Precis #2: Gee and the Nature of Discourse

Gee, James Paul. "Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics." Literacy: A Critical Sourcebook. Eds. Ellen Cushman, Eugene Kintgen, Barry Kroll, and Mike Rose. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2001. 525-544.

“We all have many Discourses,” claims Gee in his article, “Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics (526). This statement is decidedly true. I myself have a myriad of Discourses if you consider the breadth of what Gee considers to be Discourses. For example, I am a student of literature, I am an American, I am a woman, etc. With the idea that what we claim ourselves to be, what our immediate identity is at the moment, how are we to categorize and explain these many Discourses in a sensible way. Gee has presented to us his explanation and example of exactly how to do this.

Initially Gee explains the basics of a Discourse: “A Discourse is a sort of “identity kit” which comes complete with the appropriate costumes and instructions on how to act, and often write” (526). With this individualism between Discourses firmly cemented into our minds Gee must now delve further into defining each Discourse or, discourse. First we are broken down to decipher the differences between primary and secondary Discourses. The primary describes an initial learned Discourse that branches from the family and extends to our later interactions with anyone we become intimate later in life with. The secondary Discourse can be described as one we acquire once we have branched from our families, once we enter churches, schools, or community groups (527).

Then we must decipher between dominant and non-dominant discourses, which Gee considers to be secondary Discourses. These dominant/non-dominant discourses are concentrated on the acquisition of goods. While the dominant is used to acquire necessary and social goods, such as money and status, the non-dominant focuses on finding comfort and protection in a single social network (528).

By focusing on and defining the different levels of discourses, Gee can continue to explain the purpose of discourses in language and literacy. For without the Discourses that everyone contains the process of explaining literacy is unable to be done. We must first fully understand our own Discourses and others to explain there interaction with each other, in order to define literacy.

Auto 5: Discourse Shifts & Level of Verbal Formality

After observing shifts in my own verbal discourse over the past few days I have come to the conclusion that my verbal level of discourse can be put on a scale from one to five. One stand at the most informal setting and five is the highest level of spoken formality. I find that at the most informal level is my discourse and speech that I share with my boyfriend. It is open to anything and a little silly at times, which is why I scored it as the most informal. I believe that the fact that we live together also creates this heightened level of informality. My mother on the other hand, whom I am very close to, but no longer live with, can be scaled at a two. It was difficult to determine the placement of my mother, because I feel that generally my mother and my boyfriend should be on the same level: somewhere in between 1 and 2. I have noticed though that my voice actually deepens from my oral discourse with my boyfriend to my mother, and even more so as formality increases in the scale. I think this is because my speech is becoming more direct and concrete, and my points are being made more clearly as the formality increases.

On level three I find my friends. These are my friends outside of college; the ones I have known for years or simply never discuss scholastics with. Even on this level though, I find a discourse difference between each friend, which may also comment of the education level of the individual I am speaking with. My closest and longest friend of 13 years, Vanessa, seems almost to be at a 3.3 level. While Vanessa and I are close we find little to talk about outside of daily life due to the fact that after High School I went straight to college, and she chose to work and eventually start her own family. Another friend of mine named Kyle seems to be at a 3.6 (I have only known him for roughly 5 years). He also has not attended college, but is an avid reader and is constantly interested in learning. Due to this I relate to him on a closer level intellectually than with Vanessa. My last close friend is Derek, whom I have only known for about 2 years. I would probably rate my discourse with him at a 3.9. His own discourse is what elevates my own, I believe. Derek is a very proficient speaker, and his speech is extremely honest and blunt. This is something that I consider a quality, for I am blunt myself. It is interesting to note that Derek has also attended some college in his life, which is more than either of my other close friends. Do I intend my oral discourse to be determined by a level of education? Of course not, for both my boyfriend and mother have higher levels of education than any of my friends. Apparently though, when it comes to my friends (who I do not live with), there is an obvious subconscious level of change where I determine my level of informality and formality based on education.

