Prcecis/Critical Response to Gee

In this article, Janes Gee is essentially proposing a way to talk about literacy and linguistics. According to Gee, language can be misleading because oftentimes, it is referred to as grammar. He affirms that an individual can know the grammar of a language and not know how to use that language. In other words, it's not what you say, but how you say what you say. Gee promotes the beleif that language is not just grammar, and, communication is more than the use of language. In saying and writing the correct thing, and, while having the right belief system, the right values, and the right attitudes, we are using language that suggests, what is important is not the language we use, neither the grammar, but the connection of all these forms of life, that Gee refers to as "Discourse."

There are many types of Discourse. According to Gee, we are all born with an inherent Discourse. He writes: "All of us, through our primary socialization, early in life in the home and peer group, acquire (at least) one initial Discourse. This initial discourse, which I call our primary Discourse, is the one we first use to make sense of the world and the interact with others" (Gee 527). This discourse, Gee asserts, continues our original and home-based sense of identity. It can be identified through the interactions we have with familiar people. It is acquired not from education, but from being a member of a primary socializing group such as a family or peer group. There are dominant Discourse and non-dominant Discourse. Dominant Discourse are secondary Discourses that can potentially bring money, prestige, or status to an individual. Non-dominant Discourse is secondaru Discourse that often brings solidarity with a particular social network, but no greater status in the society at large.

Gee believes that Discourse and literacy are somewaht interwined. A brief social definition of literacy that Gee uses is such: "Thus I have defined literacy as the mastery of or fluent control over a secondary Discourse" Gee 529). The author says that literacy is plural. There are many of them. Furthermore, he gives a possible second definition of literacy: "If we wanted to be rather pedantic and literalistic, then we could define "literacy" as" mastery of or fluent control over secondary Discourse involving print...."(Gee 529). There are two theories that Gee uses to support his argument. First, Discourses are not like language. A person can speak a language, but not fluently. However, that same person would not be able to fully engage in a discourse without the ability to engage fluently. The second theory states that primary discourses, no matter whose they are, can never really be liberating literacies. In order for literacy to be liberating it must contain both the Discourde it is going to critique and a set of meta-elememts such as language, words, attitudes, and values.

Many parts of this article were strong and insightful. I particularly found the meaning of literacy to be insightful. I have always known that literacy is a broad term. Many linguist define it differently. Gee's definition seems to be one of the best I've read. In defining literacy, Gee admitted that he was first compelled to define some other terms. The term he chose to define first, discourse: "a socially accepted association among ways of using language; or thinking, and of acting that can be used to identify oneself as a member of a socially meaningful group or "social network" (Gee 537). Literacy, then, is a means of identifying to the world just who one is. This can be through a belief system, a value system, an economic system, or a status system.

With Gee's article, my understanding of literacy has greatly expanded. First, I never thought of literacy as a discourse. Like many people, I often associated language with grammar. Although I am aware that language is communicative, I rarely looked at it from that perspevtive. In reading this article, I am learning why? That, is, because communication is more than language skills. Literacy braodly delves into an individual's world view. How do we see the world, ourselves, and what do we believe when we see what we see? What do we value in life, what are our attitudes, where do we socially fit in society? All of these entities are all an aspect of literacy in its truest meaning.

Autobiography V

Samantha Haberman

There are many verbal events I have feared, and continue to fear still. In my early childhood, my parents decided that a divorce would be the best thing for them—things were obviously not working out the way they had hoped. Instead of a clean cut divorce, everything became extremely complicated. My parents tried to end things on an amiable note, yet it was easier said than done. I would soon found myself in a mind splitting custody battle. The divorce became finally when I was only two – so trying to remember any of that would be impossible for me. However – my parents fought over my younger brother and me for years after. Neither my father nor my mother could really be a better choice for my brother and me. So, from the age of four to about nine – I became really familiar with visiting the court rooms, sitting in the background in small offices with no windows, and having social workers drilling me with questions. All this was overwhelming. I was a lot more mature than most children my age – yet I was given with such responsibility I wasn’t sure what to do with it all. Everything was getting more complicating, I was getting more confused. The more I listened to what was being said the more frightening it would be when I thought about having to go back again. Having people talk about where you are going to reside – using big words, phrases, court talk – it was intense. No one ever just came up to me and explained things in a way that I could understand. Every time there was a reason to have to go speak with some one involved in where my brother and I would permanently reside, I would feel like an foreigner. I knew they were talking and about the general topic – but I had no idea what they were really telling me. Nothing made sense. I was nine years old when they finally decision was made - and after all that talk I couldn’t understand they still managed to get it wrong.

Autobiographical Essay #V

Krystal Robinson
Professor Boland
English 329
17 February 2009
Autobiographical Essay V
I have noticed that my use of language shifts in various ways depending on my audience. Recently, I had an appointment with one of my English professors at CSUSB. Professor Smith’s line of expertise is linguistics. Because of this, I undoubtedly found my language shifting into a more standard form. In spite of this shift, Smith asked me if I was from the south. This is a question I’m asked frequently, although at times I tend to change my language skills. When my audiences are people who speak Standard American English, I find myself attempting to speak in that convention. On the other hand, when I am around my own, meaning family or other members of the black community, I tend to speak Black Vernacular English. I think the tendency to become lackadaisical around people of my race is due to their inability to accept a black person speaking Standard English. Oftentimes, blacks are criticized by other blacks for speaking Standard English. The criticism stems from many blacks believing that if you speak Standard English, you’re trying to be proper and speak like white people.
The negotiation to speak Standard English when I am speaking with a highly educated person like Smith is intuitive. The language shift is duly because I simply don’t want to use bad English in the presence of a linguist. I don’t think for one moment that she or any other linguist would criticize my bad use of the English language, I just feel compelled to at least try to speak the language they are accustomed to speaking. I instinctively lower my standards of speaking Standard English when I’m trying to accommodate people of my race. I do this mainly because it’s just plain ole instinct, and to avoid the criticism as well.
In my formal writings, of course, I use Standard English. The goal here is to receive a good grade on those term papers. Linguist believe that Black Vernacular English is indeed a language just as Standard American English. However, if I were to write and turn in a paper using BVE, I’m sure that I would lose several points for using bad grammar. When I am writing informally, I consciously do all kinds of weird stuff. My spelling may be off, I may forget to use the proper punctuation, and more than not, the paper is saturated with grammatical errors.

