Commonplace Posts: Recording Textual Moments

As discussed in class on Tuesday, I want you to choose a passage or paragraph that stands out to you and post it to the blog. You might like a particular passage, hate a particular passage, or think that a particular passage captures your attention for some reason that you cannot put your finger on. In a moment, I am going to post my "textual moment" right here in this blog and tell you a little about what I like about it. After taking a look at what I post, post your own passage as a comment to this post.

A moment that stood out in bell hook's, "In Our Glory: Photography and Black Life":

The image in this snapshot has lingered in my mind's eye for years. It has lingered there to remind [me] of the power of snapshots, of the image. As I slowly work on a book of essays titled Art on My Mind, I think about the place of art in black life, connections between the social construction of black identity, the impact of raceand class, and the presence in black life of an inarticulate but ever-present visual aesthetic governing our relationship to images, to the process of image making. I return to the snapshot as a starting point to consider the place of the visual in black life--the importance of photography (81).

This passage stands out to me because it marks the place in the essay where hooks connects her discussion of her personal story of her father's photograph with larger issues of the role of photography in black life. She breaks down the barriers between the personal and the theoretical, personal writing and academic writing. This is the point that I got even more interested in what she had to say. I think she really hits the nail on the head when she says two paragraphs later: "The history of black liberation movements in the United States could be characterized as a struggle over images as much as it has also been a struggle for rights, for equal access" (81).

I guess I like the directness of her writing and the willingness to take risks and advocate for a position with no apologies.

Campaigning and Political Rhetoric

Watch each of the candidate videos again. They are posted on the blog.

As you watch each of the videos, keep in mind what you've read about the RHETORICAL TRIANGLE in our text book, Rhetorical Visions. Using your notes, post a comment that discusses your initial observations about Rhetor, Audience, and Text. Use “Rhetorical Analysis: A Summation” on page 7 as a guide.

We will be discussing this in class more--think of your blog post as an early draft of a rhetorical analysis. Don't worry about being right or wrong...just try to be specific and descriptive.

Welcome to Mahoney's ENG 023 Spring 2008!

Hello all,

Welcome to my College Composition course--version Spring '08! Other than being another new year, another new semester, we are in the thick of an election year. Many observers have commented that this year saw the earliest start of presidential campaigning in our history. I'll leave it to my friends over in political science and history to determine the accuracy of that claim, but it does seem the campaigns began very early this time around.

If you're sick of all the campaigning already, you'll probably let out a great big sigh when you learn that you won't get away from it in this class. Nope.

You see, one of the important issues that we writing teachers face when we talk about critical analysis, persuasive rhetoric, research writing--you know, all that stuff that goes into "academic writing"--is the question of "relevance." That is, what's this all have to do with the "real world." Well, we're going to test some of that out this semester. Given that it's a fact that there is a presidential campaign going on and we're supposed to like the fact we live in a democracy, we're going to practice a little critical citizenship this semester. By doing so, I hope to link questions about "writing" with questions about "democracy." That is, I believe they are connected and important. I believe that learning and practicing critical analysis and writing is integral and vital to a healthy democracy.

Ok, Ok...enough of all the heady stuff for now.

A proper introduction. Hi, I'm Dr. Kevin Mahoney. I grew up in Utica, NY...that's "upstate" to most people, but we always referred to it as "Central New York"...it part because, well, it's in the center of New York State. I've got a B.A. in Political Science, an MA in English, and a Ph.D. in Composition and Rhetoric (don't worry, you'll know what that means by the end of the semester). I've been teaching at Kutztown for just over 5 years and I am currently the Coordinator of Composition in the English Department. My office is 237 Lytle Hall and I you are always welcome to stop by during my office hours or set up an appointment if my office hours conflict with your schedule.

So, now it's your turn. Introduce yourself. Let us know what's on your mind. And while you're at it, check out what other people have to say and respond to them. See you next class!

Post New Hampshire Primary Speeches

In the posts below, you will find video of four speeches following the New Hampshire Presidential Primary on Tuesday, January 8, 2008. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were the two candidates who received the most votes in the Democratic Party Primary. John McCain and Mitt Romney were the two candidates who received the most votes from Republican Party primary.

Take a look at each of these videos again. As you watch, keep in mind what you've read about the RHETORICAL TRIANGLE in our text book, Rhetorical Visions. Using your notes, post a comment that discusses your initial observations about Rhetor, Audience, and Text.

Hillary Clinton's New Hampshire Victory Speech:

Barack Obama's New Hampshire Second Place Speech:

John McCain's New Hampshire Victory Speech:

Mitt Romney's New Hampshire Second Place Speech:

Hillary Clinton's NH Victory Speech

Hillary Clinton's New Hampshire Victory Speech:

Barack Obama's NH Second Place Speech

Barack Obama's New Hampshire Second Place Speech:

John McCain's NH Victory Speech

John McCain's New Hampshire Victory Speech:

Mitt Romney's Second Place NH Speech

Mitt Romney's New Hampshire Second Place Speech:

Video on Digital Rhetoric

A little video fun for your perusal. Ok, you might not think that a short film on digital rhetoric is "fun," but maybe you soon will?!?

So, what's it gonna be???

Hey all...As we talked about in class, the move we are going to make next is to do some radical revisions of your narratives. Just to review: I want you to choose one paragraph in the middle of your narrative that you find interesting, engaging, or that you simply like. I want you to use that paragraph as the first paragraph of a "new" narrative. That is, instead of having an introductory paragraph, the paragraph you choose will be your first paragraph.

I want you to resist editing the paragraph to make is sound more like an introduction. It's a bonus if your reader does not understand the whole context. Remember, we are starting your narrative from a different point of departure. You should have ~2 pages of text written for Tuesday's class.

In the meantime, post the paragraph you chose here as a comment to this entry. I look forward to seeing what you chose!

K

Okay....okay...okay (says the Joe Pesci)...here's an intro message

So, we're not even one day into this and I'm behind already...well, not necessarily behind, but well, OK, behind :-). Thanks for your energy on our first day of class...I'm hoping this will be a great semester!

Take a couple of minutes to introduce yourself and get used to posting comments to the blog. Welcome again!

Essay Duex

Im almost 100% sure i am going to use the cocktail waitress essay for my paper seeing that i have had experience in the food industry that essay interests me alittle bit more than the others but i am still debating and tossing around some other ideas for right now.

Broad Summary

I think I'm going to write my paper on the Barbara Ehrenreich "Nickel-and-Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America". I think I can relate to this paper more in the sense that I know what its about and the issues are everywhere in America. it would be easy to explain the same situation she was talking about in her essay and give present day issues and facts to go along with it. I believe it will easiest to explain to an outside reader, easy to summarize and give view points on it as well.

Assignment #2

I think I'm Going to use the cocktail waitress essey for my paper. I have insight in this topic since i have doned some waitressing. The author uses a lot od decriptive words, which i picked up on. The author is really tring to get the reader to get a feel for the job. I <3 decriptive writing. However Im not exactly sure how to go about this paper...

I think....

I'm not really sure what I think. I am thinking about "Passport Photos" and I am thinking about "Nickel and Dimed Cocktail Waitress." If I talk about the passsport story I know what I say and think will be different then what other people think. If I choose the cocktail waitress I could be more pesonal using examples of regular waitresses and experiences I had. Those are my ideas that I have but I'm still thinking.

The other side to work

I want to write my paper on work. I have been working since the age of fourteen and now that I think about it has made the strong person that I am. My first job was not just a fast food restuarant but it was in a completely different atmosphere. I worked at HersheyPark's Boardwalk fries stand and it changed my view on the whole park and just people in general. I could now see what the workers go though as well as the customers everyday. I was an experience that showed me how some days people were nice and mean at the next minute. But the whole time I dealt with the attitudes of the customers and employees, I had to keep a Hershey Park happy attitude and smile on my face. So I wanted write a story that would get my readers to understand the change.
Bracee

rhetorically speaking

I'm going over the syllabus trying to get an idea for assignment 2, but am having trouble. We are told to write about a rhetorical conversation involving public opinion. But I'm finding that most of the stories we have read are tied so closely to political issues that this rhetorical debate is lacking the authors own feelings. Anybody can find an issue online then find other peoples opinions about a particular political problem and simply rhetorically analyze it until your blue in the face. The problem with this assignment is that it lacks personal direction. When talking about something that nobody can fully understand like these universal issues we tend to tie radical positions to personal experience, whether maybe having extremist parents, or simply not being tipped often as a waiter at applebee's. Without speaking in a biased voice during this assignment, after it's completion each of our papers will share the same run on voice that's used by backwards politicians who talk them selves in circles about the same problems.

passport

dont ridicule people, dont judge a person on their personality or their behavior, or the way they look. Just becuase they dont seem to be a good person on the outside doesnt mean they arnt a good person on the inside. When people move hear or come hear doesnt mean they should be disrespected. Give them a chance because maybe they come hear for a better way of living so they can get through life and get a better paying job.

passport photos

I didn't like this essay as much. It didn't make me want to come back and read it again. Infact I'd be glad to never read it again because I found it extremely boring. The story has been done a million different ways. It teaches and shows the same message over and over. The theme is that judging people by their cover is a world wide issue. Each country looks at foreigners as just that, foreigners. They think they are lesser beings. It also spoke of the fact that immigrants coming into this country should infact have to speak our language. It actaully angers some people that there are others living in our own country who don't even know how to speak its home language. Although this topic can be controversial to some I believe it to be futile because there is always going to be prejudice everywhere you go.

