The Reader, the Text, the Interpretation

Abstract

No time in history has it been more challenging, and perhaps more important, for people to be able to intelligently process the vast amounts of information available. In response, there has been a resurgence on the emphasis of educating students in the public schools not only to be literate in the sense of decoding words and phrases but also to be able to evaluate the validity, the worth, and the credibility of a text which is the basis of critical literacy instruction. Critical analysis of texts requires that the reader possess a complex set of skills, and with that consideration in mind, readers' responses during their transactions with a text can help guide teachers to facilitate a natural process for students to evaluate the worth and credibility of information.