Oxford Dictionary of Current English Definition of "political":
adj. 1. relating to the government or public affairs of a country. 2. relted to or interested in politics

"politic":
adj. (of an action) sensible and wise in the circumstances. ORIGIN Greek politikos.

American Heritage Dictionarypo·lit·i·cal   (p?-lit'i-k?l)
adj.   

  1.. Of, relating to, or dealing with the structure or affairs of government, politics, or the state. 
  2.. Relating to, involving, or characteristic of politics or politicians: "Calling a meeting is a political act in itself" (Daniel Goleman). 
  3.. Relating to or involving acts regarded as damaging to a government or state: political crimes. 
  4.. Interested or active in politics: I'm not a very political person. 
  5.. Having or influenced by partisan interests: The court should never become a political institution. 
  6.. Based on or motivated by partisan or self-serving objectives: a purely political decision. 


  Check out more definitions at dictionary.com: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/political 


  ----------------------------
  Craig Alinder
  www.craigalinder.com 

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Andrea Wilder 
  To: The Poverty, Race,Women and Literacy Discussion List ; Catherine B. King 
  Sent: Wednesday, January 17, 2007 8:39 AM
  Subject: [PovertyRaceWomen 325] Re: Reply to Andres Muro


  Looking up a name in a phone book assumes literacy and a phone. Context may matter, also--being forbidden to use a phone by a family member is an example of power over another person.

  By the way, what do we mean by "political?" 

  Andrea

  On Jan 17, 2007, at 9:47 AM, Catherine B. King wrote:


  Hello Andres, Janice and Kearney:
   
  I agree with Andres and Janice that the work we do in education (or any education) has a definite political dimension.   Reading is freeing, which is itself political because it has to do with power; for instance, being able to read labels on cans at the supermarket frees us to make informed choices instead of merely relying on pictures or trusting that we are getting good stuff.
   
  But basic literacy is more foundational than that.  That is, in a civil society, the constitution of the political environment and our powers is based in written documents--rather than in bloodlines, kings, tyrants, etc.   Only people who can read can read their own constituting documents.  So in this sense, basic literacy is constitutive of a democratic-civil rather than tribal society (where "civil" refers to non-kingship/bloodline sorts of political constitutions).  
   
  Adult literacy is important in the extreme--In our time, every mini-step towards the reversion to tribalism, e.g., ignoring our citizens' reading abilities, is a step towards losing the civil society we all take for granted and that many have fought so long and hard to gain.
   
  Regards,
   
  Catherine King
   
   
  ----- Original Message -----

  From: Janet Isserlis 
  To: The Poverty, Race, Women and Literacy Discussion List 
  Sent: Wednesday, January 17, 2007 7:56 AM
  Subject: [PovertyRaceWomen 323] Re: Reply to Andres Muro

  Kearney, 

  I can't speak to Andres' intention, but it seems that the contexts in which the activities you describe occur may have strong bearing on the belief that the work we do in adult literacy education is political.  Even to choose (actively, or by default) to be apolitical, is (some would reason) a political choice.



  Janet Isserlis


  From: Kearney Lykins <kearney_lykins at yahoo.com>
  Reply-To: "The Poverty, Race, Women and Literacy Discussion List" <povertyracewomen at nifl.gov>
  Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2007 12:39:45 -0800 (PST)
  To: "The Poverty, Race, Women and Literacy Discussion List" <povertyracewomen at nifl.gov>
  Subject: [PovertyRaceWomen 321] Re: Reply to Andres Muro

  Andres,

  (Literacy itself is a political activity.) This seems like an extreme over-generalization. While I don't dispute that each of the activities you mention can be political in nature, they certainly are not always so, and even when they are, there are degrees to which they are indeed a mixture of something else  (like merely passing the time, or escaping, or relaxing).

  When you say that "there are no literacy activities that aren't political." I don't get it. How for example is looking up a phone number in the phone book a political act? Or, when I teach an ESOL lesson on say, the grammar of definite versus indefinite articles, how do my actions communicate something inherently political?

  So sure, people use their reading and writing abilities to buy a car and buy groceries, or to get a job. But then, they also eat and sleep to help them do the same things. But we wouldn't say that eating and sleeping are political activities. In fact, they must eat and sleep if they expect to obtain a job, or to live more than a couple of weeks. But they do not need to read or write to do either. 

  Are you merely applying the Aristotelian position that "man is a political animal" to every facet and every nook and cranny of every human activity, or is it something else? Please help me understand what you mean. 

  Kearney_Lykins at yahoo.com
    
     

  ----- Original Message ----
  From: "Muro, Andres" <amuro5 at epcc.edu>
  To: "The Poverty, Race, Women and Literacy Discussion List" <povertyracewomen at nifl.gov>; povertyracewomen at nifl.gov
  Sent: Sunday, January 14, 2007 7:51:48 PM
  Subject: [PovertyRaceWomen 307] Re: National Gay and Lesbian Task ForceFellowship

  [<SPAN id="misspell-6" class="mark" >PovertyRaceWomen</SPAN> 306] Re: National Gay and Lesbian Task <SPAN id="misspell-7" class="mark" >ForceFellowship</SPAN>    
   
  I would add that literacy itself is a political activity. People read and write to participate in a community. going shopping, seeing movies, participating in community life, buying a car, choosing to participate in gay activities, studying, acquiring health services, etc. are all political activities. In fact, there are no literacy activities that aren't political. There isn't such a thing as an apolitical, neutral technology called literacy. 

   
   
  Andres 
   



   
  Looking for earth-friendly autos? 
   Browse Top Cars by "Green Rating" <http://autos.yahoo.com/green_center/;_ylc=X3oDMTE4MGw4Z2hlBF9TAzk3MTA3MDc2BHNlYwNtYWlsdGFncwRzbGsDZ3JlZW5jZW50ZXI->  at Yahoo! Autos' Green Center.  
  ----------------------------------------------------
  National Institute for Literacy
  Poverty, Race, Women and Literacy mailing list
  PovertyRaceWomen at nifl.gov
  To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/povertyracewomen


  ----------------------------------------------------
  National Institute for Literacy
  Poverty, Race, Women and Literacy mailing list
  PovertyRaceWomen at nifl.gov
  To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/povertyracewomen----------------------------------------------------

  National Institute for Literacy
  Poverty, Race, Women and Literacy mailing list
  PovertyRaceWomen at nifl.gov
  To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/povertyracewomen



  ----------------------------------------------------
  National Institute for Literacy
  Poverty, Race, Women and Literacy mailing list
  PovertyRaceWomen at nifl.gov
  To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/povertyracewomen



  No virus found in this incoming message.
  Checked by AVG Free Edition.
  Version: 7.5.432 / Virus Database: 268.16.13/632 - Release Date: 1/16/2007 4:36 PM
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/povertyracewomen/attachments/20070117/9cb60c22/attachment.html