The Typical College Student, Eliza

In the article for today we were to read about a case study in college reading habits. I found myself reading and viewing myself in the study as Eliza. I too do not normally read to get information and to connect unless an assignment from the professor calls for it. It is mostly reading to interpret the author’s point or idea they are trying to get across. This does involve skimming and note taking because we as college students do read for more then one class and for more then one type of class. It is sometimes hard to differentiate the types of reading each class is calling for and you can find yourself mixing the techniques.
Another aspect of Eliza’s schoolwork that is talked about is her report research and writing. The author comments on how Eliza procrastinated in her sophomore year on a research project and only grabbed the materials that were easily accessible to her; she did not bother to dig deeper. Honestly I will admit as a college student I do this and I guarantee many of the other students if not all do this too. It makes our lives easier when we have three papers due and we just want to get them done and over with; why make it harder then it has to be. Eliza makes the comment about “prove it in writing from the book,”(pg.364) which is what all professors tell us to do. They tended to say at least freshman and sophomore year that by backing up what you are saying that your point should be proven and the focus was learning how to provide the essential background information to prove a point. As long as your point was fully backed by evidence then it was a good paper. I do not necessarily think it is a bad thing.
We talked in class about how Bartholomae was saying the students have to write to the professor and they have too “create a university” and Haas is saying the same thing in her essay about Eliza and her assignments. “The curriculum in her English class was built upon recognition of authors and their claims and positions.”(pg.363) This is how we as students shape our university we write as if we were the professor, for what the professor wants as pertaining to the topic. It is not uncommon to sound one way in one class and one way in another. As we see with Eliza as she goes through school she learns to better cope with the differences in classes and even improves herself and thus her writing. She has learned to work the system as I hope I will when it is all over. Although it was a case study it shines light on common college student practices and can maybe show us how to improve ours through the experiences of Eliza.

Autobio Week 5

Autobiography Week 5

Well the first time I felt my language skills were really looked good upon was when I was in high school learning Spanish. My family does not speak another language at all and we were going on a trip to Mexico for spring break. When we got to Mexico we stopped at a restaurant by our hotel for dinner and the waiters could not speak real good English so it was hard for us to communicate. I was frustrated that it was so hard to communicate for my family that I took charge and ordered dinner for everyone and my family was beyond shocked. They had never really heard me speak Spanish before but the knew I was taking the classes. The look on their faces was a feeling of pride and astonishment at the same time. I felt my heart skip a beat and was so proud of myself. I knew at that moment that my family knew I could accomplish things beyond what they dreamed for me. I was glowing with pride and the whole trip from then on was way better then I could have imagined because my family counted on me to get them through it and I could not have imagined hoe important I was to them all because I could speak another language. I never thought that what I was learning was ever really going to have such an impact I simply thought it was just a requirement to graduate that was all. When I got back from the trip I was so excited to be in my Spanish class because I felt this language I was learning was bettering my future and creating connections for me in the future. I will never forget how much my parents looked up to me and how proud they were to know I was truly building blocks for my future.

Bartholome and Writting

Bartholomae, David. “Inventing the University” From Literacy: A Critical Sourcebook.
Ellen Cushman, Eugene R. Kintgen, Barry M. Kroll and Mike Rose eds. Boston, MA :
Bedford/St. Martin’s 2001.


David Bartholomae makes very good points about students and their writing practices in relation to the professor or teachers they have. In reading this article I found myself in total agreement because I did find that I do this practice myself. It is a practice in which we have to make ourselves sound smart in order to have credibility with our audience. I feel as though sometimes it is the hardest thing I do because I feel something in what I am trying to say is lost. In groups we talked about the fact that this is not true it is not lost at all because it is still the work of a student put together by the student in a certain way to get their point across. Students try to gain this credibility through profession related jargon because it is a “common place” between the professor and the student.
We talked about common places being the ground where people can come together and discuss something and with a certain understanding of common background knowledge. This is the problem for me as a writer in college because I find it hard to necessarily understand to the extent the professor does and it is then intimidating and this is what he article talks about. We as students have to create this place by mimicking professors’ speech and sentence structure in order to figure out what the teacher wants in a paper. All because we as college students or students in general are afraid that if we do not do so then we for not necessarily know what we are talking about and cannot get a good paper. If that is not enough we have to tailor to a certain audience.
Bartholomae focuses much of his essay on keeping the audience in mind. I agree it is important to keep the audience in mind because they are who you are writing for after all. The problem I have is that in order to do this you sometimes have to “dumb down” the content or go beyond your possible realm of knowing. Doing the first can help for a more general understanding of a greater audience serving a greater purpose and the second can have your writing going in circles. We talked about the newspapers and presidential speeches doing this exact thing and in a way it helps for a greater understanding but it is sad that the level of general understanding is so low in the first place. In order to get things more tailored to a certain audience you then have to go to scholarly articles. In the clay model student essay the student seems to go on and on and even winds up talking in circles and this is the problem to writing to a certain audience and to tailoring the jargon beyond you to fit a model put forth by a superior. This is a survival technique carried on throughout jobs past schooling and we may never be able to get past it.

