I have to say first and foremost that as I was reading this play I had such an urge to analyze the actual dialogue as you would a "real dialogue" that you transcribed. I always find "real conversation" interesting, the possible motivations of each speaker whether it be conscious or unconscious. What was interesting about Oleanna is that I have been on both ends of the conversation as instructor and as student. What I liked about this play was that it really tested my ability to be objective. I had to restrain myself from judging either person too harshly because so much information was missing from the dialogue, like What happened beforehand? What relationship did they previously have? Was this their first contact in his office? What had she written that made her concerned enough to go in & talk to him (more than likely it was a ploy, but we as readers don't know whether she premeditated it or whether it came to her as she was sitting in his office).
I had to sit back & look at all the facts independently & not make snap judgements about what was happening. I love reading things that push me to read beyond my assumptions that push every "hot button" issue, because when people are emotional it becomes really difficult to try to look at things from an objective standpoint. This kind of reading really forces you to look only at the facts at hand and not presume that your inferences and assumptions are THE answers.
That is why language study intrigues me so much. You become the outside observer who writes about what you notice. For example, in a very simple English sentence you will more often than not see subject verb object, versus spanish which has the subject embedded within the verb. The great thing about that is that not once did I make a judgement about the value of either system. Rather I can point out that English does this & Spanish does this, but then ASL does this...
For me this play was like reading a transcript of a conversation where you looked at word choice, pauses, interruptions, stress, etc... to try to determine what that reveals about what the speaker intended versus what the listener interpreted...
I definitely think this is a good play for high school students because this will really push their ability to think critically about very sensitive and "hot button" issues.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Arne Nixon Center
The presentation at the library was great. I did not realize how much we had in that special collection. I have used the Juvenile curriculum part of the library and I have always enjoyed browsing the collections for books from my childhood and for new books.
I also did not realize the HUGE selection of young adult literature as well as all of the children's literature. It gave me inspiration and I was extremely excited about getting to read YA literature. Any excuse to read and buy more books...
But again, it made me think about the fact that not all children, people have access or are introduced to reading or the variety for reading out there. When she was passing around the graphic novel, I realized that had my sister and brother read a graphic novel they may have been more interested in reading. Also, I have friends that like reading comic books and magazines and the graphic novel would be a great thing to introduce to them.
The presentation was also great because it introduces the idea that literacy should not be related to intelligence or that it is or should be reserved for certain kinds of people. Literacy is about including and engaging people in dialogue rather than excluding people from participating in social and educational activities.
I also did not realize the HUGE selection of young adult literature as well as all of the children's literature. It gave me inspiration and I was extremely excited about getting to read YA literature. Any excuse to read and buy more books...
But again, it made me think about the fact that not all children, people have access or are introduced to reading or the variety for reading out there. When she was passing around the graphic novel, I realized that had my sister and brother read a graphic novel they may have been more interested in reading. Also, I have friends that like reading comic books and magazines and the graphic novel would be a great thing to introduce to them.
The presentation was also great because it introduces the idea that literacy should not be related to intelligence or that it is or should be reserved for certain kinds of people. Literacy is about including and engaging people in dialogue rather than excluding people from participating in social and educational activities.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
The Process of Writing -- Growing
This article made me shake my head "yes" so many times I was getting whiplash. More so because how many times have I had the experience of sitting down to write and all I can think about is how I need to write, but nothing comes out. So many times I have felt like screaming because I need to say something (a paper that is due or a journal entry that I need to complete).
Sometimes too, I just want to write & again nothing comes & I hear nothing except this tinny laughter, could be my muse, could be me...who knows.
But it really made me think about my own process of writing. I use to wait until I wanted to write, but this semester I have so much due quickly and on a rolling basis that if I wait I may never get an assignment done. What has been working for me is just to sit down & write about the subject. What am I thinking? Even if it's not relevant, it doesn't necessarily matter I just want to make sure I can say something about it.
I can definitely relate when the author says that sometimes we have to discard something we think is good, but not relevant.
I know for me I will write and write & there will be this sentence that I really like. But then I realize that it really has nothing to do what I am writing about or there is nothing to build off from that sentence. I can't bear to erase it. So I created a file where I save these sentence islands in case one day I want to use it later.
I also relate to the idea that it can be daunting and confusing trying to explain to someone what they need to do to begin writing or to improve their writing. When I use to tutor, I found myself helping students by making writing procedural. Often times, it was people who did not like writing & it helped for them to be formulaic. I on the other hand, find different ways of approaching writing helps me. I write based on what kind of writing I am going to do. If I am writing scientifically, I find the more procedural writing helps me to generate ideas and organize more efficiently. When it comes to writing creative research or analysis, I find that structured free-writing helps. Start writing whatever I can related to the subject at hand.
