Allow myself to introduce myself last time I think

The use of language defines who we are what we're about and what we mean to those around us. The various communities we interact with are as much a part of us as we are a part of them. I am a Corrections Officer but even within that very small communities there are certain smaller discourses. I am a black man, I am a part of what I would consider the Hip-hop generation, I'm a poet, a football coach, a student and a teacher in training. There are perameters and jargon specific to all of these communities that I navigate between on a daily basis. My speech is the only thing that is effected in my transition between one and the next. I fell I'm always the same person, I don't even notice when I switch codes but after examining my many discourses I know that I do.

Allow myself to introduce myself, again

Language is a very powerful thing, I can remember in the seond grade my ability to communicate with others earned me what I would consider a position of power. I was selected as a representative to the school council at my elementary school and elevated to vice president and eventually president because I was able to communicate the needs of the students to the administration and communicate the concerns of the administration to the students. My use of language in this capacity put me in certain situations that have shaped who I am as a man. Being charged with the leadership of a campus and being looked to as the voice of a student body, placed me in situations where my use of language was directly responsible for the direction of a school. My principal seemed more impressed at my ability to lead those significantly older than myself than anything else. Language and communication can be scary many people have a great fear of public speaking, being placed in position where I had to it at a young age allowed me to overcome it early and capitilize on it later in life. Having a positive experience with language has allowed me to develop a healthy relationship with language in all forms.

Allow Myself to introduce Myself Volume 3

School and literacy haven’t always co-existed happily for me I recently wrote a poem and one of the lines is I wanted to teach before I’d been taught. In the 11th grade I was put into advanced American Literature which was part of a humanities track that was reserved for “really smart” students and my scholastic achievement to that point certainly didn’t warrant my placement in such a class. On the first or second day the teacher had the class select a passage and analyze its meaning. I can’t remember what passage I chose, why I chose it, or what I said, but I can remember Ms. Scarborough telling me I was brilliant at the bottom of my paper. She lectured about how reading was as much about understanding what the words on the page meant as it was about knowing how to pronounce them and use them correctly. Her class wasn’t just about reading stories it was about understanding them and understanding how and why they made people feel the way they did. Ms. Scarborough was one of many really good teachers I’ve had and her influence is part of the reason I want to be a teacher to this day, she allowed me to look at literacy and my relationship with it in a completely different way. I learned how to read at four but I didn’t learn why I needed to read until I was sixteen. I want to help my students get this place, I want to be a teacher that they remember for teaching them why words are important not just that they are.

"En Los Dos Idiomas"

By Teresa Espinosa

Where There's A Will, There's Lirico

The first part of this article talked about the course of the ethnographic study of Compadrazgo which means Compadre in Spanish which is translated as Godparent. The relationships of the 45 people consisted of family, friends and compadres. Their socio economic status were working class with limited or no formal education. Some had elementary (primaria 1-6th) and middle (secundaria 7-9th) school education while others had to work immediately to help support the family. What did this say about literacy? Well, some were taught literacy in school while others took th initiative to learn on their own. They called it lirico (lyrically). These are men in their mid thirties who learned literacy as lirico, which means they, "picked it up" informally from others (470). Farr called this a bare bones approcah which makes sense since the people were teaching themselves simply by copying the letters from a cigarrette box or by asking questions along the way and no formal schooling.

What I found very interesting was how some men were able to read and wrote poorly and one particular person was able to write but had to have someone read his response letters to him. Farr says, " that neither learning reading first nor writing first is more natural" (473). This study proves that both reading and writing can be learned without formal schooling. I supposed from this we can infer that when learned in this manner, literacy is bare boned and not mastered until there is formal schooling. The people who write lirico say that they know they will probably never write write properly since they don't know punctuation. However his belief that he didn't read well, he scored considerbly high on a fromal test of English literacy. Farr believes that learning lirico literacy is effective.

American Indian Communities

To some degree, Native Americans seem to have common culture with others such as African Americans in that they are strongly rooted in "storytelling traditions, the flow and structure of oral narratives, and the importance of oral traditions" (493). Studying these characteristics when observing a Native Americans writing skills may greatly benefit the teacher in locating the zone of proximal development of the individual student. It doesn't seem too far fetched to embrace the diversity of the cultures when trying to teach English to Native Americans. To deny students the roots of their culture makes the teaching process seem insignificant.

Ever-shifting oral and literature traditions

The societal consequences of literacy are based on the experiences of the people have with written language and their oral interpretation of it. A litterate society differs significantly at the cognitive level from that of a culture of oral tradition. Shirley Brice Heath cites research done by Goody and Watt, Ong, and Havelock to support her assertion of the extreme differences between oral and litterate societies. The differnces don't give one supperiority over te other and Heath uses research from Dodd to explain "Certain discourse forms, such as the parable or proverb are formulaic uses of language which convey meanings without direct explanation."(443) Heath goes on to state that "truth lies in experience and is verified by the experience of listners."(443) Oral tradition are especially prevelant in societies where access to written language is restricted or prohibited. Heath utilizes her own research to decribe the "Literacy Event" Heath says this occurance "is any occasion in which a piece of writing is integral to the nature of participants interactions and their interpretive processes.(Heath 1978)"(445)
The oral expression of te written language is an important dynamic in Heath's research, she goes t great length to explain the paralell evolution btween the traditions of what's spoken vs. what's written. She examines the art of story telling as a literary device and an extension of written language and an expression of personal involvement. A story given orally must have all of the same elements that a written story has to be successfull, and a written story is always attempting to invoke the human emotion that comes naturally to stories in te oral tradition. During her breakdown of the differences and similarities between written and oral traditions Heath raises an important question; written improves oral, what is the oral impact on written language?

Autobio #6 "Switching Discourse Gears"

By Teresa Espinosa

I had to do another "week 6" since I had the perfect weekend for this topic...