Level four I reserve for my fellow peers in school and if I was currently working, probably my co-workers. With these people I find myself needing to meet there level of discourse, and for that reason I level them fairly high for I feel I need to be more formal in order to do so. At the highest level of formality (5) in my oral discourse I categorize my speech with professors, bosses, and individuals at a school in which I am observing at. As I stated before my voice deepens and becomes clearer with the elevation of formality and at level five I am very clear and concise. I find it interesting to note that my discourse lies on the most basic level of hierarchy: family, friends, peers, and professionals; but that also (with the exception of family) I subconsciously classify my discourse based on the assumed level of education with the person I am speaking with.

Response to Brandt

Dear Chewy Coyote,

Your precis on Brandt was very informative. When I initially heard her term of "sponsor"I thought the essay would explore the motivations that push people toward literacy. I was surprised to learn that there is more to sponsorship. It can open doors and also closed doors. Her essay talked about the need for people in the workforce to gain literacy.

Negotiation; Autobio 6

The variables that seem to most influence my shifts in discourse include the person I am negotiating with and the sensitivity of the topic. Negotiations I have mostly occur orally and if it is written it is in the form of email, instant messaging, texting, or leaving comments on facebook.com.

Towards my younger sister and my mother, members of my family whom I most closed to, I express my feelings or complaints first regarding the subject and then proceed to work out a plan. Even if the negotiation is as trivial as the order in which we hit the stores in the mall we still consider anyone’s preferences but mother has the final say. In matters between my siblings, no matter how we feel against a decision, we usually listen to the eldest sibling’s decision. Formalities are not necessary within the family, but I feel obliged to keep some formality when I negotiate with my father. At times I don’t think I want to even try negotiating with him in fact I don’t think “negotiate” is the right word. My mother and I have this tactic where we make him believe he came up with the plan originally but we had laid some foundation for the result we intended. That tactic is usually involves exhausting every and any logical and reasonable argument before resorting to pathos.

In negotiations with cohorts and peers, I find that is best to begin saying something to the extent of “If it’s alright with you” because it seems to be the best way to get started with group projects. I never like to assume the leadership role unless I feel there is a pressing need for it. Having many experiences with class group work, I find it very annoying when someone suddenly becomes the “boss” when there was no instruction to assign one. Some people are happy to follow a good leader and some people would rather do the group assignment individually as much as possible.

In all cases where negotiations are made I always try to keep in mind ways to approach people with maximum respect. Even if it’s a child or someone much younger than me, people are more likely to abide with the stipulations of the negotiation if they feel respected. I try to make an effort to consider the perspectives and feelings of those involved as much as possible.

AutoBio #5- Literacy Interaction

As I begin to write this assignment I step back into time and truly wonder how many times I use oral and written language on a daily basis. I realize how significant our use of literacy is throughout our everyday tasks. From the morning we get up, we look at (read) the alarm clock then we rush to get ready for wherever we need to go or do. We set our coffee maker and use our microwaves. When driving we have to be conscious of our speed limit, signs and lights. Even more interesting is that literacy is a multi-functional tool that serves to accommodate our everyday lives from simple to more complex tasks.

What’s most appealing to me is that all of us interact with oral and written communication on different levels. For example, a teacher may be equally bound to using both oral and written literacy within the classroom whereas a real estate agent needs to show the upmost friendly and social communication skills to make a sale. At home, my language usage is more informal than it would be at work, school, party, dinner table, etc... thus, social community matters. For example, it’s unavoidable to quarrel (goof around) daily with my brother at home where bad words and tricks are exposed. In contrast, I talk more formally (with more respect) to my sisters and parents. I’ve come to realize that literacy is integrated and needed for human survival. We are all active participants and connected in this literacy world.

Deborah Brandt: Sponsors of Literacy

Cushman, Ellen, Kintgen Eugene R., and Kroll Barry M.. Literacy-A Critical Sourcebook. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2001.

