final blog post

I wanted to write about something interesting I thought about while writing my paper. I wrote about literacy and race, and how minorities do not have the same access to educational resources as European Americans have. In the readings that I wrote about, particularly Duncan-Andrade's and Ogbu's, I realized how big of a role teachers play in the success of the student. Both readings touch on how students have a disadvantage, whether they are first taught with "false hope" or whether they are involuntary minorities that refuse to conform to the "white"ways. Both Duncan-Andrade and Ogbu give strategies that help reduce these disadvantages and try to guide the minority students down a smoother path. These authors explain how important the teachers willingness to be effective is for the student. They need to learn how to connect the material to the students' lives and make it simpler for them to understand the vigorous curriculum. Being a role model for their students and also have more parent/community involvement is beneficial. While most people believe that students are responsible for achieving educational success, the teacher plays a huge role as well, and can provide a lot of assistance to minorities.

the final paper is due July 1st, by 11:59pm.

I will not be on campus today.

Per the subject line, I wont be on campus today. Instead, I will be available via both phone and email.

There will be no presentations tomorrow; instead, we will spend the majority of our class time working on final papers.

For tomorrow

For tomorrow, please bring in (either on your computer or a hard copy):

• Your introductory paragraph complete with your thesis, which should be both bolded and underlined..
• Also, bring in a list of the three articles that you plan to take up/analyze in your paper, with a brief rationale as to why you chose the specific texts that you did.

Questions, questions, questions...

Morrell & Duncan-Andrade

•              Morrell and Duncan-Andrade argue that students benefit from culturally relevant instruction, yet there has been (and continues to be) ardent resistance insofar as rethinking or recapitulation the “canon” is concerned. Why do you feel that there has been continued resistance to the incorporation of this kind of pedagogy?
•      The authors cite Ferdman (1990) who argues that cultural valuation leads to higher levels of literacy acquisition; why do you believe this is the case? More specifically, do you feel that cultural valuation (i.e., valuing a student's culture) in fact leads to higher levels of literacy acquisition?
•      Why is it important for students to be taught in their own “native” tongues; and, what kind of transformational experiences do the authors attribute to this kind of instruction?

Anzaldua

• ·        Anzaldua writes that the "home" tongues are the languages spoken among family and friends; according to Gee, what type of discourse is this? Please provide an example of the differences between your particular "home" tongue and the tongue you most frequently adopt when not at "home".
• ·        Anzaldua argues that language is, essentially, twin-skin to culture; that is to say, that language both instantiates and carries culture. Please discuss what it is that she means by this; and, argue for why you agree or disagree with this argument?
• ·        How can linguistic suppression, or worse oppression lead to negative mis-identification? More specifically, how can linguistic oppression lead to the internalization of pejorative associations for linguistically marginalized groups?

Rose, I just wanna be…

• ·        Based on his experiences with Vocational education, it seems as though Rose invokes his buoyancy metaphor, (students will float...), pejoratively; is there way in which it can be viewed positively? (Please explain)
• ·        Rose described the “Voc Ed” track as a “dumping ground for the disaffected”; first of all, what does he mean by this? And, secondly, do you feel that remedial tracks still represent a “dumping ground” of sorts? Why or why not?
• ·        What does it mean to be “groomed for the classroom”? On page 37 of the reading (the last full paragraph), Rose describes his subjective experience with literacy: which of Scribner’s three metaphors best encapsulates the relationship that Rose depicts?

 Rodriguez: Hunger for memory

• ·        Many readers find Rodriguez problematic: Do you agree? How do you think other academics might respond to Rodriguez's stance in relation to cultural heritage and language? If you're familiar with Gloria Anzaldua's work, how do you think she would respond to Rodriguez's perspectives on culture, education, and assimilation?

     Howard: We can't teach what we don't know

• Sociologically, race is classified as a social construction (i.e., not an irrefutable biological reality); that is, it is defined as an abstract notion, so to speak. Is this designation problematic for Howard; and, do you see any potential problems with this classification? Please explain.
• What are “legitimizing myths”; and, what purpose do they serve (according to Howard)?
•   Why does Howard consider the notion of meritocracy, as delineated in our distinctly Westernized, Eurocentric National ethos, to be mythical (pp. 37 of original text)? Please explain.
•   Also on page 37 of the original text, Howard discusses what he terms “social arrangements of dominance”: please provide examples of said social arrangements, and, explain just how they fit into the definition that Howard provides.

 Fredrick Douglass, Narrative life of Fredrick Douglass, An American Slave

• ·       On page 53 of the original text, Douglass recounts the vicissitudes of his own literate awakening. What does his account speak to regarding the internalization of negative, oppressive reinforcement?
• ·        What caused Douglass’ aversion to thinking? Why did it quickly become the bane of his existence?