Response to Delpit

When it comes to Gee’s articles Delpit agrees with his argument that literacy more that reading and writing and that it is “part of a larger political entity”. However, once she went over his articles again she found two aspects of his to be problematic. The first one she mentions is Gee’s belief that people who have not been born into dominant families or lifestyles will find it hard to succeed in life and eventually become dominant themselves. Delpit finds this to be a disturbing statement because it gives no hopes for the teachers teaching these students and leaves the students feeling like there is no point whatsoever. His second aspect that she disagrees with is that once a student is born into a certain discourse and values it will be hard for that student to obtain another discourse and values. This can leave teachers feeling that they can not teach the same discourse to all of their students and will have to separate them.
Delpit proves her argument by giving examples of people from other cultures that were pushed and urged on by teachers to overcome obstacles in an alien environment. She does so to show that teachers can make a difference if they really want to. Delpit believes teachers shouldn’t shut out the students’ home language because it is important to the way they view themselves and their community. Delpit then moves on to say that the teacher needs to come to terms with the fact that there is “discourse-stacking” in our society. She says the teachers should then make their classrooms aware of what is taking place in their society as well.
Delpit’s argument is well thought out and has many good points. It wouldn’t make sense for teachers to teach the same discourse to every student when there are many different cultures around; especially in the United States. Thoughts and comments like Gee’s seem to intimidate teachers to take further action with their students; leaving the students to fall behind and do no better that what the society thinks of them. A student from a poor family or colored family can be just as smart and willing to learn as a student from the dominant discourse. The teachers just have to be willing to teach them and motivate them to do their best and succeed.

Gee’s “Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics”

This essay has a lot of information for students who are looking into becoming a teacher. Being a teacher is important to be able to read students and understand where they are coming from to help them learn better. Gee’s introduction explains “language” is more of the grammar, so that leads to a misleading term. Language has to do with the environment as which we speak in and how the grammar could be perfect in a phrase but may not fit with the environment. “ It is not just what you say, but how you say it” shows that Gee is staying that no matter what you say it might be wrong for the setting of the place or people that you are speaking to. Further in the reading, Gee brings up her way of writing “Discourses” with the capital “D” which are “ways of being in the world” meaning that language is a social role that is present in our beliefs, values, and attitudes. Discourses are like your self- identity, how you approach things and the way you are in your environment. There are many different types of Discourses just as primary and secondary, dominant and non- dominant ones. Primary Discourses are is the one we grow up with and “ make sense of the world and interact with others” and Secondary Discourses are the social institutions that are in the public sphere like school, the store, and etc. Dominant and non-dominant Discourses are secondary ones but which you master in a common place or mastery in an environment alone. Gee explains that two of these can interfere with each other because you may use the one in the other or mix up the grammatical features to the other.
Gee continues by referring this essay to teachers who want to teach a certain language to students. English teachers are the ones who need to find this balance of how to teach the students and ways of not interfering with their native tongue. “Vygotsky says that learning a foreign language “allows the child to understand his native language as a single instantiation of a linguistic system” which helps the child learn both the new language and their native but leads to the understanding which Gee uses the term “meta- knowledge” as one learning a language plus putting that to the real life situations which you would deal with.
In Conclusion, I believe that the rest of the essay of “what is literacy?” states Gee’s argument of how the way we speak in our environments and people is also literacy as well as the writing and grammar.

Autobiography week 6

Well with everything I have been through in the last week i have definitely had to watch what i say around certain people. Normally I find myself being of free speech but because the situation called for more of a following and listening I had to do so. I had to watch what i said about my mom or to my mom because it would be upsetting and the same went for my dad this week too because the social situation was one of a somber one. In waiting rooms I found myself communicating with others as if I was in school carrying on a conversation with professors about what I was reading and it is because family encouraged me o do so to be on top of my game. i find myself when I talk in school and in that type of situation I try too hard to sound smart and sometimes it backfires but sometimes I impress. 

I find myself separating my school and home language as o fit the type of situation I am in even though sometimes they blend. I never really noticed I was doing it until this assignment was given and I don't necessarily think it is a bad thing but I do now find myself doing it and I just wonder how I sound to others or what they think as I am talking to them. My family never says anything to me but it might be out of politeness I am not sure. I do think though that all of us do maintain a certain language in certain situations as to not sound stupid or mean or even smart in some cases all to avoid possible teasing or even being looked down upon.

One Person, Many Voices

We all make changes to the way we speak to people based on the place, time, and situation. I have found that I speak in numerous ways depending on who I am speaking with and where I am at, at the time. When at school during class I have to be able to speak properly and be able to back up what I am saying. I cannot use words that not everyone might know. Just as when I am tutoring my students I have to make sure I am using vocabulary that they can comprehend. I often find myself using words that are beyond their comprehension and I have to go back and correct myself. When I am at work I have to be sure to have a professional manner and speak politely to customers; especially when I answer the phone. However, when there seems to be no one around my co-workers and I tend to go off on our own conversations; speaking the way we would if we were hanging out outside of work. And then when we see someone we go right back to being perfect little angels. At home is where I feel like I can be myself and speak however I choose. My brother and I are always messing around and saying random things; usually things that don’t even exist. I tend to not pay attention to grammar and structure when I am talking at home. The downside on that part is that my family is constantly making fun of me and saying, “Aren’t you the English major?” which tends to get very annoying.