All those terms

• authoritarianism
• romas
• afro-descentents
• burakumins
• food sovereignty
• WSF
• agro-ecological production
• neoliberalism
• G8
• ideological
• Mr. Lee
• mercantilization
• agrarian reform
• GLBT
• embargo
• GMO foods
• IMF
• WTO
• apartheid
• refusnik
• ecological debts
• sexual tourism
• latifundarios

Passport

This essay teaches to not judge a book by its cover just because someone is different does not me there are a good or bad person. you should always get to know someone before you pass judgement on them.

passport photos

when looking at a person do not judge them just because they are different than what your comfortable of... different does not always mean something negative... immigrants are people just like me and you... they deserve as much respect as a human being that is a citizen... most of the time, its not even their faults for the language they speak or having to come here... they are just trying to make a decent living just like me and you...

After reading these two essays, I've decided to marry rich.

living on hardly anything

After reading the nickel and dimed essay makes me thankful that I don't have to live like that. Sure Americans our age work low wage jobs when in school. Yes, there are people in the real world who make a living off 7 dollars a hour but some have could of done alot better. I'm sure nobody has a dream of living out of a van all their lives. Some people say once your rich you stay that way and if your poor you also stay poor. I don't agree with that statement, you always hear the rags to riches stories that get you pumped. Overall I say that if your on the bottom you can improve yourself to make a name for yourself.

passport..

I think this essay hits the point about passports and identity and immigrants head on. In the United States when we see someone who isn't of the same race or ethnicity than us we look at them like they have eight heads or something. I'll be honest I do it sometimes too. I think that it got worse after 9/11. We look at muslims and others as they may be terrorists that we should keep an eye on them, or mayb just throw them an evil eye. Also we do the same thing when some speaks a different language. When I'm in a mall or a restaurant and i hear another language being spoken I get annoyed. I think that if you want to live in this country you should speak the language. If everyone spoke the language in public with everyone else then stares and dirty looks would be eliminated. If you are in your own home you can speak what you want but you are in a country that speaks English, than speak it! But I believe the essay got to the point and I agree with it.

response to nickel and dime and the cocktail waitress

the other essays we read to me were boring... i believe these two essays were much more interesting because the people are actually experiencing low wage jobs and how it is to not have much... i can completely relate to this... i remember my mom having 2 or 3 jobs just to get by to pay the bills and put food on the table... yes it was hard but if you need to do things to survive... i cant complain so much now... yes we do struggle but its not as bad before... people need to learn not to take things for granted because anything can be taken away from you... just be grateful of what you have...

Structure of Paper

starts off with the closing of another segment
introduce myself
introduce the segment that will be going on
introduce each peron individually
start off with the topic of lieteracy and go from there
im the middle person (host of the radio show)
pause between times for commercials
each author speaks
take calls from the audience listening to the show
give answers to questions
closing words
conclude radio show

Wages

In the story she gave up everything in order to see how someone can live off of minimum wage and the methods they use to survive. she dropped herself from the middle class to the lower class and put herself in there shoes to begin appreciating how they live and realized there work is just as hard and stressful as any other jon yet they were hardly making any money. she soon realized how hard it is to live off of $6-7

Nickel n' Dimed

Ehrenreich left behind her car, house, well paying job and ATM card to take part in an interesting experiment. She left behind all her middle class belongings in search for a lower class lifestyle. she wanted to see how mothers and other people that make minimum wage live and the difficulties they deal with everyday. She found it ironically hard to find a job that requires little to no skill becuase the main reason of hiring is job turnovers. She finally lands a job and finds it very hard to stay afloat only make 6-7 dollars an hour at a local resturant. I feel bad for the people that are in these situations but without these people willing to work these jobs our society wouldnt be functionable, they are a necessity to the work world.

the working class and minimum wage

I enjoyed both of these stories because I could understand them and relate to them in certain ways. In Barbara Ehrenreich's story Nickel-and-Dimed she takes us through the life of the underpaid working class. She introduces characters to us as well as a little bit of their background. She goes mainly into their living conditions, because that mainly is all they talk about. her story just goes to show you how hard it is to survive on minimum wage and to jsut get by with all the expenses in life.
The other authors James Spradley and Brenda Mann discussed a similar topic but less people based and more social grouping. In their essay they discussed how there are three classes or categories of people, customers, employees, and managers. From there on they give us a layout of the social network of a particular resturant, Brady's Bar. I didn't like this story as much because to me it wasnt really about the people. You didn't get to know anyone personally, but with the Nickel-and-Dimed story you did.

Ehrenreich, Barbara & Spradley, James/Mann, Brenda

Both of these essays were extremely informative. Nickle and Dime was an interesting read. I always have heard complaints against minimum wage but never was exactly told the difficulties of living on minimum wage. Ehrenreich does a great job in her essay explaining the lives of her fellow workers that were struggling to live on minimum wage. The story about the woman who had to live in her pick-up truck was very moving.

In the Cocktail Waitress essay you could see that companionship is created everywhere. When she first started, the waitress was very nervous and found herself in quite a few akward situations with customers. This was avoided once she understood the groups of customers that were in the bar she worked at.

Nickel-and-Dimed and The Cocktail Waitress

I found both essays very interesting and truthful. I think it was a good idea for Barbara Ehrenreich to change her life style to see how those who make seven dollars an hour survive. It’s funny to me because I used to think because I had a job I was independent and didn’t need any help from anyone. My mother asked me one day when I was running my mouth, “Shawde, you think you can live on your own making seven dollars a year. Your pay check wouldn’t even be able to pay half the bills. That’s when I began to think about people who have to take care of themselves making minimum wage.
“The Cocktail Waitress” was good because I believe that the amount they receive is not enough for what they do. The jobs that don’t pay enough are jobs that can take a lot out of an individual and be frustrating and stressful. Every job takes skill, like the cocktail waitress who has to learn the rules for operating in the network.

Passport photos

Why do people look at others strange when they see that they are different? Everyone should be except equally into America because none of us were originally born on this land. If you are full blown Native American you can actually say that this land is your land. But that is not the case. We all come from different countries and have different traditions making up the greatest land of all time. We are Americans. Lets share with each other and grow to be more respectful of diverse cultures. Learn to have a unique perspective of the world at hand.

The Working World

I have been working since I was 14 years old and I already want to retire. I strongly agree that people should work in a profession that they love to do. Who wants to wake up every day and go work for 8 hours doing something they dont want to do? It is a extra bonus to work and be happy at the same time. I wish I could get a million dollars just for baby sitting kids everyday because it is something that I enjoy doing. You only get one life, live it to the fullest.

Nickel and Dimed

What does nickel and dimes mean, well according Barbara Ehrenreich she did a little experiment on jobs that are available for the poor and welfare members. According to her there is very little out there (job wise) that can get these people to decent lifestyle.Most jobs for unskilled workers can only make 6-7 dollars an hour which is barely enough to afford the essential and to pay rent on their homes. Well i completely feel the same about this, that there is very little a person can do to pull themselves out of poverty, and it should be changed. We should enforce laws that can give these people a chance to have a decent life, like making jobs pay a little more. Also with this idea the increase in wages usually coincides with price inflation with everything from gas to groceries, well this should not be allowed because that will not doing anything to help these people. In reality it will just keep them in the poverty level.

The Cock Tail Waitress

Well after reading "The Cocktail Waitress" I can really see how this social network is true. I know from personal experience and I'm sure mostly everybody has felt like there has been some kind of connection between certain customers and waitress's. But i think that i really liked the terminology that was used in this story: creep, zoo, party, regular and real regular. It also seems funny that every single one the words used to describe different individuals does have a different meaning to it.

