What is literacy? Ability to read and write. Credentials

"If you do not read books, you will soon forget the letter." This saying is especially relevant today. Russia is among the ten most reading countries in the world. According to UNESCO, more than five hundred million adults of the planet can neither read nor write. The level of illiterate and semi-literate people is very high.

Knowing this, you can not help thinking: can you raise your own literacy yourself? What are the ways for this? When in Russia began to teach literacy? How was it done? What is a Charter? What other species exist? What does it mean to be a literate person in the 21st century? First you need to find out what literacy is? Let's define this concept.

What is literacy?

The word is of Greek origin and has several meanings. In the old days it meant a document. On the birch bark, a special tool, called "pisalo", was applied with various information. The diploma was called tsarist decrees, acts, letters and much more. The first documents were written on a parchment that folded or folded.

What is literacy? Ability to write and read. The first schools in Russia were opened under Yaroslav the Wise. The person who held the diploma in Russia enjoyed great honor and respect.

What does it mean to be literate these days? Once for this it was enough to be able to write and read. But today the requirements have changed. A person who writes with errors and does not know how to express coherently and clearly his thoughts, can not be considered literate. Therefore, it is necessary to read a lot to develop your intellect and raise the level of education. You also need to constantly learn something new, applying your knowledge in life.

Why do you need to be a literate person?

• To learn how to express your thoughts and feelings correctly, not only in colloquial speech, but also on paper.
• Be able to correctly draw up various documents.
• To the surrounding people it was interesting to communicate with you.
• Live an interesting and busy life.
• Engage in self-improvement.
• To have a better chance of getting a high-paying and prestigious job.

Curious facts

1. The first birch bark letter was found in Novgorod.
2. In the world there are a lot of different alphabets, but those that people use are about sixty.
3. The smallest in the number of letters is the alphabet, in which there are only eleven. It belongs to the people of Papua New Guinea.
4. The letter "O" was invented more than three thousand years ago. Since that time, her writing has not changed.
5. In the 18-19 centuries in Russia, children from rich families were taught by foreigners. Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev, a great Russian writer, first learned to write and read French and English, only then mastered the Russian language.
6. At the beginning of the 20th century, literacy could be sent to prison. With the coming to power of the Bolsheviks, the ability to write without mistakes was considered a relic of tsarist Russia.
7. The largest number of illiterate people who can neither write nor read live in Asian countries.

What charters are they?

• Chartered letter. This concept arose in the 12th century. This was the name of a document in which institutions or individuals were presented with gifts or various advantages over other people. For example, the nobles were released from service. Granted certificates issued only by a person with the highest power in the country: the tsar, the prince, the emperor.
• Credentials. This document was issued to diplomats sent to serve in another country. Credentials gave the right to a person to act on behalf of an entire country.
• Certificate of honor. A document that is handed to a person for certain merits or achievements as a token of gratitude.
• Buying the letter. Was made when transferring the property or its part from one person to another.

Russian Literacy and Schools: Interesting Facts

• The first books, on which they taught to read, are chapels and a hymnal.
• In the 17th century, schools in Russia were called schools.
• Learning could be children of different classes, ranging from peasants, ending with aristocrats.
• The literacy class included: memorizing the alphabet, reading by syllables, reading words.
• They came to school early in the morning and went out late at night.
• Teachers were highly respected, so the literacy rate in Ancient Rus was very high.
• The main subjects in schools were the following subjects: teaching reading, church singing and writing.
• The Tatar-Mongol invasion caused enormous damage to the education of Rus. Many schools were destroyed and closed. There was no one to teach reading and writing, the level of literate people greatly decreased.
• The first textbooks appeared only in the 16th century. Literacy could be taught in two ways: at home, in the family or in the church, among clergymen.
• In the 17th century aristocrats began to teach children foreign languages.
• Education under Peter I began to be tough. For failure to comply with the instructions of the teacher and poor diligence, severe punishment was threatened.

The most well-known ways to increase literacy

• Learn punctuation and spelling rules.
• Try to remember those words where you make mistakes.
• Daily give 15-20 minutes for rewriting words or sentences from any collection of dictations.
• The benefits of reading are said constantly, nevertheless, if you get used to reading every day for at least 30 minutes, you will not have any problems with spelling.
• Play audiotapes, this will greatly increase your literacy.
• Write dictation.
• Develop your memory.
• To solve crossword puzzles.
• If you make mistakes in the same words, then you can do the following. Write these words correctly on paper, cut them out and paste them on a mirror or wardrobe so that they are always in front of your eyes.

Top 5 most educated countries in the world

• In fifth place is the USA.

• On the fourth - Israel.

• The third is for Japan.

• Canada takes the second place.
• Russia tops the list. In our country, the highest percentage of people with higher education.

Conclusion

When you answer the question what literacy is and why it is needed, one remembers the lines from the poem of the famous Russian poet Samuil Marshak: "Do not drink without reading and writing, do not eat, you can not read numbers on the gate." A person must necessarily engage in self-education, not stopping at the successes achieved. In the 21st century, being literate means being able not only to write and read, but also to constantly expand your horizons by applying knowledge in practice.