comes to the success of these communities.

The community I have been a member of the longest is one that I have been in all my life and will be in for an infinite amount of time, my family. In a family like mine there is set rules that most definitely pertain to literacy. My family consists of very bright out going people so these literacy rules can be expected. Through literacy is how we maintain a calm and clean functioning community in our family. For example when we are running short on groceries we add on to the list of things we are low on hanging on our refrigerator to make a note that the next time someone goes past the store to pick up the item. This way of communication has been very effective over the years. Another rule of literacy in my family is that each individual must communicate properly with one another. This rule normally comes into play around the dinner table. There is no foul language or speaking with food in your mouth. This rule is to everyone’s understanding and it is really helpful when attempting to maintain a peaceful community. Growing up in this community it was important for the older siblings to take care of the younger siblings like myself. Whether it was reading books together or going to just watching over them to make sure they don’t get in trouble. Literacy was not only used in this community to make it run better but it was also taught in the community, which is why that literacy is also dependent on the community.

Another community I was in was the Canfield High School Swim Team. Literacy played an important part in this community because it helped build a much stronger team. When it came to swimming it was important for people to understand that it wasn’t just kicking your legs and swinging your arms. It was important for the swimmers to learn technique and the proper way to swim all the different strokes. Without learning these things the team would suffer severely. Another important part when looking at the sport of swimming is understanding the importance of communication between the coach and the athlete. It is critical for the coach and the kids on the team to be able to communicate well. This is helpful because for the coach to build better swimmers she must inform them when they are doing something wrong and motivate them as a team. This communication is a crucial part of swimming because it helps build a bond within the team. Being a literate part of this community means taking in what the other people have to offer whether it is words of advice or getting words of encouragement to work harder.

Though these communities have their difference they are both similar when it comes to one thing, literacy. Without literacy these communities would not work because things would have simply been too confusing. When it comes to both swimming and my family each community has a good understanding on what is right and wrong which makes it so that things go smoothly. These communities are based of literacy but at the same time they also help strengthen the people who are in the community’s literacy too.