"Sponsors of Literacy"

Brandt, Deborah. "Sponsors of Literacy." Literacy: A Critical Sourcebook. Cushman, Ellen. et al. New York: Bedford/ St. Martins, 2001

In Brandt’s "Sponsors of Literacy", she explains how the. She starts out by defining sponsors of literacy as those in her study that came up most frequently as influences on her subjects’ literacy development. These people consisted of relatives, teachers, clergy, authority figures and authors. Brandt theorizes that literacy is defined by the interest of its sponsors. This in turn affects the way and reason why people read and write. She goes on to describe how literacy has political and economic value. This being true, many Americans go through great lengths to obtain literacy for their families. Because literacy plays such a huge role in our economic system, a sort of stratification regarding literacy emerges, and roadblocks are placed in front of certain individuals to gain literacy in the name of competition. Brandt explains her theories by citing two individuals she studied.
Raymond Branch belonged to the “majority-race membership, male gender, and high-end socioeconomic profile”. Because of this, Brandt explains, Branch had more access to literacy than his counterpart of the same age that lived in the same town Dora Lopez. She also explains that the difference in access has to do with the difference in the level of sponsorship available in both situations.
Brandt’s account of how economy and sponsorship affect literacy is quite striking and I found quite a bit of truth. Most people recognize the sponsor’s role in literacy, but rarely recognize economic influence. Sponsors are either congratulated or blamed for any one individual’s literary competency. If one is unable to read critically or write effectively, this is blamed squarely on the sponsors and the efforts and abilities of the individual are seemingly disregarded. I also agree with Brandt’s theory that the interest of the sponsor is reflected in the capacities in which an individual is successful in literacy, as well as how and why they read and write. In school, reading and writing are seen as a means to an end of economic accomplishment and intellectual growth. In church, literacy is seen as a means of spiritual and personal growth. In the home, literacy is seen as a way to connect to your own culture. Whichever sponsor is the most influential usually has a hold on how and why that individual will read and write. Brandt’s theories on how economics influence literacy can be seen in our society. Socioeconomic status can play a huge role in access to literacy. Socioeconomic status is often determined by race and gender, contrary to the capitalist thought that everyone chooses their socioeconomic status through work ethic. It is clear that those apart of the dominant culture have more access to literacy than those who are not. Teachers don’t want to teach in low socioeconomic areas because of the crime rate and behavioral problems due to broken homes. Those that are supposed to be literacy sponsors in the community find little importance in literacy, as most of their employment only requires the basics and nothing more. This creates literary roadblocks for those belonging to different social and economic groups, and severely limits access to literacy.

What I Meant to Say Was...

It wasn’t until I actually stopped to really notice how I speak in different situations that I noticed that my speech changes according to the situation that I am in. I noticed that I speak differently in these situations: at school, at work with my immediate superior, with superiors/when I conduct business, when I am speaking to my mother, when I am speaking with my grandmother, when I am speaking with my younger siblings, and when I am speaking with my friends/fiancé. When I first started reflecting on my own speech, I really had the idea that I would only have two differences in my speech; one type of discourse when I speak to my friends and one type of discourse when I speak to everyone else. This was not the case. When I speak at school, I do a combination of things. I attempt to speak in a seemingly intellectual manner, but because I got along with my teachers so well when I was in high school, I also allow a bit of my personality to come through in my speech. It’s a formal speech, but it’s not so sterile that I sound like Ben Stein in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. When I speak to my immediate superior at work, I speak in an informal yet respectful manner. We work closely together so that allows for the informality, but she is also my superior so I take that into account when I am speaking to her. My speech with her is somewhat conscious.

When I speak to any other authority or when I am conducting business, I do assume a very formal, sterile sort of speech. This is because of my respect for him and as well as my willingness to adhere to certain social standards. When I speak to my mother, it is more informal than when I talk to my immediate superior at work and contains more colloquial language, but there is still a level of respect in my speech that I am conscious of and try to maintain. When I speak to my grandmother, I actually regress a little bit. I become a tad childlike when I speak to her. This is a response to the fact that she still speaks to me as if I am a child. My manner of discourse with her is very instinctive, and has not changed in 21 years. I have a very authoritative yet loving tone and style of speech when I speak to my younger siblings. I am the second oldest of seven and I had a hand in raising the five siblings under me. They respect me and I respect them, but to do what they are told and when I say something that I mean it. This speech is very instinctive as well. When I speak to my friends and my fiancé, my speech is totally informal and full of colloquialisms. I am conscious of the fact that I don’t need to speak in a formal manner with them, so I can relax and allow whatever comes to my mind to come out of my mouth. None of are offended easily and things said between us would be acceptable if said to a total stranger. What was interesting to me when I started to observe myself is how smooth my transitions between the different discourses were.

Response to Farr

In Farr’s article she discusses how she studied Mexican families from Chicago and two ranchos in Mexico. She watched how the families had close relationships with friends, calling them “compadrazgo”; which is just another way to say godparent. She explains how some of the families have members that move back and forth from Chicago to Mexico, some only visit for weeks at a time and others only have the husband in Chicago sending money to his family back at home. Not every member in these families went all the way through school; some had to stay at home to help the family. But Farr states that some of them were at a higher level at literacy than expected due to their own motivations. A group of men were able to “pick up” literacy from other people using spoken language. What motivated these men to want to be able to read and write was that they wanted to be able to write to their families back home. What the article then continues to prove is that it is quite possible to learn literacy without actually going to school. One man was able to teach himself after only going to school for a total of three months. He would just practice on the things he saw. She also mentions that it is possible to learn to write before learning to read; there is no right order.
As Farr explained, what helps a person learn literacy by spoken language is motivation, and it’s not something everyone has. This just proves the old saying that “you can do anything you put your mind to” can work for reading and writing as well. It doesn’t have to be taught in a school setting; however a person has to want it. I find it interesting that a lot of this can be related to earlier readings such as Douglass and what we know from our history. Common people couldn’t send their children to school because they needed them at home to help work or there wasn’t a school close enough to them; just as it was for these groups of people. But just like Douglass, some of them found a way to learn it other ways and succeeded.