Switching Hats

For many years now I have been teaching in the church. In all the age groups I have taught the children are the most divers in the language in need too use. I need to communicate to multiple age levels, grades first to sixth at one time. Also I train new leaders and communicate with parents. In the average church day I communicate with a multitude of different people and relate with all of them. This makes the ability to switch gears invaluable.
First I teach adults in the main service. The subject is communion and or Tithe and offering. This is done by speaking from the pulpit during the service. The congregation is of varied nationality, education, and background. Communicating with this group is best done personably. This is the easy part. After I teach adults I go to kids church.
In kids church I need to appeal to the youngest and keep the oldest ones interested in lessons that they have heard over and over again. Some of them are new to church and haven’t the slightest idea what I’m talking about half the time. Some of the first graders have had the bible read to them over the first years of their life making them sometimes board with the rudimentary lesson. Like the class room setting, kids church has the kids that like to try to take over the class and do what ever they want. This challenge can be difficult but it pays off in the end when you can tell that the children actually learned something that they can take home with them. All the time I’m in class I’m also teaching the leaders coming up how to work with the kids and make a meaningful lesson.
When class is over I have to switch gears again and speak with the parents while they are picking up their kids. The visiting parents are always particularly interested in what their children had been doing and if the kids enjoyed their stay. We talk about lesson plans and the vision of the department and what the benefits are for their children.
All these thing are done with my own children watching every moment and learning in the same classroom that I am teaching in. When I go home I have to switch gears from children’s pastor to Dad. The constant switching of hats is part of the job. The challenge make the job interesting and I wouldn’t change a thing.

Educational Commodity

The article “En Los dios Idiomas” written by Marcia Farr expresses main of the dynamic of education in the Mexican family living in the U.S. The portions of the study that I found particularly interesting were the ways in which they learn literacy and that they view literacy as another group asset.
The educational backgrounds of the family group varies dependent on the ages of the members. If they are older and came to the US from Mexico many of them haven’t been educated above grade school. However the children who were born and or raised in the US are usually educated at least to high school and sometimes into a graduate degree. At home the majority of the education emphasis is directed toward religious studies on Sundays were the family gathers together to read the bible and discuss it, the more educated members reading the text. In this way the more educated are used to accomplish educated goals for the family unit. Other ways are if an important document comes in the mail that needs to be read or if one of the family members need to complete job applications. How ever I believe the most interesting way that the Mexican family uses education as a commodity is that they used the educated family members to teach the others to read and write.
By utilizing the educated members in the family in this manner the family becomes more educated and there by increasing their marketability. This is the same way that governments become stronger technologically advanced. The government increases education levels of the populace and thereby increases global strength.

Autobiography Essay Week #6

Luke Granger

Dr. B

Eng. 329

February 14, 2009

Autobiographical Essay Week #6

            This autobiographical piece may lead me into my final writing project. In the fire service, we change discourse gears in a matter of seconds in order to adapt to our environment. We do this both orally and in written text throughout the day. We do this for numerous reason and benefits. I will briefly discuss just one medical aid several rotations ago in order to portray the necessity of being able to change depending on social circumstances.

            Late one night, or maybe it was early one morning, the time isn’t important we were toned out for a stabbing. We stumble out of bed half awake and light heartedly in slight disbelief a “STABBING” occurred in our little old town of Loma Linda. We crack a couple of jokes as we dress for the call and get in the rig as we were told to “stage” until the sheriff officers secured the scene. Enroute, our instinct jolted us. As dispatch inquired as to when we would be on scene. We knew by the tone of her voice and the infrequency of the inquiry that it was from the sheriff officer’s rather than just the dispatcher’s curiosity.  We immediately put our game face on and arrived shortly to find a male face up, blood everywhere with a laceration across his neck from middle to just past the ear. We communicate quickly and to the point, as we are busy with our duty and the circumstances. We gained most of our information from what visual indicators we gathered. Talking only enough to provide care for the man, most anything anyone had to say wasn’t as important as keeping the red stuff in the body and the airway open.

            As we load the man into the ambulance, my partner cues his radio to the hospital and gives the medical staff a heads up as to the patient’s status (alive barely). He provides all the information we were able to gather during our brief time on scene. He talks slightly faster than normal, using medical terms and sounding professional as the airwaves can be monitored by anyone in the public. He gives just enough information to get the severity of the patient’s condition across so that the ER can initiate the trauma team and they will have a bed ready with the Dr.(s) on standby.

            Arriving at the hospital, my partner gives a full report to the receiving facility and paints the picture so that they can visualize the mechanism of injury. We are still serious and unsure of his outcome. Because there is nothing more we can do for the patient, we lighten our hearts as we did the only thing we could and that is to keep him alive long enough to give him a fighting chance at the best trauma center in the South West United States. We begin to discuss the call in slight disbelief and having suffered enough to know a man’s life isn’t a joking matter we maintain a sense of professionalism through our dramatization.

            The next morning we give a play-by-play to the Truck Co. and disbelief and detachment turns our discourse into an astonishing tale with light-hearted teasing. Teasing one another about not wanting to step in the blood or the look on his face when he realized his shirt was covered in goo is necessary bantering after a serious call because it’s a way to relieve the stresses and seriousness of the job. With experience this bantering comes natural and we learn to keep the topic of the jokes on one another, as it is inappropriate to use the citizens as the butt end of the jokes. They don’t call us for our entertainment, but rather for our help, which we should strive to humbly and efficiently serve them.

            In this one call we see several different modes of discourse. We see tired light-hearted encouragement to get “up” for another call in the middle of the night. We see a change to match the serious professionalism and uphold the standards in which we are trained to perform. We see radio etiquette and inter-agency communication in order to serve the public interest. We see familiar teasing as a sense of release when the time is appropriate. This is one minor aspect and small crumb of literary discourse in the fire service arena.

Brandt Precise

Luke Granger

Dr. B

Eng. 329

February 14, 2009

Precise #2 Brandt: Sponsors of Literacy

 

            Brandt’s essay demonstrates how literacy needs a sponsor in order to flourish in the world. Without a sponsor literacy can’t exist because there is no meaning to literacy and no arena to welcome it. There needs to be a reason for literacy, whether it be church, government, businesses, or family correspondences, literacy needs an excuse to be, in order to be. All these institutions support literacy by using it to get its ideologies and influences out to the people. These sponsors are unequally distributed throughout the population therefore giving more power to certain socio-economic classes.

            Brandt starts his essay off by giving a brief history of pre-war print shop life and the literacy that flourished. Prior to the invention of the printing press the print shops were incubators for literacy and political debate. When the steam press began to gain a stronghold in the market, the editors who used to run the shops were being replaced by mechanics and the print shop culture dwindled. However, the public benefited as print became cheaper and more readily available. This was an economic sponsor that affected literacy in two different ways, one being beneficial to the masses, the other being detrimental to a small community of editors.