I would also like to add that in a way i have used a social network in the past, especially during high school. Where me and my group of friends actually label certain individuals that we did not, on what type of person they were. So i think this is a big reason why i can believe that this happens in the Brady bar.

the cocktail waitress..nickel and dimed

I liked reading The Cocktail Waitress more. I used to be a waitress myself and I understood very clearly what they were talking about in the essay. How they said there were regulars and jocks and all of those names for customers I had them at my job as well. Its weird how there are these status' for the customers that only the waitresses and the other employees know. It's like a different language that the waitresses use to help them move around their work place a little better. They get so used to it..that its easier for them to talk that way than just in plain simple English.
I also enjoyed reading the other essay. I think it was cool that the woman experiemented herself and didn't just listen to the studies she read about before. She actaully put herself in the real life situation. Like she said it wasn't just because she wanted to see how it felt..or how it was. She wanted to prove the studies herself. So she went out and started to study everything herself.

Having a good conversation?

OK--so here is the list of what you came up with today in class as part of a very basic "genre analysis". You can use this as a reference--and it will also be one of the ways that we "judge" or "evaluate" the effectiveness of your essay.

Talk Shows/Gathering with Authors:

• active listening
• be considerate of the audience
• respectable answer, not just yes/no
• questions that go beyond just regular ole questions
• making the audience feel comfortable

Interview-Office Setting:

• listen diligently/pay attention
• do not get side-tracked
• do not waste their time

Debate:

• get audience involved
• make sure each answer and question is understood
• interesting questions
• active audience

Reporter/Moderator:

• know your opponent
• stress their points of view
• follow-up questions
• give a summary of what the author said (in your opinion)

Talk show:

• summarize
• get the audience involved--have audience get involved
• [be interested in what you are writing]

Coffee Shoppe:

• keep informal
• work with environment (waitresses, drinking coffee)
• does not need to stay on topic
• counter-arguments commonplace

email chat-room:

• informal
• keep the text the same [i.e. with abbreviations]
• describe setting
• write in any distractions--other "windows"

Late-Nite Dream:

• short questions with loose-based responses
• steer off original question points
• stories--in responses
• no direct interaction with audience

Casual Friendly conversation:


Interview w/ no-place:

• keep personal but also professional
• get in good with person
• don't move away from conversation--but go beyond
• let them go on a rant about whatever they want
• give questions that allow person to talk about what they want

Radio Show:

• everyone listen to one another
• one at a time
• speak clearly so everyone can understand
• be informal
• callers involved--ask questions
• interesting questions (not boring ones_
• everyone should stay relaxed

Talk show:

• interesting topics
• speak clearly
• get audience involved--ask questions
• keep conversation flowing
• ask questions yourself

Newspaper article about interview:

• ask questions that will get people to go deeper
• summarize
• some quotes

Coffeeshop:

• other people interacting
• overheard them talking
• didn't know them bumped into them
• casual
• can be personal
• ask about childhood/background/education

Talk show:

• good introduction
• what is the topic of the discussion
• have guests
• give guests' background
• allow guests to talk--say opinions
• have your opinion
• host
• audience add comments
• commercial breaks
• have a great day

No setting group discussion--big comfy conference room:

• our class, two authors, and yours truly
• respect
• mediate--self-mediation
• conflict (everyone loves conflict)
• emotionally involved
• healthy disagreement
  
  

paper

In my paper I plan to discuss the different views from china vs. US on education. My main arguement is that in china Lu took crap for knowing "to much" (for example 3 lang.) but in the US many kids gduate from high school and struggle with the english language. Seizer may not come right out and say it but i belive part of the reason he writed his essay down to the minute is to show that there is too much energy focused on how to educate in the US insead of just doing it.

Paper #1: Literacies

I'll do my draft on Mike Rose and June Jordan. I believe I could carry on a full conversation with both of these people had I met them on the street, so they would be perfect for me to write "with." Both authors had to deal with troubles in their professions and learned from them. It may be difficult to relate personally but I believe I understood what they wrote.

draft ideas

I know in my previous blog i talked about doing different authors, but since we read the new essay about high school I believe I can relate to that one more. I also think that Lisa Delpit's essay on being a black educator will make for a good paper topic as well. Im going to compare and contrast the two essays and talk about how each authors view was different from that of our classes take on the subject. I'll ask them what they think about our (the class) view on what they wrote and if they can agree or disagree and why. I share my view points on what they wrote as well. I'll allow the authors to not only speak with me but with each other as well. Im also most likely going to write the paper in script form because I believe that would easiest to follow not only for myself but for whoever reads it as well.

First Paper

I decided to write my paper on the two essays I found most interesting, Rose and Delpit's. Both authors are working with students on the same social and cultural scale. There are some differences because Rose not only works with children and there literacy but college students who are not prepared, Vietnam vets, and adults. I decided to have a conversation with both authors and myself explaining there methods of teaching literacy.

Paper #1

I chose to form a conversation between Delpit, Min zhan Lu, and myself. I'm not so sure I can relate to Min's hardships but I find them interesting and should be easy to write about. I also chose to incorporate Delpit into the conversation, she also goes through tough times on deciphering how to teach her children and what the most productive methods might be. Both of these stories I interpreted well and were greatly linked to literacy and its importance amongst different cultures.

paper

I am going to use the essays written by Delpit and Rose. Delpit talks about how to educate two different social and cultural groups at the same time and to try to get them to both be at the same level. Rose talks about the different levels of education that people have. He talks about teaching older students how to understand words by using what they already know about the word. Both essays talk about the different social levels and how the lack of vocabulary and 'proper'/'standard' language can hold people back from going further in life even if they are fluent. I could have a conversation with the authors about the teaching methods that could be used with different cultural and social groups so that everyone could be educated equally. I could also go from the point of what is a 'proper'/'standard language and why can't certian dialects be accepted as much as other dialects.

paper

im gonna mostly use the artical on Min-Zhan Lu's life and the way litercay is brought up in that. how high school treated her and what she had to go through. Talk about how she was raised and made into the person that she is.

Paper #1

For my paper I am going to have a conversation between Min-zhan Lu, Mike Rose and myself. Literacy as impacted each authors life just in many different ways. Lu takes pride in how she is fluent with a few different languages and how that has helped her. Rose talks about how well you know a language determines your rank in society and i would like to speak with each other author and have a "conversation" with how literacy as impacted there daily lives.

High School Again

In Seizer's essay he talk about two ideas that most people can relate to. One of the ideas was Mark the normal high school student and tells about his day at school. Most of us would agree his day was like most high school students, more like a dictatorship and you just do what your told. When the school day was over you either go to work or go to practice. This to me was the cycle I was used too back in the day where I did pretty much the same thing everyday. Then he brings up the subject of how and what should be taught in schools. He does this by what two different states feel how their citizens should be learning. West Virginia and California were the two states in his essay. Since I wasn't a citizen of either of those states I feel I cant comment on their ways of doing things but I can tell you what I think about my learning. I feel that I was lucky enough to be in an area where schooling was important and the teachers and leaders lead me on the correct path. It must of work cause if it failed I wouldn't be sitting here.

I think for my essay, I will have "a conversation" with Mike Rose and June Jordan. I think the two authors (and I) all have very different perspectives on language/class association. I read a lot, I guess usually by authors who write the way I speak. Thinking deeply about what Rose and Jordan have to say could put a new perspective on the way I read and view literature.

Possible authors for the paper

I'm not entirely sure what I would like to write on. I'm leaning more towards either Min-zhan Lu or June Jordan ideas. Their essays were the ones that got to me most and what I think would be easiest to write about. Both had easy topics and talked about literacy in different ways. The topic of literacy in both of these essay's is discusses in a different way, but I believe both of them portray literacy in their own way.

Paper1

I'm not set on what i would like to write my paper about.... But I'm thinking I'll write about "What high school is" and then Min-zahn Lu essay. I'll pull on the difference in education due to living in different countries. High shool in the US is a joke, But from what Lu said it seemes more serious in china.