"Switching Discourse Gears"

It was the perfect weekend for this autobio since my family went to my mother's house for a bbq. It is interesting because I noticed right away when I switched discourse. On the way to my mother's it is about a 30 minute drive and my husband and I were discussing the swine flu issues in Mexico. My argument was how over dramatic some parts of this country is reacting an his argument was that we should over react, this way more people will practice cleanliness more consistantly.

While we both has strong arguments going, once we reached my mother's house, the conversation came to a halt. I tried to carry the conversation over to where my sisters were and they were disinterested. Instead, they changed my topic of conversation to gossip about another sister that wasn't present. Once in a while my sisters will discuss world news but it is not that common. They like to stick to gossip and local news. The discourse changed immediately after arriving.

It's not that I don't enjoy the occassional gossip but it gets boring and tedious after a while. When I try to discuss what is going on in school or world news/politics, they quickly become disinterested and shift gears.

Inventing the University

By Teresa Espinosa

Learn the Discourse First

Bartholomae, author of "Inventing the University", explains how an incoming freshman writes for the faculty of the University for an a placement test but writes by "trying on the discourse" (512) of the University. What he meant by that was how the writer wrote for them using specialized language that is an approximation of their jargon. The article explains how some students make the mistake of not taking into consideration who their reader is. They write blindly without audience awareness. Linda Flowers argues that beginning writers do not imagine how a reader will respond to a text as an expert would.

Bartholomae stated that a "writer has to build bridges between his point of view and his writers" (515). I have heard this before from my teachers and I agree that it is important to consider the reader, however, if it is fiction, creative writing that is being written, I think that is a special occasion when it is not as important to focus on one audience. (I am certain they are just talking about essays here). Bartholomae stated that a successful writer is one who can "manipulate" an audience. Although I think he is right that a writer should know his audience, I don't agree with the extent to which he wants his students to be good writers. I don't know every single one of my professors well enough to know exactly what they would write and I have been successful in writing a well written essay that returned a good grade.

I am going to wrap this precis up by saying that Bartholomae believes that before a student can be a successful writer, he must become part of the communal discourse. If the student does not assimilate into the discourse, he cannot possibly write successfully. Bartholomae seems narrow minded in that sense.

Richard Rodriguez's, The Achievement of Desire

This autobiography has so much to say about the individual. It is obvious that from the beginning of school, that Richard wanted to please his teachers and their idea of what was important about Western Culture. Hiding behind books, his family became irrelevant to his future and he denounced the importance of family for the importance of books and education. His identity as a "scholarship boy" accepted a western education without embracing his own cultural heritage. He thought all his answers could be found in the books he read, but later realized that through this method, he was never allowed to come to his own understanding, it was always the author's understanding. I can see how the pressure and differences between education and a working-class family can put a jagged gap between the importance of family and culture. Richard's family did not have a western education and as Richard looked to succeed, he saw his parents as stupid for what they did not know. I think one of best things that Rodriguez comes to understand is that, "education requires radical self-reformation". Through this theory, Rodriguez realizes the lack of self-esteem he had because of his rejection of his family. He didn't want to reform himself, he wanted to become something completely different than he saw his parents. I agree with Rodriguez's statement, and think that self-beliefs should be challenged for rationality, but that the past and one's familiy also plays a role in educational reformation, setting the balance between who one is before an education, along with the benefits and insights that an education can bring.

Autobiography Week 6: Written is Easier

Although I do make language negotiations on a daily basis, I find it is much more difficult for me to speak than it is to write. I deal with parents on a weekly basis and do allow some relevances to be discussed with some parents that I never would with others. This depends on my assumptions about the individual and my comfort level with them. Living in a small city means that you tend to run into people all the time outside of work. This can be a good thing, but it usually leads to discomfort for me, mostly because I usually communicate with them on a professional basis and my interests outside of work may not coincide with theirs. One thing I have noticed though, is that I tend to be soft spoken until a topic comes up that I am passionate about (and have usually had a few beers). A few weekends ago, some of the parents and kids from my son's T-ball team went out for pizza and I got to know them a little better. One man and his girlfriend were very nice and my boyfriend really thought it might turn out to be a nice couple to hang out with until I opened my mouth. This man prided himself on being racist and very determined that these values coincided with his religion. Ok, so these two topics are very important to me and I began to question his views on the differences and similarities between races. I stopped him at the old Thomas Jefferson theory that black people are a form of ape or orangutan and are not the same as white people. I asked him if he knew that we all originally came from Africa because it is where the oldest surviving homoerectus fossil was found and the tone changed after that. Maybe I should have just let him preach on, but instead, I told him that he and I were very different in that I embrace the variety of cultures that surround me, where he rejects all those that are not of a white culture. I could have gone on and on, but I didn't want to make anyone uncomfortable so I just finished my beer and brought up something else. I find that I limit my negotiations so as not to upset others because although I am strongly rooted in my personal beliefs, I still feel that everyone is entitled to an opinion, and I guess I don't want to be the one to take that security away from them. I have even been the butt of jokes that I let go, because of professionalism, maturity and other things, but most of my emotions come out in a flurry when I write. It is here that I can find my own audience, and expand on my ideals and problems with society and I am not presently attacked. If people want to attack my writing, that's ok with me, but to attack my comfort zone and overpower my beliefs is not acceptable and I would never do that to someone else.

Autobiography Week 6

Tone Down the Vocab!

This is an interesting topic for an essay. As I have mentioned before in other blog posts I have done, my family didn't really value education past high school. My mother was content with just passing and graduating high school.It should be of no surprise when I say that when I started in college I was put through the ringer a lot. I remember one particular time, I had just started in college at San Bernardino Valley College and my mother and I were having a one on one conversation. She was talking about all the lines in her sister's face and was wondering if hers were as bad. I said, "mom, hers are much more defined than yours." She looked at me and said, "Defined? What, do you think your a big shit now, going to college, you have to use 'defined'?" I was so confused as to why she was would see something wrong with me using that term. I said, "what's wrong with that?" "Well, aren't we just the educated one? Why didn't you just say the lines are more clear?"