L.S. Vygotsky: Mind in Society

• ·        Beginning on Page 80 of the reading, three theoretical positions, regarding the relationship between learning and development, are posited, which of the the theoretical postulations seems most plausible? And contiguously, which of the three positions (re-conceptualizations) would be most efficacious with regard to pedagogy?
• ·        How does the Zone of Proximal Development represent a paradigmatic shift in the way in which the relationship between learning and development is conceptualized?
• ·        Vygotsky argues that “writing must be relevant to life (pp. 118 of reading)”, what does he mean by this? Is this argument consistent with conceptualizations of culturally relevant pedagogy?
• ·        According to Vygotsky what is the difference between (merely) teaching written letters and  actually teaching written language?

 Scribner: Literacy in three metaphors

•  Why would there be proponents of bounded literacy, i.e., why would there be supporters of a conception of literacy that has fixed boundaries?
• Would it be fair to argue that the quest to offer a universal definition of literacy can be explained, at least in part, by an over-reliance on classification or scientism that (arguably) pervades western intellectual thought? Why or why not?
• Do you agree with Scribner that definitions of literacy can only be arrived at synchronically, i.e., at a particular moment as opposed to diachronically (over time)? Why or why not?
• How is literacy a social justice issue? To this question, how has literacy been used as a "hegemonic tool"; and, how can the obverse be made true, that is, how can literacy be used as a tactical, subversive tool? Offer an example.

 Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed.

• In Freire’s critique of the banking model of education, he argues that students are posited as receptacles or depositories (pp.72 of original text). For Freire this is problematic because he considers the banking model inherently oppressive. Do you see a way or ways in which this metaphor can be appropriated and/or re-envisioned as something positive and or generative?
• Why is it in the best interest of the oppressor to “change the consciousness of the oppressed, not the situation that oppresses them (pp.74)”?
• Freire argues that the inherent contradictions, which he feels are constitutive of the banking model of education, will eventually lead the oppressed to “turn against their domestication and […] attempt to domesticate reality (pp. 74 of original).” What are the inherent contradictions that he is referring to? And, what would an attempt to domesticate reality look like?

 Freire & Macedo, Literacy: reading the word and the world.

• On page 98 of the original text, Freire argues that: “…the notion that literacy is [only reducible to] learning the standard [i.e., dominant] language still informs the vast majority of literacy programs…” Freire clearly has a problem with this; why?

·        On page 99 of the original text (fourth full paragraph), Freire appropriates Althuasser’s (1971) conception of the ideological state apparatus (i.e., ISAs, which we discussed briefly in class) to describe the educational atmosphere in former colonies. Is the analysis of the situation that he describes limited to former colonies or can it also be applied to contemporary local and National contexts? Please explain.

·        In this chapter, Freire lists four approaches to literacy: the academic approach, the utilitarian approach, the cognitive development approach, and the romantic approach. Do you see parallels between Freire’s approaches and Scribner’s metaphors? Please explain. 

Freire argues for a problem posing pedagogy in order to subvert and counteract the damage caused by the banking model of education: what are the primary differences within these educational paradigms (pp.79)?

Lam

• Why does Lam feel that it is problematic, when engaging discourses, to focus on binary oppositions? And, do you feel that her concern is warranted?
• What does Lam mean by “transnational social fields (pp.83 of source text)” and how are they potentially counter-hegemonic (according to Lam)? Please explain.
• According to Lam, the development of intercultural voices and perspectives are vitally important for youth, especially immigrant youth. According to Lam, what do these two terms denote; and, do you agree with her regarding their intrinsic significance?

Steele and Aronson, Stereotype Threat

Steele and Aronson, Stereotype Threat

Steele and Aronson:

•           In this essay the authors discuss the ill effects of stereotype cues and stereotype threat both psychologically, and to a lesser degree, psychosomatically. Do you believe that stereotype threat has the propensity to physically affect, when activated, negatively stereotyped students?
•       The authors write: "From hundreds of interviews that I've conducted with black college students, it's clear that many believe that the stereotype places them in situations freighted with unnerving expectations. Some report feeling a sense of unfairness, that there will be less patience for their mistakes than for white students' mistakes, and that their failure will be seen as evidence of an unalterable limitation rather than as the result of a bad day." How has this thinking been engender/proliferated, and by whom? Please explain.

Reading : The Color of Supremacy: Beyond the discourse of ‘white privilege’ The idea of "White Supremacy" seems a little bit unfair. We've been discussing this in my other Education class, ED!90 these days as well. Everyone has different experiences, and therefore different opinions. However, first of all, I guess we have to recognize the difference between domination and dominance. The history of domination that did occur amongst Whites--colonization, slavery, etc.--can put a sour taste in many non-Whites' mouths. But we really should recognize the difference between the two ideas. Sure, racism exists. Being a minority myself, I recognize that all too well. But I think just because a group of people have domiNANCE, doesn't mean they desire dominATION. and it's unfair for us to generalize. Sometimes, we even place that 'privilege and status' on White people. I feel like in that, they can become marginalized and discriminated against, too. Christine Yang.