            Brandt discusses sponsorship of literacy through magazines, advertisement and market. We see it at a young age as businesses sponsor baseball teams and have their names on their jerseys. They are unknowingly pushing literacy on society, teaching young ones to read. We see the availability of literacy, churches teaching poor and lower economic status African Americans in slavery to be capable of upward mobility in the socio-economic realm as a result of the ability to read. The sponsors of literacy explain the ideological pressures that are created at the site of literacy learning.

            Brandt discusses the unequal opportunities to literacy sponsors in the lower income society. He contributes this to the education and income of the parents and to the norms and values of the different ethnic groups. Meanwhile, higher income individuals have more available access to literacy sponsors. He gives several examples of these throughout his essay.  We see that sponsors help to organize and administer stratified systems of opportunity and access. Literacy sponsors create new literacy requirements while discrediting the older ones. 

            What Brandt is trying to prove in his essay is that without sponsors, literacy wouldn’t exist. There would be no real reason for it. Through religion, church needs it to guide them. Businesses need literate people to read about their product and sell their product to. Humans need literacy in order to communicate more efficiently and survive in the world today. Schools can’t survive without kids to teach to, another literacy sponsor. Recognizing the affects of literacy throughout the world and the absolute critical need is crucial to understanding the necessity of it.

 

Response to Sam's Protean Precise

In regards to Sam's Precise....

It seems to me like you're mentioning literacy in a lineal fashion. We have progressed from not being able to speak to perhaps speaking to writing and now even e-mailing. I want to argue that we haven't progressed. We simply use language differently. I would not say that writing a letter is more civilized than being able to tell a good story. Being able to tell a story well, one that captures the audiences imagination like when our teachers used to read to us in grade school, a good storyteller is as much a learned trait as being able to read. 

The media in which we write depends on the advancement of the society. Caveman wrote on walls, then stone, then paper, and now we type. If these transitions were linear there would be no regression. Being too dependent on advancements makes our society a very fragile one. This, to me at least, is not REAL advancement but rather a different mode of communication. More emphasis should be on verbal communication than that of written. I understand verbal is a natural progression whereas writing is not. Writing is definately a requirement in the business fields but how much GOOD writing is involved? 

What is the school system trying to do with the students? Is the goal to produce Shakespeare type students or promote individual thinking and have basic skills in order to communicate? I know that I struggle by not having a large vocabulary and that basic fundamental, I think, is more important than learning a second language in school. Being able to do basic math is a requirement before learning how to do trigonometry. Basic thinking skills, vocabulary, being able to portray ideas are the bare necessities that should be drilled into our mental fiber at a young age.

Autobiographical Essay #4

Luke Granger

Dr. B

Eng. 329

February 9, 2009

Autobiographical Essay Week 5

            The first time I was scared by language was when I was a young boy. I don’t recall how old I was or the exact date and time but it was always when my parents argued that I got scared. I don’t remember what they were arguing about but just the sound of their voices in that context was terrifying for me. Why would this affect me? After all, I wasn’t being yelled at, why was it affecting me?

Being young I didn’t understand that people could argue and have the outcome become productive. I thought my parents were arguing to hurt each other. Some of the things they said were hurtful but they weren’t doing it because they hated one another. As a small boy you don’t understand relationships and the struggles it takes to keep a marriage together. I’m 22 and don’t understand any of these things. Looking back, it is easy to see how a loud argument between my parents could scare me because I thought they were going to break up.

Usually the only time my parents used the tone of voice they used when they argued, was when my brother or I got into some mischief. Whenever we got in trouble, bad things would happen, I think this correlation between yelling and punishment was what scared me. There was pain associated with the passion in their voices. Looking up to my parents, there was no way they could do something wrong, after all, they were the ones correcting me for being wrong.

At a young age we don’t understand as adults do, and parents rarely take the time to explain what the two are arguing about. As children we usually only get the muffled sound of angry voices through bedroom walls. This I think is scarier to a young kid than when the parents argue openly in front of them. Perhaps the audience will cause the arguers to think twice before saying some of the things we do when we argue.

 My parents were never violent and have been married for almost 30 years. Surely they wouldn’t break up over an argument but being too young to understand; I had a limited perspective. As adults we may be hardened to some of the things we say but a little mind hasn’t been callused and can’t differentiate between an important argument and a superficial argument. It was also the sudden change of my parent’s demeanor. Usually loving and having an absence of conflict it was definitely a shock to have them bickering. Our language affects all around us. If what we are saying comes out hurtful and angered, than even a child can sense the bitter emotions accompanied by it even without understand why.

Autobiography IV

Autobiography 4

     After a late start in learning to read, I really was able to excel once I got the hang of things. Always the first one to volunteer during group reading, and the student that completed the most accelerated reading point books. Finally being able to read like my fellow classmates was an accomplishment I couldn’t get over. Being in a Performing Arts school, there were so many different opportunities to express one’s self. At the end of each month, there would be a talent show, followed by two larger production plays. It took me couple month’s before I felt comfortable in front of the audience.

      The first play I was ever in was Pinocchio. I was given the part of Geppetto (yea – a little 9 year old playing a old puppeteer). Being in front of the parents was not my main fear; I knew them all pretty much anyway. It was being able to really learn and memorize my lines so I wouldn’t be the only one to screw up during the performance. Before accepting the role, I would not have thought that there would be so much literacy involved. Speaking and reading were two different things. And to be honest, I was barely emerging as a new reader! Yet with the help of my family and teachers – they went over the script with my countless times. Breaking things up – and using word association so I could remember my lines really helped me a lot.

      On the night of the first performance, I was really nervous. I remember freezing on the opening scene – I had to be talking to a set of puppets. That was a little embarrassing to me even though it was part of the play. I got through it and was able to memorize all my lines. The help the teacher’s provided was amazing. They way in which they would break down my lines and help me use people’s actions as clues for what I was to say next. When I think back on that day – the actual performance was a breeze, but the rehearsals were a lot more difficult. Memorizing a bunch of lines in sequence is easy, but when you have to break them up and do scenes out of order – you really have to have studied the lines very carefully. 

Precis

Protean Shapes in Literacy Events: Ever Shifting Oral and Literate Traditions

SHIRLEY BRICE HEATH

The studies of oral and literate societies have opened to include many new various tools and techniques. Discourse analysis, econometrics, theories of schemata and framers, and proposals of developmental performance have all been used in research to seek out possible links between the oral and written language, literacy and its individual and societal consequences.

In a variety of communities, the use of written texts verse the spoken word is determined mainly by how the community works, and the way in which people communicate. We are faced with the question about what literacy really means to each of us. Who can be considered literate or illiterate? Is it possible for us to determine where a society exists along a continuum of literacy; whether the society has a restricted literacy or a full literary development?