In the world of literacy during the mid-nineteenth century, there came to life, the inventions of what is called steam press which reorganized the economy of print industry. This new form of mass printing brought an end to certain potentials in literacy as well as different kinds of literacy sponsorship. Throughout the fluctuation of time and generations, literacy has been traced as both rising and falling with each new wave of new technologies and ideas. There is an attempt to connect literacy as an individual development with literacy as an economic development. This approach is known as sponsors of literacy, with the idea that “sponsors” are tangible reminders “that literacy learning throughout history has always required permission, sanction, assistance, coercion, or at a minimum, contact with existing trade routes” (556). The concept of sponsors is used to clarify human relationships and ideological pressures that arise from the world of literacy. Literacy sponsors affect learning by organizing such systems that create opportunity and access, and they raise the bar of literacy, in struggles for competitive advantage which makes things more complimentary for the average individual.
Brandt uses two cases as examples of “literacy diversion.” Both of the narratives used are the stories of woman who both work “in subordinate positions as secretaries, in print-rich settings where better-educated male supervisors were teaching them to read and write in certain ways to perform their clerical duties” (568). Both of the women took what they were exposed to at work, and diversified it to help them with personal aspects of their life. Carol white took the idea of Anecdotes from her boss, and began creating her own colorful anecdotes to do door-to-door missionary work as a Jehovah’s Witness. Sarah Steele explained how she began to model her very own household finances after the attorneys of whom she worked with. The picture being painted is a pattern of how such opportunities for literacy acquisition open up a kind of clash between old and new sponsorships, and between “the lingering presence of literacy’s conservative history and its pressure for change” (570).
It seems after reading and understanding all the theories of literacy learning among all classes, that this idea of a “sponsor” plays an even larger role throughout the entire realm of literacy and language. The essay breaks this concept down, and explains the histories behind, and even gives specific examples, however, there seems to be a great deal that has not yet been mentioned. Such as the professional writer who is struggling to publish. How does a writer connect his/her private world with that of the public realm and create material that is both culturally and socially acceptable? There are hundreds of oppositions that must be adequately balanced in the world of literacy.

Week 6-autobio

This quarter alone, has been one of the most interesting areas of school with the idea of literacy and methods of communication. It is so intriguing to acknowledge just how much an average individual changes their modes of speaking and shifting discourse gears in their normal day-to-day routine. Taking the time to really listen for my own shift in discourse has proven that I myself actually shift discourse gears everyday. Aside from someone who swaps between one language and another, I change discourses just within the English language. A great example of this, is in my writing: both in class note taking, and the daily communication through text messages. Looking at my class notes alone, there are several instances where I begin to write out complete sentences, and then almost immediately begin to make abbreviations, and simple codes that stand for a more complete or complex thought. This is done involuntarily in a way that helps me to gather as much information and transfer it from ear to paper and ink, while still being caught up with what is being discussed in the class. Text messaging is a great example of this kind of code making in literacy today. It doesn’t matter how professional a situation or person is, because in the “community” of text messaging, it is easier, faster and more room efficient to make abbreviations, or spell words wrong on purpose, so long as you get your message across. In my own personal experience in this circumstance, I was texting my friend, who was actually once my high school AP English teacher. She presents herself as a very intellectual and “grammatically sophisticated” individual in her work environment, and even occasionally outside of the work environment. I have noticed that this image of sophisticated language discourse immediately changes when she communicates through text messages. Almost every word is spelled wrong, or incorrectly abbreviated, but the fact of the matter is, I still understand exactly what she is communicating.
Another important kind of shifts in communication takes place within my own household. This year, I rent a room from one of my old assistant coach and his family. They have a 16 month old little boy named Spencer, who has been taught several different signs (of actual sign language) in order to communicate what he wants. He knows the signs for words or phrases such as “Hungry” “more food” “bottle” “bath” and “diaper change”. It is interesting for me to sit and observe Spencer and his mom communicating with one another. Spencer’s mom shifts from speaking verbally, to strictly making the hand gestures in order to help Spencer to have a smooth transition from not being able to speak, to speaking pretty fluently.

