Friends, we have reached the end of another semester. I am more confused now than I was before I started this course. Huh? I mean, I guess I always assumed I knew what it meant to be illiterate (which I still strongly dislike that term), but I never really knew the depth of the term. Children are illiterate, yes, to an extent, adults are illiterate, I could possibly agree, plants are illiterate, B.S.! No, but plants actually are illiterate; I have learned that, or the idea of that has been implanted in my brain and will forever remain (thanks to…Sean maybe?). Either way, the definition of being literate or illiterate has reached new depths for me. The concept, I am very sure of, is so much more than being able to read or write (however, I do understand that is a large portion of it). Background, support system, resources, daily life…so many factors come into play when determining whether or not someone is literate. Two months ago, I would’ve told you differently. Actually, my definition of literacy was something along the lines of, “resources that help someone read or write,” and by resources I meant books. Not sponsors. Not access to a good education. Not home life. Being literate means only this: you can read and write. False. No. Being literate means an abundance of different things. Comprehension. Repetition. Regurgitation. And actually recognizing what it means to be able to do those different things. So let’s throw in, being able to learn is an aspect of literacy. Of course it is, but I wouldn’t have said that two months ago. This class has opened up doors for me that I never knew existed and has made my opinion of illiterate people more sympathetic. All of the things we have learned this semester have made me realize that many people don’t choose to be illiterate; it is the life they have been given. That’s just my opinion, some are going to disagree. Taking this class, and listening to Becky speak, has really inspired me to help people. It sometimes puts a damper on my day to realize that I do not have a second of free time to do so, though, and then I realize, I want to be a teacher. If I obtain my degree and certificate, I will be able to help people every single day and it makes me happy to feel that I might be able to make a difference someday, and learning from this class, I further understand the sorts of help “illiterate” people need. For that, I appreciate every door this class has opened for me. What doors have this class opened up for you and have those doors made you realize/ appreciate anything more?

Indeed, Nicholas Carr, you are correct in saying that “deep reading that used to come naturally has become a struggle.” Now that I sit and think about it, I don’t even know if I have ever participated in deep reading. I was tempted to mention, I deep read when I sit on the beach and tan in the sun, however, I don’t even deep read there. I am focused on so many different things, are there creases in my elbows where the sun will leave nasty tan lines, why is that child splashing water so close to me, young boy who is twenty miles out in the ocean…where are your parents, have I eaten all day. As much as I would like to deep read, I get four sentences in and have to move my chair up because high tide is moving in and then two pages later I have to move my chair back down because of low tide.

The same happens with my mobile device. Is deep reading even possible on such a device? I open an article and before I’m done with it I am opening a different application, scrolling through Instagram photos, checking emails, sending a text reply. BUT I did learn a hell of a lot of cool things.

Fifteen issues women deal with daily that men might not know about, I only learn two of them before clicking away, because Kelly Wingen liked my photo on Instagram, so I might as well go check out Kelly Wingen’s photos, and who’s birthday is it? But oh, they’re private. I got a new email, subject: Weekly Practice Schedule, “no Mom, I don’t need lunch tomorrow,” new text: “Cost Center at 8:00am?! Do I even get to sleep?” and then I realize I haven’t even read issue number three of the fifteen yet so I start the process all over again until I realize my dog needs fed so issues ten through fifteen can wait until I’m done folding the laundry, showering, eating dinner and checking Clash of Clans.

Is this what deep reading has come too?

Until the day comes where I live in seclusion, I may not ever deep read. Actually, that day may never come since my brain is constantly thinking at a million miles a minute. Last week, I was taking a math quiz and found myself thinking about my dog. Bella is not going to help me graph this exponential equation. Then, when I regained my focus, I found myself realizing how disgustingly dirty my nails were (still are!). Ugh.

I mean, I do digest information, actually possibly even at a much more accelerated rate than my dog. I thought she had a short attention span, but thanks to Nicholas Carr and Annette Vee, I have reached the conclusion that mine is shorter. I can’t even deep think when it comes to typing in my log in passwords on my Mac considering this thing remembers every word I have ever typed. If my passwords weren’t the same for every single log in I have, I would be screwed. Okay, there are two different combinations, of the same password (I have to switch it up a bit), but still, thank you Apple for yet another convenience. Can’t a girl do anything on her own anymore? Sheesh.

Rereading this blog post, I am fully convinced I don’t even have a “deep reading” bone in my body. Actually reading anything has convinced myself of this. That’s probably why I have so many questions about…everything. I know in class you are all thinking, “Weren’t you supposed to read that for homework?” Well, yes I did (thank you), however, what does the author even mean? I can’t stay on the same idea for more than three sentences, how am I supposed to read thirty pages without becoming confused and disoriented. Where am I? So, how do you deep read?

