When I used to think about literacy I thought it was just a person who could read and write. Throughout my school years it became clear that literacy was much more than being able to read and write. Literacy also make me think about when even I have a conversation with a person that is not literate it really frustrates me because it is like talking to a baby that has not learned to speak yet. Being able to talk well consists of being able to read and have a large cognitive capacity. A person that can understand books, long or short articles, and also pieces as short as paragraphs. A person that is literate can write and it is not the way they would talk. Literacy can also be understanding things in different ways. Literacy does not only have to do with reading and writing, because it is used in everyday life. Literacy is being able to read and being able to understand what you have read well. A person can not read something without understanding what they have just read. An illiterate person can not read, write nor understand what they have read. When reading Anne Gere article my understanding about literacy changed a lot. Before reading this article I thought a person could only be taught literacy from school. After reading this this article I now know that it is taught in everyday life. The two groups teachers each other and they learned from one another. “The stated purpose of the Lansing, Iowa Writers Workshop is to build community in order to solve local problems” (75). Literacy is not just about learning in school, but also everyday life. While reading the Anne gere article education was very important. These people came from not knowing or knowing little about writing, to writing essays that were published. After reading Rodriguez article, my understanding about education and literacy changed. He was very determined to become a very educated man. He had a rough life because not only was English his second language, but he was torn between his family and school. “he goes home and sees in his parents a way of life not only different but stankly opposed to that of the classroom”(433). He teaches a lot about education because no matter where a person comes from with hard work and determination anyone can become successful. A person can not always depend on their family but that does not mean they will fail in life. He had other people that supported him in the way he needed while in school. Rodriguez makes me want to work harder in life because after reading the obstacles he had to over come nothing seems impossible for me. Education is very important and I do not believe a person can be successful with out one.