It is easy to point out the ways in which literacy has decreased based on students’ performance on various tests, yet we fail to remember how we use literary skills on a daily basis. There are many questions we can ask regarding the concrete context of written communication. How does the information we earn in school play a role in our adult life? Do modern societies have conditions in which restrict literacy? (445)

The literacy event Heath mentions is a tool that provides valuable information on how oral and written traditions exist in communities of modern societies. Print has been incorporated into the lives of individuals that they may not even consider. It leads to the question of why we may have writing, yet not necessarily use it (446).  In reality, we come to find out that the use for the forms or texts are as/more important than what is actually on the forms or texts. This can further be stated as “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.” (446)

In a Piedmont community between 1969 and 1979, the ideas about literacy explained previously were demonstrated. Trackington is a all-Black working community, most adults working in textile mills were higher paid than the teachers and other professions within the community. From the reading, I have come to the conclusion that it depends on the community and the purpose in which they use literacy to determine whether written or spoken is more important, if any can be considered better than the other.

In Trackington, parents did not actively participate in a child’s learning as many do throughout the country. Children in Trackington pick up reading and speech skills just by observing their environment around them. When asked a question, adults respond with answers that could just as easily be directed towards an adult. Children do go to school, education is considered highly important –yet actual reading and writing are not so much a daily part of the community’s lives as we may think it is.

The individuals of the community prefer oral communication because it is more personal and social, yet written communication is incorporated in their lives heavily as well. There is a part of the study where a woman is telling her neighbors about how her son can attend a day care if she gets his papers in on time. She could easily look at the information packet and figure out her answers on her own, yet she seeks advice with the older women and they go over the possibilities and issues that she questions about how to get her son’s papers in time.

The people of Trackington use reading and writing for many different purposes, explained on page 451.

·         Instrumental – bills, addresses, phone numbers

·         Interactional – cartoon, letters, greeting cards

·         News-related – newspaper, political, distance correspondence

·         Confirmation – Bible, Brochures on products

·         Provisions of Permanate Records -  birth certificates, tax forms

·         Memory – Supportive (writing)

·         Substitute for oral messages (writing)

It has been shown in the study that the community members are not illiterate, their daily life just does not require as much writing as communities we many be accustomed too.  They find that the purpose for a piece of writing, or the explanation on how it many be later used is more important than the actual information. This was again said early. Being taught how to deal with verbal situations that are based off of a written text is much more valuable to the members of the community than just learning how to read and write the basics.

 

Dramatic Voice

I spent the majority of my life being the quiet guy who sits in the corner of the room listening to other people talk and nodding my head in agreement, such a liming. After I graduated high school I found myself with lots of time on my hands. A friend of mine wanted to goto the drama team meeting at the church. As I said before, I was the quiet one. I thought that it would be interesting to watch so said that I would go too.
We drove up to the drama directors house. The house was dimly lit as we walked up to the front door I could hear the muffled sound of conversation on the other side. It sounded like listening to a busy room with cups on you ears. We rung the bell and a few moments later the door sprung to life. The drama director opened the door and welcomed us in. He was one year younger than me, in fact we were in choir together in school. He seemed surprised that I was there, but he thanked my friend and me for coming.
To my surprise the rules were that if you came you had to participate. I seemed strange that I wasn’t nervous. In looking around the large livingroom I saw people who I knew would never attack or judge me. Being around them gave me comfort and besides, everyone was going to be doing the same thing. If we go down we go down together. We started by doing an ad-lib skit. He assigned us our general motivations. It was then that I realized that I had an advantage. I had spent so many years watching other people and listening to them speak that the character just came to me, when I opened my mouth I became an entirely different person. The quiet reclusive young man became a brash, insensitive, shallow, friend. It suited the skit perfectly. The mouths of the crowd looked like plants poised to catch insects. After we had completed the skit, the director asked me if I would be willing to do the skit for the church service. Still I felt no aversion to speaking in front of other people. I accepted and it was a good experience for me.
Now I look back to that as a defining moment. Because of that small drama club I was able to use my voice. I discovered that by using my voice I could evoke change in the way people thought. It was like becoming addicted in liberated all at once. I have since directed many of my own drama teams to teach others the same power of dramatic voice. A great deal of the work I do involves me speaking. The degree that I am now pursuing I plan on using to become a teacher. I went to that drama meeting looking for something to for the night and I turned out that I found something that I wanted to do for life. You never can tell how one event can define change.

Response to Precise for moss

I find it extremely interesting that you intend to study the fire department that you work in. In a way it eliminates some of the effect that you as an observer will have on the equation. The people that you will be watching are already accustomed to you being there. You may even be able conduct some interviews with the fire chief and the lieutenant about the way that the other firemen respond to certain training techniques. In addition you will be able to gain first hand data about the surrounding relationships.

Response to Luke's Precis on Szwed

I definitely concur with Szwed on his concept that literacy is one of the most important aspects of education. Where can an individaul go without it? Nowhere. What is the definition of literacy? Who can define it? Like Szwed said in his writing, literacy can mean different things to a variety of cultures. My definition of literacy is confined to being able to read and write with comprehension. I'm sure that a scholarly individual would expand on this meager definition extensively. As for as literature, another entitiy that Szwed discussed, what is literature? Anything that is readable? The importance of literature is to share with others one's experiences and to learn from others about those experiences. I think that excellent literaure should motivate an individual and inspire him or her as well. Szwed touch on the (5) elements of literature. I am most concerned with two of them: Text, what are we reading and being exposed to in reading such literature? Secondly, context, how are we defining or interpreting these pieces of literature? I think that in the schools whatever literature is used to educate our children should be appropiate for the classroom. Szwed stated that literaure should be current. I don't necessarily agree with him on this issue. I think that history is very important. Some of the most historical pieces of literature were written in the 18th century. Perhaps students should lend a hand in deciding what genre of literature they would enjoy reading in school. If what they want is not appropiate, the school board can always amend their choice.

Response to Sam's Precis on Frederick Douglas

All I can say is that I'm ever so greatful that I did not live in the days of slavery. I was saddened by Douglas's comment on whether or not his learning to read was a blessing or a curse: He actually believed that his learning to read was a curse. I suppose this was due to his slave owners condemnation of him for devising innovative ways to overcome his inability to read and write in the first place. However, today, I think I can speak for all Black Americans in saying that literacy is indeed a blessing. Kudos to Douglas for being the audacious soul that he was in endeavoring to learn to read and write. I am proud of him in doing so. This whole narrative sort of brings shame and embarrassment to Blacks who don't appreciate or take advantage of the opportunity that is offered to them in the form of obtaining literacy. From my perspective, as a black member of society, if our former brothers and sisters of slave owners, had the audacity to learn to read and write even in spite of the oppressed state that they were living in, then; we that are living in a state of freedom have no excusable reason for choosing illiteracy as a way of life. I wish that every Black child could read this narrative. It is quite impressive.

