Blog 12

Let’s have some fun with this one.

1. Watch Ken Robinson’s animated Changing Education Paradigms (approx. 11 minutes long).

http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_changing_education_paradigms.html

2. Respond personally: what do you think of what he has to say? Then, respond to the question posed by the person before you.

3. Use two references from ANY previous readings to support your opinion/reaction.

4. Pose a question for the next student to respond to.

This shouldn't be too complicated - it should be a chain dialogue in which you provide your personal response, answer the question from the person in front of you and then pose a NEW question for the next person.

Blog 11

1. Watch this video entitled "Oppression in Education" by the Forum
Theater Troupe (directed by Julian Boal, son of Augusto Boal)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecwFetYMy5Y&feature=related

Next, read the Ayers and Alexander-Tanner comic strip on reader page 961.

What closing thoughts on teaching does the comic strip leave you with?
What closing thoughts on teaching does the dramatic performance piece
leave you with?

2. Freire’s pedagogy of literacy education involves not only reading the
word, but also reading the world. This involves the development of
critical consciousness (a process known in Portuguese as conscientização).
The formation of critical consciousness allows people to question the
nature of their historical and social situation—to read their world—with
the goal of acting as subjects in the creation of a democratic society
(which was new for Brazil at that time). How (if it all) does Augusto
Boal's piece enhance/contradict/complicate our thinking about Freire's
original formulations on critical consciousness/critical literacy?

Have fun!

Blog 10

It is looking like we will cancel class on Tuesday for the general strike but keep your eyes on bspace for an official announcement.

Next Thursday, please bring your printed field notes for us to devote time to your case study!

Blog questions:

Multimodality and assessment

Stornaiuolo, A., Hull, G., & Nelson, M. (2009). Mobile Texts and migrant
audiences: Rethinking literacy and assessment in a new media age. Language
Arts, 82 (5), 382-92.

   -  In this article, the authors argue that young people growing up in a
   digitally mediated educational milieu have “wide-ranging opportunities to
   choose how to represent themselves in relationship with others (pp. 383 of
   original text).” Does this argument seem somewhat naïve or romanticized in
   that these very same young people face far greater constraints, where
   identity construction is concerned, i.e., available selves, vis-à-vis their
   more affluent white counterparts?


   - The authors argue for a re-conceptualization of the current
   measurements, which seek to gauge young people’s cognitive
   abilities/capabilities. More specifically, they argue for assessments that
   take into account poor, marginalized students’ multimodal,
   culturally-informed, pre-existent identities. If these types of
   measurements are enacted, what if any, effect do you feel they will have on
   the lives of young people whose lived experiences mirror the students
   highlighted in this paper?

Stein, Pippa.  (2004). Representation, rights, and resources:  Multimodal
pedagogies in the language and literacy classroom. In Bonny Norton &
Kelleen Toohey (Eds.), Critical pedagogies and language learning (95-115).
Cambridge, UK:  Cambridge University Press.

   - The author argues that: “Classrooms are semiotic [meaning-making]
   spaces in which multimodal texts are constantly being produced and
   transformed by human beings who are the agents of their own meaning-making
   (pp. 98 of original text).” Do you agree with this line of thinking? More
   to the point—are students truly “agents of their own meaning-making” or are
   they identities, in fact, informed and (re)configured by the institutions
   and structures that they are enmeshed within? (This doesn’t have to be an
   “either/or” argument.)


   -  Do you agree with Stein’s argument that language is limited? What
   does she mean by this? Please explain.

Section tomorrow, November 10

Hi everyone,

As Nora mentioned in class on Tuesday, please come to section tomorrow with your printed field notes. It really will make your life a lot easier if you can have hard copies of your notes as we begin to work through your case studies!

Also, tomorrow we'll talk a little about the video I showed at the end of lecture and talk briefly about the boyd & Ellison and "Look at Me" articles.

Thanks, all!

Blog 9

Thanks for a nice informal discussion today. It was great getting to hear so much about your experiences and reactions to working at SMDP.

Just a reminder that you're all in the hot seat in lecture Tuesday. You are the names I know...you are the ones I'm going to call on. Hooray!

Next week's questions are here:

1. Hull and Stornaiuolo approach social networking through the lens of “cosmopolitanism,” which they define as “…a strategy for reconciling the tensions inherent in a vastly interconnected yet deeply divided world, where we have ‘obligations that stretch beyond those to whom we are related by the ties of kith and kind, or even the more formal ties of shared citizenship’ (Appiah, 2006, p. xv)” (p. 792 in reader). How does this concept further our discussion of literacy? Why should we view student behavior through this lens?

