Julie's Blog Post

Motoko Rich put together this article with a series of perspectives regarding whether digital literacy is acceptable, or if print literacy is more of an advantage. In this new “digital age” world we live in, technology has not only shaped the way we read and write, but the way we think.  Our generation is mostly dependent on the quick and easy access to information that the internet provides us with.

So what is the problem with gaining information quickly and easily? Researchers have shown that standardized reading tests scores have declined, and they are linking it to time spent on the internet and not on tangible books.  Federal Statistics show that kids who read for fun once a day will on average score higher on the reading test than kids who do not read. Studies also show that kids who spend more time on the internet have a more difficult time figuring out whether a source is reliable or not. Scientists in this article are claiming that the internet has made kid’s attention spans less precise.

On the other hand, people argued that even if it’s just on the internet, at least these kids are reading something. They aren’t spending their free time watching television, they are surfing the internet and engaging in some sort of text.  One kid in the article, who is dyslexic, said he found himself more comfortable on the internet, because it skips the unimportant details that most books include. Some may consider this lazy, while other busy bodies may see this as a convenient alternative to books. Many people are rooting on the use of internet as our society has become a digital world. The internet is a source for kids and adults to use to engage in different kinds of viewpoints. It allows for conversation of any given topic. Not to mention, the internet allows us to cover a large amount of topic in just a short time.

Both sides to this issue have many good points. The question is which side will benefit our lives more?

Should schools stick to books or incorporate the internet into learning?

Do you think that the internet is just a lazy cop out to avoid work?

Which do you prefer, print or digital literacy?

What do you think about how our society has turned into a digital age type of learning environment?

The Great Canon Controversy

My Exploring and Issue topic is focused on the "Great Books" and the canon of great works. What I chose to explore is the controversy over the use of great books in the higher educations curriculum. These books are works from authors like Aristotle, Plato or Charles Dickens. The text "The Great Canon Controversy" explores the question of whether these books should be continued to be taught as part of the college curriculum or be replaced by newer more recent texts. The author of the text William Casement wrote his book to provide an overview of the canon controversy, as well as provide what he thinks is a sensible resolution to it as well. Casement takes a nonpartisan position on the subject but at the same time is supporter of the canon. Casement's book is divided into three parts and an conclusion. In part one Casement explores the history of teaching the great works in the past and how it has changed.  He points out that in the twentieth century the main justification for teaching the great books was the development of critical thinking, and an understanding of the universals of human nature. Part two covers the anticanon movement and its claims that the western canon is not as beneficial as the supporters of the canon claim it to be. In part two Casement claims that anticanonism is faulty in many ways giving specific examples of why he believes this. Part three is Casement speaking on how the canon that is taught should be reformed to be practical in current college curriculum.

Questions: 

What importance does the canon serve in modern times?(Why do people continue to study Shakespeare?)

How important do you think the great works are to higher education? Who would you side with, defenders of the canon, anticanonists, or someone like Casement who speaks for revision of the canon?

Chosen Post: In Defense of the Graphic Novel

In her article "In Defense of the Graphic Novel", author Kathryn Hansen rallies for the acceptance of graphic novels in the literary world and in the classroom. As a teacher who utilizes the graphic novel in the classroom, she has seen firsthand how graphic novels can interest students who would otherwise have a hard time focusing on a traditional book. They are also easier to understand for those with subpar reading skills or those for whom English is a secondary language. On the other hand, she has found that the addition of images  can challenge a higher-level reader's analytic skills because of the added visual information. While she recognizes the criticism toward this relatively new medium, she ultimately asks for acceptance from others and recalls that the traditional novel faced the same issues before it was ultimately accepted in the 18th century.

On the other hand, critics of the graphic novel argue that the graphic novel is simply not suitable for the classroom. The genre is still young, and only a select few graphic novels are 'civilized' enough to be considered as literature. However, I would argue that there are examples of this in every genre. For every literary classic like The Great Gatsby or Of Mice and Men, there are hundreds of novels like Twilight that have no business being anywhere near a classroom. As with all things, generalizations about the entirety of graphic novels are unwise. Dismissing all graphic novels as childish and immature would cause one to miss out on true classics like Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and, Maus, all of which, in my opinion are as 'deep'or deeper than any of the classics taught in schools today.


Link:  http://www.ncte.org.proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Journals/EJ/1022-nov2012/EJ1022Defense.pdf

1) What is your viewpoint in this debate? Can graphic novels be considered literature?

2) Would you ever take a class in which graphic novels were used as part of the curriculum?

3) What changes need to be made in the graphic novel genre before it can be accepted as literature, if any?