After reading the article, what I realized is that it is a good idea to talk to your students about their writing experiences so that you can help them to find out what will work for them, what will make writing easier, less painful, more productive, etc...I think just as in a lot of things in life, students must understand themselves so they can find a method or way that works. In this way they can create more authentic work that represents at the very least what they are trying to say.
Sometimes too, I just want to write & again nothing comes & I hear nothing except this tinny laughter, could be my muse, could be me...who knows.
But it really made me think about my own process of writing. I use to wait until I wanted to write, but this semester I have so much due quickly and on a rolling basis that if I wait I may never get an assignment done. What has been working for me is just to sit down & write about the subject. What am I thinking? Even if it's not relevant, it doesn't necessarily matter I just want to make sure I can say something about it.
I can definitely relate when the author says that sometimes we have to discard something we think is good, but not relevant.
I know for me I will write and write & there will be this sentence that I really like. But then I realize that it really has nothing to do what I am writing about or there is nothing to build off from that sentence. I can't bear to erase it. So I created a file where I save these sentence islands in case one day I want to use it later.
I also relate to the idea that it can be daunting and confusing trying to explain to someone what they need to do to begin writing or to improve their writing. When I use to tutor, I found myself helping students by making writing procedural. Often times, it was people who did not like writing & it helped for them to be formulaic. I on the other hand, find different ways of approaching writing helps me. I write based on what kind of writing I am going to do. If I am writing scientifically, I find the more procedural writing helps me to generate ideas and organize more efficiently. When it comes to writing creative research or analysis, I find that structured free-writing helps. Start writing whatever I can related to the subject at hand.
After reading the article, what I realized is that it is a good idea to talk to your students about their writing experiences so that you can help them to find out what will work for them, what will make writing easier, less painful, more productive, etc...I think just as in a lot of things in life, students must understand themselves so they can find a method or way that works. In this way they can create more authentic work that represents at the very least what they are trying to say.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Tuesday Presentation
The presentations were wonderful. I learned quite a bit about technology and standards.
The "How to infuse Technology" group had some great graphics and I loved the powerpoint. I did not realize you could do so much. The Frankenstein unit is something to think about. I will have to remember that for when I begin teaching. Incorporating different types of media and allowing students to research the various ways you can present a novel, its themes, and plot.
The video game presentation was engaging and brought up a very good point. That you can incorporate video games into a class project. I especially thought the idea of using the instruction booklet to show students about different kinds of literacy as well as showing students that vocabulary is everywhere. I can concur that my son has learned a lot of new and complicated vocabulary through "The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker," "Yu-gi-oh," and "Star Wars: the Lego Wars." I was skeptical about video games, but in small increments I noticed that my son does use a lot of problem solving skills. The games he has all have an element of problem solving in order to move up one level or obtain something important for his character.
Although I was skeptical about the statistics and information regarding some of the information about the CAHSEE and NCLB, both presenters did a very good job distilling the information and picking out what was important from what was not. Those governmental documents can be quite a chore to read. Standards can be a tough sell because standards always stem from a specific cultural framework as well as an assumption that everyone receives the same services and resources. One thing that was not brought up in the presentations but that I think about, is the idea that with standards comes the assumption that one just needs to work really hard in order to meet standards. That if you cannot pass a standardized tests there is an assumption that you don't know something or did not study hard enough. It is very difficult to tease out the variables that may affect someone's test scores.
Andrea's presentation was unique because that was not something I had really thought about. One of the things, I can remember about some of my best instructors was that they allowed us as students to see that they too were people. These teachers shared and told the truth, no matter how unpleasant. However, they always encouraged and allowed dialogue about the subject so that we could clear up any concerns we might have. Therefore, the idea that as teachers we are human beings and that if we engaged our students such that we let them (see in an appropriate way) that we have lives and we can share our thoughts and feelings with our students. In this way we are responsible mentors and can help our students to express themselves and communicate.
Until next time. Bravo E131!
The "How to infuse Technology" group had some great graphics and I loved the powerpoint. I did not realize you could do so much. The Frankenstein unit is something to think about. I will have to remember that for when I begin teaching. Incorporating different types of media and allowing students to research the various ways you can present a novel, its themes, and plot.
The video game presentation was engaging and brought up a very good point. That you can incorporate video games into a class project. I especially thought the idea of using the instruction booklet to show students about different kinds of literacy as well as showing students that vocabulary is everywhere. I can concur that my son has learned a lot of new and complicated vocabulary through "The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker," "Yu-gi-oh," and "Star Wars: the Lego Wars." I was skeptical about video games, but in small increments I noticed that my son does use a lot of problem solving skills. The games he has all have an element of problem solving in order to move up one level or obtain something important for his character.
Although I was skeptical about the statistics and information regarding some of the information about the CAHSEE and NCLB, both presenters did a very good job distilling the information and picking out what was important from what was not. Those governmental documents can be quite a chore to read. Standards can be a tough sell because standards always stem from a specific cultural framework as well as an assumption that everyone receives the same services and resources. One thing that was not brought up in the presentations but that I think about, is the idea that with standards comes the assumption that one just needs to work really hard in order to meet standards. That if you cannot pass a standardized tests there is an assumption that you don't know something or did not study hard enough. It is very difficult to tease out the variables that may affect someone's test scores.