Mud Throwing With Sizer & Anzaldua

"When you throw a little mud, you lose a little ground"

Funny how Sizer throws this quote into his essay considering it reminds me a lot of Anzaldua's essay and her topic. I feel like Anzaldua is in a culture or society where different dialects and different languages are being thrown around like mud. Each time there is a slight change in a language, we lose a little of that ground that makes up our foundation. Anzaldua talks about literacy in the form of her languages and the changing of dialects, accents, speech, and everything else, while Sizer talks about the lack of dialogue between the students and the educators in high school.
I can relate more to Sizer's essay. I often struggled to get through classes where the teacher would just drone and occasionally call you just to keep the ball rolling. But what about the silences? What about the pauses? What about the out burts of opinions. Where are all the qualities found in dialogue? Absent. "Dialogue is strikingly absent." Our foundation is being lifted, scattered, and left out to dry.

my paper idea...

Well the story we haven't talked about yet , the high school story, I was thinking of discussing that and comparing it to June Jordan's essay. The new high school essay tells us about a day of high school..and how it seems to appear boring. I want to kind of contrast it to June Jordan's essay. In Jordan's essay school was fun and the kids were excited to learn where as in the high school story it came off as boring and just "stuff" you have to learn. I want to make the conversation about how Jordan made school fun and how the author of the high school story feels about regular public high school.

my paper idea...

Well the story we haven't talked about yet , the high school story, I was thinking of discussing that and comparing it to June Jordan's essay. The new high school essay tells us about a day of high school..and how it seems to appear boring. I want to kind of contrast it to June Jordan's essay. In Jordan's essay school was fun and the kids were excited to learn where as in the high school story it came off as boring and just "stuff" you have to learn. I want to make the conversation about how Jordan made school fun and how the author of the high school story feels about regular public high school.

Paer ideas

Well i have been thinking about his a lot and i still kind of not sure what to do. But i do have general idea what i really want to have a conversation with and i think that is going to be on the literacy you have and the way you are perceived by others. I think that I am going to use the essays that were written by Min-zahn Lun and Mike Rose. Also think that I want to talk about how literacy is very important to us in our culture.

Jordan.

Jordan is a poet, playwrite, essayest, and a prof. of English at the U of California, Berkley. She is a talented writer with experience in teaching black English. She uses her talent to combine two stories. Her comunitive power and clarity of black english sets a great foundation for Willie Jordans story.

In the beginging of the story Jordan makes a reference to black english sticking out like a sour thumb in a country of standard english. By making this reference she is tring to get the reader to understand how awful it must feel for something so close to a person (their language) to alienate them.

On page 162 Willie is introduced he is a great student, does an independent study project, he goes above and beyond for the class. Next she goes over the rules of black english and how to inforce them. Then she gives alot of samples of student writing. Then the class finds out what happened to Reggie, Condolences are sent to the family. The class debates wether to use black or standard english. The Letter is ultimately written in black english... and is rejected. Some of the main issues in this paper are: should black english be taught or used, and racism is very real.

The author ties two stories together and ends the story with a bang. The story is told in first person, and there are many examples of student wriing. By using a class in school, and focusing on language the reader can associate and get personal with the story, She takes an activist role.

Paper #1--and assorted other fun

Hey all,
I just thought I would jump on here and let you know that the first paper assignment is posted on the blog! You can access it by looking for the "Course Information" section to the right. Click on "Spring 2007 Paper #1: Literacies" and Boom...you'll have the paper assignment.

Please take some time to read through the assignment. Think about it for a while. Look back over the essays we have read. As I said in class today, I would like you to post your paper ideas...thoughts...random ramblings about the paper assignment to the blog by Thursday (before class!). We will look at some of your posts then.

Also, since we spent a good deal of time today on Jordan and some of your posts, we will also discuss Anzaldua and Sizer on Thursday as well.

Quien tiene boca...HUh?

They say that a wild tongue is like fire hard to burn out, so how do you tame it?


I liked the way the author started the essay with a metaphor. The dentist was telling her that he was going to rip out her tongue because it was causing her problems with her teeth. The author uses this metaphor comparing it to language. The author tells us how when she was growing up she couldn't even speak spanish!!!! People were giving her wrong conceptions of things of how if she didnt speak proper english she wouldn't get a good job, it doesn't get any scarier than that!. I love the way she used spanished sayings like "Ahogadas, escupimos el oscuro. Peleando con nuestra propia sombra el silencio nos sepulta". ---- Drowning, spitting in the darkness. Fighting with our own shadow, silence buries us. What a saying!!!! If we keep quiet we are only buring ourselves in our own silence. That was a good one.


It's funny how I know exactly how she feels. Puertoricans and Mexicans speak different types of spanish, so when she talks abouts how Mexicans say the same thing whether it is a boy or girl wasn't really a surpirse. In some countries woman are not given importance, not even in language. Sometimes people confuse the wording and many times some words we say are like curse words in thier country!!! it's kinda funny how you gotta watch what you say when you go to certain latin countries because they might beat you for saying the wrong thing!!!
But anyways she is so totally right when she talks about the struggle of identity. It may sound wierd but even though we speak the same language we are not from the same place and if you tell a Dominican hey you look like your Puerto Rican they will get highly offended and vise versa. I think is the fact that people want to take pride in where they come from and thats why they act that way but she is so right when she says that the struggle for identity still remains.

Quien tiene boca...HUh?

They say that a wild tongue is like fire hard to burn out, so how do you tame it?


I liked the way the author started the essay with a metaphor. The dentist was telling her that he was going to rip out her tongue because it was causing her problems with her teeth. The author uses this metaphor comparing it to language. The author tells us how when she was growing up she couldn't even speak spanish!!!! People were giving her wrong conceptions of things of how if she didnt speak proper english she wouldn't get a good job, it doesn't get any scarier than that!. I love the way she used spanished sayings like "Ahogadas, escupimos el oscuro. Peleando con nuestra propia sombra el silencio nos sepulta". ---- Drowning, spitting in the darkness. Fighting with our own shadow, silence buries us. What a saying!!!! If we keep quiet we are only buring ourselves in our own silence. That was a good one.


It's funny how I know exactly how she feels. Puertoricans and Mexicans speak different types of spanish, so when she talks abouts how Mexicans say the same thing whether it is a boy or girl wasn't really a surpirse. In some countries woman are not given importance, not even in language. Sometimes people confuse the wording and many times some words we say are like curse words in thier country!!! it's kinda funny how you gotta watch what you say when you go to certain latin countries because they might beat you for saying the wrong thing!!!
But anyways she is so totally right when she talks about the struggle of identity. It may sound wierd but even though we speak the same language we are not from the same place and if you tell a Dominican hey you look like your Puerto Rican they will get highly offended and vise versa. I think is the fact that people want to take pride in where they come from and thats why they act that way but she is so right when she says that the struggle for identity still remains.

mike & Min-Zhaun

When we look at Lu's essay we are brought about a girl and her mother and how her mother regrets certains things like the regretting the way she brought Lu and her sisters up. Lu is faced with a challenged, tensions that are growing between home an school. The language she speaks at home is not te same language that is being taught in school, so one might say she is getting the best of both worlds, but to Lu she isn't. In this essay Lu explains her struggles she has with writing nd how she must balance between the two.
In Mike's essay we see a professor, who has worked hard teaching and tutoring students. This essay was taken from his book LIves On the Boundary, and we see his account of what it was growing up in LA. We see him making a point, by explaining and giving examples on school failures. I like the way it started by saying that he thanks Gods for letting him comeback to school and being able to seek the dream he wants. I think that is a powerful statement because here we can see that he is well aware of the consequences of not getting an education. Ironically in Lu's essy she is thankful as well when she says "I am greatful for the overwhelming complexity of the circumstances in which I gew up..." Here we see that instead of regreting her past Lu is embracing it and looking at the good outcomes that have come out of it.

Teaching Equally

In the Lisa Delpit reading, Lisa explains her troubles with teaching young students of white and black race. Lisa was brought up in a strict catholic school as a child where every wrong saying or mispronunciation was immediately corrected. During the story, she notices that her white students excel in her classes while the black students struggle. She tries to incorporate the skills needed for them to succeed in life rather than them just having fluency. Though the black students struggle, they show extraordinary talent through raps, jump rope songs, and poems. However, these characteristics went unnoticed by the rest of their community.
Throughout this essay, the she shows her conflicts and expresses how she feels about the school system. She uses dialogue and personal stories so that the reader can feel what she is going through. She writes about her early teaching experiences and how she came to a conflict with how she can teach so that everyone can learn the material. The best thing she does is talking about her experiences with Standard English. She is trying to advance the writing process project for her students. Her voice is dedicated and sincere because she continuously tries to find a way.