Totally In Control

The first time that my language abilities made me feel powerful was when I was a junior in high school and I was Mock Trial. Mock Trial is a high school extracurricular activity/group where students come together and form legal prosecution and defense teams. These teams receive a fictional case, and work both ends. Competitions are held locally at actual courthouses, and are very intense and fun. In my high school’s mock trial I was the lead defense attorney. I took this position because I like a challenge, and most of all I love to argue. It was very important that my teacher who was advising the group had faith in my ability to perform well in this position. I was also chosen for this position by my fellow classmates who were participating in Mock Trial because I have strong verbal communication skills, especially if my speech is thoughtfully planned. I also had to be able to think on my feet and really come up with rebuttals to the prosecutions arguments in the blink of an eye. I also had to do so in a legal and professional manner, and without breaking the rules of the court. I felt powerful because I was using my language skills to argue points in a legal setting. It gave me such a rush. I have no idea why I’m not planning on going to law school after college.

Intimidated

I do not remember my first experience with speaking and others speaking around me, but I do remember some interesting experiences when I transferred from community college to Cal State. When I first took classes at my community college it was a nice transition from high school; almost like I never left. It seemed to be at the same level as far as speaking and comprehending went. But when I was finally able to transfer to a four year college, I noticed a big difference in the classes, instructors, and students that attended. It wasn’t that the instructors spoke in a way that I could not understand; it was the way the students would respond to the discussions we were having. I felt like I was on a completely different planet. I started to question my abilities when it came to speaking and writing. It even made me very scared to include myself in the discussions. It wasn’t like I couldn’t understand what they were saying; I just felt that they were explaining their ideas in a way that could have been summed up in a simpler way. The reason a situation could be scary for someone is because it makes them feel like they should know how to speak or write as eloquently as these students. But as time has passed I have listened to different students and even broadened my vocabulary by doing so. I have also noticed other students that are like me and feel that things don’t have to be said in such a complicated manner; making me feel a little more confident with the situation. It made me realize that some people are just articulate when it comes to speaking; it doesn’t make them smarter, they just have a gift with words.

Precis: Heath: Protean Shapes in Literacy Events

Heath's essay describes the importance of literacy value of communities. She explains traditions that have changed throughout the years and the society with the use of literacy. Heath goes on to explain the term “Literacy Event", which meaning " is any occasion in which a piece of writing is integral to the nature of participants' interactions and their interpretive processes" and this is a helpful tool in describing the communities of today's society. Heath gives the examples of a Girl Scout is selling cookies to you and gives you a paper to look at plus she gives her speech which includes everything on the paper, so the speech is more important than the paper which is the reading part. Concluding her example she states, “there are more literacy events which call for appropriate knowledge of forms and uses of speech events than there are actual occasions for extended reading or writing." Heath continues her main argument by using ethnographic work to experience the society using literacy in their daily lives. Tracton is a literate community because the members could read printed and use written materials. In a work setting is different because it restricts the types of materials. But looking at these examples enable us to see only the protean shapes of oral and literate traditions and language.

Week 5: Trouble with Speaking

Looking back at my first time that my language meant something meaning was when I gave my first speech to my high school class. I was really nervous and I was scared that I would sound like a moron up there trying to motivate my peers to do something. I wasn’t really shy in school but after that experience and trying to talk in class made it hard for me because I get scared that I am going to say a stupid thing or sound like a moron when doing so. I didn’t feel the support from that teacher in that class and not that moment scarred me for the rest of my life because ever since I don’t say anything in class because it will be stupid or people are going to look at me strange. But thinking back on the moment I don’t really see why I would be like the way iam now because I do at times feel comfortable to be talking in front or with a large group of my peers, it’s the speeches I have to give to people older than I and more professional than I is when it is scary and my nerves get the better of me.

Book Reports Do Not Work

I believe the reason it took me so long to appreciate literacy was the way it was forced upon me as a student. The teachers had to follow a strict curriculum, which meant reading certain novels and plays. Although there were a few that I grew to love, I usually had no interest in reading them. What made it even worse was when the teacher would assign us to write a book report on the reading. This just made the reading part feel more miserable. Instead of just reading a book to enjoy it or escape from reality, I had to actually pay close attention to specific details. And usually in the end I hardly ever actually finished reading the book. I would just skim through it and also read the back cover or inside flap that gives the details of the plot. I feel that in order to get students into reading, they should be aloud to choose what book they want to read at first and then be asked questions as to why they chose it, and what they found to be the most interesting aspect of it. I understand as a literature major that I do have to pay close attention to details in novels, and that is to be expected. But when trying to get a student to read, especially middle and high school, it needs to be a gradual process; letting them pick a few novels on their own, and then introducing them to the curriculum. It could be a way for teachers to learn more about their students and also compare the more modern novels they choose, to the classic novels the curriculum suggests.

Szwed and Moss with Ethnography

Moss, Beverly J. “Ethnography and Composition: Studying Language at Home.” From
Composition in tour keys: Inquiring into the Field, Mark Wiley, Barbara Gleason, and
Louis Weatherbee Phelps eds. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield 1996.

Szwed, John F. “The Ethnography of Literacy” From Literacy: A Critical Sourcebook.
Ellen Cushman, Eugene R. Kintgen, Barry M. Kroll and Mike Rose eds. Boston, MA :
Bedford/St. Martin’s 2001.