Andrea's presentation was unique because that was not something I had really thought about. One of the things, I can remember about some of my best instructors was that they allowed us as students to see that they too were people. These teachers shared and told the truth, no matter how unpleasant. However, they always encouraged and allowed dialogue about the subject so that we could clear up any concerns we might have. Therefore, the idea that as teachers we are human beings and that if we engaged our students such that we let them (see in an appropriate way) that we have lives and we can share our thoughts and feelings with our students. In this way we are responsible mentors and can help our students to express themselves and communicate.
Until next time. Bravo E131!
Thursday, March 8, 2007
THE CANON...mwah hahaha!!!
I am going to start off with my list of what I think everyone should read...
Before leaving high school:
Anyone of Maya Angelou's autobiographical works...
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Howl by Allen Ginsberg
Any book by Shel Silverstein - the language play is great fun!
Either 1984 or the Animal Farm by George Orwell
English Majors (I am pretty new to this, but I will give it a whirl) Also, I chose books based on a representation of a dialect or type of English diversity...
If possible Othello, Hamlet, Much Ado about Nothing, and Macbeth by Shakespeare - London Modern English
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe - colonized English
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain - southern dialect & dominated English
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen - British Women's English
Oedipex Rex by Sophocles - translated into English
What separates the Discourse of English from other Discourses is the written element. Discourses can be written or spoken and speak to the cultural context from which the Discourse emerges. Therefore, the most definitive difference is that the Discourse of English (primarily academic English) is it has a written form.
Also the syntactic complexity of the Discourse of English is much greater in writing, then in speaking within this Discourse. Embedded clauses, beginning sentences with adverbial phrases, fragmented sentences, etc...
Often times, the delight I take in the Discourse of English is to bend syntax (how words are put together to make sense and communicate an idea), semantics (what is the actual meaning), and punctuation and mechanics (a period vs. a semicolon vs. no punctuation.) until it is just about to break and then allow others to make meaning.
Particular to English, the practice of meaning making of a text, often this can be done from several perspectives provided evidence can be provided from the text one extrapolates an idea.
Again, the practice of writing, using the rules of English to bend and shape to create something that has meaning without breaking the "rules of the language" and most everyone that speaks your dialect can understand.
I don't know if I can adequately answer the question of what makes a text "special," but let me create an analogy, perhaps this will help me because this seems a very sticky subject, but hopefully in the end I will understand it.
If I am a soccer player then I know that there are 11 positions of field, we can use many parts of our body to play, but just not our hands or any part of our arms unless we are the goalie and even then I can only use my hands and arms in the goalie box.
There are a set of rules that determine soccer playing and soccer players must follow them otherwise they are no longer playing soccer. If you break a rule of soccer on the field you may be expelled from the game depending upon the severity of the penalty. Okay, so I think I can safely say that there really would not be much argument or upheavel about what a regular soccer player is (I qualify this because some might argue professional players).
I think I have found the obstacle. Defining literature is not easy because literature often comes from the mind of someone who has most likely put a lot of thought (we hope) into her writing. So if we begin to define what is good literature and not do we by association judge the person writing it or are we supposed to stay away from that?
If we stay away from that, then can we define good literature? At first glance, sure we have removed the pearl from the oyster cool. But even pearls are inevitably affected by the type of irritant that gets into the oyster. The pearl is also affected by the type of secretions the oyster uses and how it is moving when the pearl is getting created, water type also affects this process. Because of the way in which pearls are created and the fact that most often times it is a grain of sand that irritates the oyster, most pearls are round and "pearl-colored" for lack of a better word. But sometimes by happy coincidence the oyster is in a different environment, different water, some weird misshapen irritant comes along. Now, the oyster has a pretty cool pearl. Little do we know, but there are a lot more pearls like this one, but because we encounter this one the least, this becomes better. Okay, I digress...
So now I am a human being and the pearl is my piece of work. Is this work tainted by my experience unconscious or conscious? If so, then will my writing be filtered through this lens or perspective without my knowledge?
If so, then what I write may speak more to one group than another, unintentionally. And if for whatever reason I am given an advantage and so are others like me and suddenly there are 100 writers just like me writing from the same "filtered" lenses. Then my voice may unintentional include people like me & exclude people who are not like me or who do not understand me.
Also, because people similar to me have a large voice out in the body of literature (through good writing and hapy coincidence) we become the authority. Now people look to us to find out what is good. Since we like what we write and others seem to agree, then what we write is what everybody should read.
