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I think this is especially interesting in light of the topic of "participation."  Just as we were questioning the usefulness of blogging if there isn't always an audience or a continuing dialogue, we should question the usefulness of literacy that does not promote active participation.  “Education either functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity or it becomes the practice of freedom, the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world.” 
― Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed Even without saying that young students necessarily need to help their peers along, there is something worrisome in teaching reading, literature, and writing from an individualistic lens.  I agree that literacy should not be considered from a purely capitalistic self-serving perspective.  Instead, we could focus on emphasizing how gaining membership to the "literate sphere" allows for a much more participatory role in society.  Literacy facilitates dialogue, and dialogue promotes creativity, and ultimately, transformation.