Response to Luke's Precis on Ethnography

I plan to observe students at the Los Oos High School in Rancho Cucamonga. During this observation, I plan to use the mode of ethnography that seems to me the most appropiate for the audience I will be observing, that is, the comprehensive oriented mode. As in my past field experience with the students at Los Osos, I will be doing a whole lot of documenting. For the most part, the teachers have identified me as a student from CSUSB, who is aspiring to become a teacher, and is visiting the classroom just to observe the students. The problem with being identified is that, as we mentioned in our classroom discussion, sometimes; when the students are aware that they are being observed, they may very well alter their behavior, substituting it for good or bad. Personally, as a participant in field experience at Los Osos twice before, I have found that some cultures are predictable. The teenage culture is one of those cultures. They seem to be all made from the same mold. Their behavior is consistent and typical. They love their ipods, their cell phones, their facebook, their text-messaging, etc.--they love technology. I think that it may be difficult to reach a precise conclusion on a culture ethnographically, when as a parent of that culture, you have been privy to it on a daily basis. Nonetheless, I will truthfully document what is presented to me in the classroom of this culture.

Autobiographical Essay # IV

Krystal Robinson
Professor Boland
English 329
10 February 2009
Autobiographical Essay # IV
I will never forget the year 1966. I was eight years old living in East Saint Louis, Illinois. During that era, one of the most prominent traveling evangelists was A. A. Allen. He would travel around the nation setting up tent meetings in local cities. In 1966, he set up a tent meeting in St. Louis, Missouri. St. Louis, a large American city, is situated not far from my little town in Illinois—actually; it’s located just across the Mississippi River. In 1966, my mother and I attended A. A. Allen’s tent meeting in St. Louis. The place was packed with people of every race who had come to receive something from God—even a miracle. I remember instruments on the platform and people singing worship songs to the Lord. I sat next to my mother, but it seems as though she may have left her seat to go elsewhere. I say this because when I experienced my first episode of fear, relative to language being spoken, it was at Allen’s tent meeting, and I don’t recall her being next to me, although I know she was somewhere in the tent..
This moment of fear scared the living daylights out of me. This is what I recall happening that night: Allen had called a prayer line for people who wanted to be saved, healed, set free, or whatever their prayer needs were. A lady went into the line for prayer. I don’t know in particular what her problem was. Apparently, she had a demon living inside her body. I can resoundingly hear Allen verbally commanding the demon to come out of the lady. He said to the demon, “Are you going to come out?” This is the language response that scared me: The demon audibly spoke with an answer to Allen. It said in a very loud voice, “No.” Again, Allen asked it if it was going to come out. Again, the demon spoke adamantly, “No.” Allen asked it a third time, “Are you going to coming out?” At this point, the demon spoke and said, “Yes, but I’ll find me somebody else,” to enter into, that is. Allen told everyone in the meeting to place their hands on a bible. This is when I don’t recall my mother being near me because I know she carried a bible and she would have placed my tiny hands on it as instructed by the evangelist. I was a young child at that time, but even then I thought the bible was representation of who God is—a protector from the wicked one.
I didn’t recognize the potency of my fear of this event until I was in my teen years. I kept reflecting back on that night, and remembering that I didn’t place my little hands on a bible. Did the demon enter into my body, I would ask my self? Or had God, being all merciful, covered me from this wicked force entering into my young body, although I had not placed my hands on the bible. At this time in my life, I believe the latter. God really is merciful, extending his mercy to all—the young as well as the old. This event remains significant because through it I learned what I know. Demons are real, but they have no control over God’s people, and I really do believe that I belong to him.

Response to Nevi's precise

Precise for Moss

Luke Granger

Dr. B

English 329

3 February 2009

Precise for Ethnography and Composition

            Moss begins her journey by introducing her problem and how she plans on researching it. By using ethnography she is able to be apart of the community she is researching instead of a distant observer. She explains how she is going to research literacy in her black community by using ethnography and examines the problems she faces by not knowing much about ethnographical research. Her essay will be a model of what we can follow in order to complete our assignment to come.

                        Our goal in ethnography is to be able to explore a community and write about it so that an outsider would know almost everything about the foreign community we studied. We should study their everyday routines, what they do, what they know, what they say, and what their physical artifacts are. We do this by observing and being apart of the community, examining and exploring everything.

            Three modes of ethnography are mentioned. Comprehensive oriented which tries to document their total way of life. Topic oriented which narrows their culture to one or more aspects of their life. Hypothesis oriented can only be done by knowing a lot about the culture in the beginning and try to disprove/prove your hypothesis by studying the culture. In a composition study it is typical to be based on literature, language and other type of communication studies. She also mentions that the theoretical perspective that the researcher adopts will influence the type of questions and techniques of collecting information to analyze. We will try to use “thick description” when writing our research projects, as thick description is to make sense of how that culture makes meaning and explaining and interpreting social action within the community. We most also gain access into the community as well as decide our participation of the community. When these things are done, we are ready to begin our ethnographic research.

            When we are doing our research, we must use triangulation to insure our perception of the action is correct. We do this by asking the informant whether or not our conclusion is right. This provides validity and reliability to our study. We must know what type of questions to ask and ask questions about those questions. Also, we need to reflect on the actions taken in regards to our being there. Was anything changed or altered. If we had not been there would an outcome be different? Why?

As I will be studying the Fire Dept. culture I will be focusing on the culture within the Dept. To be more precise, I will be studying Loma Linda Fire Dept. – B Shift.

The distinction would be unjust to the Department to label them all this way. I will be examining their lives on duty 24 hours a day 2 days at a time. On call, during training, eating and even sleeping.  The paper will be topic mode with maybe a little bit of comprehensive flair. Communications is so vast that everything we do is communication something someway. I will be beginning my exploration this Saturday and Sunday. I will be a part of the community as a Firefighter and because of this I will be subject to study as well as the studier. 

Response: Acheivement of Desire

In reading phanetics' precis on Rodriguez: The Acheivent of Desire, I was greatly saddened. Achieving your hopes and dreams should never be at the expense of driving a wedge between you and your family. I have learned that family is so very important. And, when you have nowhere else to turn, family is always there. Education is a noble thing, however, everyone is not destined to attend college. My parents produced seven children. Currently, only my baby sister has attained a bachelors and a masters degree. Myself and my oldest sister are scheduled to graduate this June with our bachelors degree. That leaves four of my siblings without a formal education. It makes no difference to any of us three that have chosen to pursue an education, whether or not our parents attende college, or whether our other siblings will make that choice. The point being, education is definitely an individual choice. It doesn't make me any more valuable than my parents or my siblings, that I chose to educate myself. They are happy for me, and I am happy for them in the careers that they have chosen. I am proud that Rodriquez chose the path of educating himself, but I am dissapointed at the unfortunate high cost he had to pay for it.