Both writers to have read this week to have a common reason for writing on how to study such things as language and literacy but as I read I saw two different purposes for the studies they were doing. In Szwed he wanted to improve the studies done now on measuring literacy to move away from statistics to include the social factors. He does point out that students do read different ways in school then at home or anywhere else. He is very critical of the standard testing going on in school and I am in complete agreement. Those tests are to critical and want to put a standard on reading and is a student cannot reach that standard as put forth by above standard people their future can be severely retarded. Szwed points out that we are constantly reading all around us from billboards to road signs telling us how to drive. It seems the question is being raised; isn’t literacy a comprehension of the text and the ability to translate it and take action on it? It might actually not be what the symbolism in Harry Potter is because it is just as significantly important to have comprehension in the social sphere. He says that this is exactly what these standard tests do not account for the account for a nervous student reading something for the first time and being forced to write an essay on the spot in a given time and nothing else. Although these tests do not affect grades schools have still found ways to have it affect the student and their future in school.
Now in the Moss article she was more concerned with the language part of schooling and the responsibility of parents or learning in the home to further the education of students in the classroom. This study stayed away from statistical numbers and tries to bring in the social context because it could not be ignored. She specifically links the study of language and the cultural setting into writing and both authors brought up this point, that the two language and social context are important to reading and writing because the social defines the language and the language determines the writing which leads to the social determining the reading and reading determining the comprehension measured in writing. It all links back to the social context. Moss is more so about how to conduct the study as Szwed would want it done. The studying purely not the influencing but the observing solely and pulling info and theories from what the community has defined as acceptable in itself.

What Made Me Hate Reading

Well I have never really had extremely bad experiences with reading but what did make me hate reading was school. It was the fact that we have to take a perfectly good book and tear it apart to find some hidden meaning and when I could not find that meaning or even have the same meaning as the rest of the class I felt less and less literate and it still horrifies me to feel this way. I come to college to expand my mind and reach new learning horizons but some days I leave feeling I never measure up. In my English 315 class I was supposed to read Harry Potter and the when we were done we were supposed to break it down into what the gender roles were, what the wand and a feather mean and even what a name meant. I could not find it easy to take this book I loved as a child and pull it apart to basically find evil undertones to the whole thing and find it was more of a hidden critique teaching children to be ever so negative about the society they live in. Not what I would imagine a childrens’ book to be doing at all. This book was ruined for me and all because we can not leave things alone and take them for face value. Reading at the college level has forced me to criticize everything I read and I find it hard to read for pure pleasure anymore and I honestly miss it because in my mind it becomes work. I am hoping though that because of this I will be able to show kids how to break down a book but also encourage pleasure reading where the mind is cleared and the things learned in the classroom are forgotten to an extent because literacy is not just what we learn in school it is all around us and it takes many forms and is interpreted in many forms.

"Developing" Pains

One of the most dreadful schooled experiences with literacy I had was when I first started writing essays. I hate academic writing. I hate it. Nothing traumatic ever happened to me to make me hate it, it’s my soul that hates it. I resisted writing academically at all costs. I got away with it mostly in middle school, but once I got to high school there was no getting around it, especially since I was in honors and AP classes. The rigidness of learning how to write academically always made me cringe. All throughout high school I was told that I was a relatively good writer, but that I needed to develop more. However, no one, absolutely no one told me what that meant. In my head, when I read my own essays, I understood what I meant. I knew the points that I was getting at. But still on my papers it would consistently say “B-/C+ Good use of diction, fluid and mature style, great transitions, needs more development”. No other human being hated the word “develop” more than I did in high school. Peer editing was of no use either. The kids in my classes would read essays then give a hearty “Good job” without even giving any constructive criticism. That was mainly because everyone hated peer editing essays. After being told over and over again that my writing was underdeveloped, I finally learned how develop my essays my senior year in my AP Literature class. At that point it was either figure out what was wrong with my writing or fail the AP exam. Since I took AP classes mainly to receive college credit, I finally figured out how properly develop my essays. Even now as a college senior, the word “develop” makes me grit my teeth.

What a Speech?

One of my positive schooled experience is when I was giving my salutatorian graduation speech. It wasn’t really a schooled experience but I think I learned out from this speech because it gave me the motivation I have today and knowing that I achieve this much, I was super proud of myself. This learning experience was major for me because it seemed like I had to put everything I learned in high school and sum it into one great speech that everyone is going to hear. It involved a lot more of literacy to develop a speech, you must have great communication, writing and reading aloud skills, so having all these combine made this moment one of the most memorable experiences in my life. If you think about it there were a lot of people involved in this experience, the audience which was filled with school board members, family, and friends, and then you have all your teachers that you feel pressure from. This day was a major stepping stone in my life because I was graduating high school which only happens once and that I was giving the most awarded title that I worked hard for four years.

...SS

Response to Graff

In Graff’s essay, the one thing that really struck my attention was that Americans wanted to lower the illiterate percentage only because they thought it would help the economy. It had nothing to do with having the population actually being able to read, but to see if it would help their economy grow. Of course this excluded African Americans and the poor because Americans feared what the outcome would be if they were able to read and write; just as we read about Frederick Douglass. But eventually they did, and so did the poor by all of the free schools being made so they can have their chance at learning. Even with all the hype of literacy going around, it didn’t mean you had an advantage if you knew how to read. There were very few cases where a person was given a better job because he was literate; it was mostly based on race, social class, and of course gender. It is interesting to see the total flip our society has made over all these years. Now it is determined on your education and training whether you can find a job or not. There are very few well paying jobs out there for people with out a college education, let alone a high school diploma.