If other people are excluded, it should be okay because they enjoy what we write and they may have good stuff to read and write too, but there just aren't enough voices to determine if what you have to say is better or worse then what is already being said. (Here we differ from the pearl analogy because it is the unique pearl that is better, here it seems I am saying that the most common writing is better, but what I am saying is that in American culture, the strength and type of voice you are using is more important then the rarity of it).
Okay, after all this, I say that a text is special because the culture in which it exists says it is special. When I go to the Philippines, the writings of Carlos Bulosan, Jessica Hagedorn, and Jose Rizal are part of the special text. Shakespeare is good if you will be schooled in Britain or the US, but Shakespeare is on the list of "read when you have time" but funnily enough Carl Sagan's writings are special text as well as any body of scientific or mathematical work. Their school system, is heavy science/math-based, they don't have BAs or MAs only BSs and MSs because their programs do not have large amounts of arts in the curriculum. General sciences, philosophy, math, and linguistics are under science. Some universities have literature/arts, but those are rare schools that have that.
So based on my cursory introductions to literature, it is very subjective, but I think if you are going to be in a major where interpretation is a large part of what you do, keeping an open mind to different perspectives would only allow you to become a better interpreter of meaning, rather than worse.
Before leaving high school:
Anyone of Maya Angelou's autobiographical works...
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Howl by Allen Ginsberg
Any book by Shel Silverstein - the language play is great fun!
Either 1984 or the Animal Farm by George Orwell
English Majors (I am pretty new to this, but I will give it a whirl) Also, I chose books based on a representation of a dialect or type of English diversity...
If possible Othello, Hamlet, Much Ado about Nothing, and Macbeth by Shakespeare - London Modern English
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe - colonized English
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain - southern dialect & dominated English
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen - British Women's English
Oedipex Rex by Sophocles - translated into English
What separates the Discourse of English from other Discourses is the written element. Discourses can be written or spoken and speak to the cultural context from which the Discourse emerges. Therefore, the most definitive difference is that the Discourse of English (primarily academic English) is it has a written form.
Also the syntactic complexity of the Discourse of English is much greater in writing, then in speaking within this Discourse. Embedded clauses, beginning sentences with adverbial phrases, fragmented sentences, etc...
Often times, the delight I take in the Discourse of English is to bend syntax (how words are put together to make sense and communicate an idea), semantics (what is the actual meaning), and punctuation and mechanics (a period vs. a semicolon vs. no punctuation.) until it is just about to break and then allow others to make meaning.
Particular to English, the practice of meaning making of a text, often this can be done from several perspectives provided evidence can be provided from the text one extrapolates an idea.
Again, the practice of writing, using the rules of English to bend and shape to create something that has meaning without breaking the "rules of the language" and most everyone that speaks your dialect can understand.
I don't know if I can adequately answer the question of what makes a text "special," but let me create an analogy, perhaps this will help me because this seems a very sticky subject, but hopefully in the end I will understand it.
If I am a soccer player then I know that there are 11 positions of field, we can use many parts of our body to play, but just not our hands or any part of our arms unless we are the goalie and even then I can only use my hands and arms in the goalie box.
There are a set of rules that determine soccer playing and soccer players must follow them otherwise they are no longer playing soccer. If you break a rule of soccer on the field you may be expelled from the game depending upon the severity of the penalty. Okay, so I think I can safely say that there really would not be much argument or upheavel about what a regular soccer player is (I qualify this because some might argue professional players).
I think I have found the obstacle. Defining literature is not easy because literature often comes from the mind of someone who has most likely put a lot of thought (we hope) into her writing. So if we begin to define what is good literature and not do we by association judge the person writing it or are we supposed to stay away from that?
If we stay away from that, then can we define good literature? At first glance, sure we have removed the pearl from the oyster cool. But even pearls are inevitably affected by the type of irritant that gets into the oyster. The pearl is also affected by the type of secretions the oyster uses and how it is moving when the pearl is getting created, water type also affects this process. Because of the way in which pearls are created and the fact that most often times it is a grain of sand that irritates the oyster, most pearls are round and "pearl-colored" for lack of a better word. But sometimes by happy coincidence the oyster is in a different environment, different water, some weird misshapen irritant comes along. Now, the oyster has a pretty cool pearl. Little do we know, but there are a lot more pearls like this one, but because we encounter this one the least, this becomes better. Okay, I digress...
So now I am a human being and the pearl is my piece of work. Is this work tainted by my experience unconscious or conscious? If so, then will my writing be filtered through this lens or perspective without my knowledge?
If so, then what I write may speak more to one group than another, unintentionally. And if for whatever reason I am given an advantage and so are others like me and suddenly there are 100 writers just like me writing from the same "filtered" lenses. Then my voice may unintentional include people like me & exclude people who are not like me or who do not understand me.
Also, because people similar to me have a large voice out in the body of literature (through good writing and hapy coincidence) we become the authority. Now people look to us to find out what is good. Since we like what we write and others seem to agree, then what we write is what everybody should read.