En Los Dos Idiomas

Marcia Farr is a participant observer in the ethnography of communication among Mexican immigrants. The study involved forty-five people with an education range from zero to eight years and was concluded throughout five years in Chicago (on weekends) and six weeks in Mexico. There were two ranchos that were observed that were the complete opposite of each other, however they both practiced literacy whether acquired through schooling or not. The men from the rancho of Guanajuato achieved literacy without formal education. They learned it lirico meaning informally by others who only spoke the language. In Michoacan, they learned it school based. In addition to the importance of literacy whether oral or written, another important role within these two ranchos (communities) is the concept of compadrazgo: the Mexican system of godparent like relationships that function as a reciprocal exchange network to facilitate economic survival and provide emotional and social support (Farr P 468). Because of compadrazgo it is essential for the Mexicans to maintain close relationships and more importantly, stay in contact with each other thus emphasizing the importance of literacy whether through writing letters or telephone calls.

The significance of this study is to acknowledge that learning literacy isn’t just limited to an education. It can just as well be achieved through informal practices. In addition, literacy plays a key role in keeping connections with family members and compadres where trust and commitment are essential in producing learning and teaching among themselves. Furthermore, I can relate to many of these circumstances and experiences because of my family background. My parents are also immigrants who came from a rancho with limited schooling. They had to focus on work to survive. My mother taught my dad letters and numbers and to at least be able to sign his name. In addition, my mother has acquired a lot of the English language informally by just hearing it spoken. It’s truly significant how one is able to learn literacy and use it under any condition.

Harmful Verbal Literacy; Autobio 4

Roller coasters, boogie men below my bed, and the fear of losing a loved one all do not compare to my daily fear of disappointing my parents and anyone important. Only recently I noticed how most of my decision making is driven by the hope that one option was better than others because it prevented disappointment. I know I don’t live solely for those people and I can become disappointed with myself, but their hopes and expectations become my own. Sometime in elementary school that group of important people included teachers. I spent some seven hours with teachers, five days a week for most of the year—naturally I recognized them as authoritative figures that should be respected almost like parents.

I made one measly mistake in second grade. One mistake the teacher felt necessary to expose to the class. One mistake that resulted with me writing ‘I will not leave my lunch box in front of the door because others may get hurt’ a hundred times. Of course my classmates would not trip over it, but she would the way she stormed through the door. Yes, I can go on about how the details of that day indicate that she had as much blame in my forgetfulness but I will never forget her public verbal tongue lashing. “Who is the irresponsible idiot who left their lunch box here…I could have fallen, I could have gotten hurt, don’t you realize how old I am, how could you hurt your teacher!?” Denying I was the irresponsible idiot was not going to happen, not while my peers were quick to glance at me. I was embarrassed. To talk back and explain myself was simply not an option at seven years old. But nothing stung more than her recognition that the irresponsible idiot was me. You have to realize, before that day I had gained a wonderful academic reputation and I was well liked by teachers including her. It’s like she took all the past compliments, all the proud smiles and acknowledgments back when she said “I am very disappointed in you.” I remember turning in the scribbled pages of redundant torture she asked for and all she said was “I couldn’t believe it was you.” I remember apologizing, but in my heart it was not because of my petty crime, but because I caused her disappointment and she told everyone I was an ‘irresponsible idiot’. With those two words, she lowered my self esteem and condemned me as one of the dumb kids always acting up in class for attention.