Assigned reading & groups (or pairs)

Hello all,

  Nearly all of these readings are int he reader, either Volume One or Volume two. Please check ASAP to make sure that you can find your assigned reading. If you cannot, please let me know right away.

Steele, C. & Aronson, J. (2004). Stereotype threat and intellectual performance of African Americans.

Travis

Uriel

Gandara, Patricia, & Orfield, Gary. (July, 2010). A return to the “Mexican Room”:  The segregation of Arizona’s English Learners.

Joyce

Amanda

Mendoza-Denton, R. (2010). Are we born racist? New insights from neuroscience and positive psychology. Framed! Understanding achievement gaps.

Jeremiah

Delpit, L. (1995). The silenced dialogue: Power and pedagogy in educating other people’s children. In Other people's children: Cultural conflict in the classroom (pp. 21-47). New York: The New Press.

Yvonne

Vi

Lee, S.J. (1994).  Beyond the model-minority stereotype: Voices of high- and low-achieving Asian-American students.  Anthropology & Education Quarterly 25: 413-429. 

Rahwa

Bhavi

Rose, M. (1989). “I just wanna be average.” In Lives on the boundary: An account of the struggles and achievements of America's educationally under-prepared (11-37). New York: Penguin.

Sen

Mehanie

Douglass, F. (1987). Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass. In H.L. Gates, Jr. (Ed.), The Classic Slave Narratives (pp. 273-281). New York: Penguin.

Jake

Diane

Rodriguez, R. (1981). The achievement of desire. In Hunger of memory: The education of Richard Rodriguez, An autobiography. (43-73). Boston: D.R. Godine.

Martin

Aubrie

Tan, Amy. (1999). Mother tongue. In S. Gillespie & R. Singleon (Eds.), Across cultures: A reader for writers (26-31). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Anna

Kyle

Dorner, Lisa; Orellan, Marjorie; & Li-Grining, Christine P. (2007). “I helped my mom,” and it helped me: Translating the skills of language brokers into improved standardized test scores. American Journal of Education 113: 451-478.

Christine

Maris

Nam

Final Paper, due July 3rd, by 11:59AM

Education 140AC, Literacy: Societal and Individual Development

Summer 2012, Session A

Final Paper

Due: Tuesday, July 3^rd, 2012

The final paper (5-7 pps., not including title or works cited pages) for this course will be a literature review, which will demonstrate both understanding and mastery of course concepts. You are required to include a minimum of three course texts.

What is a literature review?

A literature review surveys scholarly articles, books and other sources relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory, and by so doing, providing a description, summary, and critical evaluation of these works. Literature reviews are designed to provide an overview of sources you have explored while researching a particular topic and to demonstrate to your readers how your research fits into the larger field of study.

Literature reviews are designed to provide an overview and synthesis of pertinent sources you have explored; that said, there are a number of approaches you could adopt depending upon the type of analysis underpinning your study. For this paper, your review will assume the form of an Argumentative Review:

Argumentative Review

     This form examines literature selectively in order to support or refute an argument, deeply imbedded assumption, or philosophical problem already established in the literature. The purpose is to develop a body of literature that establishes a contrarian viewpoint. Given the value-laden nature of some social science research [e.g., educational reform; immigration control], argumentative approaches to analyzing the literature can be a legitimate and important form of discourse. However, note that they can also introduce problems of bias when they are used to make summary claims of the sort found in systematic reviews.

Requisite part of a literature review

Establishing a Critical Response for a Literature Review:

When reviewing your sources, explore the following areas to help develop your critical response:

1.      Introduction: Clearly state your position/thesis; identify the “problem” that you are seeking to address (or redress).

2.      Review of pertinent literature: Provide a brief synopsis of the articles that you will cover; and, describe how they speak to your overall thesis; i.e., discuss your rationale in choosing these particular articles.

3.      Conclusion: Make your line of argumentation clear such that your conclusion simply reiterates whatever it ids that you have “proven” via the literature that you reviewed.

Some additional considerations

(You will want to bear these questions in mind while constructing your literature review)

·        What is the purpose of the research or work?

·        What research or literary methods are used?

·        How do the major concepts operate?

·        In a research study, how accurate are the measurements?

·        In a literary work, is the author’s position objective or biased?

·        What are the different interpretations of the results of the study or of the literary work itself?

**For this paper, students are required to include a minimum of three course texts. Your thesis should be clear, and the texts that you choose should both substantiate and problematize your thesis. That is to say, do not simply select three (or more) texts that bolster your position; instead, choose at least one text that can be used contrastively, to better illustrate and illuminate your presupposition. Additionally, remember to define all key words and key constructs. You cannot, simply, assume that I hold the same definitions for the words and concepts that you employ. Also, be sure to have clear transitions, which function to signal to the reader that your argument is shifting, transitioning, etc. **

Optional Literature Review prompts:

1.      Please define literacy or literacies, based on course materials.  You may include several aspects of literacy in your answer.  Be specific with course readings that you weave into your answer.

