We've been talking about "literacy and illiteracy rates"... fact or fiction?... for several weeks in class now and I've surrendered my theory-forming to mere fortune.
I'll refer to the familiar adage to help explain myself: We play with the cards we are dealt. This is our Discourse. From our environment--physical, emotional, mental--we gather information and eventually begin to form our own worldviews. Socially, I have been more fortunate than a streetwalker in the slums of a city, but perhaps we both started out on the same path and each of our decisions subsequently landed us where we are presently (and maybe not). If not, then where is the fallacy? The home? Maybe. The parents? Probably. Education systems? Most likely. Socioeconomic status? Yep. The list really could go on forever. So now where do we start replacing excuses with answers? The trial and error method is a bit annoying, but is the most effective approach we've got for tackling these issues. For example, Trial: No Child Left Behind Act... Error(s): There will always be errors because each person is pre-wired with his or her capacity to gather, maintain and extrapolate information in constantly evolving areas and ways. Answer: there is no one way to teach and learn. Obviously.
Coming back to square one, I'd like to reiterate the idea of each person's own fortune. These are our cards; this is our Discourse. And consequently, how a literate (or illiterate) person develops relies heavily not only on his or her God-given Discourse, but the ways in which he or she uses that (among other things). I found an article on Indigenous Discourse that I think helps to explain these ideas a bit further. It was written by Richard Darville at Carleton University and can be found at this link:
http://www.nald.ca/fulltext/darville/theory.pdf
2/25/09
2/23/09
Study Snacks
Why is studying always paired with food, or if you'd rather, I could use the unfortunate term: "study snacks?" I suppose for late nights such as this one, it's used solely as an energizer... an elixir to ward off sleep. But for the most part, I think it's just a good excuse to have a bag of Doritos or Sour Patch Kids and a bottle of Diet Coke at your gut's disposal. When did food start getting paired with studying? And why?
Sitting in the dining room on first floor of my sorority, I can look around and see countless Zesta cracker wrappers, cookie crumbs, trail mixes galore, and bottles and cans ("just clap your hands..."). It's not a bad thing; it's just funny to me how much food has been connected with studying. Popular study spots that I've noticed: the Chi O dining room... coffee/pastry shops... quiet cafes... libraries (with fully stocked vending machines around every corner)... and the latest, Hy-Vee's deli/restaurant area.
I once was told that the salivary glands stimulate brain functioning, so for example, if you study while sucking on lemon drops, your brain activity is heightened and subsequently, you receive and retain more information. I'll have to double-check the legitimacy of that one... anyway, just some thoughts...
Sitting in the dining room on first floor of my sorority, I can look around and see countless Zesta cracker wrappers, cookie crumbs, trail mixes galore, and bottles and cans ("just clap your hands..."). It's not a bad thing; it's just funny to me how much food has been connected with studying. Popular study spots that I've noticed: the Chi O dining room... coffee/pastry shops... quiet cafes... libraries (with fully stocked vending machines around every corner)... and the latest, Hy-Vee's deli/restaurant area.
I once was told that the salivary glands stimulate brain functioning, so for example, if you study while sucking on lemon drops, your brain activity is heightened and subsequently, you receive and retain more information. I'll have to double-check the legitimacy of that one... anyway, just some thoughts...
2/17/09
The Book Dragon
I have several significant memories about becoming literate:
1. Song- and story-time every night with my mom and brother. I still have the words memorized to "Both Sides Now."
2. Sitting at the breakfast bar of my grandparents' cabin with my aunt, who was teaching me how to spell and write my name. I think I was three.
3. Laying under the stars with my family on "the bump," which was the plot of land upon which eventually my parents built our house. I refused to let anyone talk about the constellation "Beetlejuice" because I was terrified that the Michael Keaton "Beetlejuice" would come if his name was beckoned... of course my brothers thought it was hilarious to scare me with that one.
4. My mom took my brother and I to the library on a weekly basis. I was in love with anything written by Beatrix Potter and my mom and I would sit and read through the books, then she would explain them to me.
5. My favorite thing about the library was a giant dragon/castle that we could play on. There were little nooks in which we could find places to curl up and read our treasures and every so often, one of the library employees would sit with us on the dragon and read us stories. Ever since then, the image of the Book Dragon pops into my head when I think about libraries or my journey into becoming literate.
The list could continue on forever with stories from school, home, work, and traveling. The ways in which I became literate are simply a compilation of fond memories (with the exception of piano lessons...) and what makes literacy exciting is that my experiences still continue to form these memories with each passing day.
1. Song- and story-time every night with my mom and brother. I still have the words memorized to "Both Sides Now."
2. Sitting at the breakfast bar of my grandparents' cabin with my aunt, who was teaching me how to spell and write my name. I think I was three.
3. Laying under the stars with my family on "the bump," which was the plot of land upon which eventually my parents built our house. I refused to let anyone talk about the constellation "Beetlejuice" because I was terrified that the Michael Keaton "Beetlejuice" would come if his name was beckoned... of course my brothers thought it was hilarious to scare me with that one.
4. My mom took my brother and I to the library on a weekly basis. I was in love with anything written by Beatrix Potter and my mom and I would sit and read through the books, then she would explain them to me.
5. My favorite thing about the library was a giant dragon/castle that we could play on. There were little nooks in which we could find places to curl up and read our treasures and every so often, one of the library employees would sit with us on the dragon and read us stories. Ever since then, the image of the Book Dragon pops into my head when I think about libraries or my journey into becoming literate.
The list could continue on forever with stories from school, home, work, and traveling. The ways in which I became literate are simply a compilation of fond memories (with the exception of piano lessons...) and what makes literacy exciting is that my experiences still continue to form these memories with each passing day.
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