Week #3: Precis/ Critical Response to Gtaff

In this reading, The Nineteenth-Century Origins of Our Times, by Harvey J. Graff, the theme is essentially eduacation in America dating back to the late eighteenth-century. I think his main argument is against the philosophy of historian Lawrence Crenin, who advocates that literacy and education potentially can lead to a more diverse nation that has the ability to make choices. He beleived that educstion and literacy was liberating. While Crenin's premise of literacy may appear to be impressive, according to Graff, it has not been proven. Graff beleives that literacy has many other useful purposes. Although liberation may be one of the useful purposes, it is not the main core. Literacy, he says is useful for workability, adaptability, order, and morality. However, every man was not created equal from a literacy perspective. This is evident in the reading because according to Graff, throughout the nineteenth century, blacks in particular, although literate, did not have the same opportunity for equality in work or in attending schools. While blacks were eagerly interested in literacy, immigrants found a new way to become productive in the American society. Jews, however, had their own ideas about education and literacy. They were interested in education because they felt that it would increase their economic status in the states.
The interesting concept about education and literacy was developed by the dominant race of people in that era, which were white people. Most of them were conservative and viewed education as Cremin. To them, education was a liberating force that allowed them to attain a social hierarchy. Their beleif was that they could advance through education and maintain their dominance. It seems to me that the white society set the standards for education and literacy. Graff noted that blacks, although illiterate, still had the propensity for communicating effectively without the privilege of being educated like their white counterparts. They were able to participate in religious leadership roles, they had organizational skills, they were successful in the military, and they were involved in political affairs.
I think that the message is clear in this reading, that while education and literacy is important to some, and held as valuable, it may not be to other social groups. It is a choice. Graff also pointed out that regardless of the hateful things inflicted upon blacks by whites, they possessed a indomitable spirit. He writes of the black man: "In spite of violence and intimidation, the whites economic and communications power were not enough to stop black political power" Graf 229). In essence, all people are inherently born with the capacity to learn literacy, that is, if literacy is the simple act of being able to conduct oneself in a civil manner, and being able to comprehend right from wrong, (morality) and lastly, the whole concept of learning: And we all know that learning does not necessarily come from being educated.

Autobiographical Essay # III

Krystal Robinson
English 329
Professor Boland
03 February 2009
Autobiographical Essay 111
I recall being in elementary school and learning how to write. The paper, brown with large aqua lines on it, was provided to each student by the teacher. I was first taught how to make small letters, then large letters. As previously stated, the paper was lined with aqua lines, and it seemed that I always wrote outside of the lines because I wrote my letters too big. The writing experience for me was fun. When I started to write sentences, even three or four word sentences like, “I ran to mother,” were exciting to write. Later, as I improved my reading skills, I was able to attend the reading lab. In the lab they had several cards in a box. The boxes and cards were different colors. Say for instance, if your reading level was one, you would pull books from the box that was yellow. After you finished reading all of the books in the yellow box, then you were promoted to the green box, which held books for those who were on the second level of reading and so on. I moved very quickly through the boxes because I enjoyed reading so much.
Another literacy tool that my elementary school used to promote reading was having the book-mobile come to our campus. The book- mobile was a library on wheels. They would visit our school about once every month. Every student had the opportunity to browse through the rolling library and choose whatever books he or she wanted to read. We were able to check the books out until the next time the book-mobile came to our school. That gave us at least a good three to four weeks to read our books. I think all of the students were excited to be able to pick and choose the books of their choice. I did not have the privilege of having a lot of books in my house when I was growing up, so I really appreciated the book-mobile and the reading lab.
The events that took place then, have left an indelible imprint on my desire for knowledge. I understand that reading affords me the opportunity to know some things that I ordinarily would not know. Still today, I enjoy reading a good and interesting book. There is no particular type of genre that I prefer, as long as it teaches me something. The goal with literacy is to be taught and to learn. Had I not learned to appreciate books when I was an adolescent, perhaps I would feel towards them as so many young people feel towards them today—nonchalant. There are books to be written and books to be published. My dream is that one day I can author several books that will in some way encourage, inspire, motivate, and leave an indelible imprint on the mind of someone.

Autobiographical Essay # II

Krystal Robinson
Professor Boland
English 329
27 January 2009
Autobiographical Essay # II
The first book that left an indelible imprint on me was the bible. When I was a small child, about seven, my mother purchased a large family bible. It was gold and full of colorful pictures. I vividly recall constantly reading the pages of this epic book. There were four children in our house at that time with the capability of reading. More than them all, I was the one who seemed to keep possession of this book. The stories in it intrigued me to no end. The pictures stunned me as well. There was a picture of a prophet named Obadiah. Underneath his picture, there was a scripture: All it said was, “O’ Lord, how long must I wait?” Although I was a very young child at that time, my heart went out to this prophet. I can’t really explain what I felt at that time, but I think it was compassion for a suffering man.
Unfortunately, other than the bible, I don’t recall any other books being in our home. Perhaps that’s why I became so enamored with this book. Later in years, my godmother gave me two books for my birthday. The title of one of the books was Pinocchio. I loved Pinocchio and his long nose. Again, I was impressed with the colorful pictures that seemed to bring joy and happiness in my little world. I regretted that Pinocchio was a pathogenic liar, but I was still compassionate towards Pinocchio’s father when Pinocchio ran away from him. The other book I was given was titled Hansel and Gretel. I cherished these two books greatly. As for as books having a status in our home, honestly; I must say that they didn’t have a status. My parents never encouraged us to read, I just somehow discovered that I enjoyed reading on my own.
I am not being fanatical. But honestly, the last book I read in its entirety and thoroughly enjoyed it was the bible. It is difficult to describe this book, but I will try. It was the King James Version of the bible. I started reading it from the New Testament, as I had already read it before from the beginning of Genesis. It appealed to me because I believe that it is the infallible word of God, our creator. I enjoy the parables that Jesus told his disciples in the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. I’m intrigued with the stories of creation, the bondage and deliverance of the children of Israel, Moses’ calling to ministry, and the parting of the Red Sea, all of which are in the first five books: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. In the Psalms, I’m able to reflect on the goodness and mercy of our creator, while in Proverbs, I can receive a host of instructions, guidance and wisdom. In the latter part of this great book, from I Corinthians to Revelations, I can glory in the future that God has planned for me and those who believe and trust in him.