2.      How does literacy reflect relations of power?  Please discuss at least three of the readings from the course, and show how literacy and power are intimately interconnected.   

3.      Discuss how literacies and identities interrelate in three course readings.   

4.      Several authors that we have read argue that students benefit from culturally relevant curriculum in schools, related to language instruction.  Give examples of how out-of-school literacy practices might serve as a bridge to in-school learning.  Discuss at least two articles or readings from the course that engage these topics.

5.      Discuss the ways in which race informs access to literacy, and, concomitantly, the ways in which literacy has been (and continues to be) used to enact racist, and inherently inequitable schooling practices.     

I will be in class by 9:45.

Assigned readings & Reading groups: 6-07-12

Ogbu, J. U. and Simons, H. D. (1998), Voluntary and Involuntary Minorities: A Cultural-Ecological

Theory of School Performance with Some Implications for Education. Anthropology & Education

Travis

Uriel

Christine

Johnson, S. (2007).The Burden of Being Black: Exploring The Inequitable Nature of “Acting White” “Equity in K-12 Public Education” (Educ 737 004 F07), University of Michigan, School of Education,

Ann Arbor.

Kyle

Joyce

Amanda

Ainsworth-Darnell, J.W., and Downey, D.B. (1998). Assessing the Oppositional Culture Explanation for Racial/Ethnic Differences in School Performance. American Sociological Review, Vol. 63, No.

4 (Aug., 1998), pp. 536-553. American Sociological Association. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/

stable/2657266

Maris

Nam

Anna

Leonardo, Z. (2002). The souls of white folk: Critical pedagogy, whiteness studies, and

globalization discourse. Race Ethnicity & Education, 5(1), 29-50.

Yvonne

Vi

Aubrie

Leonardo, Z. (2004). The color of supremacy: Beyond the discourse of “White privilege”.

Educational Philosophy and Theory, 36(2), 137-152. http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/

journal/118750554/issue.

Rahwa

Bhavi

Martin

Roediger, D. (1994). Toward the abolition of whiteness. New York: Verso.

Jeremiah

Howard, G.R. (2006). We can’t teach what we don’t know: white teachers, multiracial schools

(pp.13-27; 53-67).Teachers College Press. New York and London.

Sen

Mehanie

Jake

Diane

Questions for: Delgado & Stephanic, Critical Race Theory (2001); and Roberts (2011), Fatal Invention.

Delgado, Richard; Stefancic, Jean (2001-05-01). Critical Race Theory (Critical America (New York University Paperback)) (Kindle Location 252). NYU Press academic. Kindle Edition.

• According to Delgado and Stefanic (2001), Critical Race Theory is: “… [a] movement [which] is a collection of activists and scholars interested in studying and transforming the relationship among race, racism, and power.” Is there an inherent relationship between race and power? Please explain.
• "First, that racism is ordinary, not aberrational—“normal science,” the usual way society does business, the common, everyday experience of most people of color in this country. Second, most would agree that our system of white-over-color ascendancy serves important purposes, both psychic and material. The first feature, ordinariness, means that racism is difficult to cure or address." The above quote speaks to the (specious) positioning of whiteness as normative, as the default “race”; how is this reality instantiated, and, how is it (potentially) damaging for non-whites?
• “Many modern-day readers believe that racism is declining or that class today is more important than race.” Where do you find yourself, theoretically, on this continuum? That is to ask, do you agree that class injustice now takes precedence of racial injustice; or, do you think that the obverse is true?

Roberts (2011). Fatal Inventions: How Science, Politics, and Big Business re-create race in the Twenty-First Century.

Questions for: Glenn C. Loury. The Anatomy of Racial Inequality.

• Loury, as evidenced by the quote below, argues that racial stigma is more pernicious, in the final instance, than is racial discrimination? What does he mean by this? And, do you agree/disagree? Why?

“Indeed, I will argue that "racial stigma" should now be given pride of place over "racial discrimination" as the concept which best reflects the causes of African-American disadvantage. Chapter 4 is devoted to a discussion…”

• Loury argues that race is: "… all about embodied social signification. As such, much depends on the processes through which powerful meanings come to be associated with particular bodily marks.” Is this an oversimplification of a more nuanced definition; or, in your opinion (explain your rationale) does his definition accurately capture the essence of the notion of “race”?
• Does Loury’s argument that, "… [a] self-confirming stereotype" is a statistical generalization about some class of persons regarding what is taken with reason to be true about them as a class, but cannot be readily determined as true or false for a given member of the class.”, function to further disempower traditionally marginalized groups? More specifically, by positioning certain pejorative stereotypes as “self-confirming”, does Loury (perhaps inadvertently) strip traditionally marginalized groups of their agency? Explain.