Well, I still to this day believe she was threatened by me being in college so instead of arguing with her, I would just 'tone' down my vocabulary while I was around her and I still do it with the rest of my family. What's sad is, by doing that, I feel I forget the stronger vocabulary I have aqcuired through the course of my college education and when I am around my peers, I stumble on my words a lot.

I try not to 'tone' down my vocabulary anymore, however, I have been in school a long time and have been doing it for so many years, I am used to it. I never tried to make my family feel like they are anything less just because i am in school, however, I go out of my way to make them feel comfortable with me going to school since I am the black sheep for going.

I feel that when I write, the words flow a lot better than when I speak. I have no idea why that is.

Allow myself to introduce myself Volume 2

All about books

I’d have to say the first book I ever connected with was the Bible and because both sides of my family are so spiritual I grew up in homes filled with them. Part of what makes the bible so special to me is my connection with my maternal grandmother and the clarity of my memories of her are all wrapped up in the Bible. My family read a lot and not just my immediate family but almost my entire family, there are pockets of people who were workers or hustlers but for the most part everyone was about education. Even some of the people who didn’t do school the traditional way are incredibly literate and very well spoken. I was always surrounded by books my mother loves to read I think I’ve been to almost every public library and college library in San Bernardino County because of this. I recently read Love Poems by Pablo Neruda I love reading poetry more now than ever because the words seem to come to life for me and I’ll go back and read a poem three or four times if it really speaks to me. His collection of poems about love appealed to me because I’ve been so unlucky with that aspect of my life and I wanted to feel his take on the most essential aspect of the human condition. Love is so big and so expansive and Neruda makes it seem so simple and beautiful it almost gives me hope that one day I’ll know what it’s like to experience it.

Allow myself to introduce myself Volume 1

My relationship with words

I have always felt a special bond with words, I learned to read at three because my older cousins teased me and called me a baby when I couldn’t. My maternal Grandmother taught me to read by reading me bible scriptures like Deuteronomy and having me read them back to her. I wasn’t the first child Betty-Jean Johnson taught to read. She worked in the Pomona Unified School District for many years in various capacities and literacy especially with young black males was always a focal point of hers. My paternal Grandmother was also an educator with PUSD and I always got books for Christmas and my birthday. Growing up reading wasn’t just encouraged it was expected. At a family event grown ups would ask me what books I’d read lately or what I was working on in school. Once I began writing reading became an escape from my own words, it turned into a way to refresh my creativity and foster new ideas. I can only remember reading children’s books for a short time. They just never really interested me I read the paper I read the books on black history and culture that my step-dad kept around the house. I read sports magazines, and hip-hop magazines, I read song lyrics, and album covers. My literacy style is a big part of my identity, because as far as reading went nothing was off limits so I was allowed to explore and figure out who I was.

Literacy, Discourse, and Liguitics or What is Literacy?

In James Paul Gee's intoduction he explores the idea that through "intergrating the psycho and soocio approaches to language from a variety of disciplines, is emerging, a field which we might call literacy studies."(525) Applied linguistics is another term sites as related to his rearch in this area stating the foundation of his work
"should not be language or literacy but social practices."(525) Conversation and discourse is a huge part of literacy according to Gee's research, because oral expression of ones ideals and social interactions are a demonstration of one's literacy level. "Discourses are ways of being in the world; they are forms of life which intergrate words, acts, values, beliefs, attitudes, and social identities as well as gestures, glances, body positions, and clothes." (526)Gee refers to discourse as an "identity kit" so naturally your literacy style is part of your discourse. Upbringing and family life are essential to our discourse, primary socialization begins at home at a very young age Gee calls this devolpment our "primary discourse". As we grow we develop other discourses, if someone comes from a home where only certain topics are addressed they may seek outside stimulation and develop "secondary discourses" to meet their needs. This is also a part of language/literacy aquisition, the understanding and application of new language is integral to human development and societies that encourage this flourish while those that don't fail. Within a given culture certain enclaves that are not establishing new disciurse may exist but those people restrict themselves and their children through this practice as new and different language is a part of man's advancement. Gee defines literacy as "the mastery of or fluent control over a secondary discourse."(529) He also states in the same passage that "literacy is always plural..." literacy having more than one meaning is a key element to lteracy studies and applied linguistics. Gee goes on to draw a line between the two and provide research to support the idea that "we are better at waht we aquire, but we consciously know more about what we have learned."(540) Undestanding that primary discourse is aquired and secondary discourse is learned explains the difficulty with defining literacy and evaluating it without taking into account the socialization of liguistics. Language is power it has been used to control people throughout time understnading how it relates to discourse and the perception of literacy style make it more clear that the command of the written word needs to accessible to all people.

Revision of "The New Literacy Studies" article...

By Teresa Espinosa

Street, author of "The New Literacy Studies" conducts a study on literacy and learns of two models presented by theorists and researchers of literacy. The two models are 'autonomous' and 'ideological'. Although Street identifies both models, he really doesn't sway in agreement with one or the other. He explains what they both mean and compares the two models based on theorists findings and research.

The autonomous model is described as literacy free from and unaffected by social context and outside forces such as media, culture, etc. It is driven by institutions. I don't agree with this model since I believe that society and culture are very important in learning literacy. Interpretation based on individual experiences help when developing literacy. One's experiences would motivate someone to write and perhaps read as well in search for something relative.

The ideology model is more the model I agree with. It says that "literacy practices are inextricably linked to cultural and power structures in society to recognize the variety of cultural practices associated with reading and writing in different contexts" (434). Literacy is driven by outside forces contrary to the autonomous model. Olsen stated that text differs from oral language however, they cannot be uninfluenced by culture or society.

The big question is, did writing change us in a way we do analytic thinking? I think not. I believe that writing is a technology that only enhanced the way we think critically. It is a way we can remember things yet we still need to analyze text to gather meaning.

