My journey through literacy

Claire Doll
MSMU Class of 2024

(9/2024) The age-old debate: math or reading?

Which subject is more useful? Which provides the most enrichment, inspires the most passion? Although I’m an English teacher, I can be convinced that mathematics plays a more vital role in our society. Through the identification of relationships, pattern comprehension, and problem-solving skills, math impacts pretty much each mere detail in our everyday lives. From the moment you wake up to your alarm clock (time management) to filling your tank with gas (conversion) to cooking dinner (measurements), it can be pretty much concluded that life is a series of calculations—a stream of numbers being factored and multiplied and derived.

But while this is a convincing argument, and one that certainly makes sense, it still does not explain the compassion, the persuasiveness, the wisdom of the human mind. How ideas grow from abstract concepts to concrete proofs, and how logic can be explained, and how views are exchanged. In fact, this entire debate would be nonexistent without the words, the literacy, with which to argue.

Reading is one of my favorite things in the world—exploring a new bookstore, or browsing the library, or even roaming around Target just to look at the book prices. I find joy in words, in sentences, in reading beautiful prose. If there’s one thing that you’ve learned about me over these years, it’s that there’s nothing else I’d rather do. I believe everyone deserves a strong, foundational literacy education. If mathematics is the brain of our society, then literacy is the heart pumping blood, keeping us alive, keeping us human.

International Literacy Day celebrates how literacy "opens the door to the enjoyment of other human rights, greater freedoms, and global citizenship" (UNESCO). Although recognized on September 8th, literacy is a gift that should be celebrated every single day. It is a gift to know how to read. It is a gift to attend school, to receive an education, to grow into an opinionated individual with the capacity to understand, differentiate, compare, and think critically.

Growing up, I’ve discovered how much I love literacy, beginning in high school creative writing class. I can paint you the room: a wall of windows overlooking the bus drop-off, with trees that flourished in the spring and summer; a morning sunrise so gold that it bathed our desks and papers in a honey glow; poetry books lining shelves, with creased and frayed spines; blurred sounds of laughter and typing and ballpoint pens hitting paper; student chapbooks displayed in the back, revealing years and years of creative talent. To me, creative writing class was four years of freedom. I could write whatever I wanted, workshop with my peers, present my poems and fiction. I was my absolute happiest sitting with my best friends, a composition book, and a Sharpie pen, editing the literary magazine or sketching a poem.

In creative writing I learned how to manipulate words: how to show and not tell, how to structure sentences, how to say more with less. It is an art, to not only grasp literacy and but also bend it, make it fit your ideas. When someone reads my work and says that they cried or laughed or smiled, I am complete; my writing evoked emotion, and I have communicated exactly how I felt.

In college, between writing for the News-Journal and editing Lighted Corners, I student taught language arts to some amazing eighth-graders. From breaking down a sentence and placing punctuation to writing full-length paragraphs and essays, I saw first-hand how literacy is implemented and developed. How understanding and explaining connect to form a complete thought. How texts like "The Outsiders" instill skills of analysis while revealing a beautiful, emotional narrative. Literacy is crucial for cognitive growth. Without pillars of reading, writing, speaking, and listening, students would never attain their lifelong goals, including college, the work force, the military, and more.

But literacy does not stop in the classroom. Take our world today: a society swarmed with politics, a nation divided on core values and beliefs. We have seen leaders that express their values aggressively, using hatred and bigotry to convince others of their views; likewise, we have seen leaders with class, approaching political topics with confidence, peace, and charisma. As our nation draws near the presidential election this November, we recognize more and more that a leader is defined by their literacy, and that a vote is discerned through a candidate’s competence in speaking and writing and listening. How Americans want to be spoken to matters. And sometimes, how a belief is conveyed holds more weight than the belief itself.

This is why literacy matters. This is why starting from birth, even before birth, you must read to your children. Why you need floor-to-ceiling bookshelves in your house. Why schools should allow students to read and celebrate all books, and why teachers should be provided unlimited literacy resources. This is why we debate, why we interview, why we speak in any shape or form, and this is why we vote. Literacy is the cornerstone of our society, the heart of our world, and each well-spoken word is a heartbeat bringing us closer to understanding, to truth, to peace.

Could mathematics do all that?

As my last Four Years at the Mount article concludes, I find it timely how International Literacy Day is the final prompt. Literacy has brought me so many gifts, and the Emmitsburg and Woodsboro-Walkersville News-Journals are the most meaningful, priceless gifts ever. By writing for this community, I feel like I have gotten to know so many of you: small business owners and retired firemen, public servants and authors, musicians and more, making up this beautiful part of northern Frederick County. Thank you for the greatest gift of all, for reading my writing, for giving my words your time. I am excited to continue writing for the News-Journals with my new teaching column, but I will miss being and writing as a Mount St. Mary’s student.

I will treasure my last four years at the Mount forever.

Read other articles by Claire Doll