Something I want to talk about from the Mizuko Ito, et al. article is the concept that media capitalizes peer-based learning, because, in a way, it does. The white papers don’t expand on this idea too much, so I don’t know what exactly they meant by this but I know that the idea definitely caught my attention and sparked my own thoughts. I don’t know if today’s youth learn how to become “media literate” through peer pressure, I think that youth become pressured to become “media literate” through their peers. What I mean is that I don’t believe the youth are teaching the youth the “ins and outs” of media, I mean that the youth are encouraging each other to use media, therefore, the youth are teaching themselves. Peers are pressuring each other to use the tools that make them become “media literate.”

Therefore, I feel that media is a way for students to become literate in a language all on their own; a way for students to teach themselves…without even realizing they are learning. Aside from high schools offering a typing or computer program course, I believe that students teach themselves most of what they know about media, and they actually do it in a similar way as in-class learning, except without a teacher.

For example,

In class: teacher teaches a concept, student doesn’t understand, teacher provides material for better understanding, student practices.

Media: student discovers a concept, student doesn’t understand, student further researches help for better understanding, student practices.

Honestly, when I really started to think about that idea, becoming “media literate” seems to be beneficial for today’s youth. I understand that some people are salty about technology taking over and I do agree that media is harmful for some aspect of a youth’s life, however, learning a new “language” is a way that media is helping today’s youth become successful. The youth learning how to teach themselves, an idea that is going to benefit them in their futures. When people realize they can find the answer on their own, they are going to be less likely to rely on someone else.

Furthermore, not to mention, TODAY’S YOUTH ARE SURROUNDED BY MEDIA. Therefore, they NEED to become literate in the language if they want any hopes of becoming successful. Hell, included on resumes nowadays is that you are “proficient in Microsoft Word and Excel.” It is basically a must.

My question for you is that now that you’ve considered the idea of media encouraging peer-based learning, as well as individual learning, what are your thoughts? Would you say that the media is helpful in the sense that students are teaching themselves to find answers on their own? Or do you think that the cons outweigh the pros, in the sense that the material the youth may discover when searching away is more harmful than the helpful resources they find and the concepts they teach themselves.

It’s weird how articles I read trigger thoughts I have never considered. For my past posts, I have written about an issue that the article highlights and I have feelings towards; however, this article connected with me in a different way. In the article From Silence to Words: Writing as Struggle, Min-zhan Lu writes about her experience of having a family language different from her school language, and how this difference affected her studies. Lu mentions how she moved from home to school, or from English to Standard Chinese, and had to accommodate for each dialect. However, when her languages overlapped, such as with her incident with her second grade homeroom teacher, the reactions from her classmates made her realize that her home/ family language was indeed special.

Possibly irrelevant to the concept of literacy, however, relevant to the idea of this article, is the way I can relate. I am not bilingual, but my family dynamic was definitely different from the majority of my classmates. Therefore, I suppose you could conclude that my family language was a little bit different from my classmate’s family languages. The issue that always made me feel different was my parents being divorced. My classmates would refer to their parents as mom and dad, as normal children do; for me, it was mom and dad…and Stephanie. At such a young age, how was I supposed to explain to my friends why my parents didn’t live in the same house, why I had two houses or why my dad was married to a woman who wasn’t my mom. At school, I never referred to my step-mom, it seemed that keeping her out of the picture was easier than including her, and I’m pretty sure that was my preference at the time regardless. Either way, the explanation that was required to follow the mention of her name wasn’t worth the mention in the first place. My classmates made the situation seem completely alien, which in turn made me feel the same way.

I understand that Lu’s classmates didn’t make her feel out of place, however just like Lu, at home, English was spoken and Standard Chinese was not, and the opposite was for school, there wasn’t a universal language for both. It was as if such a language, or family dynamic, was foreign to the other, almost unheard of. The reason Lu spoke Standard Chinese in school is because it was the required Working-class language, the reason I didn’t speak of Stephanie at school is because a family is “supposed” to be mom and dad. Things are considered the norm for a reason and when the norm is interrupted people seem to become disorientated and confused, wondering why things are different for one person but not everyone else.

So my concern this week is about what made you different? Or what kind of family language did you have that set you apart from your school language? How did you deal with the difference?

I’ll begin by stating the obvious. I have been out of elementary school for quite some time now. However, while in elementary school, I learned a great deal of information. Therefore, the ways I was taught in elementary school worked. Hence the reason I am sitting here today, educated, intelligent and succeeding.

Literacy standards have changed, as we learned from reading Resnick and Resnick’s The Nature of Literacy: A Historical Exploration. Through this reading, we learned about different major historical models for literacy development. Although very different, the three forms, Protestant-religious, elite-technical and civic-national, all conformed to the time period they were dominant in. Furthermore, each time period had educated, intelligent people, (at least to the level appropriate for said time period).