Response to Rodriguez Precisis

I am in total agreement with SS because I felt the same way in reading this piece. As we discussed in class somethigns and stories are just inspiring and this was one of them for me. He got through life by trying to better himself and that is never a bad thing. I wish I could read as much as him and enjoy it as much but the drive for me is not there because I have to read so much for my classes. I love inspiring stories because they do make us feel so so even if just for a minute.I do though see nothing wrong with being a "scholarship boy" as I am a scholarship student myself and because it is made so much eaiser for me to go to school I love it all the more. I thinkk if I had to work all the time to pay for it I would not want it as much. I too motivates me to be eager to lear and there is never anything wrong with wanting to learn more. I do however think that it is not necessarily the money that hinders the child from learning at the secondary level but it is just a crutch and I find it a bad one. You can learn if you want to and you are the only one that holds yourself back. All in all I was inspired and saw myself as lucky in a way that I hadn't before.

Discovering a Passion

The first book that really grasped my attention was Snow Falling on Cedars, by David Guterson. We were asked to pick a book of our choice in my sophomore English class and something about it intrigued me. It took me by surprise how much I enjoyed reading this novel and when I was finished with it, it almost felt like something was missing. I tried to continue reading other novels through out the year, but I just didn’t seem to click with anything. It wasn’t until my junior year, when my English teacher started reading Harry Potter, that I became even more infatuated with reading. I read every book of the series and again had that feeling of missing something when I completed each book. So I continued to read for my class The Great Gatsby, Black Boy, and a few others. By the end of the year, I realized that reading wasn’t as bad as I thought it had been before. And my passion grew even more once I became aware of Jane Austen and all of her brilliant novels. It is now hard for me to go into a book store and not buy something; especially in the classic literature section.
My parents are very encouraging when it comes to reading; especially my mom. She is the one person in my household that prefers to read instead of watching television. While I was growing up she would constantly urge me to read a book if I was bored. Both of my parents are active readers, yet have very different tastes. My mom reads true crime novels; while my dad reads a lot of history novels. My mom constantly wonders where I got my taste of classic and modern literature from.

Justice in Literacy

As I read everyone’s autobiographical posts for week 2, I noticed that everyone’s experience was different. While that is expected since we are all individuals, I thought I would find more similarities or common patterns in our literacy acquisition. I believe that shows that the environment that a child is in and the resources that child has available to him is a critical element in whether or not a child will have access to literacy as well as thrive in it. One thing I found fascinating about Douglass’ account of his journey to literacy was how hungry and cunning he was. He needed to learn, as if his entire being would fall off the face of the earth if he did not learn. Is that hunger within all children, including the ones that society and the school system seem to write off? Is the inquisitive nature and burning fire for knowledge a part of our human nature? And if so, who is it that is beating the fires out of these seemingly disinterested children? The question was posed in class “Who owns literacy?” That is a question that I have no answer to, but out of that question I started to think of who takes literacy for granted. What would happen to most of us if we didn’t have the opportunity to learn to read and write? I know I’ve been very fortunate in having extremely supportive parents, been in excellent schools, and have had amazingly wonderful and dedicated teachers. I often wonder where I would be if I didn’t have all of those things, all of those things that I often took for granted. While watching the Freedom Writers in class, the question popped up in my mind; What would have become of me if instead of having the whole world support me, I had the whole world against me? It’s a question that has grounded me, and will help shape how I see my students when I begin to teach.

Bookworm

I think the first time I was ever truly affected by a book was when I read Tess of the D’urbervilles by Thomas Hardy. I had always felt compassion for the protagonists of the novels I read at school, but this novel really grabbed me. I was introduced to this book in my junior honors English class. One of my classmates proclaimed that she loved Thomas Hardy and thought he was a fabulous writer; I on the other hand had no idea who he was. I pretty much proceeded with reading the book as I did with any other assigned reading. I had no idea that it would strike me as it did. Now before I read Tess, I’ve read plenty of novels that I love and still own to this day, but those books were just intricate entertaining plots to me, written with eloquence and precision. Tess, however, was different. It struck me in a way that I still find hard to describe. I think it was Hardy’s plot that really got me. This innocent, sweet girl pretty much gets hammered over and over again, to no fault of her own. She had no control over any situation she was in. What spoke to me the most in Tess is that she remained strong through all her plights. That image of a strong but gentle woman struck me, and has always stayed with me.
As I stated in my previous autobiographical essay, reading was a major part of my childhood. My mother took me to the library once a week to get books and reading was one of my favorite pastimes. There wasn’t much television or video game playing in my household, so the environment was conducive to doing other activities such as reading. My mom had a very impressive collection of books herself. She grew up as an avid reader, which is why she stressed reading in our family so much. The other reading materials in my home were mainly magazines. My mom subscribed to Parents magazine, among others that I was not allowed to read simply because they were not appropriate for my age. I remember reading along in the Parents magazine in the section called As They Grow. I would always read the section that featured my age group to see if I was developmentally on track. It’s really funny now that I think back on it.
The last novel I read with real enjoyment was Sula by Toni Morrison. Morrison has an exquisite writing style that will draw you in as soon as you read the first line on the first page. It also appealed to me because it had my two favorite subjects in it, sex and death (for some reason all of my favorite novels have sex and death in them). Also, what appeals to me about the subjects of sex and death in novels is how the author places them in the plot and how the characters deal and react to them, not because I have some weird fetish (just a disclaimer). =)

Autobiographical Piece 2

The first time I can truly remember a book affecting me and catching my attention was in middle school. I was having trouble finding a book that could keep my attention and when I went to my language arts teacher she had the perfect book in mind. It was not only a book but it was a four book series by Caroline B. Cooney; it was called Both Sides of Time. This book at the time was so amazing and it grabbed my attention and so much so though that I could not put it down until I finished reading it. I can remember it so much so because I was really excited about the book and everytime I look at the books now I still get a little bit of that feeling back. This book mattered to me so much because it let me know what type of books I was into and now that I am older I read the older versions of the same genre.
When I was younger I only remember big books being read if required by the teacher and other books read for fun were more like graphic novels and real kiddie books full of pictures. My parents would tend to read fairytales to us at night to get us to go to sleep and once they were done it was the golden book series of every story. Mainly books were “at your leisure as you like” type of thing. They were there but we mainly chose when and where to read. My parents were very hard on reading the required stuff though because it was obviously more important because the teacher required them. They would even quiz us on the chapters to make sure we were reading and if we did not get every question right then we were to read it again.