Autobiographical Essay # I

Krystal Robinson
Professor Boland
English 329
20 January 2009
Autobiographical Essay
I vividly recall my first experience with reading. It was the year 1963, and I was five years old living in East St. Louis, Illinois. I had three older siblings, a sister twelve, a brother seven, and another sister six. As I sat in the kitchen watching my older sister and brother washing the dishes, I placed my legs upon the chair I was sitting in and began to picture read their first grade book titled Fun with Dick and Jane. Simultaneously, they told me to put the book down because I didn’t know how to read. That was true, but I enjoyed looking at the colorful pictures and self determining what the words on the pages could possibly mean.
Back in those days, we weren’t required to attend kindergarten. I started the first grade at Webster elementary school. I was six years old and my first grade teachers’ name was Mrs. Smith. I learned the alphabets first. Then I learned the phonetics of the alphabets. I recall Mrs. Smith teaching the class a little song so that we could remember the long vowel sounds: A, E, I, O, and U. Te song went like this: Baby wants a cake, aaa, baby wants a cake, aaa, but mother says ah, ah, ah. Baby wants a tree, eee, baby wants a tree, eee, but mother says ah, ah, ah. Baby wants a five, iii, baby wants a five, iii, but mother says ah, ah, ah. Baby wants a rose, ooo, baby wants a rose, ooo, but mother says ah, ah, ah. Baby wants a mule, uuu, baby wants a mule, uuu, but mother says ah, ah, ah. I liked singing this little song and I learned the long vowel sounds very quickly.
The next phase, as I recall, was to learn how to read. My first grade reading book was the same one I pictured read while watching my older brother and sister wash the dishes: Fun with Dick and Jane. There were seven characters in this book: Father, mother, Dick, Jane, a dog named Spot, and a cat named Puff. The sentences were simple, such as: “See Dick run. “See Dick run and get the ball”. Nonetheless, I enjoyed reading my Fun with Dick and Jane book. It was valuable and rewarding to me. It made my childhood days seem fun. Just looking at the happy pastel colors of yellow, pink, blue, and green represented in the book made life joyous to me. Still today, I enjoy reading and I am proud to be named amongst the literate.

AB Three: The Experiment

When I was in 5th grade I was still living the life of the under achiever when it came to my studies. While I was riffling through my desk looking for one of my incomplete assignments to turn in, the teacher called me. I closed my desk and went up to her. She told me that there was a group that she wanted me to join at the school. She had selected about three other student from our class and the teacher across the hall had selected four students also. The group would meet during the silent reading time. The slacker in me jumped at the opportunity to miss class.
The first day I was in the group I looked around. Everyone who inspired fear in me was there, although none of them had actually directed their bully effort at me, their reputations echoed over the campus. What was I doing here? I fit like peas and bananas. We opened the group by telling each other what we needed help with to do better in school. They expressed their need for help to control their anger and I told them how I need help with my hand writing. The teacher talked about how we were a group and that we need to look out for each other and help each other succeed. The next day we went out and hung from the trees on the playground for our group picture to help us bond probably.
The group leader was doing some sort of experiment or observation about the effects of the insertion of a positive influence into the lives of trouble youth. It seems that I was supposed to be the positive influence. I found this new approach to literacy, emphasizing morals, to be scary and uncomfortable. I didn’t have to protest. My mother, who was, working on a degree in psychology was...well less than happy especial that I was added to the group without permission from home. Today I look back at the incident and consider their theory. I think about the social applications of education. Now the program that I was placed in would have likely resulted in me emulating the majority changing my behavior to fit in with the social unit. However, if you reverse the equation and place a struggling student in with some who are successful the poor student will likely try harder.

Response to Szwed Precis

Response to Szwed Precis
It is an interesting concept that literacy can be defined by a grander scope of what people read, that people read media everywhere, that reading is still proactive in the forms such as signs, magazines, internet, game screens, and other nontraditional forms of "educational" media. It is implied that this is natural separation from the white Anglo-Saxon cultural ideals of what education should be due to the increase of other ethnic groups in the educational system. I disagree with this position. It infers that other groups are incapable of appreciating classic works. Also it is not just non-white groups who are dissatisfied with reading the classic works, all groups seem to be equally disinterested. Race is not the culprit and neither is culture, at least not totally. However, many of the concerns about this hurdle could be over come by redefining our culture from a multiracial one to an American culture. By finding or creating a common unified ideal of culture and using the new culture to redefine our educational system we could better narrow what types of educational media to produce and study. The difficulty here, besides the glaring question of who decides what this brave new world will look like, is that communication systems are growing. If the production of transportation and communications keep advancing the way they are, the need to change our cultural definitions in education will soon need to be changed again to meet a word culture mentality to meet the needs of an ever shrinking world.
In addition, reading is less sought after as other forms of media are developed and pursued, not just by the youth of America but also the adults. TV, Movies, and music are now the preferred entertainment of the masses. Some educators have fought this, but the inclination of most people is to do things the easy way, making this proverbially, kicking against the pricks. This madia should be embraced and we should incorporate reading to coincide with the use of multimedia resources.

Response AB East of Eden

At times I find it amazing how many people say that the have had contact with the bible and that the knowledge of the biblical stories have, in one way or another given them insight to the deeper meaning to many stories. It probably shouldn’t surprise me though because many stories mirror the bible. East of Eden defiantly being one of them. You can also see it many of the popular movies that have been made, "Star War", "The Lord of the Rings", and "Tombstone" to name but a few. The Bible is used as one of the ways we define literature even if only for the sake of defining the concepts of good and evil. I’m sure that you will find that the books by Christopher Paolini you will find that there are many biblical overtones.

Autobiographical Essay #3

Learning to read is difficult. It is frustrating and time consuming, but so rewarding once you get it down. I struggled the first six weeks when they rushed me to learn to read before I entered the 3^rd grade. It was a major chip in my self esteem to practice “Sam can ride with Pat” with the Kindergarten Class next door. It was even more embarrassing to have to walk back into my classroom after their reading lesson was completed. I was so embarrassed; I didn’t even take the time to notice that no one even cared that I couldn’t do their lessons yet. They were just glad their classmate was back and the rest of the day was going to continue. Soon that part of my life where I was so conscious of what others thought of me would fade away. The more I practiced and worked on my skills, the better my reading would become. By the time I was in sixth grade, I was finally able to fully enjoy reading; everything about it.