If other people are excluded, it should be okay because they enjoy what we write and they may have good stuff to read and write too, but there just aren't enough voices to determine if what you have to say is better or worse then what is already being said. (Here we differ from the pearl analogy because it is the unique pearl that is better, here it seems I am saying that the most common writing is better, but what I am saying is that in American culture, the strength and type of voice you are using is more important then the rarity of it).
Okay, after all this, I say that a text is special because the culture in which it exists says it is special. When I go to the Philippines, the writings of Carlos Bulosan, Jessica Hagedorn, and Jose Rizal are part of the special text. Shakespeare is good if you will be schooled in Britain or the US, but Shakespeare is on the list of "read when you have time" but funnily enough Carl Sagan's writings are special text as well as any body of scientific or mathematical work. Their school system, is heavy science/math-based, they don't have BAs or MAs only BSs and MSs because their programs do not have large amounts of arts in the curriculum. General sciences, philosophy, math, and linguistics are under science. Some universities have literature/arts, but those are rare schools that have that.
So based on my cursory introductions to literature, it is very subjective, but I think if you are going to be in a major where interpretation is a large part of what you do, keeping an open mind to different perspectives would only allow you to become a better interpreter of meaning, rather than worse.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
"Digital Dj-ing"
LP record mixing & scratching; to CD "scratching & mixing"; digital media mixing; to the age of digital photo, music, images, and video mixing. The DJ has "crossed over". Once seen as the music maker for an underground hip-hop movement, the ideas behind this mixing and reshaping of music seem to be finding roots within the educational system. Using a variety of media to make information relevant to students as well as making the dissemination of it engaging for the techno-savvy student.
Allowing students to link their own ways of seeing the world with media that they find accessible and not at all foreign, the students were able to think critically about a problem, to present it in a clear and logical way and to think about how it could be made palpable and relevant to an audience that would be academically and socially diverse with a wide range of ages.
It is becoming increasingly important for educators to understand that literacy can no longer just be the words read off the page or written on to it, but that these written words have a connection to a larger context that can not easily be removed without affecting the meaning of the text that it is a part.
If we are to teach then we must be constantly learning, searching, and evaluating the many ways that we can engage students (in this case engage them in literature) and make sure that we don't stick with status quo or adopt things because we are told this will be so. This article reminds me that I will be a guide for my students, pointing out important parts of the literary landscape while simultaneously allowing them to point out things I have missed, helping me and fellow classmates to take a different perspective and look at something we may never have seen or found relevant.
The description of the presentation demonstrated this, that our students think on levels we may not understand, but are no less important pathways for sparking an interest in learning about something they may or may not have thought or cared about before.
After reading this article, it reaffirmed the importance of creating an environment where students feel comfortable expressing opinions that may not be of the mainstream or that may stir up controversy. All the while remembering that the fun of education is attempting to navigate these waters with a critical eye, to ask questions that people think about but are often afraid to ask, and to learn the importance of specificity in identifying problems and developing possible solutions.
Allowing students to link their own ways of seeing the world with media that they find accessible and not at all foreign, the students were able to think critically about a problem, to present it in a clear and logical way and to think about how it could be made palpable and relevant to an audience that would be academically and socially diverse with a wide range of ages.
It is becoming increasingly important for educators to understand that literacy can no longer just be the words read off the page or written on to it, but that these written words have a connection to a larger context that can not easily be removed without affecting the meaning of the text that it is a part.
If we are to teach then we must be constantly learning, searching, and evaluating the many ways that we can engage students (in this case engage them in literature) and make sure that we don't stick with status quo or adopt things because we are told this will be so. This article reminds me that I will be a guide for my students, pointing out important parts of the literary landscape while simultaneously allowing them to point out things I have missed, helping me and fellow classmates to take a different perspective and look at something we may never have seen or found relevant.
The description of the presentation demonstrated this, that our students think on levels we may not understand, but are no less important pathways for sparking an interest in learning about something they may or may not have thought or cared about before.
After reading this article, it reaffirmed the importance of creating an environment where students feel comfortable expressing opinions that may not be of the mainstream or that may stir up controversy. All the while remembering that the fun of education is attempting to navigate these waters with a critical eye, to ask questions that people think about but are often afraid to ask, and to learn the importance of specificity in identifying problems and developing possible solutions.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
"Reading Images"
Literacy is often times thought to be the ability to read words and write sentences. However, literacy is a complex network of words, pictures, denotation, and connotation. The more people investigate other types of information related to reading and/or writing the more complex the definition of literacy becomes. The article "Reading Images" is a very good example of how images help shape, and can shape the meaning of the text to which they are associated. They can also inform the reader of how the author views a particular situation.