Teaching Equally

In the Lisa Delpit reading, Lisa explains her troubles with teaching young students of white and black race. Lisa was brought up in a strict catholic school as a child where every wrong saying or mispronunciation was immediately corrected. During the story, she notices that her white students excel in her classes while the black students struggle. She tries to incorporate the skills needed for them to succeed in life rather than them just having fluency. Though the black students struggle, they show extraordinary talent through raps, jump rope songs, and poems. However, these characteristics went unnoticed by the rest of their community.
Throughout this essay, the she shows her conflicts and expresses how she feels about the school system. She uses dialogue and personal stories so that the reader can feel what she is going through. She writes about her early teaching experiences and how she came to a conflict with how she can teach so that everyone can learn the material. The best thing she does is talking about her experiences with Standard English. She is trying to advance the writing process project for her students. Her voice is dedicated and sincere because she continuously tries to find a way.

literacy...

literacy is everything in today's society... even being able to speak more than one language is even better than speaking one... many people take things such as going to school for granted... when in reality it is only making you better for the real world outside... for example many people in my high school would just get by with grades and with me it was different... i took advantage of every opportunity that was thrown at me because i wanted to better myself... without being able to speak correctly will get you nowhere in life... good jobs today will not even hire you without the proper schooling...

June Jordan

Whar is said - June Jordan's essay is a story about a class that she taught in Black English. She had the idea to teach the class because of what happened in another class she was teaching. The class read "The Color Purple," and they didn't like the way the book was written. They said the language sounded strange, but Jordan noticed that the students used a similar style of language all the time in conversation. This gives her the idea to teach a class in Black English, and, with the help of her students, make a list of rules and guidelines for using Black English. She also tells the story of one of her students, Willie Jordan. Willie's brother Reggie is killed by the police, and all of the other students in the class had either known Reggie or known someone else who had been killed by the police. They want to write something to the police in Black English, because it is their language and the language that Reggie spoke. They don't know if they should use standard English, which they call the language of the killer, or Black English, which is how Reggie spoke. They decide to stay true to themselves and write in Black English, and their letters are for the most part, ignored. Racism is definitely one of the main issues in this essay. Reggie's murder by the police and the disregard for the students letter written in Black English are both big examples of this.
How she does it - Jordan starts out with an introduction on the English language, then begins to tell her own first person narrative story, mixed with examples of her student's actual writing, and their list of rules and examples of Black English. She ends with Willie Jordan's essay.

C.... I.... O....

i think the author was trying to make people want to read his essay by making the title culture is ordinary... by using that title people are intrigue to see what the author has to say... many people believe that culture is not ordinary... saying something is ordinary is saying that it is normal... not everyone across the world shares the same culture... with culture comes different beliefs and ways of living... which make culture not ordinary...

being from a hispanic background i know that my culture is not the same as everyone elses... we have different views and ideas... different foods... different customs... different language... different music... our living is different from other cultures...

being different is not ordinary... i dont agree with the title of the essay

¿qué?

(Thoughts by Gina and Ellen)

We think that Delpit is confused about what teaching method to use to teach black students. She says that it was a goal of hers to educate young black children. Should she use the open classroom method? Her white students excel using this method while the black students fall behind. This method encourages fluency, but another Black teacher tells her that black children already have fluency. They need to learn skills. Delpit tries a more conservative method of teaching with a classroom full of desks and chairs. She focuses on teaching her students skills in writing and English. Again, her black students fall behind. Why? There must be a delicate balance of skills and fluency that will let her black students succeed.

Lisa Delpit: The Educator

This post is for the group of Joe, Drew, Cale and me(marc).

Lisa Delpit is the Benjamin E. Mays Chairholder of the Urban Educational Leadership of Georgia. She also was awarded the MacArthur award. Delpit also wrote an instant classic article for the Reading Culture.

What is said?
-Delpit was a firm believer in the open-classroom teaching style. What she found out though was that as the white children excelled in the program, her black students fell behind.

-Due to the failure Delpit changed her style of teaching to try to include all of her students.

-After her "failure" in Philly she went to grad school. It was there that she was told that her teaching methors, the open-classroom, was correct.

-Delpit would eventually return to Philly and when she did she met with her friend Cathy. Cathy told Delpit her opinion of the Bay-Area Writing Project. She beileved it was "a monumental disservice to black children." Cathy also told Lisa that black children were just as fluent as their white counterparts. She said that her students would write rap lyrics that proved her belief, just that most of them lacked the skills to advance to a college setting.

-Cathy brought up one of her students that she said was brilliant. But, she said that, "But he can't get a score on the SAT that will even get him considered by any halfway decent college. He needs skills not fluency."

Main Issues:
-Lisa Delpit believes that it is much harder for an African-American student to advance to the college level. This is due to the teaching practicies and lack of communication between dominant and minority cultures.

What statement would Delpit agree with?
-She would agree that there needs to be a balance between literacy development and a skills oriented program.

How does she do write?
-The kind of writing that Delpit uses is one that includes peer interaction. Everything she says is from personal experience.

-Delpit's structure is that she talks about her life, shares her conversations she had with peers, then develops a more conservative style of teaching, and finally states her beliefs.

-The voice she uses is first person.

June Jordan v. Lisa Delpit

I thought Jordan's essay was better than the other essay. I felt that I could not relate but feel more from the students in the essay. Jordan's essay gives us an inspirational view point at what she wrote and she also gives us the serious outlook on life. It was great how her students learned what they did, and how they enjoyed doing it. By adding the story about how Reggie got show was kind of a reality check as to how racism and violence is still present today.As Becca stated in her blog, Jordan had a more powerful way of getting the meaning across than Delpit. Delpit focused alot on herself in her essay rather than the kids she taught . Jordan's essay focused very much around her students and like Willie's story, serious issues that happened in their lives.

Threee sentences that caught my eye...

1. '2. Clarity: if the sentence is not c lear it's not Black English.'
I liked the second guidline for Black English. I just thought it was funny how they said if it wasn't clearn then it wasn't Black English. Plain and simple.

2. 'Rule 4: Forget about the spelling, Let the syntax carry you.'
This rule stuck out to me. It made me think, not about spelling, but life. Kind of like roll with the punches. Just go with it. Alot of people make life more complicated than it has to be. It should be more like..'go with the flow.'

3."At the end of one of the longest, most difficult hours of my own life, the students voted, unanimously, to preface their individual messages with a paragraph composed in the language of Reggie Jordan."
When I read this sentence it just made me smile. I was happy to see that all the students wanted to do this for Willie, in memory of Reggie.

Black English

June Jordan, who is she? Well i am going to tell you, Jordan and done many different things in her lifetime. She was poet, playwright, essayist, and professor of English at the University of California, Berkley.

Throughout this essay she said many of things but we think that the overall topic she was trying to convey to her readers was about Racism. She gave many different issues through out her story, like how "Black English was like a linguistic buffalo", to trying to teach her students how to write the form Black English. But that's not all, she also gave a story on about how one of her students went missing for some time, and came to find out that there had been a death in his family. Throughout all things that she mentioned we believe that it all ties together on the general topic about racism.

She tries to prove her point through every issue that we had listed in the preceding paragraph. When she started this essay out she gave a metaphor of " Black English is like the linguistic buffalo" this here is very strong statement. If you just think about how the buffalo almost became extinct which was because people wanted to force the Indians out of there land, and by killing of their big food supply, which was the buffalo, would drive them from that area. Well here she is saying that by completely forgetting about Black English might push the African Americans out this country, which in anyway you look at is being racist. So what she tries to do about it is to teach here students that they should not be afraid to be who they are, if you talk or want to talk in Black English then do so don't be afraid of who you are. So in order to show her students that she develops and teaches a class that is learning how to talk and write in the Black English, which is so uncommon because in what school anywhere offers this type of course. That just goes to show how our country does not want to support or even accept the different use of language of a different culture. To even more reinforce the topic of racism at the end of the essay she goes into talking about how one of her student's, an African American, brother was killing by the police. According to the story he was not armed but the police shot him 8 times, why would you need shoot anyone 8 times it's like they were being cruel for some reason. So in response they wrote a letter to the police department, which was in Black English, but they paid no attention to it for some reason and just discarded of it. If you would just think about this for a second you can see how racist they were being. They shot a black male 8 times when they really only needed one shot and then they didn't even consider anything about the letter, probably because it was written in Black English. I guess the real question here is, how much more racist can they be?

June Jordan...