"The New Literacy Studies"

By: Teresa Espinosa

Street discusses two theories regarding Literacy. One of which is called, The "autonomous" model and two called the "idealogical" model. What I think the autonomous model means is that speech is free from outside influences in most cultures and text is written freely without orality. I didn't quite understand the autonomy model, however, the Idealogical model is more of a power structure of language. He states, " Any ethnographic account of literacy will, by implication, attest it's significance for power, authority, and social differentiation..."(434). This model understands cultural wholes whereas the autonmous model does not.

Street writes about many reasearches and studies in Literacy and how the social context and culture plays a role in aqcuiring literacy.

Autobiographical Essay Week 5: Fear of Public Speaking

Back when I was still acquiring my Assiciates Degree at RCC, I had to take a class on public speaking. Just the thought of speaking publically made me sick to my stomach. I remember the professor would give us the speech assignment in class and just sitting there thinking about it made my stomach turn. I thought, how could I possibly do this?! After the assignment was given, I began to think about how to present it. It helped that the assignments had to do with personal concepts which definately makes things easier to talk about. I did one speech about the person I admire most, Frida Kahlo, and one about being a mother. Each time before I spoke, the fear was so strong. But thankfully, my professor had given us tips on how to present, such as index cards and practicing and timing the speech before the day of. Index cards really helped me to stay on track during the speech and it was funny how my fear was so great before I spoke, but as soon as I began the speech, my fear seemed to immediately dissolve. My voice is loud which helps overcome the timidness of it and because I was passionate about the topics, I had no trouble spouting out a few minutes. I still get this knot in my stomach when I am going to do a speech, but I know now that it will only last until I start the presentation. I think this class helped me overcome a great fear of public speaking and makes me more elegible to become a teacher.
Teaching, for some reason, I view differently than speaking publically, but speaking to any audience holds the same qualities and concerns. Who is your audience? What is the point of the speech? Are you loud enough? Is your timing accurate? Have you made your point clear, etc.? Getting this specific perspective on speech and language made me view speaking with a more optomistic approach rather than a fearful one. Since that class, I have given presentations in front of classes, teach my own class of children, have spoken in front of my church among other things, all of which I am proud to have accomplished.

Autobiography Week 5

Power in Debate

I can't remember the first time I felt very powerful, however, there was this one time, about 5 years ago when my older sister tried to belittle me by reminding me of how much smarter she is than me. You see, growing up, she did very well in grade school. Most of the time she had straight A's, she studied harder and had so much more discipline than I did. All the while, she would constantly remind me of how much smarter she was than me. Well, there we were many years after high school graduation and her searching for a job after being laid off by a retail store and with only a high school diploma to show for her education.

We were having our typical competition of who was smarter and I was winning! I was able to articulate my argument and I out witted her. She through in my face that she is still smarter than me and I just looked at her and said, "aw, how cute, you still think you're smarter than me!" She gave me a look like she felt defeated and had nothing more to say.

It took many years to be able to win an argument with her but through careful word choice and taking my time to think carefully, I did it. I took a debate class before that argument and I was able to use skills I learned in that class to strengthen my argument. I felt powerful. And by the look on her face, she felt like I did after every argument prior to that day.

That day proved to me that I am smart and it gave me the confidence to stand up for what I believe in regardless of the opposition. It's funny because although I had so much education to back me, I was still too intimidated to stand up for myself because I always second guessed myself when it came time to debate. Not anymore!

San Diego Zoo (Week 5)

To be perfectly honest, I've been told that as soon as I learned how to talk, I didn't stop. My mom tells me that she used to say, "Nora, my ears are so tired. Let them rest" because I talked constantly. It's really funny, actually, because it worked- I would stop talking at least for a little while. The first time I remember feeling powerful because of my language abilities was when I was in first grade. My parents took me to the San Diego zoo one weekend, and I asked my teacher if I could tell the class about our trip. She said I could, so I brought in a butterfly made of paper my parents had bought me and told the class about the zoo. I remember loving that the class was listening to what I had to say, and I really felt that what I was talking about was extremely important. Technically, it was my first class presentation, and I loved the attention I got from it.

I'm not as big of a chatterbox as I was in elementary school, but I do still like to voice my opinions either in class or just when talking with friends. What I remember most about that "presentation" was that I got to teach the class about the zoo, and I loved it. I guess it really wasn't that big of a shock to my parents when I told them I wanted to be a teacher in third grade because of my "love for the spoken language," as my mom endearingly calls it.

Autobiography #4

A Break Through in Literacy

I had a break through moment in literacy when I attended an English 311 class here at Cal State San Bernardino. Before 311 I always believed that simple grammar and the common rules of writing were the explanations behind language. Breaking words down to the morphological and phonological level was a whole new territory for me. I was amazed at how letters' sounds are manipulated to create the smallest bit of meaning within a word. Although I was intrigued by the class, I chose to continue on the Literature path in my concentration since it fit my schedule. Otherwise, I just might have changed my concentration to Liguistics!

Everyone in the class seemed to enjoy learning linguistics as well. The Professor was very engaged in teaching and held the class' attention with her performance of the phonology sound effects. I will be able to take with me reason why letters make sounds and be able to use this as a tool to teach my future classes basic linguistics.

