Role Of Reading And Writing : The Achievement Of Desire, By Lucille P. Mccarthy Essay

“In Democracy in America, de Tocqueville observed that Americans esteemed the arts and sciences more for their practical applications than for their abstract value —hence the popularity of newspapers, religious treatises, and self-help books” (2-3). Since that is the case, the interpretation of a classic must evolve for it can relate to today’s society. Current society includes cultural diversity, therefore, literature that is taught must provide this diversity. Students should be reading literature that will give insight to others and contains a strong meaning; rather than providing literature that does nm for the student. reading a book just for a grade will not help the student in anyway.

Reading and writing have been in our lives and around our lives ever since the beginning of time. It is something we are naturally born into. Almost every human being has performed some type of reading or writing, whether they live in the big city, or whether they live in the woods. They have all performed some form of reading or writing in their life. It is human nature. We are born into it. I have many memories of reading and writing, though I may not be very fond of it when it concerns schoolwork, it is something I have naturally adjusted to and it somehow has made me, and probably everyone else around me as well, who we are today.

Many students who struggle with reading ask why should we read, what is the point? The point is that being able to read opens you up a whole new world of knowledge and imagination. But to have that new world opened up you need to be able to comprehend what you are reading. The primary goal of reading is to determine the meaning of

This student’s preferred learning strategy has always been that of the read/write category. She takes advantage of handouts, textbooks, and dictionaries when studying for quizzes and exams. She also prefers going to the library due to the atmosphere provided by this institution. To enhance learning the use of outlines and note cards have also been useful when studying. Visual aids accompanying the read/write category have been useful in obtaining good grades throughout advancement in education (VARK, 2011).

Generally, every individual’s learning experience has its own inspiring and meaningful stories; a learning experience that has its own unique distinctions, interpretations, complications, sacrifices, has its endless possibilities, and most importantly, a learning experience that has its own effective action and optimistic option for execution. For example: In “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me,” Sherman Alexie highlights his enjoyment of reading and writing. He claims that as a kid, he reminds himself that he is a “smart Indian boy” even though it is not recognized on a reservation or even when non-Indian teachers believe that Indian children are stupid. Similarly, in “Learning to Read and Write,” Frederick Douglass demonstrates that slaves are entitled to have the same rights to learn about reading and writing as any other Americans. He testifies that his masters, including his fellow slaves believe that slavery and education were not compatible. Moreover, in “On Keeping a Notebook,” Joan Didion stereotypes herself by constantly questioning her own writing due to her lack of confidence as a writer. She conveys that eventually, she masters writing through examining her own writing on a piece of a notebook about herself and other people. Likewise, in “Learning to Read,” Malcolm X expresses that books are his “Alma Mater” because he becomes proficient in writing in a course of copying every single word in a dictionary. He clarifies that he develops his skills in

In literary education, from childhood to maturity, individuals are taught how to write not to improve themselves as critical thinkers, but to fulfill the requirements given to them in a prompt. Whether to analyze or argue, this form of writing has led to a cease of literary improvement in students today, making many question the effectiveness of writing classes. Mike Bunns, in his article “To Read like a Writer”, explores this topic and stresses the necessity for young readers to critically examine the author’s choices in order to improve their own pieces of work. Bunns effectively argues to his audience of college students that improved comprehension comes from focusing on the rhetorical choices authors decide to make in their compositions by tying personal narratives with repetitive questioning throughout his article.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay: Past president of the Modern Language Association, Gerald Graff, in his essay “Hidden Intellectualism”, adapted from his 2003 book, Clueless in Academe: How Schooling Obscures the Life of the Mind, puts in perspective the idea that schools in general all focus too much on the respected literacy stereotype. Graff’s purpose is to convince his audience that you, as a student, will get more out of writing about something you are interested in rather than writing about a boring topic your teacher/professor has assigned to you such as: the French Revolution or a Shakespeare play. Gerald Graff begins his essay by placing the stereotypical theme in place that one who knows so much about outside of the footsteps of his/her

There is a debate regarding the importance of the literate arts within the lives of everyday people. This idea was first introduced by Richard E. Miller in his essay titled “The Dark Night of the Soul.” Within his essay Miller incorporates several different examples about how literature has and has not affected people in their overall life story. All, but one, of these examples show that people were negatively impacted because of literate arts. Miller believes that educators of the literate arts are wasting their time because what they are teaching is going in one ear and out the other.

