Literacy: Redefined after reading the Gee article

My previous definition of literacy pertained to an individual's ability to master a skill, but there were many holes as to how an individual is deemed literate.  Although Gee's article changed my definition slightly, I still believe that literacy is an individual's ability to master a task.  However, Gee's article caused me to consider the role of interpersonal relationships on the individual's mastery of the content or skill.  Becoming successful in a skill is pointless unless the individual is able to share their knowledge, either directly or indirectly, with another individual or group of people. 

Because Gee was so concerned with how individuals interact with each other, I feel that it is important to include it in my definition.  Knowledge and information kept in isolation from others doesn’t help others because is knowledge is meant to me shared not hoarded.  Gee was concerned with how individuals navigated social circles and whether or not they were able to successful integrate themselves into it.  Since social interactions are a large part of our society, my definition of literacy has to take that into consideration. 

What is literacy? Response to D2L discussion

Surprisingly, literacy encompasses a lot more than being able to read and write at the proficient level.  My definition of literacy has been pigeon-holed to the realm of English education of reading and writing.  Through the D2L discussion, my classmates have pushed me to consider other definitions of what literacy entails.  Although I believe it is extremely important to be literate in reading and writing, those two skills are not required to learn another activity.  For example, an individual does not need to be literate in reading and writing to become literate in kickboxing.  Reading and writing literacy essential (or helpful at the very least) to learn another skill such as cooking.  In this way, various types of literacy intersect with achieving literacy in another activity.

While reading through the discussion, I kept wondering how people decide that they are literate.  Is literacy achieved when a person simply knows how to do an activity? Or are there standards and criteria that must be achieved?  I also found myself wondering if the ability to communicate about a specific skill or activity contributes to an individual's literacy. To me, the ability to communicate or teach another individual about a subject enhances literacy. It seems to me that discussions about a given topic are helpful because they allow the individual to articulate their knowledge of the subject while teaching someone else about it.  If while discussing a topic the individual mistakes or forgets something, then they know where they need more practice or  where to refresh their memory.