Glenn C. Loury. The Anatomy of Racial Inequality (Kindle Locations 172-174). Kindle Edition.

be there in 10 minutes.

Re: reading & presentation groups

Hello all,
   This week some of the readings are particularly lengthy. So, my recommendation, if you time is limited, would be to--as a group--delegate sections  (e.g., first 10 pages, second 10 pages, etc.) for group members to cover for presentations. Of course, my hope is that you read your article as well as all of the course articles in their entirety; however, I know that you all are busy, and that your respective schedules may preclude you from doing just that.

Assigned readings & presentation groups

De Certeau, M. (1984). Introduction and Chapters 10-12. The practice of Everyday life (pp. xi-xxiv & 131-175). Berkeley: University of California Press.

Travis

Uriel

Christine

Althusser, L. (1971). Lenin and Philosophy. New York: Monthly Review Press (pp. 127-186).

Kyle

Joyce

Amanda

Banks, J. (2005).  Multicultural education: Characteristics and goals.  In J. Banks and C. Banks (Eds.), Multicultural education: Issues and perspectives (pp. 3-30).  Fifth ed.  New York: Wiley and Sons.

Maris

Nam

Anna

Gee, J. (1991). What is literacy? In C. Mitchell & K. Weiler (Eds.), Rewriting literacy: Culture and the discourse of the other (pp. 3-11). New York: Bergin & Garvey.

Yvonne

Vi

Aubrie

Charity Hudley, A. & Mallinson, C. (2011). Understanding English Language Variation in U.S. Schools. Teachers College Pres. New York, New York. (Chapter 2, 11-36)

Rahwa

Bhavi

Martin

The Heterosexual Privilege Checklist. Accessed from http://queersunited.blogspot.com/2008/10/heterosexual-privilege-checklist.html, June 30, 2011.

We will read this together.

McIntosh, P. (1989). White privilege and male privilege: A personal account of coming to see correspondences through work in women's studies.  Working paper 189.  Wellesley College Center for Research on Women. http://librarian.lishost.org/?p=337

We will read this together in class.

Fanon, Frantz (1968). Black skin, white masks. New York, New York: Grove Press. The Negro and Language (pp. 17-33).

Jeremiah

Anzaldua, G. (1987). How to tame a wild tongue. In Borderlands/La Frontera: The new mestiza (53-64). San Francisco: Spinsters/Aunt Lute.

Sen

Mehanie

Jake

Diane

class will begin at 10:10am this morning

No NEW presentations tomorrow.

Hello all,
  As most of you know, I've been out of the loop, attending to my growing family. I am back on line now, at least for a little while. I just want to let you all know that, with the exception of groups who did not present on Thursday, there will be no (new) presentations tomorrow. Instead, presentations will resume on Thursday, 5/30. I will post the assigned readings and reading groups later on this evening.

Also, we will discuss field site happenings, in detail, tomorrow in class.

Introducing: Malachi Jeremiah Sims, born 5/26/12 @ 10:02pm

Blog Entry, Week One - Additive Approach

Jumping on the bandwagon...so what everyone else said about Jeremiah and his new son!

I don't have a specific article that I'm going to respond to, so I'll just reflect on a part of what we discussed in class last week. One of the concepts that stood out to me the most was the additive approach to learning. Jeremiah gave us the example of helping students improve their (SAT?) vocabulary by associating the vocabulary words with more colloquial ones that the students are familiar with. So my question is, why is it important that we use this sort of approach--to welcome each student's cultural identity into a classroom? As the name additive learning implies, it serves as a foundation to help the student build on to what he or she is already familiar with, such as a native language besides the "standard" one. From kindergarten to third grade, I was fortunate enough to be in Chinese-bilingual class settings in which the teacher taught the class in both Chinese and English; as a kindergarten student, it was easier to remember what "cat" meant because I could associate it with its Chinese name, mao. Sometimes (perhaps not so much today?), as Anzaldua talks about in her piece "How to Tame a Wild Tongue," students like her are discouraged from speaking in their native tongues at school and are pushed to speak something more standard instead. Although understanding standard English both in and out of the classroom is important, so is maintaining one's cultural identity and feeling comfortable expressing it through a native language.

blog entry 1: what is literacy?

What is Literacy?

On the first day of class, Jeremiah challenged us to revise the standard and archaic definition of literacy: being able to read and write.  Among other things, that definition lacks a certain contextual element, such as being able to “read a situation.”