A good example of this was seen in the article about the picture of the bathtub and the accompanying sentence, "Every night I have my bath before I go to bed." A few things are implied. Parents bathe or have their child bathe each night before bed, children take baths not showers, children have toys and should play or need to play in order to take a bath. There is a washcloth hanging over the side which means that the child soaps herself/himself or is being soaped with a towel by hand. Because of the accompanying text, it makes it more difficult for the reader to be inventive (as mentioned in the article). Also, by exclusively showing the bath it limits the reader as to what might be in the bathroom or at least it is less likely that one reading this book out loud would think about what else was in the bathroom.
I also found it fascinating that the less "exciting" picture without words made it more possible for more inventive stories or stories that may not need to be grounded in reality. The picture looks fanciful so those reading may feel less constrained about what they would talk about.
Whereas images that are very closely linked to reality might make it harder for people to imagine different scenarios because there is a closer association to reality than with a drawing or picture that looks less like the "real" thing.
A good example of this was seen in the article about the picture of the bathtub and the accompanying sentence, "Every night I have my bath before I go to bed." A few things are implied. Parents bathe or have their child bathe each night before bed, children take baths not showers, children have toys and should play or need to play in order to take a bath. There is a washcloth hanging over the side which means that the child soaps herself/himself or is being soaped with a towel by hand. Because of the accompanying text, it makes it more difficult for the reader to be inventive (as mentioned in the article). Also, by exclusively showing the bath it limits the reader as to what might be in the bathroom or at least it is less likely that one reading this book out loud would think about what else was in the bathroom.
I also found it fascinating that the less "exciting" picture without words made it more possible for more inventive stories or stories that may not need to be grounded in reality. The picture looks fanciful so those reading may feel less constrained about what they would talk about.
Whereas images that are very closely linked to reality might make it harder for people to imagine different scenarios because there is a closer association to reality than with a drawing or picture that looks less like the "real" thing.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
"A World Without Print"
As I sat down to write this blog for this particular article, it struck me how I much I take my own literacy for granted. I wake up every morning, read the box of cereal, the shampoo bottle, the toothpaste, my schedule, and random postings and signs as I walk to class.
When I see a letter or letters together I read them often times without thinking. As I read the article, it really struck me time and time again how much reading has just become a part of my daily life, just as the absence of reading is a part of their daily life.
I realized that for many people seeing letters, words does not mean anything (in the sense that they don't read them, nor could they if they wanted).
I appreciated that the author not only talked about the how they set out learning to read, she always talked about the fundamental differences between written and oral language. She created a context for understanding the many facets of language. In this way, she addresses the myth that if you can speak language you ought to be able to read and write it or that it somehow makes it easier to read & write.
The article also implicitly addresses the profound psychological affect on the the family because they appear to deviate from mainstream society, they can't read. Although reading is important for our culture because so much of what we do is print-based, there is a misconception that one can not survive in a literate world when one is illiterate. Or that one's life will be less fulfilling without the ability to read.
I was struck by the fact that when Jenny told the school that they cannot read, the school continued to send things home (in this instance from the perspective of the school, they just seemed to be following some kind of protocol & we do not know if they cared or did not care about the situation discussed in the article). Rather it was disconcerting that the school appeared to ignore whatever information Jenny was giving them to assist her son.
Although I think reading is an excellent past time & I recommend it to anyone who will listen, I realize that for many reading is a chore, something to be done, not something that is fun or enjoyable.
What I find interesting is that if someone can read & chooses not too, our culture finds that less objectionable compared to someone who cannot read, whether by choice or circumstance.
Purcell-Gates did an excellent job of allowing the reader to (or at least try to) look at the family from an objective standpoint.
It was refreshing to read the article because she never made it seem as if the family were abnormal or that they must learn to read immediately. It was not meant to demonstrate how reading & writing are better or worse, rather something that is culturally constructed and endorsed by the people who live in it. You also come away from the article understanding that often times people are illiterate by circumstances and then indirectly because of that circumstance they choose to remain illiterate.
When I see a letter or letters together I read them often times without thinking. As I read the article, it really struck me time and time again how much reading has just become a part of my daily life, just as the absence of reading is a part of their daily life.
I realized that for many people seeing letters, words does not mean anything (in the sense that they don't read them, nor could they if they wanted).
I appreciated that the author not only talked about the how they set out learning to read, she always talked about the fundamental differences between written and oral language. She created a context for understanding the many facets of language. In this way, she addresses the myth that if you can speak language you ought to be able to read and write it or that it somehow makes it easier to read & write.
The article also implicitly addresses the profound psychological affect on the the family because they appear to deviate from mainstream society, they can't read. Although reading is important for our culture because so much of what we do is print-based, there is a misconception that one can not survive in a literate world when one is illiterate. Or that one's life will be less fulfilling without the ability to read.
I was struck by the fact that when Jenny told the school that they cannot read, the school continued to send things home (in this instance from the perspective of the school, they just seemed to be following some kind of protocol & we do not know if they cared or did not care about the situation discussed in the article). Rather it was disconcerting that the school appeared to ignore whatever information Jenny was giving them to assist her son.