Hey. This post is from Brianna, Danielle, and Glory.
June Jordan was a poet, playwright,essayist and an English professor at the University of California, Berkley. She is a very talented writer in many different areas. She has also had politicial essays published in the year 1985. Her essay gives us a sense that she was also a very inspiring and dedicated teacher. She was always willing to teach and determined to make her students want to learn.

Jordan starts the essay off by telling us that Black English is the language depended on by more than thirty five million Afro Americans. She gives us somewhat of definitions of Black English and Standard English. She then gets in to the class she taught ,' In Search of the Invisible Black Woman.' Jordan takes us back to her past and tells us many great detailed stories of what being in this class was like.The class was assigned to read Alice Walker's The Color Purple. With this reading many issues come up with how different people talk and why.This is where Jordan's students start to really be intrigued by the class and start having the want to learn more.In her class, there is one particular student who sticks out to her. His name in Willie Jordan. THis is where we first hear about Willie. Bringing Willie in to the story shows us how Jordan intertwines the two different stories. By telling us so many facts about Willie introduces the close personal relationships that Jordan has with her students. Not only are they her students but they are her friends. When Willia stops showing up for class Jordan wonders where he is. Jordans question about where Willie was, is answered by Willie. He tells Jordan that his cousin Reggie has been shot. Not only is this essay talking about Black English and how many people look at it differently than some, we also have the case of racism in thought now. By getting deep in to the story about Willie's cousin is shows up just how dangerous racism is, not only in language but in real life action. We believe the main ideas in Jordan's essay were that Black English should we given more respect by people because it is a language in itself. Just like most of us speak Standard English, there are many who speak Black English. Also that racism isn't something to joke about. By tieing together Jordan's class and Willie's story about his cousin shows us that not only does language differ in the world but there still is physical racism.
We said that Jordan writes in first person. It is mostly Jordan narating the essay. At times there is dialect but it involves Jordan herself.

Min Zhan- Lu Essay

Reading the essay on Min Zhan-Lu makes me realize how easy it was for me to learn. Lu's learning environment was that to my point of view of everyone learning what was needed. She was raised by parents who stressed learning English was important in the world. When she attended school she was the student that stood out from the rest. Lu must of had the feeling of guilt when her classmates only knew the native tounge. I can understand why she felt that way knowing that only she and the teacher were the only people who know of English. In my point of view based of this essay I think everyone should learn a second language. Yes in the United States 90 times out of a 100 you would only need to know English. What about the other 10 times? What are you going to do? I know what I would do, find a way to at least know the basics of another language.

Joron: Awesome Teacher Woman

Wooowwww. I guess I'll start with my three favorite sentences:

1. "Rule 1: Black English is about a whole lot more than mothafuckin."
This is one of my favorite sentences simply because it made me laugh out loud. Period.

2. "If your idea, your sentence, assumes the presence of at least two living and active people, you will make it understandable because the motivation behind every sentence is the wish to say something real to somebody real."
First, this sentence, in a way, describes what sympathetic reading and responding is all about. It's about understanding and believing what the author is saying. Isn't that why everybody writes? Isn't it true that by writing about living people, REAL people, you want people to understand. You want your message/idea to be understood. Who else would you be trying to write to other than real people? Your ideas are real enough.... why not?

3. "I will never forget the eloquence, the sudden haltings of speech, the fierce struggle against tears, the furious throwaway, and useless explosions that this question elicited."
To me, this sentence PERFECTLY describes what a true argument is like. Not just any argument though. There are a few universal questions, that when asked, people feel very strongly they know the answer to. You stand by your reasoning even though you want to cry. So many emotions running through you at the same same. You are furious. You are reckless at times. You are devestated. Wow, what a powerful sentence. LOVE it!


This story made me cry at the end. During the part where Jordan tells us the results of Reggie Jordan's autopsy. Eight gun shots. The description of where they were and how many there were just yanked the tears right out of me. Part of it was disbelief. Why were EIGHT SHOTS needed to be shot? Eight shots is enough to kill eight men. Think of it that way. This is the best example of unnecessary cruelty; and it disgusts me.

The other story was not quite so powerful to me. It definately did not hit me as hard as this one. Although, Delpit and Jordan are both teachers writing from their first hand experience, Jordan was more powerful in getting his meaning across. Jordan focussed more on the individuals of his class. This let me get to know them and the kind of kids he was working with. I WANTED them to improve. I WANTED their stories to get published. I was more connected to his students than I was to Delpit's students. Delpit talked about herself most of the time. She talked about her internal conflicts on what she thought was the right way to teach black children. She talked about how she failed. She talked about how she hopes educators will do a better job in the future. I don't want to hear about that. I want to hear about the students and where they've gone with Black English.

Greetings and Response to Jordan

Hello everybody,
My name is Drew Ickes. I'm eighteen, and the first in my family to attend college. Last year I graduated Lower Merion Highschool you might have heard of it because Kobe Bryant went there. I don't play sports as much as I used to, but am still a big basketball and football fan. The first semester of school made me learn alot, mostly how to balance school with fun. But also alot about myself.
After reading June Jordan's "Nobody mean more to me than you and the future life" I had alot to think about. At first I agreed with June on how social change is impossible if everybody acts the same and has the same opinions. This relates strongly to politics and sociology or in other words following a shepherd like sheep. But then later in the texts she says "White standards control our official and popular judgements of verbal proficiency and correct, or incorrect language skills, including speech" I disagree, in fact I believe minorities play a huge part in the media. As well having played an enormous part in modern language ex specially in the last 30 years.

Culture is Ordinary

When I read this I get mixed feelings and emotions. I understand where the author is coming from when he says that Culture is ordinary becuase in a way it is. Every race, ethnic group has its own culture, so I can see in that aspect where he is coming from saying that culture is ordinary. The author probably was being sarcastic, in the sense to grab the readers attention. He wants people to read what he has to say so in a way he makes it ironic to grab the readers attention. I think he knows that we feel that culture is not ordinary thats why he wrote the titile like that. We know that culture is not ordinary. Culture is different to everyone thats why its not ordinary but the author is probably writing it to make us look at things differently not just one way.

ABOUT ME

Hey everyone my name is Glory Delgado. I am a freshman Criminal Justice major with a concentration in Paralegal Studies. I am 18 years old. I like to read, write, draw, sing, dance and have fun. I want to some day become a lawyer. I want to be able to help people. I'm an easy going person I don't like to let things get to me. I like to always look at things both ways not just one. I am from Puerto Rico, I was born there and I came t0 philly when I was 2, so I was raised here.

Introducting Myself!!!!

I finally was able to get onto this... For everyone that doesn't know me... My name is Danielle Nunez and I am 18 years old... I am currently a sociology major and after this semester I will be declaring my second major, which is criminal justice... I have one younger brother, which he is 5 and one younger sister, which she is 15... I just met my sister for the first time during the winter break from college... That was a good experience...

I am currently the first one on my mom's side and the second one on my dad's side of the family to be in college... I take this opportunity very seriously because this is the only way I will be able to provide for both my family and I... My friends would consider me as an outgoing person and someone that speaks her mind... I am the type of person that sets goals and I am always up for a challenge.

Response to Lu and Rose's Essays

In both the stories there are many similarities and differences between them. Education is explained in Rose as a struggle while in Lu's it is important and according to class. Each story talks about education on a cultural level. It depends on the area your from, if your rich, middle class, or poor. Another similarity is how they perceive the poor as different then middle or upper class. In Lu’s essay she is given the best education because of her family background. Lu is smarter than what her teachers think and hiding her knowledge is what she has to do because of her culture and what they believe. The stories explain that having an education is very important not just for a better job and money, but for yourself. In Rose the story is focused on the poor and how they "lack a logical language." In Lu's story she focuses on languages of her home and of school and how that was a struggle for her.

Checking

Hey this is Katherine I'm just seeing if this thing works.

Min-zhan Lu and Mike Rose's essay's

When I read both of these essyas i found many similarities in each of them. Both discussed the topic of literacy and how it effects different aspects of peoples lives. In Rose's essay he speaks about how his students illiteracy is their downfall economic-wise because people believe that those without an education can not be taught at all and that is just not true. If people are just given direction and time they can accomplish many things to help them get by in life. They can get better jobs and live better lives. Also and education gives them respect. It was said in the essay, " ...literacy, here, is intimately connected with respect, with a sense that they are not beaten, the mastery of print revealing the deepest impulse to survive." His students did not give up on their education because most of all they wanted respect.
In Lu's essay she discusses the same topic but goes more into a social standing within the government and what class you would be considered with what type of education you recieved. Knowing more than one language got you farther in life, but certain ones were frowned upon. She takes us through her years of schooling and shares with us her different struggles she had to endure. Schooling to her family was very important and they wanted their children to get that same education if not better. The subject of becoming literate was and still is important in todays society.

the reading....

on the reading... i think all they are really tring to say is that... it is good to know as many languages as possible depending on your job.. like you could have to work any where in the world... i know that my uncle travels all the time like over to india and china... so he has to know more then one language... so the more languages you know the better off you might be...