My sixth grade teacher tried to relate class to our everyday life. Instead of grades and points – we earned a paycheck for our turned in homework assignments, our clean desks, and our daily class work assignments. With our money we were to pay rent (our desk and chairs), borrowed supplies, and even little gifts at the end of the month. My favorite part of it all was the overtime we could work towards getting. My teacher made reading extra credit if you would call it. Every page of an approved book would receive a certain amount. I used to love this part of my homework (even though it was considered extra credit, we did have other required readings too). Each week I would choose a new book, determined to finish every page by the end of the week. I would be praised for my hard efforts. Something I realized I craved more than anything – the recognition that I excelled in my readings. Once other students realized how many points they could acquire from reading and seeing that I did so much, they began reading more as well. My teacher pointed out to me that because I worked so hard – I was able to show the other students that the hard work pays off. Prizes were a big incentive, but my classmates were starting to get used to reading – the class’s scores as a whole were improving.

I was already beginning to learn I loved reading before I began the sixth grade. However, I am glad I was able to experience my teacher’s strategy to get students to read more. Making something that is generally pushed upon or made into a chore in to something fun and exciting helps students so much more easily. Today when I pick up a book to read, I think about how much more value I can add to my life with what may be hidden in the pages. With that thought in mind, I don’t believe I will ever lose my interest in reading.

Autobiographical Essay # 3

Luke Granger

            My first positive school experience with literacy was in the 3^rd Grade at Grandview Elementary School. I caught on to reading fairly quick and by the third grade I was above average in comparison to my fellow classmates. For this reason the teacher took several of us better readers and asked us to participate in a B.E.A.R. reading class. I forget what B.E.A.R. stands for now, but it was a program for the slightly older kids to help teach the younger ones how to read.

            This program was two fold. It boosted the helper's confidence as well as benefited the younger kids by having someone of the same mind set and fresh with conquering the same struggles as these kids were going through help them. We would spend a half hour to an hour once a week at the library reading a book with the younger kids, helping them with the words they didn’t know or had trouble with. It made the helpers proud that we were chosen to help and that the little kids looked up to you so much that it forced you to legitimately want to help them succeed. For a brief moment you got to see what it felt like to be an influence in someone’s life even when you don’t think you’re doing anything special.

            As teachers, cops, fireman, parents and just responsible members of today’s generation we must not forget that everyone around us is impressionable. Younger kids especially, don’t recognize whether they are absorbing vinegar or water in their sponge like minds. Teaching fire prevention at the elementary school or doing a station tour as Sparky has affirmed my belief that we do make a difference in the world by affecting the generations below us; whether it be for better or worse. Be cognoscente of your actions and what they may perceive.

            It starts with taking our own thoughts captive. When we know who we are, what we stand for, and why we do and act the way we do is where we begin to have the capability to analyze ourselves. When we figure ourselves out then we can recognize what we need to change. I am not perfect, I know there are many things in my heart and in my actions I need to change, but like an addict, we must first recognize our problems before we can fix them. When we recognize are faults in ourselves we can then conquer them so those we hope to help don’t view it as an acceptable norm. Literacy, especially in kids start far beyond a text. The way we dress, flaunt, walk, talk, act the values we believe in, all these are being read whether we like it or not by those around us. We are a walking advertisement of our being, just like the logo we wear on our shirts, we’re being read and notes are being taken by the ones we are around.

Response to Achievement of Desire

In regards to Phanetec's Precise: As I explore the concepts brought about throughout "The Achievement of Desire" I come to contemplate a deeper meaning in the texts. It tells more about the culture of education and questions the fulfillment of education in our lives. We are brought up learning the white Anglo-Saxon education culture and values. We read the books and those books portray the morals that the dominant culture has set forth as valuable. This impression effectively strips any other varying culture's identity. As seen in the emptiness he experiences when he should have been happy. It was not who he was, the dominant culture had forced down goals that he realized were not necessary to his happiness. Some people in life are not meant to go to college, they are more apt to work with their hands and work with their back. I know several individuals who know more about wildland fire behavior and tool maintenance than I ever will, but they wouldn't know how to write an essay. Different people are born to do different things, rather than molding everyone into a common mold we should perhaps try to enhance people's natural talents when we find out what they are. Embrace our varying cultures and embrace our differences by enhancing them, rather than hiding them.

Szwed Precis

 Luke Granger

Szwed Precis

“Literacy would appear to be one of the few elements of education that everyone agrees to be a necessity of modernity,”(421) states John Szwed. Throughout his discourse on literacy, Szwed questions to define literacy and how it is important today. He clarifies that what we perceive as literacy should be re-examined, as different ethnicities and different socio-economic classes may read different things that society doesn’t construe as literature. He stresses that literature affects lives, as it is one of the key factors in getting along in today’s society. He mentions five elements of literacy – text, context, function, participants and motivation.

Texts, what do we read and write? Szwed tells us that circulation and sales figures can’t tell us about what is read or how much is read because we borrow books and magazines, we share newspapers at restaurants and bus stations. Keeping in mind that Szwed wrote this before the invention of the internet, his writings would surely have in them notes regarding the amount of information shared on the internet via e-mail, websites, and blogs. Szwed also mentions that different cultures read different materials, graffiti for example can be read, gambling slips, pornographic material, juke box labels, cereal box labels, etc. These things are literature, but cannot be recorded or tested as literature prowess. Typography is also mentioned as the type of text used in order to affirm authority, as seen in Helvetica type, used by the government and large business logos throughout America.

Context, function, participants and motivation are all interlaced with why and what circumstance is reading and writing done. Szwed cites different ways that we read, grocery store signs and their locale, vacation readings, religious reading and he also illustrates that the cultures we grow up with affect our reading ability. In the Native American group, it was found by Susan U. Philips, that if children were not read to at home, they were likely to encounter difficulties in learning to read. “Educators often assume that reading and writing form a single standard set of skills to be acquired and used as a whole by individuals who acquire them in a progression of steps which can not be varied or avoided in learning,”(426) states Szwed.  We immediately notice the faults in the assumptions made by the educators. How can we as a variety of different cultures be taught to as one? The white-Anglo-Saxon culture is at its decline and crowning is a new generation and new culture.

Literacy must too evolve in a way that is productive, and not cheapen or debase culture, language and literature. To test youth on literacy skills and to teach them literacy skills with texts that are out of date and out of touch with the new generational norms is unfair. Szwed emphasizes that we, as a society, “need to look at reading and writing as activities having consequences.”(428) Our goal should be to instill the ability to read and write by utilizing the most appropriate means to achieve this goal. This will almost certainly mean branching out into areas typically unorthodox. I would have benefited reading books that motivated me to read because I would have read them rather than “sparknoted” them and grasped stronger the concepts being taught at an earlier age.