Teaching Standard English

“Teaching Standard English: Whose Standard?” is a reading about personal experience of the writer, Linda M. Christensen.  English from Boston, Texas, and from Los Angeles might be different in some pronunciation and word using. Linda has to avoid the word lawyer and lay in order not making people burst into laughter after hearing her pronunciation. The questions arise from this kind of event, who determines which one is “standard English” and which one is “nonstandard”. A bias also arises as people using nonstandard English, which are their home language. This problem is getting serious. As people want to pay more attention to the “correct” English, they are indirectly decreasing their attention on engaging, persuading and even entertaining. Realize it or not, the teacher has the main role on solving this issue. Some teacher might just humiliate or put down students’ home language indirectly, and just straight to the point what is right or what is wrong. People will start losing their passion and honesty about their world without knowing who benefits from the rules, who makes the rules, and who loses from the rules.

Linda study English for about fifteen years to become an English teacher and teach her student about “Standard English”. She has experienced being down because of her own English. Therefore, she changes the way an English teacher supposed to teach. By inviting her former student, she showed that it’s OK to have “nonstandard English”. In fact, after hearing her former student with a weird pronunciation, students to be open about themselves. The problems like homosexual in families even arise in the discussion as the students start being honest and being open. Rather than putting students down because of “standard English”, teachers need to encourage students and don’t let them blame their own selves for the low grade on English or poor SAT scores. As a good teacher, she has the role to empower student with the right English without throwing away their English value.

I really agree with Linda that “Standard English” is not supposed to be a wall to block people’s creativities and ideas. By being down, people cannot stand on their own feet to defend their argument, as they are afraid of making mistakes. People need to value their own English that they learn from their home. Because without worrying about their English, someone can easily express their thought about something. I really like when Linda said, “… what I said was more important than how I said it.”

Do you agree that Standard English is not everything on discussion? Do we just need to stay back and let this issue keep happening? What can you do to give impact to the people who don’t have the “correct” English? What do you thing the right role for an English teacher?

Students' Right to Their Own Language

Students' Right to Their Own Language is a resolution determined by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) about the issues of students and their dialects. It can be assumed that there was controversy about teaching “proper English” to students with dialects; teachers must have thought that it would be too challenging to do so. The NCTE determined that English teachers must have the appropriate education and training to teach students while working with their dialects. The teachers have to “respect the diversity of dialects” of the students. The resolution lists all the standards or requirements that English teachers should follow to help student the best that they can.

            I agree with the NCTE that teachers should do everything that they can to teach students English no matter what challenges their speech may imply. I can relate to this because when I was younger I was unable to annunciate “R’s” in my speech. If it wasn’t for my English teacher that took the time and patience to help me, I may still talk that way today. Teachers should not give up on teaching just because they think a student is below standard because of their dialect. They should strive to work through the complications that come along with teaching; the resolution written by the NCTE helps them do that.

            I also agree that teachers should provide assignments and options in writing that allow students to use their own dialect to express themselves. If there was absolutely no dialect in society, then writing and speaking would be robotic. If there was no dialect that would stifle creativity.

Do you agree that teachers should not give up on teaching students English because of their dialects? Do you think that anything should be added to this resolution, as an update since it was written in 1974? If so, what changes would you make?

"Ain't So / Is Not." Academic Writing Doesn't Always Mean Setting Aside Your Own Voice

Generally speaking, most people have been taught to use academically appropriate grammar when writing. But can there be a benefit to switching up your style? This chapter explores just that. Communicating is an essential way in which many of us use to get our points across. According to Graff and Birkenstein, “such informal language also helps you connect with readers in a personal as well as an intellectual way. In our vie, then, it is a mistake to assume that the academic and the everyday are completely separate languages that can never be used together”. As we continue reading along, the authors show us a few excerpts from different scholarly articles and essays in which the author attempts to mix academic and colloquial styles. The first passage they present is from Conners and Lunsford, “Frequency of Formal Errors in Current College Writing,” where it is very apparent they mix the two styles. Through using fictional movie characters (as the case with the secondary title “Ma and Pa Kettle Do Research”), by using a more relaxed tone and informal words and phrases, it allows them to make the writing come a bit more alive. In the literary critic, Judith Fetterley piece, she is able to blend phrases from psychology with more popular expressions.  With this piece, they want to show that if you state your point in a more academic form first and then reiterate it again in a more relaxed way, it can be a great method to get your point across while integrating the two.  From the last two excerpts they discuss how blending languages can help make a political statement. Although to some using different vernaculars is just as valid as using “standard” English, to others it is not. Therefore, through showcasing these different dialects, one might be able to better understand the message the author is trying to convey, or as Smitherman pointed out “our habitual language practices need to be opened up, and that the number of participants in the academic conversation needs to be expanded” (126). Last, the authors want us to realize that although we may have many options in our writing choices, we should always be cautious of the type of audience and purpose our use of style is trying to target. For example, would you use the same writing style for a job application as you would for a college entrance one? Although learning different expressions and becoming a more intellectual writer is important, it’s just as meaningful to understand the English language is changing over time and by limiting ones writing capabilities to a more formal style, it can only hinder the effectiveness in getting a point across. I agree it’s vital to first figure who you’re writing for and the purpose/tone you want to set. Limiting oneself to keeping a strictly formal text seems like it can only take the writing from being great to just bland. Knowing when and how to blend the two is key.