In “Youth Culture and Digital Media: New Literacies for New Times,” Glynda Hull explores the concept of technological literacy.  She defines literacy as a “familiarity with the full range of communicative tools... sensitivity to the power and importance of representation of self and others, along with the space and support to communicate critically” (Hull, 230).  Essentially, she argues that literacy is the ability to communicate through different mediums with knowledge of how important that ability is.  Ultimately, she argues for multimedia literacy programs in classrooms, but I will not discuss the merits of that here.  What her definition implies is that literacy goes beyond books and words and should include pictures, videos, and other multimedia sources.  I agree that this conclusion is important for the increasingly visualized culture we live in, but I think it should be additive to the current definition and not necessarily replace it.  Remembering Freire’s notion of literacy as a tool to “either empower or disempower people” (Freire, 98), let’s explore the implications of Hull’s definition.  Pictorial literacy may benefit the youth culture, but it certainly harms the older generation, whose concept of literacy is based on the more traditional one.  Ultimately, I think Hull is arguing for a more comprehensive definition so as to empower more traditionally disenfranchised people and I do agree with her belief that literacy can be defined more broadly as the ability to communicate.  However, I do find it interesting to see what generational effects such a changing definition would have.

Hello everybody! :) I'm still a bit puzzled as to how the blog entry works, but I'm going to be posting on the Youth culture and digital media: New literacies for new times. Research in the Teaching of English as well. More than having a specific question, I want to pose my thoughts on whether or not this new media centered education will work or not, depending on its pros and cons. Well first of all, it's true that much of the youth today is very much centered around the media. Much of what we buy, much of what we wear and eat is derived of the media. From simple things such as TV reality shows and magazine articles to things such as the news or radio talk shows, we take those things in and allow ourselves to become immersed in and influenced by it. Then, (as the article is saying) since our daily social lives are so influenced by the media, it just makes sense that media should be able to have a positive influence on our educational lives as well. I think that this argument can have its obvious pros and cons. I guess as a youth and student myself, I should be able to see the pros first. I myself am not that creative of a person, but I can see how making films and songs and plays to depict what you're learning can help. Even in grade school, the happiest days are when the teacher rolls in the little TVs and plays a film. If that can be a regular part of education, I feel that students might even enjoy learning a bit more. Also, students tend to only focus on using the left side of their brain when working in school. The creative aspect of this method will force a student to also utilize his/her right brain. However, there are the obvious downsides of this education as well. Not only will it involve much doubt (what will work? what will not?) it will take an enormous increase in the already lacking funding. I guess it's more logistics. I myself don't mind learning with a textbook and notebook in front of me, but this sort of interactive learning can increase literacy in more ways than just being able to read a book. If this sort of youth culture&media program can be implemented in a timely & reasonably priced manner, I think it's a new method that we really should be thinking of. If you've already had the baby, YAYYAYAYYA! :) Congratulations!!!! See you all tomorrow :) Christine.

Week One Response: "How to Tame a Wild Tongue" by G. Anzaldua

Hey Guys! This is Joyce. I’m doing something similar to Nam’s post except on a reading from this Tuesday (5/29). Good luck to Jeremiah and his new son!! 

My Question: 

        In thinking about literacy, language plays an essential part, especially in Freire’s concept of “emancipatory literacy”. Freire writes that “language represents who we are and represents our existence”. Similarly, language and identity come hand in hand in G. Anzaldua’s literacy autobiography, “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”. Struggling to reconcile the two opposing discourses that embody the English and Spanish languages, Anzaldua uses the space of her writing, an act of literacy in and of itself, to construct her identity through a new form of bilingual literacy, where both Spanish and English need not be denied. I find it worth thinking about how Anzaldua was able to do so. She uses both Spanish and English in her essay, switching fluidly between the two languages without pausing to translate. Why? What is the effect of her doing so? How does this inform the way she internalizes language as part of her identity?

Response:

       Anzaldua is an example of someone who kept her culture and identity close to heart, thereby suffering oppression. She writes, “I cannot accept the legitimacy of myself. Until I am free to write bilingually and to switch codes without having always to translate…as long as I have to accommodate the English speakers rather than having them accommodate me, my tongue will be illegitimate.” It seems however, that by writing this piece where Chicano Spanish is fluidly weaved and integrated with English to the point that some of her main points are made in Spanish, Anzaldua is legitimizing herself. As her English reader, I am made to accommodate her language, finding myself asking Spanish speaking friends and resorting to translating sites to get the full meaning of her writing. Some of her thoughts turned out to be quite important: For example, “Un lenguaje que corresponde a un modo de vivir”, which means “A language that corresponds to a way of life”, elaborated how integral a part language plays in Anzaldua’s culture in a whole new sense. It was frustrating at first, but I came to understand it as Anzaldua’s freedom in asserting her identity through her native language. I could also see it as a mechanism to turn the tables and allow the readers to taste the language barrier disconnects she went through. In this way, she internalizes her languages to prove a part of her identity, proving her statement that “ethnic identity is twin skin to linguistic identity”. 