I hate public scolding. I hate receiving it and I hate witnessing it between teachers and students especially when students are not free to explain themselves. I can’t help but sympathize for my peers and even though I am innocent, I still feel just as bad as they might. I want to yell back at teachers and tell them to take it outside like it’s a special brawl for the sake of that student, guilty or not they shouldn’t have to endure the humility. Some people might argue it’s the best way to teach someone a lesson, I’d say it’s a way to make enemies. I never went out of my way to pull a prank on my teacher, but I failed to stifle my hysterical laugh when she sprained her ankle tripping on her own foot. My relationship with her was never the same thereafter; I couldn’t forgive her the way I forgave my parents for irrational disciplinary actions. I never left my lunchbox carelessly around but that incident was the first for me and the last time I gave subsequent teachers any cause to embarrass me. All I’m saying is, there is a time and a place for disciplinary actions toward students and public humiliation should be a last resort.

AutoBio #4

I consider my bilingual ability (Spanish) as an asset. I constantly find myself needing to go back and forth with these two languages whether at home, work or out in the street. The most significant moment I've used this language ability, not only spoken but written was when my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. From the beginning of her diagnosis I was able to accompany her everywhere. It was crucial for her to know all the steps involved in order to begin her treatment. In this case, as in many others, I realized that it was so significant to have the ability to communicate in both spoken and written languages. I had to serve not only as a comfort zone but interpreter as well. The day they diagnosed her, my mom was only focusing on the horror of having the cancer and what might happen, she was not focusing on the documentation needed and further steps involved.

My focus was on getting any type of available help/programs that would help my mother financially to further proceed with her treatment. I immediately asked for help with programs available , forms and further appointments, as well as a doctor. Day after day I was either calling or completing forms for her to get the immediate help that she desperately needed. I was able to get a state approved cancer program for all of her future medical needs. I realized that although my mother could've gotten help through other means, it would have definitely taken longer and maybe she wouldn't have qualified for the program. I used my literacy skills to act quickly on a very important, personal concern. Thankfully, my mother is alive and doing extremely well. I think this situation futher demonstrates the importance of literacy and how effective it is within our everday lives.

Autobiographical Essay #4: Talking at Two

I don’t remember much of my early years, but according to my mother I was a very interesting toddler when it came to speaking. I apparently chose to speak in my own wonky language until the age of two when I could speak in complete sentences. My mother used to always tell me, I was unlike other children in the sense that other children would say single words as they began to learn to speak, such as “cat” or “ball,” but I waited until I could clearly ask, “May I have the ball?”

In retrospect I can see that this system of waiting until I learn the entirety of something has followed me throughout my life. While other students learned lessons, such as a mathematics problem or essay structure, part by part, I absorbed everything until I was sure I could perform the lesson properly. Seeing as to perform mathematics properly you must understand all parts individually prior to a proper completion, I am still not very good at math today. However, essay writing always seemed more fluid to me: there was room for error and revision. Still it was not until I was in my freshman composition class in college that I truly comprehended the essay concept and then I flourished. While my system worked for me in some aspects of my study, it equally did not in others.

It wasn’t until my sophomore year in high school, when I was taking my first psychology class that my mother told me about my insistence on complete sentences as a child. I was quiet pleased when I heard about this; it was cool to think that I waited to speak until I could be properly understood, and it gave my some insight to my dilemma of essay writing at the time. It was helpful to realize that though I didn’t understand the individual purpose for the parts of the essay structure, i.e. introduction, body, and concluding paragraphs, by themselves once I looked at the essay structure as a whole it would click. It did. Once I saw the introduction as not only a paragraph, but a comment for what was to come in the body and as assistance to the conclusion, essay writing became all the more easier. I just had to put purpose behind what I was writing, just like I had to put purpose behind what I was saying as a child.