Moss' Ethnography and Composition: Studying Language at Home

Beverly Moss describes the functions of ethnography, the fundamentals of it and the approach an ethnographer should take. This insight is very helpful to those who are considering doing some sort of ethnography for themselves. Moss explains that "the goal of an enthnographer is to study, explore, and describe a group's culture," (389). I have always found culture to be one of the most interesting aspects of the individual and also believe that studying the culture helps lead one to a better understanding of why people are the way they are. Growing up in San Bernardino, I have always been aware of the mixture of cultures that this city entails and have grown up to embrace different things from different cultures because it was always apart of ME. I have attended quincineras, attended an African American church, and have always engaged with others races. I have always desired to understand and relate to others how I got to be the person I am and that I evolved from a variety of cultures.
When considering doing an ethnographical study of San Bernardino, I see it as a challenge because there is not just one set culture in this city. As Hymes describes the three modes of ethnographic inquiry, (comprehensive-oriented, topic-oriented, and hypothesis-oriented) I feel it would be most logical to take the topic-oriented approach. Although hypothesis oriented might be an interesting evolution of the process. Moss also brings up good points about studying one's own culture. She notes that an ethnographer must be as open-mided as possible. Because you are dealing with a familiar life-style, it may be easy to overlook certain aspects of the culture that seem normal or uninteresting because it has always been part of the routine. This may be hard for someone from the community to do, as well as withholding bias or predjudice about things.
I like the fact that Moss refers to Shirley Brice Heath in this article because I have also read her work, and agree that it is most insightful into a different cultural perception. There was one town Heath observed that was very similar to the lifestyle and cultural beliefs I had been raised with, for example, reading books and talking to babies and preparing for school. The other town took a completely opposite approach to lifestyle, where the children were only to speak when spoken to, put on stage to see how they would react to certain incidents, and having a much different view of what was important in life. At first I was shocked to think that people would treat their children to public humiliation and not encourage education, but after reading more into the ethnography, I discovered how important these things were to their culture and also identified them in their community.
After taking African American Literature, I have always been interested in how their language has evolved from oral to written, and how much of a role the oral language still plays apart in the community. This ethnography seemed to reinforce this concept for me and gave me a more open mind for these sorts of studies. Ethnography has no room for bias or personal opinion but can be very helpful when trying to understand someone's reasonings and ways of life.
Lastly, I would quickly like to address Moss' quote that "finding out what students did outside the class was the key to helping them succeed in school," (388). Throughout my studies on teaching children, I have seen this point reiterated over and over again. I too, believe this is one of the most important things to understand when trying to teach children and ethnographies are a great way to study them. This can be a difficult goal to obtain, but it truly is the key to success for these students. Through a better understanding of the students' lives outside of school, the teacher can look for multiple ways to connect and engage his or her students which is necessary for the student to want to learn at all.

The Chance to Create (Week 4)

My Sophomore year of high school was my worst and best year for English. I started out the year in full I.B. (International Baccalaureate) classes, and this included English. I had always done well in my English classes before this year, but, to be honest, I struggled first semester in English. IB is a high honors program, and though the material was college-level and, therefore, challenging, it wasn't the course work that discouraged me- it was my teacher. I won't name names, because I went to high school right down the street from CSUSB, but this particular English teacher was absolutely horrendous. He was older and had a reputation for acting inappropriately with his female students. I won't go into detail, because it is unnecessary for this assignment, but his, ahem, style didn't exactly inspire me to take his assignments seriously.

After discussing my intimidation of him with my father, my dad decided it was time for me to switch out of his class at the semester. For the first time in my high school career, I was no longer in full IB classes. My dad asked to have me transferred into the AVID program at my school after I told him about it (a few of my friends in P.E. were in the program and told me I should join). I was ecstatic to be transferred out of this teacher's class, but was a little hesitant when I realized that my new English teacher was a man, too. I really didn't need to worry, however. Mr. Garrett was probably the complete opposite of my previous teacher. He was younger, very outgoing and most importantly, he was warm and he took his students seriously. To be honest, for the first time in high school, I felt as though what I thought and what I said was respected and heard by a teacher.

The assignment that I remember best from all of high school was given to me that second semester. We read Ayn Rand's Anthem , which isn't exactly an easy read, but it was short so I wasn't turned off to it. We, of course, answered chapter questions to make sure that we understood the readings, but the assignment I'm talking about came at the end of the book. Mr. Garrett gave us a few (and by a few, I mean probably 10) final assignments to choose from, ranging from research papers to creative writing projects. I narrowed my choices down to two, one being an academic paper and the other being creative writing. I'm not sure what provoked my courage, but I decided to go with the creative writing project. The question was to write the story of the man Equality 7-2521 (the main character) saw being burned at a stake at the beginning of the book. I don't know what it was, but the combination between this book, the writing prompt and Mr. Garrett encouraged me to write a story for a grade, which was something I had never done before.

When I got my assignment back from Mr. Garrett, I was only encouraged further. I got an A+ on the assignment, and he wrote comments giving me helpful tips and praise. For the first time in high school, I felt talented and intelligent. He was the only teacher I had in high school who did anything remotely creative with writing assignments, and I attribute my success in his class to his patience and belief in his students. It was after his class that I considered seriously going into creative writing in college, and as those of you reading probably know by now, I did. The experience I had in his class also has given me ideas about how I want to give writing assignments to my future students. Because of his class, I know the importance of giving students room to be everything they can, even when that means going above and beyond what I might be expected to do as a teacher (as Mr. Garrett did). Because of this class, I know the importance of giving students a chance to create something they are proud of.

Universal Literacy?

In examination of Szwed's text on The Ethnography of Literacy, the notion of the socialism of education comes to mind especially as it pertains to the "social meaning of literacy". The difference between functional literacy and academic literacy and how the two are closely related to financial success and quality of life within the modern class system. Szwed referred to "the negative correlation of skills in literacy with lower socio-economic standing." and also how family and community literacy contribute to the "culture of poverty". Szwed asks perhaps the most poignant question on the matter of the ethnography of literacy when he asks "What is it that people read and write?" I also that in conjunction scholars researching the subject should also ask why? The books most often translated and read have to do with faith, ie the bible, torah, and koran etc. the knowledge of these books in impoverished and underdeveloped communities world wide is an important part of any literacy debate. The concept of those who don't have acess to the type off education that creates complete literacy being "street" or "functionally" literate is an old world ideal. When education was reserved for a privileged few poor people learned scripture, literary classics, fables and wives tales passing them from one generation to the next in a hybrid of oral tradition and the inclusion of certain texts as "functional literature". When it was illegal for a slave to be taught to read there were slaves who knew the bible chapter and verse from memory. Was this an example of literacy? Szwed examines "motivation" for literacy in his text and in understanding culture of poverty I can conclude that survival is one of the strongest motivating factors for literacy but in many instances due to the availability of information and the strain of poverty functional literacy is all that can be obtained. Szwed states that "ethnographic methods ... are the only means for finding out what literacy really is and what can validly be measured." In looking at literacy community by community world wide gives scholars a more sound foundation on universal literature and how it can be achieved, if that's possible

