Quote:

“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn” --Alvin Toffler

On the internet I found this quote which belongs to Alvin Toffler, an American novelist and futurist.

I chose this quote because I think it is true and it really makes me think the very first time I came across it.

I fancy this quote given that It talks about attitudes rather than skills. Illiteracy is not what we call a lack of knowledge, but a lack of a positive attitude to always being learning, considering an accepting other people’s ideas.

In our lives, we always learn things and memorize concepts. Some learn less than others and some know much more from their experiences than we ever do. Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean that the less experienced ones can’t teach them things. Like Gary Colleman, I believe that people have different intelligences. In this way, some may be better at cooking than others but worse at soccer than them. A good combination of learning experiences which should be shared makes human relationships fruitful due to the feedback they receive from each other.

The illiterate people would be the ones who refuse to learn, unlearn and relearn when they have to.

By “learn” I grasped the attitude to go through other people experiences and get the best out of them. We can start with a base and continue to add more meaningful experiences the way as we go. However, we can’t feel satisfied with one single truth for each thing.

To exemplify my understanding of this quote, I’ll use an example of a teacher I know.

An old language teacher learns that the best way to teach his student how to speak in English is by having them learn long English grammar explanations. To memorize the rules of English grammar is the key to success in performing in this foreign tongue- he asserts. It is clear that this is just one truth. He learned it from his old lesson at university. It is intended to work – Some books he’s read indicates. However, nothing says this is the real truth.

“By unlearn” I understood the attitude to opening your mind towards new viewpoints. In the case of this teacher, is he capable of considering a truth which he ignored or always believe it never worked? How about grammar? His students never manage to speak well. Is this a problem? Do I teach well? - He wondered. Maybe memorizing extensive grammar rule explanations is not even closer to teaching students how to speak properly! He finally figured out that grammar was not the way with which he should teach languages. He untied his knots to search for new effective language teaching techniques. This truth that was supposed to be the only one that works was down.

It’s time to relearn. He questioned his knowledge just to make it more meaningful. Grammar wasn’t down after all -He thought. The teacher read extensively through the subject and thought over his own experiences from which he grasped that grammar is just a point that supports language learning but it is not the base on which the students are supposed to master the language.

If I want to be a good teacher, I should never make “undeniable” assumptions. I should learn to continue learning, to question what I know and remake what I knew. “To teach is to learn twice” Joseph Joubert once said. My students also have something to teach me!

My conclusions after doing this paper are:

• · Closed-minded people equal the current illiterate ones.
• · Lack of knowledge doesn’t mean illiteracy.
• · Ignorance isn’t the same as illiteracy.
• · Everyone is good at something, so we could learn from each other.
• · Nobody owns an undeniable truth.