"Scholoarship boy"

Rodriguez, "The Achievement of Desire"

In Rodriguez’s essay, “The achievement of Desire” was about a boy that grew up in a different cultural and his family wasn’t there to support him throughout his education because he felt that they were uneducated and un-motivated to read to him. His childhood teachers which were nuns had encouraged him to achieve where he is now. His family has helped him realize who he is and made him stronger in dealing with the pain. He mentions how it seemed like he was living in “two different worlds” meaning that his family life was completely different from his life at school. He loved to go to school and throughout his education has been reading a lot of upper class books which his teachers would brag about to the other students. Rodriguez referred to him as the “scholarship boy”, he read this term in a book he read by Hoggart which was “ The uses of Literacy” which he related his life to the examples in that book. He knew that he was this kind of boy who loved to read and who get a lot of education and someday find the real reason why he done all of this hard work. All his teachers would say “your parents must be proud of you”, but I seemed like he never really shared his accomplishes with his family. Since he felt that they would never understand why he was so motivated to learn.
I feel that the most insightful part of the essay was the motivation that he got from himself to push him further in his education because of how his family was. I could related to that experiences, when your own brother and sister and making fun of you because you do care about you future and your education. You want to do something with your life and these family members are putting you down because you are making them look bad or because they see it as worthless if the rest of the family doesn’t encourage it. When Rodriguez continues to explain his life story of how he became to love reading, he mentions all these books that he read when younger and ones that he uses to relate things back to other books. I think would be amazing, if I had the passion to keep reading and not had so many distractions when I was younger. Reading his article was motivation to me that I need to read more and by doing so I will achieve my goals in life plus just being able to understand my life better. “Two negatives make a positive” is a great way to look at ways things are and how to understand. I feel it is an optimistic way of looking at his family.
...SS

I am "Matilda"

I would say there are many books that I read that touched me in some way. Books that I read for fun and others for educational purposes. In my childhood, the books, I remember and have still today on my bookcase is the Ronald Dahl book’s. I have the whole collections, from The Witches to BFG, I enjoyed reading when I was younger. They all were easy to read and had a meaning behind each that made me have a very creative mind. I liked really those strange books that made you think. The Bell Jar touched me when I was reading it because it did relate to me a lot and was a good book to explore the life of this real life woman. I read this book and many others in my young adult class that really meant something to me because all the books were coming of age stories and dealt with similarities in my high school years. I think the most influential book I read that made me the person I am now, is the Chicken Soup for the Kid’s Soul, there is a story in it that is titled Fire Truck. This story touched me because I wanted to me that girl in the story that helped the little boy find happiness. I wanted to be caring like her and touch someone’s family like that. This gave me the knowledge to be kind and care about others and treat them with respect.
My family wasn’t as big on the reading scene as most parents are. I feel that I was the one who picked up the books and enjoyed reading them. My mother and father never really cared if I did read, well maybe just for school purposes like reading for 15 minutes for homework. For some reason, I was the odd one out and enjoyed it and I did have many books that I got from school, I felt like the Matilda in my family.
The book that I read recently with real enjoyment is the Twilight series. These books have made reading a major part in my life now. I felt that I wasn’t reading as much when I got in college and I felt overwhelmed at times, so I never sat down and finished a book. Until Twilight came along. I have to admit that I saw the movie first but I wanted to read the book because the book is always better than the movie. The book is about the high school girl who moves with her dad and attends a different school, which she has to make a new life for her. In doing so she falls in love with this vampire and the two struggles to be together. I don’t want to give that much away. I couldn’t put the book down when I began, I feel in love with the characters, I related to the characters and I loved the way Meyer, the author, wrote with passion about these characters. I wanted an “Edward” in my life that would sweep me off my feet. This book, to me was a way to escape the real life to a magical place which Meyer keeps you entertained.

...SS

Frederick Douglass and his Literacy Journey

Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass, An American Slave. Literature at SunSITE. 14 May 1997. Berkeley Digital Library. 21 Jan. 2009 http://sunsite3.berkeley.edu/Literature/Douglass/Autobiography/07.html

In Chapter seven of his autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Douglass reveals the details of how he learned to read and write. The majority of the chapter explains how he achieved such a feat when it was nearly illegal to educate a slave. He first writes about how his mistress first began the task, then ceased when she was condemned by her husband for her actions. Frederick’s simple learning of the alphabet was enough to create an unquenchable thirst for knowledge within him. He proceeded to devise several methods in which he could learn how to read and write.

The chapter goes on to reveal the tactics that Douglass concocted in order to feed his hunger for learning. He became friends with the neighborhood’s poor white children by giving them some much coveted bread. His newly acquired friends would then show their gratitude by teaching him how to read. Douglass carries on in the chapter by noting that his newly literate self was now most painfully aware of his grim situation. His venture to learn how to write was different from how he learned how to read. He had no real teacher but himself. Fredrick’s first acquisition of letters is achieved at the town’s shipyard. After learning only four there, he trick any young boy whom he knew could write into teaching him more letters. He then finally achieved his goal by sneaking into his master’s copybooks when he was home alone and copying all the work that his master had learned at school.