Culture is ordinary

When I read Raymond Williams article, I like he started us out with his origin. I believed by him doing so we would better undertstand his viewpoints on the subject of culture. The way that he wrote the entire article was in a very formatted way. First he started with his family origin, than went on to discuss his idea of culture. I also agree with Raymond William's idea of culture being ordinary because the very basis of it is infact "ordinary". There maybe aspects of certain cultures that of course differ from religion and government, to music and fads. William's was brought up in both a poor and rich culture. His family was poor and worked for everything that they got, so he knew what that culture had to offer. William's than moved on to gain an education and sampled what the higher life had to off in its culture. He gained a perspective on each culture and concluded that they are infact the same and ordinary.

Hi

My name is Joe. I am from Bethlehem, PA. I am 21 and a second semester Junior studying percussion performance. Anyone watch 24 tonight?

I feel that Lu's essay and Rose's essay are similar. They both deal with culture, language and social status. In Lu's situation, the lanquage that you speak refers to the type of job you have or which class you come from. In Rose's situation, how much a person understands the English language determines if they can get a job or a decent paying job. In both of the essays, the more languages you know or how well you understand one will determine how far you can go in life.

Lu and Rose's essays..

After reading both essays I believe they are similar in many ways. Both essays talk about how they view literacy and how important it is. They both say that you make up what literacy is yourself. Literacy is what you make of it. Just like Williams said that you make your culture how you want it.
Although the essays are similar in many ways, they are different. Rose was working with many different age groups. These people in Rose’s essay were called “America’s educational underclass.” Rose talks about how your literacy is affected by your economic status. Rose tells us the people whom he was working with lost their jobs because of their illiteracy. But as we learn from the essay, these people are not illiterate. They can figure out problems is they are just given some instruction.
In Lu’s the age group was different. It was based on her school experience with her peers. Lu’s essay concentrated on how Lu struggled to understand all the differences in the many languages she was learning. Lu did not have it easy in life. She was faced with many challenges everyday in school and at home. Although Lu’s life was difficult at times, and she was classified in the lower class because of her English she still followed her beliefs and how she was raised.

Rose, Mike and Lu, Mi-zhan

Both of the essays were extremely humbling. Both authors talked about the importance of literacy but also discussed how it is not the final word on who a person is or what a person is capable of. Both Rose and Lu ask the reader to put themselves in the other person's shoes and try and understand their issue with literacy, whether its difficulty in learning how to read or trying to understand the concepts of language.

Lu's situation is very different from Rose's in that she was struggling try to understand the differences between the three languages of English, Standard Chinese, and Shanghai Chinese. She began very proud of her "family language" of English until she was taught that the US/Britain were enemies of China and that the foreign language of choice was Russian. This caused her problems about her family language and would seperate her from it for a portion of time. Also, knowing English also put her in a lower class than some of her classmates that were of the "Workers" language. Lu had a very hard time growing up in the New China.

Rose was working with groups of people, children to adults, that Rose calls "Americas 'educational underclass." Rose discusses the issue of literacy and economic status. Many of the people that work with Rose could not get jobs or lost jobs due to their illiteracy. The ironic part of the situation was, I am to assume, that they lost jobs due to the employer assuming that they were unintelligent due to their illiteracy. Rose shows us that the people he works with do not lack intelligence at all, actually it is the complete opposite. Many of the people that Rose worked with were able to figure out questions asked to them once they were given direction and the ability to think.

Culture and Language

Hi everyone my name is Bryce and Im from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area. I'm a freshman here at Kutztown where I'm majoring in Elementary Ed./Coaching and I am also on the wrestling team.

The two readings that were assigned to us although are very different I feel that they are sending the same message about culture. Each reading talks about how the culture is obvisouly ordinary to everyone involved in it whether it be the language, or traditions you have but in the same sense it is unique to yourself and separates you and makes you your own person, otherwise we would not even have separate cultures.

Hi!

Hello everyone, I'm Becky, I'm 18 and I'm a freshman and I'm a psych major. I'm from Allentown but I'm living here at KU in the honors dorm, which basically means I don't know anyone on campus :-(. I just got a fish for my room and he seems really depressed... and he still needs a name so if anyone has any suggestions of a good name for a fish let me know!

So then, about culture..... I think that when Williams says culture is ordinary, he's not trying to say that culture is the same everywhere or that it never changes, he just means that culture is something that everyone experiences everyday in some way. It isn't necessarily something that's only for the elite of society, it's created by everyone. He writes about people and places he has known i think to illustrate the culture he has experienced personally.

Differences in Language

Well after reading the two assigned essays I would have to say that there is a similarity between the two. That similarity is how a society uses the dialect of language as a basis of ranking one's class inside that culture. According to Min-Zhan he says that depending on what language you speak whether it be English, Standard Chinese or Shanghai will tell a person what class you are from. Mike rose is also trying to say the same thing but in a little different way, what he thinks is that depending on how well you understand your language in this case English will define how much respect you get from other people.

Lu's essay was very interesting because it really makes you think about how much language influences the way you are seen or how you see people in day to day life. When looking at how the young girl had to use different types of language dialect depending on the place she was in, well this is how people look at others everyday. What i am trying to say here is that if someone speaks differently then you or has a heavy accent would you say that they are different. That's why i found his reading very interesting, because it really does relate to our daily lives.

With Rose's essay it went into talking about how misunderstanding your own language gauges the amount of respect an individual will receive from others. The prime example given here was when children were misunderstanding what was being asked of them on a test. When they got it wrong they were seen as not being a smart as the others who did. Which is totally wrong to me because as it said in the article that sometimes the children just don't know what is being asked of them, so by just looking at that should not determine which child is going to smart and deserves the more respect.

I really think that both of these articles were trying to show us that literacy is very big determining factor on every one's lives. No matter what language you speak country you live in, literacy is taken as a big factor in determining your life.

hello everyone

Hello everyone I'm Brandon from Troy, PA. I'm a freshman here at KU majoring in business. The past five years I have been all over the world serving in the military. I'm one of the biggest Philly sports teams fans even if they are sucking it up. It has been over 20 years since one of the teams won a championship.

Going on to the essay done in class, I noticed williams talked alot about his past and culture is ordinary. Looking from the angle on his childhood he seem to have good role models like his father and grandfather. His grandfather was your old fashioned bring your lunch box to work and go home afterwards. Williams father was more like a politican in which he was interested in politics.

hey

hey i am craig moose i am 19 and freshman... i play football here at KU... i started this year as a freshman... i am from Dillsburg... a town outside of harrisburg... i live in deatrick hall... i am a huge sports fan... i like the san deigo chargers and the ohio state buckeyes... i dont like the eagles at all... i really dont like any phila team....

Hi Everyone

Hi, my name is Gina. I'm a second semster freshman, who will be hopefully entering a studio art major next year. I enjoy art obviously, seeing as how I want to go into an art major here at Kutztown. I've always been interested in it even at a young age. I haven't made many friends up here at KU, but im trying to change that this semester. All my friends that are close to me are back home. I have two roommates one of which I went to high school with, the other I have become really close to. I have 6 piercings, and one tattoo on my right shoulder blade of my favorite comic book character. My boyfriends name is Brendan, we've been together for 5 months. I love to read horror books and watch horror flick's. I work at a small movie theater back home. I'm easily amused with the stupidest things, and you will usually find me laughing to myself.

Language!

To Min-Zhang Lu, different launguages, like English, Standard Chinese, and the dialect of Singapore represented different groups of people in her life. The words with which people conveyed their thoughts often said more than the words themself. English words meant that the speaker was a member of her family, a loved one. Standard Chinese words were words of the state. They were spoken in school settings with government officials and propoganda. Shanghai dialect was a spoken badge of servants and workers. Languages kept these things seperate for her. When they overlapped, she became confused.
Mike Rose labled people by their language very similarly to the way Lu did. In "Crossing Boundries," different dialects of American English were clues to the level of education recieved by the speaker. His students were not familiar with rules of Standard Written English because they hadn't had the opportunity to learn the rules. Muddled syntax, poor grammar, and incorrect spelling were the marks of a member of the "educational underclass."
Both Lu and Rose realized that launguage was a sign of upbringing and lifestyle, but not thought. It does not reflect intelligence, ability to reason, or thought process. I felt really sorry for all the people in Rose's story who lost a lot of opportunities because of a bad education, not because they weren't smart.

