Blog Retrospective

Blogging for me hasn't been an entirely new experience. I currently have a personal blog, although it has been quite a while since I have made a post. I enjoy the process of writing my thoughts for an audience, even if it may be for just a few people.

As far as blogging for this class, I think the thing that benefited me the most was that it made me have to write regularly. Even though I am an English major, this last semester has not involved very much writing other than the blogs and assignments for this class, so having to blog kept me a bit more in "writing mode" than I would otherwise have been. I think the process of writing is always a bit daunting at first, but blogging made me have to continually push through my initial resistance, and often, once I began to write, ideas would begin to flow. William Stafford says that "a writer is not so much someone who has something to say as he is someone who has found a process that will bring about new things he would not have thought of if he had not started to say them." How true that is! I think that is the beauty of blogging, or any form of writing--it enables one to discover and digest ideas even while trying to articulate what to say in the first place. I definitely enjoyed writing about some of the articles more than others, but even with the more difficult ones I was forced to have to at least find the main ideas and expound upon what I did understand. This also forced a closer reading and enabled me to grasp through a second reading ideas that at first seemed confusing. That's not to say that I don't think some of the authors used an unnecessary amount of academic-ese, but I suppose that comes with the territory of higher education. I also think it would have been interesting to discuss in class what we had written in our blogs. Overall, blogging helped me practice my writing skills and produce ideas that I would not have thought of had I not set out to express them. I am not sure whether I will continue to blog or not, but I know that I will (hopefully for the rest of my life) continue to write. Blogging has reminded me of the value of having a regular "appointment" with my keyboard or journal because unless it is a discipline, the urgent (and even petty) things of life will crowd out the important habit of writing. And this discipline is not just a tool for personal enrichment, but when used well, has the power to effect great change for good in the world.

Literacy and Freedom

In his article "The Adult Literacy Process as Cultural Action for Freedom" Paulo Freire explains the importance of teaching literacy to adults in ways that combine words with actions, or that demonstrate the significance of word sin real-life situations. He says that teaching individuals to merely memorize words and sounds is a way of treating them as objects rather than intelligent contributors to their own process of learning. This makes sense to me because teaching adults to read and write is different from teaching children to read in write in that adults have vast arrays of knowledge and experience--of "thought language"--which they bring with them into their literacy learning. It makes more sense to teach children to read in a more memorization-oriented way (although they would probably benefit from similar methods to what Freire describes) because they do not have the same knowledge and experiences with language that adults already possess. Allowing adults to learn in ways that show them the immediate relevance of language to their lives has the potential for being extremely empowering.

Ideas for Sale

As we discussed in class, advertisement can have a huge impact upon literacy. For example, if young girls buy the message of advertisers that outward beauty is of paramount importance, they will most likely invest their energies into improving their physical appearance rather than to developing their minds, or trying to get good grades. Or they may be smart, but feel pressure from society or their peers to play down their intellect while playing up their looks in order to find acceptance. And while advertising can affect many people without them even realizing how they are being impacted, those who have not had the chance to develop critical thinking skills are possibly the most vulnerable to unconsciously absorbing the messages of advertisers. With masterful subtlety, advertisers can influence not only what people buy, but how they think about some of the most important issues in life.

Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of advertising is how much of it objectifies women and uses sex to sell everything from deodorant, to breath mints, to beer. These advertisements subtlety (and sometimes blatantly) send the message that a woman's value is in being sexy and appealing to a man. Women and young girls are not the only victims of this message, however; young boys are continually bombarded with these advertisements and the images that they see impact how they see the opposite sex. Our society is saturated with sexual images and then we wonder why teen pregnancies are so high, why there is an epidemic of date rape, or why sexual harassment at school and the workplace is a problem. I am not saying that advertisement is the only thing to blame for all of this, but how can young people continually absorb messages that glorify sex and objectify women without those messages impacting how they see the world and how they act?The first step to changing one's actions is to change one's belief system. That's how powerfully what we think affects what we do. If young people are not taught to think critically about what they are seeing in commercials and ads (or to develop different literacies), they will be puppets in the hands of companies who sell not just products, but ideas.