With that being said, do you generally stray away from using informal expressions or sayings in your writing? Do you find there be an importance in using an informal tone? When do you feel are more appropriate times to blend the two styles, or should it be okay at all times? As different vernaculars are just as normal as “standard” English, do you see it okay to use in more formal writing?

The Achievement of Desire: Personal Reflections on Learning "Basics"

Many students throughout their education, struggle to find a balance between academics and the various aspects of their social life.  In Richard Rodriguez's essay The Achievement of Desire, he explains his own personal struggle with finding common ground between these two distant worlds, and fulfilling the expectations of those around him.  Rodriguez depicts how from a young age he found it difficult to relate with others due to his academic success and how an essay by Richard Hoggart entitled The Uses of Literacy, helped him to discover his role as a scholarship student.

For Rodriguez, education played an important role very early in his life.  Growing up as a Latino-American boy, family and hard work influenced him greatly.  His brothers and sisters were successful students who pleased their parents and learning came easily to them.  He strives to be like his siblings and soon made education a priority in his life, though for Richard things were not so easy.  He had to work much harder to achieve success since he was not the brightest, spending hours upon hours plugging away at school work in order to be a scholarly student.  This aspect of his life is what disconnected him from his family as he struggled to relate with them, feeling they did not have the same capacity for knowledge that he did.  Rodriguez uses the term scholarship student, meaning "good student, troubled son", in order to describe his fight between academic success and being a good son. 

As education began to replace the role of his family, his struggles with his home life only grew greater (This being a main point highlighted throughout the essay and a main reason for his writing). As Rodriguez recalls, "I idolized my teachers. I began imitating their accents, using their diction, trusting their every direction." which shows how he began to replace the need for family with education as he became an Americanized scholarship student.  He continues to find success through education and becomes the well respected scholar he had hoped to be.  It is through achieving this success that he discovers what the role of a scholarly boy is and what the process of becoming one entails.  In response to a quote from Hoggart's essay, Rodriguez explains "The scholarship boy is a bad student, but in large part the reason he is so bad is that he realizes earlier and more acutely than most other students---than Hoggart himself!---that education requires radical self-reformation".  Rodriguez knows this because at a young age he had to chose between his family and education and now that he has reached scholarly success he wonders if he can ever rekindle the bond he once had with his family.  Though he seems to find a sense of understanding in all of this at the end of his writing when he recollects, "If, because of my schooling, I had become separated from my parents, my education had also given me in the end a way to speak and to care about that fact".

So when looking at Rodriguez's essay it is plain to see the emphasis he places on education, but one can also sense that he is warning the reader about the importance of finding a sense of balance between academics and life outside of education.  He uses himself as an example for those who strive for academic success, or for those who do not find it as easily as others that you must not sacrifice so much as to give away a whole aspect of your life.  We must not let one factor of our life dictate another in such a dramatic way.  He is speaking not only to scholarship students like himself, but anyone who has experienced academic struggles, success, or an interest in education.  It also speaks to anyone trying to fulfil a role or position in which they feel obligated and that it is important to not lose sight of your values in doing so. His writing can be viewed as a warning but can also serve a purpose for those trying to balance school and social life.

Overall I feel that Rodriguez did an excellent job of conveying his life struggle with being a good son and reaching a scholarship level of education.  He clearly supported his argument for what a scholarship boy is and why education served such an important purpose in his life by using great examples from Hoggart's text and detailed visualization of events that unfolded in his childhood.  I agree with Rodriguez that many feel the need to live up to other's standards but that no matter what path we choose in life that we must not get caught up in it and lose sight of who we once were. I also agree with him that education is an important art form that needs to be sought after and that it is mastered through hard work and sacrifice.  I do not feel that a sacrifice as big as family needs to be given up, but in his case it was so, and for that reason he shows regret and understanding for why education replaced his family. His scholarly journal style of writing is a great example of what we have been discussing the past few classes.  It is a great educational piece and can give others a better understanding of how and how not to be a scholarship student.

So some questions to think about after reading,

What makes a scholarship student? Do you feel a relation to Rodriguez in the ways in which you balance your education and social life?
Does education require sacrifices like the ones he describes in his essay?  Do you feel that education has changed you in any way, or lead you away from something you were once close to?  Home vs. School?  Any other comments on the reading or things to take away from Rodriguez's essay?