2. boyd and Ellison walk us through a history of social network sites and past research. How can we think of social network sites as spaces for literacy development? Do you think SNSs have a place in the classroom? Why or why not?

3. All three articles complicate notions of traditional literacy. How can we conceptualize the notion of a “visual literacy”? What are the benefits of thinking about literacy to include images? Does this add to the classroom or how we think about student learning?

4. You are college students. College students with, I imagine, Facebook pages. What are your reactions to Mendelson and Papacharissi’s article? What do you think they get right? Wrong? What does this study add to our discussion of literacy?

Section Thursday, November 3rd

Hopefully you've seen Nora's bspace announcement, but I'm following up re: Thursday.

There is a protest scheduled on campus regarding affirmative action on Thursday. You are welcome to miss section in order to attend. If you choose to attend the protest, please email me to let me know you will be absent. Please also turn in a field note from your observations. As Nora pointed out, even if you don't agree with the protest, it is an excellent opportunity to develop your ethnographic skills.

To clarify:

1. If you will not be in section, email me prior to Thursday's meeting.

2. You may turn in TWO field notes this week: one from the protest on Thursday and one from your weekly field site visits.

3. If you are not in section and you do not turn in a protest field note, that will count as an unexcused absence.

Blog 8

Here we go: 1. The "Methodology" section (720-725) of the Hull, Kenney, Marple, & Forsman-Schneider article details the process of constructing a qualitative case study. What's the relationship between these qualitative methdologies and course themes related to out-of-school literacy and learning? 2. On page (reader) page 724-5, Hull et al discuss the importance of agency and "de/recontextualization" and, in Gee's terms, how "good learning requires that learners feel like active agents (producers) not just passive recipients (consumers)." With these ideas in mind, discuss how the teachers in the Parker excerpts enabled students to learn agentively. What implications do these approaches have for pedagogy in general? 3. Choose one of the learning principles discussed in Gee's article about video games and discuss how you would use a video game to teach specific content (a concept in math, physics, language arts, physical education...)

Literacy Autobiography Grades Posted

I've completed reading and grading your literacy autobiographies, which I thoroughly enjoyed. You should all be proud of yourselves - they were really solid. You should have received a returned rubric in an email from me by now.

Please read through my comments and return to your papers. If you would like to discuss your papers, please set up office hours with me asap.

However, if you would like to contest a grade, I will need you to explicitly write out the reasons why you feel your paper should be re-evaluated before November 7th. Please be advised: I will re-grade your work if you feel you have received an incorrect grade, but I reserve the right to also lower your grade if, upon my return to it, I feel that I was overgenerous.

Also, I will be out of town the next two weekends so I plan to post your blog questions a bit early this week. They are still due at the usual time, so don't feel that you need to rush.

I hope you all enjoyed the sunshine this weekend.

Again, well done on your papers!

-T

Blog 7 (Week 10 readings)

1. Street argues that literacy is a “social practice.” Using examples from Hull & Schultz, Richardson and/or Newkirk, explain what Street means.

2. Street also argues that literacy is “always contested, both its meanings and its practices, hence particular versions of it are always “ideological”, they are always rooted in a particular world-view and in a desire for that view of literacy to dominate and marginalize others” (p. 694 in reader). How might our discussion of Friere and/or racial power dynamics play into his conception of literacy?

3. Richardson writes that “African American females’ language and literacy practices reflect their socialization in a racialized, genderized, sexualized, and classed world in which they employ their language and literacy practices to protect and advance themselves” (p. 637 in reader). How does this intersectionality create a unique linguistic practice? How does Richardson see these affect African American female students?

4. Newkirk writes about the role that Bourdieu’s “cultural capital” plays in what is considered valid reading and writing subject material in school. What does he mean by “cultural capital”? How does this tie into power in our classrooms?

5. Last week, we read Mahiri and Sablo who indicate that “real life” subjects such as drugs, murder, and abortion are not considered socially acceptable topics. Newkirk highlights the unacceptable genres of comic books, horror stories, etc. Why do you think classrooms are such restrictive spaces for student creativity? Who benefits from restricting the canon? Think about out of school examples highlighted by Hull & Schultz as ways we can problematize these limitations.

Make-Up Blog (aka Blog 6)

Hi everyone,

For those of you who have requested blog questions, here are some "make up" ones. If you have them to me by 11:59 Wednesday night, I'm cool with that.

Settling down to start on your autobiographies now!