Week 4 Autobiography: Orwell Misunderstood

When looking back at my schooled experiences with literacy, they were mostly beneficial except for my ninth grade year at San Bernardino High School. This is the only time that my schooled literacy experiences did not seem like a friend to me. This academic year was the only time that I did not finish the texts assigned to me and felt as though I could care less about the story or more importantly, what the author was trying to say. Without much reflection I figured it was just my attitude about school at the time, but now I see how influential the other factors involved were.
My English teacher also happened to be the water polo coach and it was immediately apparent that he favored his chosen sport over his teaching subject. Even his students that were on the team were favored over those who weren't. His attitude towards English affected me from the beginning even though I did not see it at the time.
My biggest failure, or should I say HIS biggest failure that year was the lack of interest in the literature. We were assigned to read George Orwell's, Animal Farm from start to finish but I had already finished after the third page! I never picked it up again. I don't ever recall being introduced to the author's background, or his purpose for writing the book which might have sparked my interest a bit more, but really, I think that I just picked up my teacher's attitude and uninterest for literature.
Usually I will not finish a book if I am completely uninterested in it, but I don't ever remember stopping after the third page. I am not interested in all the literature I have ever read, but I think this feeling was intensified by my teacher's lack of guidance and interest in his job. Today, I have yet to read this story but I wish I could have given it more of a chance. I didn't even give literature a chance to be my friend in this case and I regret this decision today, but I feel I had no one to show me how to be interested in it. This teacher had a big influence on my ninth grade literature, but not in the way I had hoped.

Week 3 Autobiography: Bestest Books

I have had books read to me or have been reading them for so long, that trying to determine the first time a book really affected me is difficult to do. When I was younger, there is one author that still follows me around in my career of creative writing: Dr. Seuss. Whether it was the iambic patameter, the creative, outrageous circumstances of the story, the use of alliterations, or just how the story was told, Dr. Seuss was an enormous influence to my take on literature. I loved how easy he made rhyming seem and I followed his patterns as I began to write my own poetry by third grade.
I remember I wrote a poem called "Little Brothers" which ended up being entered into the Writing Celebration, a program my school was a part of, and won third place out of all who entered. Needless to say, my younger brother, Andrew, was not as thrilled as I was since the poem basically bashed on him. But as I look back, I am positive that Dr. Seuss was where I developed a sense of poetry at all.
Dr. Suess books were also great books for learning to read and I remember my grandmother bought me the whole collection once. My favorite book by him was Are You My Mother? My mom would sit down and read this book to my brother and me over and over again and we would laugh and laugh when the bulldozer would say "Snork!". It was real quality time.
Being an English major, I have read so many books! If I had to pick one (series) that I enjoyed the most, it would have to be J.R.R. Tolkein's, Lord of the Rings. I have never been more into another book than that trilogy. I think it was because it was like entering into another world that had been created special for me. I loved how he set up the entire world and tok the characters on that incredible journey. I remember at the end when Frodo is at Mount Doom and claims the ring for himself, I was so upset!! Feeling such passion for a book really draws me in and makes me never want to leave!

Moll/Gonzalez: Let them Use the Knowledge they Already Have

Luis C. Moll and Norma Gonzalez's Lessons from Research with Language-Minority Children was written to inform the reader about their findings, workings and implications of studies they have done with what they call "funds of knowledge" (158) and "inquiry-based instruction" (163). They define "funds of knowledge" as "those historically accumulated and culturally developed bodies of knowledge and skills essential for household or individual functioning and well-being," (160). They argue in this piece that education for bi- or multi-lingual students needs to include the knowledge that is necessary at home because they then can see themselves fitting in an academic setting. They then discuss the importance of using these funds of knowledge to encourage student-driven research. They obtain research on both of these concepts by implementing several case-studies at both language-minority homes and schools.

They give a couple of examples from their research of both of these goals, as I think of them. While doing their studies on the funds of knowledge there were several researchers (and teachers) who went to the homes of participating students and discussed with the parents or guardians what their family does and what knowledge is necessary to do it. In one case, a researcher found that one family in Tucson, Arizona has rural roots, as many of the men in the family are cowboys. This family owns a ranch, and the researcher found that even though they do not make a living doing cowboy work they still hold great importance in "teach[ing] [the children] the funds of knowledge entailed in these old family traditions," (161). They also found that in most cases in language-minority homes there is more than one household that contributes to the knowledge a child obtains. The implications they express in these studies are to "debunk" the idea that "working-class, language-minority households...[lack] worthwhile knowledge and experiences," (161) and to "[understand] the concept of culture... as the lived practices and knowledge of the students and their families," (162) and not as a sort of myth.

These implications lead to their discussion about inquiry-based instruction and student-driven assignments by using research done by Warren, Rosebery, and Conant (1636). This connection is that teachers can use the knowledge these students are getting from home as a springboard for assignments that the students are interested in. This "knowledge" includes languages they know other than English. In one example they gave, students were encouraged to speak in the language they were most comfortable with. This helped the students to organize their thoughts in the language they are most fluent in. They gave another example of a classroom in New York City with Puerto Rican and African-American sixth graders (165). The teachers asked the students what they would be interested in researching, and the students wanted to research "where and how to obtain resources to help the poor and the homeless, questions about drug and alcohol abuse, the etiology of diseases, crime and child abuse, early pregnancies, women and employment, and the food shortages," (166). The teacher let them organize themselves into groups based on which they would like to research and let them name their group. After the research was finished, a student said it was different from their other school projects because the teachers gave "the idea and let (them) find out the information and say how (they) feel," (167). This study showed that a working social relationship between teachers and students is incredibly useful in helping students take charge of and participate in their education. Moll and Gonzalez conclude that "'language-minority' students have the intellectual capabilities of any other [child]... and... instructional arrangements that capitalize fully on the many strengths they bring into classrooms" should be implemented (171).