"Reading Don't Fix No Chevys"

I enjoyed reading "Reading Don't Fix No Chevys" by Michael W. Smith and Jeffrey D. Wilhelm. Because the authors have had teaching experience, they have first-hand knowledge about the challenges of teaching and the issues that arise with teaching boys specifically. Their research is very hands-on and I appreciate the high value they place upon having a personal knowledge of students and validating their experiences and the unique perspective that they can offer.

I think one of the most helpful parts of the book (especially for those who plan to teach) was chapter two, which discussed that boys need "a sense of control and competence, an appropriate challenge, clear goals and feedback, and a focus on the immediate" in order to learn effectively (53). The authors didn't just pick these conditions for effective learning at random, however; they compiled them after researching the ways boys learn and engage in non-academic activities. By finding out what drives boys in their activities outside of the classroom, what contributes to them sticking with certain activities while they may give others up, the authors gained valuable insight (along with some outside research from psychologists) into ways to help boys have a more positive experience in school. Of course, the authors are not saying that if boys like playing video games at home, they should be able to play "educational" video games in school. Mimicking student's extracurricular activities in the classroom is not the point. Rather, the authors realize that boys are driven in other activities outside of school for the reasons mentioned above ( a sense of control and competence, an appropriate challenge, clear goals and feedback, and a focus on the immediate) and those things can and should be reproduced in the classroom. I agree with the authors completely. Learning needs to be about what is best for the student, not about teachers or schools pushing an agenda simply because it's what has always been done. If there is an epidemic of boys not reading or being interested in school, obviously something is not working.

I loved the example about how Wilhelm taught Thee Death of A Salesman to his eleventh grade American Literature class. After protesting about having to teach the book because he thought his students would not be able to relate to it, his department chair insisted that he still must teach it. Rather than treating the book as an "artifact," Wilhelm found creative ways to make the book more relevant to his students. He formed the curriculum around the question, "What are the costs and benefits of of the American emphasis upon sports" (85) and incorporated other texts (including Sports Illustrated and sports related articles) and projects. All the students found this approach to be relevant to their lives in some way, and the class became a rewarding learning experience for everyone involved. This is a wonderful example of how when teachers think outside of the box in an effort to relate to their class, students will often rise to the challenge and have a much more effective learning experience. This example relates to both boys and girls, but the call for teachers to revise their teaching style for the sake of boys is still very important. Boys are the ones who are most vulnerable at this point in history to falling through the cracks when it comes to literacy. Teachers would do well to learn from "Reading Don't Fix No Chevys" to understand what motivates boys and how they can make their classrooms, and reading in general, positive experiences that will foster lifelong learning.

Literacy Overload?

In her article "Accumulating Literacy: Writing and Learning to Write in the Twentieth Century" Deborah Brandt discusses how literacy learners today are faced with the challenge of absorbing new forms of literacy in addition to those passed on from past generations. Essentially, she believes that we have a "surplus" of literacy and that the main challenge surrounding the issue of literacy is not for more people to be able to learn the basics of reading and writing, but for individuals to be able to acquire, manage, and apply the vast array of literacy forms already available to them. I thought it was interesting how she pointed out that "the mass of American workers has had to shift from growing food to manufacturing goods, to principally, managing information" (652). Because of this shift in how American (and global) society functions, the demand of literacy goes far beyond the basics of reading and writing. As important as these basic skills are, they are increasingly becoming minimal forms of literacy in our information and technology rich age. This can pose a problem both for older generations who did not grow up with the same skill sets that younger generations are automatically expected to acquire, and it can also pose a problem for those who may not have access to the tools (computers, internet, cell phones, etc.) that would enable them to "keep up" with the ever-changing forms of literacy surrounding them. At the same time, the advantage of living in an information-rich age is that information is much more widely available than it has been in the past. Many people still do not have computers in their homes, but public libraries offer both the "old" forms of literacy (books) as well as free (although not as readily available were they in the home) access to newer forms of literacy through computer and internet access. Overall, I think Brandt's article points to how complicated it is to grow up and acquire literacy in the Twentieth (now Twenty-first) century. We have come a long way from the days of the one-room school house, but our advances also mean that literacy is less simple to acquire and maintain in a constantly changing world.