Autobiographical Essay Five

When I was a toddler, my mother said she was often times worried about my speech development, because I was still not talking at an age where I should’ve begun putting simple words together. My family still tells stories today, of how I would merely point and grunt, as a way of communicating what I wanted. My mom said she tried to “help” my speech development by clearly telling me to say what I wanted. However, I proved difficult as I would not budge, and only continue to point and grunt, until the crying started. After many phone calls to the Dr., my mother was reassured that this was in fact normal, and that I was in a phase that would soon pass. Sure enough, this was so, and I finally began speaking, and putting simple words together and eventually forming complete sentences. However, there soon arose another problem by the time I hit the age of 2 ½; I began to develop a stutter and this continued on for months. At this point in my life, I can gather the facts through my own memory, instead of just what I was told by my mother and family.
I have vague memories of attempting to speak, and having my aunt Linda telling me to stop, to think about what I wanted to say. At that point, I knew there was something wrong with the way I spoke. After about the age of 4 ½, my stutter was noticeably fading and I remember hearing my mothers praises for my progression. This was one of the first times in my young life, where I felt assured of my self and abilities to communicate with other human beings. Soon after, my aunt would make comments as to how much I was “growing up” and “talking like a grown-up” which made me feel triumphant in my small world. These memories of feeling accomplished however, are not as vivid in my mind, as were the times when family members (such as my aunt) would tell me to slow down, and remember to think about what I am “trying” to say. These memories of failure are what have stuck with my to this day, as opposed to those short-lived moments of finally feeling accepted into the world of language; at least within my family.

Moss: "Ethnography and Composition: Studying Language at Home"

Moss, Beverly J.. Ethnography and Composition: Studying Language at Home. Carbondale: Southern Illinois: Methods and Methodology in Composition Research, 1992.


Beverly J. Moss writes on her experience of doing an ethnography of the African American church, and goes about the tactics and methods in which create a valid collection of analysis on a particular community. Moss was inspired by Shirley Brice Heath's "Ways With Words" and claims "Heaths work validated [her] desire to do research that connected with [her]...because [she] was convinced that finding out what students did outside class was the key to helping them succeed in school" (388). Ethnography essentially is the study of community of people, and how they act, speak, and live in their daily lives. the goal of a successful ethnographer should be to describe a community so that an outsider may understand that community just as a participating community member would. Moss identifies Hymes ideas that ethnography can be broken down into three major categories or inquiries: Comprehensive-oriented ethnography, (which is a way that seeks to describe a total way of life) topic-oriented ethnography (picking only one major focus in a study) and hypothesis-oriented ethnography, which can only be acquired through the use of the two other inquiries of ethnography. Moss claims that generally speaking, ethnography connects with "phenomenological-oriented culture perspective" in the idea that ethnographers can focus on a select number of individuals within a community, and observe what they do and say, so that they can understand below the surface emotions and feelings. Certain methods an ethnographer would create are things such as taxonomies and cognitive maps, and they would need to find a way to gain access to a community, as well as keeping a conceptual framework in mind. A successful ethnographer collects data and analysis's that "consists of recognizing patterns and relationships that emerge from the framework" and the developing it into a coding scheme which transfigures them into categories (391). Moss claimes that one of the most important lessons to be learned from creathing an ethnography is that ones experience is not reproduced through literacy, but must be understood as a narration.

Critical Response: It is insightful to see that many times, ethnographers choose to write on their own community of which they are famaliar, and they are then choosing to re-adjust their mindsets on something which would have otherwise been seen as the norm. These individuals who choose to study their own community must choose to keep an open mind about the community, and must be willing to ask questions without having an immediate answer. With this being said, there seems to be a few flaws in this logic that states such an ethography on one's own community is the hardest to do of all. This can be argued either way, but initially it is understood that the gaining of access or acception of the community has already been accomplished. One of the most interesting ideas on this study of a particular culture or community, is the fact that you must "fit in" or not be noticed, in order to gain unfaltering data. Once a community member notices you, they are at risk of acting differently from how they "normally" would, which could cause other community members to follow the same pattern, which ultimately leads to a set of invalid observations and field notes.
In connection with thinking about literacy, it is interesting to think of your data you collect as a professional ethnographer, should not be a series of notes, or a collection of writing for others to merely read, but it should in fact been seen as a narrative or memoir of your experience among a particular group of people. This idea of literacy can be quite complex and interesting because, when one goes back to tell a "real-life" story, things will always be less accurate of what really happened. This is this interchangable tie between "story-truth" and "happening-truth". what makes a good story, as to what really happened?