Although I think reading is an excellent past time & I recommend it to anyone who will listen, I realize that for many reading is a chore, something to be done, not something that is fun or enjoyable.
What I find interesting is that if someone can read & chooses not too, our culture finds that less objectionable compared to someone who cannot read, whether by choice or circumstance.
Purcell-Gates did an excellent job of allowing the reader to (or at least try to) look at the family from an objective standpoint.
It was refreshing to read the article because she never made it seem as if the family were abnormal or that they must learn to read immediately. It was not meant to demonstrate how reading & writing are better or worse, rather something that is culturally constructed and endorsed by the people who live in it. You also come away from the article understanding that often times people are illiterate by circumstances and then indirectly because of that circumstance they choose to remain illiterate.
Saturday, February 3, 2007
Scribner & Cole
What implications does this have for schooling and literacy?
The biggest implication of this article is that it opens up an arena for serious discussion about literacy not just in school, but its place in American society as a cultural activity. It also provides people with a frame for debate about how literacy can continue to fit in the educational setting and what would be the appropriateness of integrating the way students use current technologies to facilitate their literacy.
I think Scribner & Cole said it best, " The most challenging question...how to balance appreciation for the special skills involved in writing with an appreciation of the fact that there is no evidence that writing promotes "general mental abilities". We did not find superior "memory in general" among Qur'anic students nor better language integration "skills in general" among Vai literates."
The beginning of the article starts by setting up the premise for the study they conducted with the Vai, group of people from northwestern Liberia. Essentially, due to a variety of educational and social policies, students' writing skills are on the decline. Although the article does not go into great detail about the possible reasons, the assumption is that a decline in writing implies that the ability to think and or process information in very specific ways will be affected.
The research conducted is in and of itself has very important implications for how we perceive literacy skills and its correlation with learning, thinking, and higher order processing.
Literacy is a "hot button" issue and Scribner & Cole article attempt to tackle the idea that those groups of people that possess literacy are better abstract thinkers and that they have the ability to think beyond the contextual world. On the reverse side, those groups of people who do not possess literacy are "crippled" and their language is stuck in a "primitive" stage.
The findings of the research provided a lot of "food for thought", it put writing into a different category. Writing is not just for some, but an activity that can be used in a variety of contexts with a wide range of groups. As future teachers, this article demonstrates that writing can be a useful tool and that there can be ways to integrate new technologies with current technology.
An example, is the blog allowing students to express them utilizing a forum that they are comfortable, not only provides them with a safety net, but it allows other people to exchange, share, and argue points with others they may not normally.
An implication of this article is that in indirectly provides a frame with which to place groups of people who come from non-literate or newly literate cultures. In the past, there was a tendency for those from literate societies to look down upon those "less fortunate".
This article indirectly posits that those from non-literate societies are not necessarily "mentally crippled" in terms of abstract thinking or that they are not able to decontextualize or possess better memories than groups of people from non-literate societies.
The biggest implication of this article is that it opens up an arena for serious discussion about literacy not just in school, but its place in American society as a cultural activity. It also provides people with a frame for debate about how literacy can continue to fit in the educational setting and what would be the appropriateness of integrating the way students use current technologies to facilitate their literacy.
I think Scribner & Cole said it best, " The most challenging question...how to balance appreciation for the special skills involved in writing with an appreciation of the fact that there is no evidence that writing promotes "general mental abilities". We did not find superior "memory in general" among Qur'anic students nor better language integration "skills in general" among Vai literates."
The beginning of the article starts by setting up the premise for the study they conducted with the Vai, group of people from northwestern Liberia. Essentially, due to a variety of educational and social policies, students' writing skills are on the decline. Although the article does not go into great detail about the possible reasons, the assumption is that a decline in writing implies that the ability to think and or process information in very specific ways will be affected.
The research conducted is in and of itself has very important implications for how we perceive literacy skills and its correlation with learning, thinking, and higher order processing.
Literacy is a "hot button" issue and Scribner & Cole article attempt to tackle the idea that those groups of people that possess literacy are better abstract thinkers and that they have the ability to think beyond the contextual world. On the reverse side, those groups of people who do not possess literacy are "crippled" and their language is stuck in a "primitive" stage.
The findings of the research provided a lot of "food for thought", it put writing into a different category. Writing is not just for some, but an activity that can be used in a variety of contexts with a wide range of groups. As future teachers, this article demonstrates that writing can be a useful tool and that there can be ways to integrate new technologies with current technology.
An example, is the blog allowing students to express them utilizing a forum that they are comfortable, not only provides them with a safety net, but it allows other people to exchange, share, and argue points with others they may not normally.
An implication of this article is that in indirectly provides a frame with which to place groups of people who come from non-literate or newly literate cultures. In the past, there was a tendency for those from literate societies to look down upon those "less fortunate".