Questions:

   - This article seems to operate under the assumption that literacy, in
   the final instance, is inherently“political”? Do you agree with His
   assertion? Please explain.
   - Mahiri seems to be pushing for a reconceptualization of literacy, which
   includes the cultural offerings of traditionally marginalized students. Do
   you see this as a clear challenge to the American “canon”; and, how
   realistic, in the face of the overdetermination of a Western, Eurocentric
   epistemology, do you think the prospect of this reconceptualization is?
   - Considering the case studies of students represented by Mahiri & Sablo
   and by Skilton-Sylvester, how does "investment" as explained by
   Skilton-Sylvester relate to these students and, perhaps, others like them?
   Based on these readings, what ideas do you have for bridging in-school and
   out-of-school literacy practices?
   - Do you agree with Ogbu's argument regarding the classification of
   "minorities?" And do you find it a useful tool for discussing and closing
   the "achievement gap?"
   - How have "model minority" mythologies affected you? And how does Lee
   connect to Ogbu's work?

No blogs this week

Thank you so much for our outdoorsy section today and for your great participation in our stereotype labels game. I really enjoyed hearing your thoughts and experiences!

In recognition of your upcoming literacy autobiographies (due Saturday by 11:59 pm) we will go ahead and skip blogs this week. But please make sure to get to the reading before class. There are only four articles, which should be manageable.

Finally, if you have any questions about literacy autobiographies, shoot me an email. I will not be available for office hours tomorrow.

Have fun writing! I can't wait to read them.

-T

Blogs & Class Thursday

Hi everyone,

Blog 5 is graded and emailed. In reading your responses, I kicked myself quite hard for only posting two questions. I promise I'll provide more options going forward.

Also, I know it's midterms and you're all incredibly busy. However, I am noticing a marked drop-off in readings. Please make sure you're up on our race and racialized language readings for class on Thursday. I intend to leave a majority of our section time for discussion and I intend to have it primarily student-led. You cannot participate if you have not done the readings for the week.

Finally, a reminder that literacy autobiographies are due THIS SATURDAY, October 15th by 11:59 pm. If you have questions or need to meet with me during office hours, please email me asap as my time slots are filling up.

Thanks, everyone.

-Tracie

October 13th Blog Questions

1. What is/are Lisa Delpit's major argument/s about power in the classroom in the text Other People's Children?

2. In Black Skins, White Mask, Fanon argues that "the negro of Antilles, whoever he is, has always to face the problem of language" (pg. 18 in reader 2). To what problem is he referring?

Blog 3 Grades

Blog 3 grade emails have been sent out. Again, if I somehow missed yours and you did not receive a grade email, let me know ASAP so I can rectify.

Thanks!

Blog 2

I have finished sending out grades for blog 2. If you have NOT received a grade but submitted a blog (either as an "unknown" or via email) please let me know so I can look into it.

October 6 Reading Blog Questions & Attendance

Hi everyone,

Here are the blog questions for the reading for next week. Don't forget you're welcome to create your own question or respond to other students' responses.

Please also remember that I do take attendance in section. There were a number of absences on Thursday, only one of which I had cleared.

Enjoy your weekend,

Tracie

Gates and Douglass:

- Gates, Jr, argues that race is a trope, i.e., a word/concept that is used figuratively, what does he mean by this?

- Contiguously, is there a problem with the metaphor that he offers? More specifically, does Gates, Jr., by relegating race to an abstract concept, a metaphor, fail to account for the real, material effects fomented by race?

- Gates writes that (pp.591 of the original text) many Western writers and (pseudo)scientists have sought to reify race by arguing that it is inherently biological, i.e., on page 595 of the original reading, that it is “natural, essential, and absolute.” What, in your opinion, would prompt these writers and scientist to espouse this particular stance, and, whose interests does it serve (explain)?

- Likewise, Gates argues that there has been and continues to be an (erroneous) conflation between “race” and intelligence that permeates and pervades western thinking regarding innate ability/intelligence; who are the beneficiaries of this line of thinking?

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?

Late blog postings

Hi everyone,

My sincerest apologies for the delay in posting the blog questions. My weekend was unexpectedly busy with family and I was away from a computer. Truly, apologies.

Please feel free to submit blogs up until Tuesday at 11:29pm as the delay is certainly my fault.

Thank you for understanding.