Sponsors of Literacy

The fact that literacy equals power and opportunity can be seen once again in Deborah Brandt's article Sponsors of Literacy. She demonstrates how the demand for different types of literacy changes over time, leaving behind those who have not acquired the skills and specialties that new technologies require. She also shows, as in the example Raymond Branch and Dora Lopez, how people who are born at the same time and even grow up in the same area can have very different opportunities available to them. Due to his financial and educational background, Raymond had much greater exposure to learning tools and opportunities which enabled him to become a successful software writer. Dora's experiences were much more limited than Raymond's, causing her to have less opportunity for economic and educational advancement. I think this is an important issue to keep in mind when it comes to how society views success. Typically, those with higher paying and more influential jobs are held in high esteem. Americans value hard work and respect those who seem to have worked their way to the top. What is often overlooked is the fact that it may have been much easier for certain successful individuals to arrive where they are, while others who work just as hard but had less opportunities are unable to achieve the same kind of success. I know that educational institutions cannot be changed over night, but reading stores like Dora and Raymond's reminds me of the need to close the gap between the haves and the have-nots, which of course, is one reason for the discipline of Community Literacy and Service Learning. Sponsors have the opportunity to use their influence for good, but communities cannot wait for the ones with the most power and influence to make a positive change. I think that parents, teachers, employers, grandparents--really any literate person--can take part in encouraging literacy in others.

Oprah and Literacy

I enjoyed reading The Oprahfication of Literacy: Reading Oprah's Book Club by R. Mark Hall. In this article Hall discusses the the phenomena of Oprah as a literacy sponsor and the advantages of her influence, ways that her book club complicates theories of literacy, and the fact that teachers ought to pay attention to ways to connect with students based upon what they are seeing in the media.

Although Hall raises some possible objections to Oprah's Book Club, overall, I think it has had a positive impact upon American society. While it may be unfortunate that some viewers would not have the motivation to choose a book for themselves, the fact that Oprah inspires them to read is a good thing. Some Young Adult Literature may not be what many would consider "high" literature, but I think the fact that it fosters reading in many young people who would otherwise not be reading is a very good thing. These "gateway" books have the potential to hook young adults into a lifetime practice of reading. In the same way, Oprah's Book Club invites her viewers to enter the world of books, perhaps fostering an interest in reading that will go beyond the limits of her Book Club recommendations. I thought it was interesting that Hall points out that in "proclaiming the redemptive power of serious fiction, Winfrey reinforces traditional female identities associated with religious faith and education" (661). I probably would not have made this connection on my own, but I could definitely see it once he pointed it out. In Oprah's Book Club, reading is seen as a path to self-discovery and self-improvement, and not as much a tool for developing critical thinking skills or other more "academic" activities. While some may see Oprah's emphasis upon using reading as a means to revive the spirit as negative (because it seems to perpetuate societal gender codes for reading), I would disagree for a few reasons. First of all, it seems that if women who did not read before become readers, then they are more empowered than they previously were. And, if reading for transformation is seen as a predominately female way to read, perhaps the invitation needs to be extended for men to read in this way as well. It works both ways. Secondly, I think there are many different kinds of reading that we can engage in. Sometimes, we should look at a text and analyze it critically. Other times, we should be allowed to cry over it, laugh over it, and allow it to speak to us on deeply personal levels. If reading--if art--can be used to heal the human spirit, then it should be free to do that. I also agree with Hall that teachers should use things like Oprah's Book Club or other popular culture material as a way to engage students in what they may already know or be hearing about in their daily lives. A teacher who meets his or her students where they are will most likely be able to inspire them to explore new literary terrain.