Autobiography week 3

Teresa Espinosa
Posted late with permission. Thank you.

Non-Motivational Reader

As I mentioned in class today, the first time I was required to read a whole on my own was when I was in the seventh grade. I remember it vividly because throughout elementary school, the teachers usually just read to the class or had us volunteer to read out loud. The book was, The Call of the Wild by Jack London. I loved the book and almost kept up with the reading. I did however finish the book but it was on my own pace since the class advanced faster than I did. I was not use to reading on my own; it required lots of discipline and time. I was a very slow reader. I remember the book was about sled dogs and their owner and snowstorms and survival. If I remember correctly, one of the sled dogs was the leader of the pack and was very smart and helped the owner survive in the wild.

My teacher had every student take home a copy of the book and when I got home, my chores were waiting for me. I always had chores to do and my mother was the type to brush off ‘books’ and she supported hard, physical work instead. All I wanted to do was to read on my own. I was excited to do so. As soon as I completed my chores, I isolated myself from the family and read in my closet so they couldn’t find me.

In my family, reading consisted of the daily newspaper or closed captioning on the television set even though no one was deaf. My mother liked reading the captions because my two brothers and four sisters and I were always noisy. We didn’t have books around the house. Our day consisted of chores and sometimes homework. The rest of the day we were to play outside.

The Call of the Wild is the first book that mattered to me because it was the first time the teacher trusted me to take it home and read it on my own. I will never forget that. Although I was excited to read at that point, I lost that motivation soon after because my teacher Ms. Lavaign, had to leave to have back surgery and she never came back. Her substitute has lower expectations for the class and we didn’t have to check another book for the rest of the semester. I was curious and went to the library but quickly got overwhelmed at how many books I had to choose from and left.

Literacy Development; Dyson

By Teresa Espinosa

Dyson

According to Bakhtin, “we are all textual borrowers,” (327). It is not uncommon for someone to hear something from someone or somewhere else and use the words in a separate conversation in a context appropriate for the conversation. Vygotsky says, “language manipulates mind in society” (327). This means that we, society are required to think critically when searching for word choice thus language navigates the conversation. This happens because of the words’ history and meaning.
Some of the ways children learn language is through their everyday activities, conversations, storytelling, and literary response and through dramatic plays. The text by Dyson explains that children respond well to interesting media that they could follow along such as colorful. Language is age appropriate and meaningful and come from power. With that being said, the children can pick up and interpret the meaning of the language and ten use it creating an understanding.
The use of media reference includes: pleasure; stimulation, sports media shows provided especially boys source of displayed knowledge, and the sports media offered affiliation and differentiation. These references served as social functions allowing the children to connect their media world with school. The “media could provide resources for participation in school literacy events, particularly assigned writing,” (336) this helps motivate student to participate in written activities.
Many children have different learning styles and it is important for educators to be able to hone in on each students’ style to gain interest in the lesson.

Literacy Lives in Us All

According to Yetta Goodman's chapter, "The Development of Initial Literacy," the development of literacy is present in all children at a very young age. Children begin to comprehend very early on, how reading and writing have great emphasis on communication and meaning in society. Just like in oral language development, written language shows meaning and a form of communication to youngsters. So if this is the case, then why are there so many children who struggle through these rooted incentives throughout school? Of multiple reasons for this developed delinquency, Goodman points out the important fact "that children's development of literacy grows out of their experiences, and the views and attitudes towards literacy that they encounter as they interact with social groups..." (317).
While social class may emphasize the degree to which children feel the competence to read and write, this does not mean that the lower-class children cannot read or comprehend meaning from reading. Literacy just comes in different levels of importance to different social groups. Lower-class families might not read the same sorts of literature as do middle-class families. For example, children might get their reading practice from food labels in the grocery store rather then sight words from a book. Either way, the child is still recognizing the importance of meaning through reading. Another prime example of reading determinants by social class could be the way which reading is presented to the child. If reading is only seen to the child as a chore to his parents, there is a good chance he will grow up thinking of it as a chore as well.
How we display reading to our children will have a major impact on how they perceive it in the years to come. As teachers we must try to show a variety of texts to students and read and analyze them in exciting ways. We must open their minds to the potential which is already within them.

Fairies and Birch Trees (Week 3)

I mentioned in my last autobiography the Dr. Seuss books I got in the mail every month, but the first book that really captivated me was this huge (literally- it was probably almost as tall as I was) book about fairies. It was actually fairly long for this type of book, I believe that it was about 30 pages, and it was printed on hard, cardboard-like material. I think my sister and I got it for Christmas when I was about eight (this is a guesstimate) from one of our several aunts/uncles.
The things I loved about it most were its size and durability. I could open it up, lie half of my body on it and read stories about fairies that lived in huge trees in the forest. The pictures in it were lovely. They were brightly colored and, to put it simply, very pretty. I have always had an over-active imagination (in fact, I was convinced for a long time that there were fairies who invited me to ride roller coasters in the birch trees in our backyard, and I now attribute that longing to this book) so, needless to say, this book suited me perfectly. I would spend hours looking at the pictures and reading the stories over and over.
I hadn't given much thought about why this book enchanted me to the extent that it did until now, but I think it was the way the book literally invited me in. It gave me a whole other world to go to when I was bored with the one I was in and pretend I was there, I guess. Unfortunately, I can't really remember much of the details about what the stories were about, but I do remember that a few of them were about the fairies in conflict with some dark force. I remember daydreaming about ways to help them until the end when everything was resolved. Ok, I know I was a really weird kid, and I'm probably still incredibly weird to a lot of people, but I don't mind. I loved that book.
Other books/reading materials that were around when I was younger were, honestly, everywhere. I remember this subscription to some sort of Discovery magazine special on animals that we got monthly in the mail. My mom would read them to us until I could start reading, and then she encouraged me to read them to my younger sister and brother. They were kind of like pamphlets, I guess, that had scientific information about all kinds of different animals, and we collected them in these miniature three-ringed notebooks. I know this isn't a very great description of them, but I remember being so excited to read them and learn about all sorts of animals. This communal reading was very common in my house growing up. We were all expected to participate in reading or listening, and honestly, it wasn't much of a chore for any of us ("us" being me, my sister and my brother). All three of us always loved reading and being read to, probably because we were for as long as I can remember.
The most recent book I read with the same (or similar) enjoyment as the fairy book was, ok, don't laugh at me, the seventh (and final) Harry Potter book. I finished reading it a second time back in October, and I think I enjoyed it even more the second time. I know, I'm an English major and I've read several books since October, and I know that many people think these books are lame, and there are inconsistencies in them (trust me, I've seen them, I've read all the other books five times), but they fill the same spot in me that the fairy book did. They give me a world to go to when I'm bored with this one. I no longer think there are fairies in the trees next to my apartment, but I do have the same imagination, and it needs to be fed every once in a while.