Tracie

September 29th Blog Questions

Question 1, Pearson:  How (and maybe why, but don't get too caught up in cause-effect) is the "middle" stance radical, in reading and in education?  Question 2, Brumer: As Brumer describes the struggle between whole language and phonics approaches to reading instruction, she relates the following about Marion Joseph, a main proponent of phonics, who "served as chief of staff to former State Superintendent Wilson Riles. Soon after NAEP scores were released," Brumer continues, "[then] current state schools chief Delaine Eastin appointed Joseph to a statewide reading task force charged with examining reading instruction and developing recommendations. Joseph became a framework critic nearly ten years ago. Her then-first-grade grandson's school had just adopted the 1987 [whole language] framework, and he had difficulty reading. 'You can't read words if you can't decode them, take them apart,' she says, adding that whole language is more a political cult than an educational philosophy." Brumer also describes whole language proponent Sharon Zinke as a veteran reading teacher, and otherwise places the two women in opposition to one another throughout the article. What impact does this juxtaposition of Zinke and Joseph have on you as a reader, education student, current tutor, and possible future educator? And what are the implications of these roles and the influence they have on policy? And, on another note, feel free to comment on who you think gains most from these vacillating pedagogical approaches and debates?  Questions 3 & 4 (combined the last two articles) Given the positive findings of both these articles, how can schools, teachers, and even you as a tutor take advantage of student language strengths? Give specific examples of how you would build on linguistic funds of knowledge, in a classroom context and within a tutor-student relationship. 

Berkeley Review of Education

Hi everyone,

Just a follow up re: my announcement in class this afternoon. I am an editor of the Berkeley Review of Education, our interdisciplinary peer-reviewed academic journal (http://www.berkeleyreviewofeducation.com/). We are always looking for undergraduates who may be interested in learning more about the academic publication process, APA, etc.

We need students who may be interested in doing copy editing, reference checking, etc. The amount of work you'd like is up to you.

Please shoot me an email if you'd like more information.

Thanks!

-T

New Room & Announcements

Starting this week (Thursday, September 20th) we will be meeting in room 3515.

Going forward, blogs will be due 11:59pm Sunday night. We'll talk about this in section Thursday.

Also, we'll have students from SMDP coming to hang out with us the first 30 minutes or so of section this week!

Blog 1 Responses

I have finished going through your blog entries for this week. Nice job!

I have emailed feedback and grades. If you have NOT received an email from me and you are one of the two nameless Unknowns on the blog, please email me and let me know who you are and which response is yours.

New questions for next week are up and running. Enjoy!

Feel free to contact me with any questions.

Have a great weekend!

-T

September 22nd Blog Questions

Thanks, everyone, for such a good discussion yesterday! And thank you for your flexibility and patience as we work out logistics.

Reminder: blog posts are due by 11:59 pm on Mondays. You need to respond to TWO questions. Please register for the blog in order to participate. I understand that sometimes technical errors occur so if there is a glitch, please email me your blogs before they are due. This shouldn't become a regular occurrence, but I know sometimes things happen.

This week's questions:

1. Why does Mike Rose want to be average? And what does he mean by "students will float to the mark you set?"

2. Imagine Gloria Anzaldua and Richard Rodriguez are at a language,
literacy, and education conference. They find themselves at the same
reception and have a few too many drinks. What kind of conversation do you
think they would have? What, exactly, would they say to each other?

3. Now imagine that Amy Tan cruises into the reception at the end of the
night, when the conversation's especially sloppy, and joins Anzaldua and
Rodriguez. What does Tan have to contribute to the discussion?

4. What themes, if any, emerge throughout the literacy autobiographies? How
are they alike? Different? How, if at all, do they inspire your own
narrative?

5. In Eva Lam's article, how does Willis demonstrate Pratt's ideas about the
contact zone? And how does that compare to your own contact zones?

September 15th Blog Questions

Choose one of the following questions to respond to. Your responses should be approx. 250 words and should engaged critically with the reading. Please spend some time thinking about your response, referencing the literature and using what you've read. Feel free to quote the text to support your argument and thoughts.

Please check spelling and grammar.

Freire:

1. 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?

2.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)”?

3. 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)?

Freire & Macedo

1. 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?

Hull

1. What does it mean to expand our conception of literacy?

2. How can the use of digital media serve to create more agentive young people; more specifically, how can it help traditionally marginalized (and therefore silenced) young people find their respective voices?

Jane Hammons's "Bigger than Michael Jordan" explores the complexities and
intersections of race, gender, socioeconomics and the impacts thereof,
literacy, schooling, identity, and violence in many forms. What did you take
away from this reading and to what effect? What do you think the author
intended to accomplish with this piece?