The Power of Choice

Up until my junior year in high school I saw essay writing to be a necessary evil. Required writing was tedious and pointless in my mind so the concept of even enjoying it a little was ridiculous to me. However, when I was first given the option to choose my essay topic, a whole new world of possibilities opened up to me. Before my junior year I already knew that I found my English classes to be easier than the rest of my classes, but it wasn’t until I found a teacher who I could relate to that I actually enjoyed them. The first thing my junior year English teacher did on the first day of class was introduce himself and provide us with some knowledge about his past. It turned out that teaching was not his first choice. In fact his initial dream was to become an actor and he went to an acting school in New York for a few years prior to changing his mind. A light bulb turned bright on in my mind that day. I had finally found a teacher who was like me, one who wanted to become an actor as well. Opportunities presented themselves immediately, not only could this teacher understand me, but for the first time I could write about my passion for an adult who would truly understand it and not think it was just a pipe dream, or cute.

Perhaps it was the fact that I was finally tuned in to what a teacher was saying in class, but I did surprisingly well in English that year. I enjoyed the reading, while always visualizing the novels characters on stage and myself in my favorite role. I began giving presentations on books as if the classroom was my stage and not just a torture chamber. The best part of the class though was the first time I wrote a true research paper. Our teacher told us to choose a person, alive or dead, that we admired and to write a five page paper about them. Being prone to my musical theater obsession, and at that particular time the musical “Chicago”, I chose to write about the shows choreographer, Bob Fosse. I had recently seen a musical based on his dance style, and which was named after him, and I loved it. So I chose to research and write about Bob Fosse, and as I researched two things ran through my mind constantly: (1) My teacher will really enjoy reading my paper, because of our mutual theatrical passion, and (2) I better write a really good paper, because my teacher probably knows more about my subject than I can research about. After all Bob Fosse is one of the top three great names in musical theater choreography, so my teacher was bound to know him.

I researched and researched for this paper, and I must have edited it at least ten times. When I turned it in I had the best grade in the class, and after a final edit (allowed to the class), I had achieved full points on the biggest project of junior year English. I found myself helping my fellow students with grammatical errors and phrasing choices in their essays without knowing what I was doing. My teacher even asked to keep my paper to use as an example in classes he would have for the following years. With the ability to choose my writing topic and a little understanding from my teacher I excelled that year and realized two things: (1) It is okay if I want to be an actor today and later choose to be a teacher, and (2) I really liked the idea of becoming the latter.

A Pleasureable Literacy Experience


Thinking back to my teenage years, I recall a literacy experience which was very satisfying after completing. I was in the 6th grade. I truly enjoyed reading at that time, whether in school or at home. I loved books.This experience is on a book report. However, it wasn't your typtical book report of reading and writing a one page summary and/or response. This involved many steps. First, we had to find and read a book of our choice. Then we had to decorate a brown cardboard shopping bag with handles to emphasize the theme of our book. Inside the bag we had to include three important things that represented the story. I did mine on Little Red Riding Hood. I used red construction paper to cover the bag and added a cut out shape of a little girl's face in the front. I used gold glitter to decorate the title of the book and handles of the bag. Inside the bag I included a small red hood-represent the girl, a small toy wolf to represent the evil and a small basket that represented love.

This was not an easy project for me. However, it has been a very unique learning experience. I felt very proud and satisfied when I completed it. It was even more fun to see the other students' work and decorations. In a way, this activity helped me feel better about myself, in addition to being more creative.