Don't be "Afraid" (Week 2)

When I think about my first experiences with literacy, the first thing that comes to mind is this huge sort-of “Hooked on Phonics” cardboard box that my mom used to help me learn letter sounds and basic words. In it were flashcards, cassette tapes and small books that my mom rotated using. Along with these practices, both of parents continually read to me and sat patiently with me while I learned to read. Reading Chicka Chicka Boom Boom was especially exciting, as my parents went to extreme lengths when reading it to me. They often created different voices for each of the letters to spark the idea that one can create your own characters when you read, thus sparking my interest in reading in genteral. My parents were also influential in my early literacy development when they got me a subscription to receive Dr. Seuss books monthly for my sixth or seventh birthday. I waited every month for these books and would read them over and over again until the next one arrived. These books also were incredibly influential in my growth as a reader.

In third grade, I couldn’t for the life of me spell “afraid.” There was something about that silent ‘i’ that kept me from remembering it. It was one of the words for my spelling test, and my mom was quizzing me for the test the next day. I became so frustrated that I couldn’t get this word that I began to cry. My mom was so good at remaining calm and putting things in ways I could remember, and she came up with a rhythm that she said over and over again until I got it. I still remember it today (and would type it here, though I don’t know if the effect would translate through text). My growth as a writer was a bit more of a challenge than my growth as a reader, but through my struggles with writing I grew to love it.

Also during third grade I entered a story I wrote into a writing competition my school held. I spent a lot of time on this story and I actually still have it. The spelling is terrible, but the point was that I was writing. Surprisingly it is about three and a half pages long and actually pretty funny. The opportunity I had at the school to write creatively paired with the encouragement to read from my parents both helped develop my literacy skills.

Week 2 Autobiography; Born into Books

In the early development of my language and literacy, reading was always an important factor. My mother would always read children’s stories to me before I was in school and I enjoyed it because she always read with such passion and did character voices. She made the books we read fun and entertaining and hence, I developed a love for literature at a very early age. Both my parents are college graduates and so I have been exposed to books for as long as I can remember. My father was a pastor, among other things; a playwright, author, poet, and composer, which I suspect I picked up some amazing qualities from. My mother was a housewife and later went into teaching which I was also able to benefit from. Entering into kindergarten I advanced quickly at learning to read and could read and write easily. Spelling always came naturally to me and I excelled quickly in English subject matter.

As my understanding of the English language grew, so did my interest in creating my own stories: my own voice. Growing up as the minister’s daughter, I often felt obligated to withhold my opinions so as not to offend anyone. This led to a lot of internal confusion and conflict and I was eventually prompted to write for my own benefit. It is here that I discovered that writing was the perfect outlet to comment on my personal perspectives and nobody had to know. It was a way for me to express concerns about family, society, and religion among any other topic I wished to dissect. Although I was always talented at writing fiction (even in elementary), my ideas of writing finally extended from journaling, to implementing my own voice and experiences into my fiction works.

It is through literature that I developed my love for story telling, but more importantly, a chance to connect to someone else. Literature can be a friend to someone who has none. It can be a catalyst, a springboard, an inspiration, a warning, or simply a view on life and it is through literature that one may realize that they are not alone in their opinions or views. It is always nice to feel the comfort of sympathy and to be able to share your feelings with others. Throughout my experiences of reading and writing, I have gained cultural, historical and fantastical views about life and can appreciate literary works for more than just education. I can relate to texts and hopefully find insight into my own life.

"Mistaken Identitity" (Week 2)

A Case of Mistaken Identity

I am not hundred percent sure when my literacy and language development began, however, what I do remember is being very young and being put into an English language learning class with students who didn’t speak any English. I don’t remember the grade I was in when I was asked by my teacher to follow the teacher standing at the door. She took me the classroom where many other students waited for instruction. I was confused as to why they were putting me in that class since I knew no Spanish. It took the teachers a many days and weeks before they realized they made a mistake. I remember just staring at them when they held up obvious pictures and asked me to name them. That is probably why it took them so long to figure out that I didn’t belong with the English language learners. They figured that because I was dark skin with dark hair and brown eyes, that I knew no English.

I have no idea how long I was in that class before they sent me back to my regular class. I know now that precious time was lost in teaching me how to read and write like the other native speakers. I know this because when I returned the other kids were reading and I still struggled because I was being taught how to pronounce words based on flash cards the ELL teacher was teaching me. So, this is the role school played in my literacy skills.

At home, I remember my mother and older brothers and sisters constantly correcting me when I spoke. At the time it was annoying however, I am certain it helped stretch my vocabulary. I don’t remember my family ever taking the time to read to me and it wasn’t extremely important to my mother that I did my homework. Needless to say, I didn’t have much support at home to motivate me to be a good student. Although I lacked support, I was determined to please my teachers. Although they made the mistake of holding me back by putting me in ELL class simply because of the way I looked, I was blessed with some teachers that helped me develop my reading and writing skills.

All signed in!

Took me a while but I made it here!