This chapter from Fredrick Douglass’s autobiography is quite profound. What was most intriguing is that the simple learning of the alphabet was enough to ignite a fire in him that was to only be put out by the acquisition of knowledge. It was interesting that the only bitterness throughout the chapter is only towards his condition. He was extremely fortunate to have the company that he did. His mistress had a good enough heart to begin teaching the young slave. Douglass managed to find young white boys in his neighborhood willing to help a slave boy learn how to read. He had resources around him and the inherent intelligence to find clever ways to gain access to the inaccessible.

The chapter is also filled with a sort of anguish. He points out the irony in the prohibition of his being educated: “I am strongly tempted to give the names of two or three of those little boys, as a testimonial of the gratitude and affection I bear them; but prudence forbids;--not that it would injure me, but it might embarrass them; for it is almost an unpardonable offense to teach slaves to read in this Christian country.” Douglass also has a conscious grasp on how bittersweet his achievement was. After becoming literate, Douglass talks about how his existence became gloomier. As the Romantics would say, he came into experience and finally learned every dark truth about his circumstances. Douglass’s experiences with literacy show how important literacy is to self-awareness and awareness of the world.

I Can Read!

My early language and literacy development was marked with humorous incidents as well as feats that to this day I find remarkable. My first spoken words were “Aw shit”. I was 1 year of age and I was simple repeating what my mother said frequently in my presence. My older sister taught me how to read at 3 years old. She is 2 years older than I am and was in kindergarten. As she was learning sight words and how to read herself, she would come home after school and teach me. I read my first whole story at 4 years old. It was called “Rico and the Little Red Pony”. The story was in a first grade reading book that belonged to my older sister titled Colors. It was as compilation of stories written specifically for beginning readers.

School played a major role in my literacy development since that is where I learned how to write and where reading was most available to me. My earliest memory of learning how to write was in kindergarten. I remember writing my name often on my homework. Amusingly enough I thought my name was Keko, which is a nickname my grandmother called me often. My elementary school participated in a program called Reading is Fundamental. This program provides free books and literacy services to children all over the country.

My mom also played an important role in my literacy development. She constantly stressed the importance of proper grammar, as well as the importance of reading. My mom never had to force me to read because I loved to do it. She restricted our television watching to mostly educational programs. Reading Rainbow was one of my favorite. One of my favorite childhood memories was my mom taking me and my older sister to the library once a week. She would also purchase us books when we would have book drives at school. I’m extremely glad and appreciative that I received a tremendous amount of support in my literacy development. It helped me advance much farther than I would have if I didn’t have the support and resources that were available to me.

My development of Literacy and Writing!

I really don’t remember anything of my childhood development of writing and literacy development. I feel that my high school experiences are the most influential part of my writing and literacy development because I felt I accomplished more and understood what I wanted in my life. My teachers had a major influence on this growth since I related more with them plus I felt I needed a support group other than my family when going through a divorce. My family may had a big role with my lingo since I grew up with them and my parents taught me how to say certain words and also the way I go to my parents for help on certain ways to approach something. When it comes to reading I think the school had a more part of this because I did read the interesting stories in school and also could explore the different genres in the school library. Writing, I think is something that has to come to you over time so many teachers have helped me develop my own writing style.
....SS

Autobiographical Blog

The first thing I can remember about my childhood is that I did attend pre-school before going into kindergarten. So I am aware that I had a good sense of communication, knew my alphabet, and was aware of my first and last name and probably my address. I do not remember most of my elementary years as far as literacy goes. From kindergarten through 5th grade I attended a Catholic private school. We weren’t asked to read a lot of books or even short stories; we just had the usual spelling quizzes. It wasn’t until I had entered into the public school system that I was given actual novels to read. My vocabulary and grammar were always excellent, yet I did not like to read. I found it boring and could not find a book that would get my attention. It wasn’t until my sophomore year in high school that I actually read a novel I loved. Part of this might have been because the teacher was allowing us to pick a book on our own as long as it was approved by her. I picked Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson, and I fell in love. Every year after that I continued to find books that captivated me. My reading improved so much, as well as my vocabulary and grammar, that in my junior year of high school I was awarded a small scholarship for having such a high score in reading comprehension on STAR testing. Ever since then I have wanted to be an English teacher and have wanted to share my passion for reading.

Autobiographical reading experience

The first time I can honestly remember reading having an impact on me was not until second grade. To say that alone seems like it was too late for such an impact but I do believe it lead me in the direction I am now in with reading. It was actually due to a school program implemented in my elementary school on the Navy base. I thought it was only because of the lifestyle I was forced into that this reading torture was implemented on the students. This program was so time consuming and forced you to remember the little details of the reading to move up the reading ladder they had designed for us. You would have to read these little books and then after reading them you would have to take a ten to fifteen question quiz on what you read. Sometimes you couldn’t remember anything and had to keep reading it until you passed the test and then you could move on to the next level. There were 30 levels if I remember correctly and the relief I felt when reaching level 30 was unbelievable because I felt so accomplished and felt I was on top of the world. This program forced me to learn to retain the information I was reading and in the end it the transferred to all my school work and it felt great. My parents of course read to me at night and other times but I do not remember any book they read me having such an impact on me as those books in elementary school. I may hate reading now but I still took something from it that has helped me in more ways then I can count.