Precis: Heath, "Protean Shapes in Literacy Events"

Heath, Shirley Brice. “Protean Shapes in Literacy Events: Ever-Shifting
Oral and Literate Traditions.” Literacy: A Critical Sourcebook.
Cushman, Ellen. et al. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2001. 443-466.

In this piece, Shirley Brice Heath discusses what she learned about literacy as an ethnographer. She begins with the skills measured in the school systems and how it appears that students are failing to achieve specific levels of literacy. Furthermore, she notes the lack of attention for literacy retention as well as the actual use of literacy in the daily lives of individuals. The use of literacy in social situations is overlooked because there is little data that exist which compares the types and functions of oral language against the written language used in today’s society.
Heath, in her observation of the community of Trackton, discovered that there was very little writing available for the individual. However, the community’s social activities frequently pertained to a piece of writing and it was unacceptable for an individual to read alone and not explain the reading orally. The manner in which a reading is presented does not follow specific rules and changes based on the situation. The people of Trackton do not distinguish between the oral and literate mode. Instead they show their understanding of written materials only through oral means. Written messages are used as a means for oral discussions. They do not have to “read” to be literate and understand what the media presents on a daily basis and because of what the community is presented with the roles of oral and written language are ever-changing.
I feel that Heath is right in her view that the people can be literate without reading written material. It appears that there are no flaws in the logic of her piece. By reading this piece I gained an understanding that people can understand what is written without actually reading it and responding appropriately orally. When you stop to think about this everyone does this in their everyday life. I found the piece to be very informative and it caused me to pause and think about what “literacy” really means.