Journals Then and Now (Autobio 3)

A positive schooled experience with literacy learning I recall was in third grade when my class began writing in journals. Everyday, the teacher shared a quote or asked a general question usually about what we could remember about yesterday’s topics. My favorite journals to respond to were “wonder why” tasks. For example, the teacher will say “I wonder why the sky is blue” and in our journals we would do our best to answer that question however imaginatively we wanted. I often wanted to use words that I didn’t know how to spell. Even though it was acceptable in those days to sound it out as close as possible, I felt compelled to have the correct spelling. We were allowed to share our journals to our peers for a moment and I hated hearing I was a ‘dummy’ from a fellow peer for not spelling a certain word correctly. It was fun sharing my ideas with anyone and hearing their take on it as well.

To some degree I still write journals attempting to answer the ‘wonder whys’ of my life. Even if no one reads it, writing helps me make sense of my jumbled thoughts. Sometimes I swear I can explain better in writing than with speech. There’s a kind of permanence to writing that can serve as proof or maybe like a map to my past self. Writing helps to preserve memories and we can travel to our old mentalities. I get such a kick out of reading my old elementary, middle school, and high school diaries. I can’t believe the way I saw the world and myself in those days! I’m not ready to share those embarrassing stories yet but they sure are entertaining.

Study the Ethnography of Literacy

John F. Szwed proposes that literacy should be studied as ethnography in his essay "The Ethnography of Literacy." In other words, in order to understand and perhaps define literacy, it should be studied as if it were a culture. Clearly, “literacy as an ideal seems to be suffering a crisis” (page 421) and no one is exactly sure what kind of relationship exists between literacy and civilization. He raises an important question: what positions do reading and writing hold in the entire communicative economy and what is the range of their social and cultural meanings?

Arriving to a satisfactory answer to this question proves to be difficult when you begin to consider the function of literacy to not only the community but to the individual. According to Szwed “it is not enough to know what a language looks like, but one must also know what it means to its users and how it is used by them” (422). Consider the wide distribution of the skill to read and write across all walks of life; everyone has a unique motivation to engage reading and writing. Obviously books offer information but for some they can serve as gifts, decoration, and perhaps status symbols. Furthermore, nearly every social context can feature a specific reading purpose. For example people are more likely to read magazines and newspapers available at a doctor’s lobby or beauty salon. Not only are there different motivations, there are different styles of reading and writing. There are people who speed read and others who actively engage with the text critically (426). Certainly, these different styles will yield different understandings of text. In addition, nearly everyone is familiar with or has invented personal short hand notation. Some abbreviations or acronyms have become so common they are now universally understood. There are many ways to break down literacy but the most important aspect of literacy to consider are the expectations placed on schools for developing literacy.

Szwed, suggests the best way to examine literacy in the scope of academic interest is to understand the “literacy needs of individual students on a day-to-day” basis (427). Ultimately, we should focus our attention on the relationship between school and the outside world.

Good Experiences With Literacy

One of the most prominent memories about a good experience with literacy was my junior year of highschool in my AP English class. A few times a week, we would have class discussions about the current novel we were reading. Ou teacher did her best to encourage the entire class to participate and fully engage themselves in the discussion by making observations for the rest of the class, or posting a question concerning the book that would further open up the doors for discussion. However, as much as a teacher wishes for the best, when it comes to everyone equally participating, we had a good number of people that would not engage at all, and there were two or three students that would speak out at any chance they could, just to hear themselves talk. So, one day during a class discussion, our teacher had us organize our desks into a huge circle where we all felt included. she then handed us each 4 cards, each a different color. each colored card, began with a different "conversation starter". For example, one said, " I feel.."
another said " I have a question about..." and so on. Everytime someone rose their hand to talk, they would place a card face down. We had to place at least 3 cards down by the end of the class discussion, but we were also directed to use these cards wisely (for the students that dominated the class discussions) and we were graded on how many cards we actually used. This helped alot of people come out of their comfort zone and led to a fully-engaged class discussion. This particular memory is meaningful to me because I was one of the students who hardly spoke up, and this was a friendly push for me participate. After I starting participating more, I felt completely absorbed in the material and began to enjoy learning. This event is significant today, because I still find myself struggling to speak up in class discussions more, and I always think back to those 4 colored cards with a starting point on each one.