This article indirectly posits that those from non-literate societies are not necessarily "mentally crippled" in terms of abstract thinking or that they are not able to decontextualize or possess better memories than groups of people from non-literate societies.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Reading for the Rambunctious
A whirlwind of black hair tearing through the house, tugging on my mom's pants as she makes dinner, does the dishes, washes clothes, shops at the grocery store. I drive her crazy with my endless three year old questions, "Why do you separate the clothes?", "How come my sister goes to school and I don't?", "Why can't grandma come and visit?", and on and on until the veins in my mom's neck threaten to burst. She tried putting me in front of the t.v. while she did chores around the house, but that did not last long. Then one day, she grabbed a book called "The Biggest Sandwich Ever" and began to read to me. I was enthralled. Unbeknowst to her she created a new way for me to drive her crazy. Please read to me...Please read to me...Mom can you please read to me...
That first week, each time I implored her to regale me with the tale of this "...Biggest Sandwich Ever" she indulged me. Finally, one day she decided it was time to take a different course of action because the laundry had to get done and her garden was looking neglected. One day, she cunningly asked me if I would like to read to her. I told her I wanted to read it, but I didn't know how to. Then she slyly asked me if I wanted to learn how. Of course I did! Then I could read "The Biggest Sandwich Ever" whenever I wanted. There I was at the age of 3 sitting in a basement playroom in Fairfax County, Virginia being taught to read by my mom, who learned to read English through magazines and children's books. I remember singing along as she sang the ABC song to me, she taught me to sound out words and then how to read the words that looked weird (her recommendation was you just have to memorize those...). After a few months, (for my mom it was a small price to pay to be able to get some work down in relative quiet) it was my turn to repay the favor; for the first time I sat down to read "The Biggest Sandwich Ever"to my mother. Thus began my wonderful relationship with the world of reading.
Since then reading has provided an alternate universe, a place for me to go for safety, for adventure, for drama, for laughs, and for tears. Reading taught me that "green eggs and ham [can be] eaten on a train or in the rain". From books I learned that the adult human body has 206 bones and that everything you needed to know could be found in the Encyclopedia Britannica.
My older sister felt the best reading was done in magazines while pouring over beautiful clothes learning the latest fashion and make-up trends - she felt my nose was best powdered rather than being buried in a book. My dad refused to read unless it was of historical fact or significance. My mom-due to her limited reading ability-would read the end of the book or story to determine if it was worth the effort while my younger brother felt that reading was to be "taken as needed".
So for my family, my relationship with reading was at best a godsend (when I wasn't reading, I was chattering non-stop), and at worst something alien and confusing (who reads at the dinner table?) but they "tolerated" my odd habit and I will always love my family for that.
29 years later "The Biggest Sandwich Ever" is still one of my favorite books and I have since stopped berating my mom with 20 questions. Now, I have the privilege of playing 20 questions with my 8 year old son.
Maybe it's time to dust off those old Britannicas...
That first week, each time I implored her to regale me with the tale of this "...Biggest Sandwich Ever" she indulged me. Finally, one day she decided it was time to take a different course of action because the laundry had to get done and her garden was looking neglected. One day, she cunningly asked me if I would like to read to her. I told her I wanted to read it, but I didn't know how to. Then she slyly asked me if I wanted to learn how. Of course I did! Then I could read "The Biggest Sandwich Ever" whenever I wanted. There I was at the age of 3 sitting in a basement playroom in Fairfax County, Virginia being taught to read by my mom, who learned to read English through magazines and children's books. I remember singing along as she sang the ABC song to me, she taught me to sound out words and then how to read the words that looked weird (her recommendation was you just have to memorize those...). After a few months, (for my mom it was a small price to pay to be able to get some work down in relative quiet) it was my turn to repay the favor; for the first time I sat down to read "The Biggest Sandwich Ever"to my mother. Thus began my wonderful relationship with the world of reading.
Since then reading has provided an alternate universe, a place for me to go for safety, for adventure, for drama, for laughs, and for tears. Reading taught me that "green eggs and ham [can be] eaten on a train or in the rain". From books I learned that the adult human body has 206 bones and that everything you needed to know could be found in the Encyclopedia Britannica.
My older sister felt the best reading was done in magazines while pouring over beautiful clothes learning the latest fashion and make-up trends - she felt my nose was best powdered rather than being buried in a book. My dad refused to read unless it was of historical fact or significance. My mom-due to her limited reading ability-would read the end of the book or story to determine if it was worth the effort while my younger brother felt that reading was to be "taken as needed".
So for my family, my relationship with reading was at best a godsend (when I wasn't reading, I was chattering non-stop), and at worst something alien and confusing (who reads at the dinner table?) but they "tolerated" my odd habit and I will always love my family for that.
29 years later "The Biggest Sandwich Ever" is still one of my favorite books and I have since stopped berating my mom with 20 questions. Now, I have the privilege of playing 20 questions with my 8 year old son.
Maybe it's time to dust off those old Britannicas...
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