Response to Hull [Week One]

Hi everybody - I'm not sure if we're supposed to have a blog entry up this weekend, but just in case, I'm writing mine. Hope everything's going well for you and the baby, Jeremiah :)

Since there are no questions on this week's reading that I can find, I'm going to write my own on Youth Culture and Digital Media: New Literacies for New Times, by Hull.

My question - this week's readings were all really centered on the establishing literacy as something malleable and powerful. We saw how Freire deemed it a tool for overcoming oppression, and how Scribner saw it as a tool for self improvement [among other things]. Yet, we have yet to see this type of thinking, and these kinds of programs that Hull writes about trickle down to America as a whole. I think this is a phenomenon that's worth exploring - why this type of thinking isn't more widespread? Why haven't these ideas and programs become more popular, considering how empowering they seem to be for young students [and especially students of color]?

Response: While it is quite clear that technology has created a new level of literacy and understanding within students, I think this lack of support really can be traced back to two factors: an inadequate level of funding to support them, and an educational force mostly ill equipped to teach that literacy. Many teachers [at least in my experience] recognize that every student has life experiences worth bringing to the classroom, but not all of them have the time or energy or expertise to utilize or take advantage of those experiences in more creative and untraditional ways. Many English teachers have their students talk about situations in their lives that respond to the text, but because of the age of constant stimulation students are growing up in, I think Hull's types of programs are becoming more and more important - students need to be challenged in ways beyond the traditional verbal or written areas, if education as a whole is to adapt. Their literacies [and yes, students have many of them] need to be engaged as well. Perhaps what this suggests is a need for an overhaul of educational training - making the next generation of teachers aware of how these pools of resources their students bring with them, just waiting to be tapped.

Contractions are getting stronger, and more frequent.

Hello all,
   This is my last email until Baby Boy Sims #2 is born. We are getting close, and will probably be headed to the hospital soon. So, I will be incommunicado; I apologize if I owe anyone a response, but obviously, I am preoccupied at the moment.

Field site info

  As promised, the field site info is pasted below. My firm recommendations is that each of you take the time to go to the websites of each site, so that you get a better idea as to just which site you're most interested in working with. 

School Site Contact Info:

Oakland Military Instititue
3877 Lusk Street
Oakland, CA 94608
Phone: (510) 594-3900
Fax: (510) 597-9886
Email: info@omiacademy.org

Principal: Mark Ryan, mryan@omiacademy.org
Site Coordinator: Michael Appis, mappis@omiacademy.org

http://www.oakmil.org/omiacademy/site/default.asp

Our Lady of the Rosary678 B Street
Union City, CA 94587-2141
Phone: (510) 471-3765

Principal: Gloria Galarsa, ggalarsa@csdo.org
Site Coordinator: Jill Chacon, jchacon@csdo.org

http://www.olrschool.com/

Saint Anthony’s Catholic School1500 E. 15TH Street
Oakland, CA 94606
Phone: (510) 534-3334

Principal: Barbara Flannery
Vice Principal: Marisol Preciado, mpreciado@csdo.org
Site Coordinator: Rogelio Nevarez, rnnevarez@csdo.org

http://stanthonyschool.spruz.com/

St. Cornelius Catholic School201 28th Street
Richmond, CA 94804
Phone: (510) 232-3326

Principal: Sherri Moradi, sherrimoradi@yahoo.com
Site Coordinator: Gregory Defabio, gdefabio@csdo.org

http://home.catholicweb.com/StCornelius/

St. Elizabeth Elementary School
1516 33rd Ave.
Oakland, CA 94601
Phone: (510) 532-7392

Principal: Sr. Rose Marie Hennessy, rhennessy@csdo.org
Site Coordinator: Utami Setiyadi, usetiyadi@saintelizabeth.us

http://saintelizabeth.us/

St. Jarlath Elementary School2634 Pleasant St.
Oakland, CA 94602
Phone: (510) 532-4387

Principal: Rodney Pierre-Antoine, rpierre-antoine@csdo.org
Site Coordinator: Brother Chris Saindon, csaindon@csdo.org

http://www.stjarlath.org/

St. Martin de PorresSaint Martin de Porres – K-5
675 41st Street
Oakland, CA 94609

Saint Martin de Porres – Middle School
1630 10th Street
Oakland, CA 94607
Phone: (510) 832-1757

Principal: Ann Magovern, amagovern@csdo.org
Site Coordinator: Nora Kenney, nkenney@csdo.org

http://www.stmdp.org/

Castlemont Community of Small Schools
8601 Macarthur Blvd
Oakland, CA 94605-4037
Phone: (510) 879-3010
Site Coordinators:Linda Osuorji, losuorji@yahoo.com (530-680-1913)Ache Lytle, acheiam@aol.com (510-326-4398)

Blog Response Protocol

     Each week students in this section will be responsible for answering one (posted) reading-related question; all questions will come directly from the readings for a given week. Your responses should demonstrate some understanding of the material in question; that is to say, I am less interested in whether or not you liked the assigned articles (though I hope you do), than I am in your ability to identify and critically analyze the positions/main arguments presented within the texts. 
       However, if you do not find my questions particularly compelling and wish to pose your own instead, you are welcome to do so. Your query (in order to earn the full two points) must ask an important question and provide context as to why you have deemed the question “worth asking”. Likewise, if you opt to address a post from one of your classmates (in detail) rather than answer the assigned questions, this too is acceptable. I want this blog to be our dialogue; so, to be clear I am disinterested in twenty-plus, slightly differently-worded answers to the same two questions. I much prefer and feel it is far more helpful to have class-wide, multi-layered conversations on the texts that will be covering.