'"The Wooden Shack Place' The Logic of an Unconventional Reading'
references "judgments about cognition" (reader p. 159), "conventional
readings" and students answers being "off the mark." What are the authors
referring to? Who sets "the mark" and to what effect? How do the authors
position themselves and the student Robert in relation to the academy and to
what effect? Furthermore, what do the authors seem to suggest as a remedy
for this "mismatch" between what a teacher expects and what a student does?

September 15th Reading Sign Ups

Be prepared to think through your pieces through a Freirean lens.

Each reading group should have five to seven members. Please indicate your choice by leaving a comment to this post and a way for group members to contact you. If six or seven people have already signed up for a reading, please choose an alternate.

We'll work on finding a more efficient way to do this next time...

1. Hammons, Jane. (2001). Bigger than Michael Jordan. High Plains Literary Review XVI (2&3), 138-152.

2. Hull, G. & Rose, M. (1990). “The wooden shack place”: The logic of an unconventional reading. College Composition and Communication 4, 3: 287-298.

3. Ambe, E.B. (2007). Inviting reluctant adolescent readers into the literacy club: Some comprehension strategies to tutor individuals or small groups of reluctant readers. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, (50), 8, 632-639.

4. Moll, L., Amanti, C., Neff, D., & Gonzalez, N. (1992). Funds of knowledge for teaching: Using a qualitative approach to connect homes and classrooms. Theory Into Practice, (31), 2, 132-141.

5. Morrell, E. & Duncan-Andrade, J. (2004). What they do learn in school: Hip-hop as a bridge to canonical poetry (247-272). In J. Mahiri (Ed.), What they don’t learn in school: Literacy in the lives of urban youth. New York: Peter Lang.

Welcome & Section Syllabus

Education 140, Literacy: Individual and Societal Development

Tracie Wallace, M.A.

5648 Tolman Hall

gsitracie@gmail.com

Office hours: By appointment

Welcome to ED 140! I look forward to working with you this semester as we discuss literacy and its history and social implications. We will meet on Thursdays, 12:30 – 2:00 in room 2325 Tolman Hall.

Fieldwork troubleshooting

Our section is largely comprised of students working at St. Martin de Porres (SMDP) Elementary School and we will devote time each meeting to troubleshoot and touch base about your field work. Working with young people has many challenges and rewards and we will hopefully spend time talking about both. Please come prepared to ask questions, offer advice, or share wonderful success stories.

Reading Discussion

Our section meetings will mostly be made up of discussion; I will rarely lecture. Each week you will be group and assigned one of the week’s readings. You are welcome to choose your own groups as long as you are mindful of others. Your group will be responsible for leading the group thorough a general overview of the literature, positing a few key discussion questions and facilitating group discussion. These questions can relate solely to your assigned reading or can tie more broadly to themes and issues raised in the class.

If there are specific issues or theoretical questions that you have in the course, please let me know and I will do my best to address them. If your questions are not in my specific areas of expertise, chances are good I know someone who can provide answers. If you are interested in exploring a topic in class further and you would like recommendations for readings or resources, please let me know. I love this stuff.

Reading

I think it is incredibly important that you keep up with the reading. Our class and section do not meet long enough for you to be given the information embedded in the literature. I expect you to arrive at section having completed all the required reading and prepared to discuss it. Discussion is the fun part and you need to be armed with knowledge to engage critically with the reading.

Blog

I have created a blog for our section at http://ed140fall11tracie.blogspot.com/ Please subscribe to our class blog. Every week you will be required to write a minimum of 250 words in response to one of the questions posed about the reading. If you wish to respond to another student’s post, please make sure that your response is relevant and cogently makes reference to the reading; it is not an opportunity to comment blindly without completing the reading. If you wish to create a question of your own to respond to, please obtain permission from me first via email. I will read through all the blog postings before our section meeting on Thursdays and will address issues, questions, or brilliant points then.

Attendance

Yes, I take attendance. Yes, it matters. Come to section. If you cannot, let me know as early as possible. Participation also matters. Yes, I pay attention. Come in ready to engage.

GSI Stuff

The best way to get in touch with me is via email. I will check my email once in the morning and once in late afternoon/early evening. Please allow 24 hours for a response. I will try to answer you more quickly than that, but I cannot guarantee that I can. If your question requires a lengthy response, I may request that you set up an appointment with me so we can discuss it more fully.

Please use the assignment and field note log (found under Assignments on bspace) to track your work. I will not answer emails during the final push of the semester asking how many field notes you have turned in.

I have another class immediately following ED140. If you need to speak with me, please come to class/section early. Otherwise, email me and we’ll set up a time to meet up.