Response to Lu's and Rose's Essays

Both essays relate to one another in a very similar way. Both of the essays they talk about the importance on being able to speak another language and how frustrating and difficult it can be. Lu's essay explains more about the difficulty of being a student and speaking a couple different languages. Also in Lu's essay, she talks about how it has affected her life by being a student that was taught english and home and then having to go to school and learning and speaking a whole different language. In Rose's essay, he talks more about the classes during that time. Which he was explaining what some of the lower class with no education had to go through to actually get somewhat educated. I can also relate to both of these essay, mainly because I did have to learn a totally new language and I know the frustration and the hard work that Lu is talking about in her essay.

a little late.. tech difficulties

My name is Megan, people call me Megs. I'm the only redhead in the class, so you can't mistake me for anyone else. I'm a compassionate person. I've been through a lot, so I have a tremendous appreciation for life. I'm into musical theater & dance the most, but I have many other interests as well. I'm very different from other people my age- I know. I've embraced it.

As far as the Raymond Williams reading goes:
I enjoyed it. I found it interesting how he expressed his views in a way that wasn't disrespectful or distasteful, in how he got his point across. I agree with his "theory" I guess on culture. I think it's important to remember the past, but not dwell in it, but that it's important in present issues- we can't just forget about how we've gotten here. I never really thought in depth the concept of what "culture" really meant until I read this. It opened my eyes a little and made me think.

Rose and Lu's essays

Both Rose and Lu have very interesting thoughts on the way literature and language can affect one's life. In Lu's essay she discusses what it was like growing up in a Chinese spoken school although her household was English spoken. It was very difficult for her growing up because the languages were easily confused and she often felt a lot different than the other students. In elementary school she had felt good about herself because her teacher had spoken to her in English once when that had not been heard of yet. However, as she got older in school, English was never spoken and she began to get down on herself because of the way she interpreted words due to speaking solely English in her household. The older she got the more she realized that the way she spoke was more about her social class and what her father had done for a living. In Rose's essay, he talked more about pieces he had often read and they way they were written. He noticed more that social class was shown a lot in the way that students had written their essays. Although these essays are much different in the way they are written and what they are about, I believe they both come to the same conclusion - literacy relies much on they way people were brought up, as well as how their parents taught them differently from how the school system taught them.

Response to Lu and Rose

Lu- language and speaking is a 'tool for survival'.
Rose-
Both authors explain throughout their essays the importance of knowing or being able to read and write properly. Lu explains it through a cultural perspective as someone from China. She takes you through a time when the English and Russian languages were the prime languages to learn. She learned English from her household and from her one teacher at her school. She says at one point that language is a "tool for survival", which I agree with a lot. If you think about it, it's really true. You can't theoretically survive without being able to speak, read or write at least one language. Communication is the key. Rose's essay is more present and local. This passage was easier to read than Lu's, because it was more relatable to current students. He too explains the importance of literacy. He points out to students that it's a necessity to earn the proper education in literature.

introduction & thoughts on reading

hi my name is tina, & i'm a jounior here at Kutztown , & i transfered here a year ago & my major is electronic media. I love art & music, and every couple of months i try to move somewhere different. I want to see as much of the world as I can & i love traveling. Ok so i guess thats me in a nutshell ... Now about Williams "Culture is Ordinary" I enjoyed reading his work, I thought it was well written and interesting. When he was describing the scenes he was looking at while on the bus I almost felt like I was on the bus with him looking through the same window he was. I liked how his writting almost was like he was outside looking in on life, analizing it from a far. I think his interpretation of culture was a good one and would want to read more of his work in the future.

Hello, an intro and a post on Williams

So this is to be my introduction I suppose. My name in Amy, I'm the girl that had to leave class early last week. My close friends call me Table, and you can too, if you like. I feel stupid having to misspell my name for the sake of this, but apperently there is more than one person on the internet that goes by the name 'Table'. I'm a sophmore, which means I procrastinated on this class, and I'm majoring in English Ed, which means I'm REALLY procrastinating. I'm minoring in French and plan to study abroad in Africa this spring.
Hmm, now how else does one describe themselves? My best friend and roommate last year(MIA in california) referred to us as zealots, and I feel thats pretty accurate. I love starting new projects, and getting very excited about new ideas; fnishing them is another story. I like skateboarding, art projects, and national geographic. One of my most outward qualities is probably my ability to talk, and one of my favorite subjects is society, so this reading was quite perfect.
I really like how Williams took a sort of empty word, 'culture', and gave is some bones to stand on. He defined it as everything! Well his word was 'ordinary,' but i feel that is what he meant. He said culture is what we recieve, how we interpret and what we in turn create. Culture is the colllection of traits that a bunch of people (a society) have in common.
I feel he did an accurate, enlightening job in his definition.
Kudos Williams!