     Remember, you are precluded from answering a question on your assigned reading. That said, you are free to respond to any question on any reading other than the one that you are assigned to present on.


So now I’ll get to what you really care about...


In order to receive the full 3 points:

· Each entry should be at least 150 words, (but no more than 250 words).
· Spelling and grammar matter.
· Avoid summarizing in your responses; instead, offer an analysis of the text.

Reading groups for tomorrow, Thursday May 25th.

Here are your reading groups. Because we are somewhat rushed, I will set aside 45 minutes for you all to work together in groups, in class, to prepare your presentations. Obviously. you need to read your assigned article, in full, prior to tomorrow's class, so that you can get to work on constructing your presentation as soon as class begins.

Just a reminder, regarding how presentations will work:

Each group will have 10 minutes to present; then, following the presentation, a given group will remain standing for n additional 5 minutes in order to answer questions about the reading covered. I would prefer that each member participate, but will not negatively sanction people who are naturally taciturn, (though I do hope that this exercise will help us all come out of our shells).

Pointers on presentations:

• Make sure you capture and illuminate the thesis, or primary argument of your assigned text; you want to ensure that your classmates, at the very least, understand what the main point of a given text is.
• Feel free to take a position, i.e., you disagree or agree with a given writers thesis. Just make sure that prior to doing this you accurately and cogently delineate said writers main point.
• Offer an insightful summary: son't simply tell us what was written; instead, attempt to draw parallels with your own, subjective, experiences, course themes or other course readings.

Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and Education: an introduction to the philosophy of education (Chapters 1 & 2).

Tuongvi Troung

Aubrie Cook

Rahwa Hailemichael

Meygan Ngo

Duncan-Andrade, J. (2009). Note to Educators: Hope Required When Growing Roses in Concrete. Harvard Educational Review (Volume 79, Number 2; Summer 2009). ISSN 0017-8055

Xuemeng Li

Amanda Glass

Matis Asatyan

Travis Huang

Freire, Paulo. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. 30th Anniversary Edition (2000) with an introduction by Donaldo Macedo (pp. 71-86). New York: Continuum.

Ziqin Xu

Eddie Huang

Jake Wrobel

Yvonne Miranda

Freire, P., & Macedo, D. (1987). Chapter 7: Literacy and critical pedagogy (pp. 98—110). In Readingthe word and the world. London: Routledge.

Alex Tran

Dowon Kim

Medhanie Gebray

Nam Le

Scribner, S. (1988). Literacy in three metaphors.  In E.R. Kintgen, B.M. Kroll, & M. Rose (Eds.), Perspectives on literacy (pp. 71-81).  Carbondale, IL:  Southern Illinois University Press.

Kyle Caravelli

Bhavi Vohra

Anna Morris

Joyce Chang

Hull, G. (2003). Youth culture and digital media: New literacies for new times. Research in the Teaching of English 38, 2: 229-233.

Diane Cho

Martin Diaz

Uriel Lopez

Christine Yang

Poetics of the Oppressed Questions

• "There are many languages besides those that are written or spoken." What does Boal mean by this, and how does it tie into the discussions we've had in class about new definitions of literacy? Do you agree with his statement? Why or why not?
• What are the two different kinds of poetics that Boal discusses before explaining the type of poetics introduced by ALFIN? How is the "poetics of the oppressed" he talks about more appropriate for a program like ALFIN designed to teach literacy?
• What is the "technique for breaking repression" that Boal describes on page 150? How is this related to his claim that the theater is "rehearsal of revolution"?

Questions for Steele and Aronson: Stereotype threat...

Steele ans Aronson:

• In this essay the authors discuss the ill effects of stereotype cues and stereotype threat both psychologically, and to a lesser degree, psychosomatically. Do you believe that stereotype threat has the propensity to physically affect, when activated, negatively stereotyped students?
• The authors write: "From hundreds of interviews that I've conducted with black college students, it's clear that many believe that the stereotype places them in situations freighted with unnerving expectations. Some report feeling a sense of unfairness, that there will be less patience for their mistakes than for white students' mistakes, and that their failure will be seen as evidence of an unalterable limitation rather than as the result of a bad day." How has this thinking been engender/proliferated, and by whom? Please explain.