Bracee's response to Lu and Rose's essays

After reading the stories, I have found difference between the two. Lu discusses how she had to use different languages in different environments and surroundings. She spoke different languages for home, school, and the neighborhood. At first it was difficult to her but then she realized that it was the only way that she would not be shunned for knowing so many languages. In Rose's essay she wrote about different experiences she had while teaching others. She took people out of mindsets that was present during learning and made them realize that they were actually thinking a little too hard than they needed to. These authors ask us to take into consideration that we should not take the things that we have learned for granted because other people always have it worse than you. Just imagine having to use three or four different languages in your neighborhood. Lu situates her struggle with literacy by making it comfortable with herself and knowing when and where to use certain languages.

Culture is Ordinary

Well i would have to say that i really thought that Williams essay, contradicted the title he chose for it. Now i am saying this because when hear the word ordinary I atomatically think of something that is same everywhere. Well culture in this case doesn't and he kind of explains that inside the essay, he goes into saying how he could enter a library but a group clergyman went in uncontested. For some reason he was aloud to get in whether because and clothing he wore or just the way looked no one really knows because it was not stated. Well what i getting at here is that he is telling us the culture is different everywhere you go, and culture is learned through the teaching of that specific place. So i don't know about the rest of you but i think that what he was telling through the essay really contradicts with the title he chose.

Hey

Hey everyone whats going on, my name is Howard Splitt, I am Sophomore here at kutztown majoring in clinical psychology. I was born ad raised in Mt. Carmel Pa. it's roughly about one hour from here. I enjoy doing many things such as playing basketball, baseball, football and golf. I also like to play video, my favorite is Halo, and just hanging out with friends. So thats about all i can think of right now but i will keep posted about anything else I think of.

hey hey hey

Hi every one my cale i am a secondary education teacher in the field of history i live in a little town called Lehighton PA its about 25 min away from Allentown. i have a girlfriend who i love to death her nameis laura she is an art major that goes to KU. um i live on campus in Beck hall i have 10 friends that are like brothers and sisters to me andalmost all of them go to school here. which is awesome because we are so close. in the future i want to return and get my PHD and then go to law school it become a lawyer.

ok gotta go
Cale

hey.

Hey everyone. My name is Brianna. I come from a small town called Forest City. You've probably never heard of it. Its about 30 minutes away from scranton. I'm majoring in Early Childhood Education. I played softball since i was about 7 years old. I'm not currently playing at Kutztown, but in the future I'd like to try out for the team, or just get on a team for fun.


Culture is Ordinary didn't really grab my interest much. But one thing that caught my attention was how Williams talked about how culture is what the mind makes it. Not everyone's culture will be the same because of their individualism. The mind has its traditional thoughts and creative thoughts about their culture. Also I don't agree with the title all that much. In a way culture can be ordinary, but again it's what the mind makes of it. Culture is different for everyone. There are many different cultures. Thats why I dont think that culture is ordinary in many senses.

I <3 English

Hey I'm Nate. I grew up in East Greenville a little town about 25 minutes from KU. I enjoy things such as listening to easy listening music, backpacking, throwing frisbee and drinking kool-aid. I graduated high school from Upper Perk in 05' and decided to take a year off, after a full year of accomplishing absolutley nothing I decided to give the whole college thing a whirl...so here I am.

Williams paints a great but somewhat unnecessary mental picture in the first part of his life story, but it ties in with his main ideas of what his culture consist of. Culture can be what a person or a society makes it to be. Culture Is Ordinary is mentioned several times making me believe that he stronly believes that all cultures no matter what race or ethnic background are based off the same guidlines.

Hamburg Girl.

Hey, I'm Nikki Bauer. I'm a comuter from Hamburg Pa (20 min. from Kutztown.), Born and raised. I love country music, traveling, Dancing, meeting people, I'm a huge animal lover and most of all I love to talk.

After reading Culture is Ordinary, I have a clear view of Raymond William's idea of culture. He used many vivid words, he painted a picture with his words. He is wrinting about in opinion but the paper comes across in a very polite manner. However I'm not sure if he feels positive or negative about culture.

Hi, I'm Ellen. I'm from Hunterdon County, New Jersey, which is filled with farms, hard drugs, and disaffected teenagers. In class I said I liked art, hitchhiking, and camping. I also like to read and wear sunglasses. I'm sorry if my bare feet offended anyone on Tuesday. Some people said they didn't like feet, but I don't like shoes.

Williams's essay was very effective in convincing me of his idea of "culture." I thought the phrase, "I was born and grew up halfway along that bus journey," was a great way to tie the anecdotal introduction to his theme. It emphasized that we are submerged in culture. The repetition of the title throughout the piece also reinforced the patterns of culture being repetitive and ordinary. Words that describe big pieces of our lives are usually the hardest to define, such as culture, love, and God. I also thought of the phrase "We don't know who discovered water, but we know that it wasn't a fish." It's difficult to think about something that is so much a part of an ordinary day.

Hey all / Culture is Ordinary

Hey everyone, the name is Marc Perniciaro. I'm from Madison, New Jersey. That's up in north Jersey. I'm a junior, but have only been at KU since spring '06. Like I said in class on Tuesday, I'm a big time sports fan and I'm very excited about the upcoming Mets season.

Culture is Ordinary. The reading was very interesting. Even though it started off very basic with his background and sets up his facts. I especially liked the part where he pointed out that at one place that he stood he could see farms and cathedrals and then if he turned around he would see smoke from industrial buildings. This isn't exactly true from where I live but I can clearly imagine this situation. Another one of my favorite lines was "Every human society has its own shape, its own purposes, its own meanings." I like this, even though I might not quite completely understand, but the reason I like it is it kind of reminds me of my own family. My father, being an Italian, kept all of his traditions and my mother is Irish and also kept the traditions of her family. When I see the two clash you can clearly see that they both have their own purposes to doing something and each of these also have their own meanings. The essay is a very informative one and one I agree with.

Here I go...blogity, blog, blog

Did you see what I wrote...yup, I wrote it. What? Nothing. Tell me!

NO!

What am i gonna do????

Through the course of my years in schooling I have encountered many different teachers, methods of teaching, class material and curriculum. There has always been a similarity in all of this, every note and class and teacher was a stepping stone to the next level. The next level might be from 5th to 6th grade, middle to highschool, or a prerequisite to the next class in college. This is the education system I am accustomed to. What is the the next step for me now? It seems to be reading my self for the real world, for years outside of class rooms and text books where hard work pays in cash and not letter grades. So as for my research paper i want to look back on american education systems as a whole. I want to know the what knowledge was essential to the students of the past. I want to compare and contrast today's educated societies to those who came before. Incomes and educations will be corrilated and be determined to be causes of one another in my research.

Language is TOUGH

• 
  Language. What is language? Language if you ask me is something that everybody has, and everybody learns. Some people might learn 2 or 3 different languages but we all use it everyday. Language can be incorporated into work, social life, and everything else that we do during our everyday life.
• Some languages
• -French-Spanish-German-Italian-English

I am going to put stories of people dealing with language, I am going to share my story, and i am going to get statistics about language and how much one language is being used somewhere.I will also talk about some tools of language.

I forgot, so sue me...

For my final paper.. I'm thinking about writing about students. Like, the difficulties of being a kid, and the stress we have. What society and adults put on us. How we're affected. Something along those lines.
As far as actually getting information, I'm thinking about starting with talking to one of the Ed Psych professors, and getting information from the multicultural center.

Something totally random, but I wanted to share:
I got a Creative Zen Vision: M over the weekend. And it's freaking awesome. It has lots of cool features. I just wanted to share my excitement with you.

Ok so...

This College Composition class given to me by Kutztown University is by far my favorite class this semester. I enjoy the lack of actual work that we do and I like that this class is mostly interacting with eachother and talking. I liked the first paper topic, but not the second one. It was quite confusing and I know I just rambled on and on about random stuff. Oh well, we'll see what happens with this research!
So, I've been thinking more about what I am going to write for this "research blog" paper, and I have come to the conclusion that I am sort of stumped. I want to do immigration and the work ethics/values that go along with it, however, I'm not sure where to start.. HELP!