Culture Is Ordinary

Culture is a big aspect on life, i believe. Raymond Williams, just defines it alot more. In his story, I noticed his descriptive writing style. I felt like that was a good way to protray what he thought was culture in the areas explored in the writing.

Culture is Ordinary

In "Culture is Oridinary", Raymond Williams portrayed a plaudible perspective on culture. His statement "...culture is everything around us." summarized the fact that culture is found everywhere. By providing his own life experience, he enabled the readers to see this better. He stated that culture is consistently changing, there's always something to learn about it, and individuality strives within it. He said there are two known meanings of culture. He was open-minded, and I agree with his writing.

My Introduction

Hey. My name's Alissa. People call me Liss. I'm coming from the Bloomsburg area, it's about 1hr 1/2 from KU. My major is Education - Secondary English.

Culture is Ordinary

Raymond William's article shows us how we are all different in one way or another. It can be from our religion to our culture, and many different other aspects of life. By having Raymond William writting about his backround and his life in the beginning, I think has helped me understand a lot better that people are different and also that they do have different views and opinions on things. Not everyone is the same. I think that by writting about your life and your backround is a great way to write. It makes the reader more interested in what the author is writting if the readers know a little bit about that person's backround. I really like how all his ideas flow together. I think it is a great way to write because it makes it so much nicer to read and to actually understand what the author is talking about. On the other hand when someone writes sloppy, and has ideas all over the place it is hard to follow the idea and actually understand it.

Ordinary Culture

After reading "Culture is ordinary" , and thinking about what Raymond Williams was trying to express, I've come up with this. When he says culture is ordinary he means that everyone has culture. We all have beliefs, opinions, and views on subjects. By posting on this blog we are all sharing our culture with each other. Williams is right when he says people can have different views of what culture are and I feel that he did a very good job of expressing both of those views in his writing rather than saying this is what culture is end of story. He allows for the understanding that not everyone comes from the same place or background. Culture is ordinary, but every person has their own unique culture, and I think that is what he is trying to show us in his writing.

Introducing myself

Hi everyone,
My name is Sara Love. I'm from Chambersburg, PA which is near Shippensburg University. I am a psychology major and I would like to continue my schooling after I graduate from here and become a School Psychologist.

Culture is Ordinary

I think Raymond Williams is a unique writer. In Culture is Ordinary he stated "I could stand on a mountain and look north to the farms and the cathedral or south to the smoke and the flare of the blast furnace making a second sunset." I feel that this is an important line in the passive because he feels when he just looks around he can see different culture all over and close to him. Most of us prolly thought that we have to be in a different city or even state to view different culture, which really its all around us. Raymond writes with a lot of personal experience and thoughts, which keeps the reader always thinking thoughtout.

Introducing Myself

Hi, my name is Pascale Fontaine, and I live in Boyertown. It is about 45 minutes south from here. My major is Secondary Education / French. I am french canadian, I moved to the US about 6 years ago. It was a big change for me, but I lived through it.

Introduction

Hi my name is Cody Lilly. I am from Kunkletown PA. I attended Palmerton Area High School. This would be an hour north of Kutztown. I'm majoring in business.

Culture Is Ordinary

I believe that Raymond Williams takes much pride in the way he views culture and where it comes from. He starts out by describing the way to where he grew up, and where his family was, and then begins telling the reader about how he grew up and what his family was like. He talks about culture in a way that is easy for the reader to understand. He says that culture is made up by what we already know, and also by what is learned along the way. I feel that Williams expresses himself very well by what he believes and not just what the common belief is. Raymond Williams' writing on culture was a great way to keep readers interested and express his way of where his culture comes from.

Introduce Yourself

Hi, my name is Samantha Brehm. I'm from Hershey, PA and went to Hershey High School. My major is sociology.

Hello, my name is Bob Souder. I am from a town called Perkasie, it is about an hour south of Kutztown. I enjoy skateboarding, along with listening to music and going to shows. I also enjoy drawing and am majoring in Illustration. I guess I have introduced myself enough, have a nice day.

Introduce Yourself

Hi, my name is Justin Miller. I am from the small town of Mertztown right outside of Kutztown. I graduated from Brandywine Heights. I enjoy listening to and playing music, watching movies, comedy, and hanging out with friends.

Culture Is Ordinary - Assignment #2

I think that Raymond Williams has a very fine point to his writings. He begins by telling about his life, about where he grew up and how he lived as a child on the farm. As he is telling this writing, he begans to explain about how he believes that culture is ordinary andhe relates it to his life. He expresses himself through what he believes and it is as though what he is stating is true. Raymond Williams mentions how culture has "two aspects: meaning and directions", (pg. 5). I agree with him because I related this to my culture and I realize that we have meanings we live by and we also have direction. For instance, my meaning in my culture is to succeed and i must carry myself in positive direction. To sum this up, I believe that Raymond Williams has a strong structure to his writing which causes readers to think while reading.