So what does this say? Let’s compare the simple and obvious. Each time period had educated people, obviously with debatable levels of literacy, but nonetheless, educated for their time. I am educated, for the present time. Each time period learned through different ways, at least three we can confirm from our reading. Therefore, their learning experiences were not the same as mine. However, it worked! They are educated, I am educated.

Resnick and Resnick concluded that “the claim is frequently made that a return to basics would improve our education system,” however, the consequences are unclear. I believe the consequences would be frightening. Times change because they are forced too. Literacy standards change because they need too. Therefore, models for literacy development change because they need to adapt. With constantly changing needs, our nation changes little by little every day. From making a living by farming to earning a living after college education, the classroom had to change. Children had to, and continue to have to, be prepared for different things. Undoubtedly, with all of the resources being created, classrooms will continue to change. Chalkboards become smart, white boards, pencils and paper become iPads, and grade books become spreadsheets. Change is unavoidable and constant.

For these reasons mentioned, I do not believe it would be smart to even attempt to make a return to the “basic,” whatever the basics actually are. I firmly believe that the “basics” could not prepare children for the skills they need in today’s world. I’m not advocating a move towards college education in kindergarten; however, I don’t feel the basics can cut it anymore. With ELLs, special needs and gifted students all in one place and becoming of equal population, modified and unique classrooms are needed now more than ever before.

What is your opinion on going back to “basics”?

In Lisa Delpit’s, “Other People’s Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom,” she begins her conclusion of the article with, “While linguists have long proclaimed that no language variety is intrinsically “better” than another, in a stratified society such as ours, language choices are not neutral,” (68).

Sadly, but seemingly unnoticed, the English language is spoken in many varieties and people can’t help but criticize the varieties that don’t follow the rules of “Standard English.” Certainly, there are rules to the written “Standard English” language, and the language that is considered the norm, or the language that is going to help one succeed, is the one that people consider superior.

If a person speaks their “home/ local community” language regularly, rather than the “national community” language or “global community” language, they are considered to be speaking incorrectly, (68). Some would probably just assume they are using slang, which according to Merriam-Webster is, “a type of language that consists of words and phrases that are regarded as very informal, are more common in speech than writing, and are typically restricted to a particular context or group of people.” Therefore, is it impolite for people to consider one’s “home/ local community” language as such, as slang? Are people considering one language inferior to the other, or not considered as educated as another just because it isn’t the one that will get you the job?

On a different note, just like Delpit’s article talked about, if a student enters a classroom and doesn’t speak proper “Standard English” and is corrected to do so, the teacher takes the risk of shutting that student down, socially and experimentally. The student is likely to close him or herself off and be less likely to try new things that require them to speak aloud or to the teacher, or to anyone who tries to correct them. Therefore, is correcting someone who doesn’t follow the rules of “Standard English” impolite, or is it necessary?

In my opinion, I do not think people realize that correcting someone could be hurtful or embarrass one, because most think that they are doing the right thing, or being helpful. When in reality, if a person is brought up speaking their “home/ local community” language, it is possible that they assume they are speaking correctly.

So enough of my rambling and thoughts, here are a couple concluding thoughts for you to consider:

First, do you find yourself criticizing or correcting the language of others when you hear them speaking a language other than “Standard English”? Why do you think you do this, or why do you not?

Second, have you ever caught yourself speaking the language of your “home/ local community”, and if so, what sorts of language do you consider such? Is giving a language variety other than “Standard English” the title of “home/ local community” wrong, is it just slang?

One of my most vivid memories of literacy comes from when I was around eight or nine years old. I have always loved to read and so my parents always had me a fully stocked bookshelf, complete with Dr. Seuss, Little Golden Books, Goosebumps…any collection you could think of. I thought that at the age of eight, or nine, I was the most spectacular reader, which in turn lead me to believe that I was also the most spectacular teacher. Believing that I was born to teach, I would call in my four brothers to my room, (one older and three younger), and make them sit in front of my bed so I could read to them like my (and all of yours) kindergarten teacher would do. I would read the page of the book, complete with exaggerated emotion to give that extra ah effect, and then I would fan the book amongst the four of them to show the pictures that everyone always waited anxiously to see.

This memory that I have of my past really confirms my belief that I should be a teacher. This experience has also made me realize that I loved reading so much because I was reading ten page books. Don’t get me wrong, I do still love to read, but I love to read books of my choice (Mitch Albom, for example), not books I am forced to read (Frankenstein, for example).

This experience connects with my definition from class in the way that I believe literacy deals with the communication of words. I was able to communicate written words on a page to people and tell a story. My brothers didn’t have to read the words themselves to comprehend what the pictures were portraying, but by listening to me talk they were able to understand what was happening in the book.