Re-defining Literacy...some final thoughts

My definition of literacy hasn’t really changed all that much; however, my awareness of how it is expressed, how it is practiced, and how I'm “teaching” it has definitely changed, perhaps even heightened.  I’m finding that in my interactions with children I see literacy “in-the-making” beyond the fact that they are using crayons, pens, and paint on paper.  I now see that it’s in the play, interactions, and conversations they have with each other and with me.  This has definitely changed the way I approach literacy with the children.  However, I still think about the conventional practices in the schools and what happens after they’ve been with me.  I think about how much I’ve actually prepared them for that experience, if I have altogether.  I also think about whether I have done enough writing or reading with them or have exposed them enough to these literacy practices to prepare them for what is going happen in the classrooms, what will be expected from them.  Is the emergent way I’m looking at literacy enough to prepare them for that?  Even as I try to separate myself from that conventional way of thinking and practicing I just can’t help but think how backwards literacy practices are in the school system, how limited literacy practices are encouraged for children, and how profoundly influenced I still am of its very practices.