As I read, “The Dark Night of the Soul” by Richard E. Miller, I found it to be an interesting read. He inquires, why we read, why we write and what might literate arts be said to be good for? In his essay he describes the school massacres that have occurred throughout the years. As he describes these events, he asks a deeper question, “What is the point of continuing to read, write and learn in the face of such underlying dangers. I think that with all that is happening, individuals/students should continue with education because reading, television, writing and communication makes a difference in the lives of individuals around the world. The bottom line is that literary art has a way of touching students unexpectedly one way or another and students should not just throw the art away because of society’s perception.

For many people reading and writing are the most fundamental skills a person can learn, it can also greatly influence a persons cognitive thinking capacity and the sharing of information with others. However, in some parts of the world, people still do not have access to education or the ability to learn to read and write. Lacking the skill to read and write can make things tough for some one in todays society, however with the right resources and mentors to support, one can find a hidden passion for reading and writing. For me, reading and writing has never been one of my greatest skills, I had always struggled throughout my younger years of schooling to keep an interest. As of today, reading and writing has made a great impact on my life, especially in the last few years since I began college.

Educators are charged with not only teaching the content of their subject, but also responsible for creating a learning environments that fosters communication, engagement, and reflection so that the students will be prepared for their future careers and learning. Creating a classroom that fosters reading and writing is one way to engage students while promoting that they reflect on the material and communicate their understanding or misconceptions of the content. In order to form a literacy-rich classroom educators need to increase the amount of time students interact with all forms of print and literacy and the classroom environment is an essential key to setting the precedent and model behaviors that will make students more successful and capable of high level learning. (Tyson, 2013)

Over the past month, we have been studying the concept of reading and writing in different communities. To assess this, we have read two different texts. Richard Rodriguez’s the achievement of desire”, from his autobiography “Hunger of Memory”; and Lucille McCarthy’s “A Stranger in Strange Lands: A College Student Writing across the Curriculum” from “Research in the Teaching of English”. Both answer key questions regarding what it takes to become a great reader and writer, however, from the reading that I have done, each one only answers one part of the question. Rodriguez’s main focus is in the aspect of reading, whereas McCarthy mainly focuses on the writing portion. Both do a decent job of analyzing and putting forth a view of how they believe a person can best perform in these environments. This then allows us to use their concepts and create our own version, based on their points of view. But why should we care? Most people at this level of academia will have developed a system of writing that works for them, and will have a difficult time breaking from it if they’re process doesn’t meet the criteria that Rodriguez, and McCarthy put forth. The reason it’s so important is because of implications these ideas have. Both authors put forth concepts that are indirectly related to one another and that are highly beneficial to all who will apply them. They will force you to conform to new environments in order to succeed, this in turn will make you more

Sarah Lawrence’s advocation of creative and open development of study is a deeply involved educational approach, which not only academically advances students, but personally cultivates them as well. The school’s ingrained importance of involvement and communication between teachers and students assures me that my education would be nurtured and advanced at Sarah Lawrence. Writing has served as a deep passion of mine for a majority of my life, and has become apart of my immediate identity. I believe it opens up the mind’s understanding of any and all topics, and is a release of thought and opinion at an analytical and personal tier of thinking; this belief seems to be held by Sarah Lawrence as well, which enkindles my want to become a student

What is literature, and why should people read it? These two questions normally surface on the first day of English and literature classes. In fact, as one Introduction to Literature class ended the 2017 Spring semester with student presentations, the final presenter, a middle-age auto mechanic with oily stained hands and a battered countenance, exclaimed most eloquently, “Literature is an alive and breathing thing. It gives life to the past and the present. It makes me know, feel, and love. Without literature, I would be nothing.” Juxtaposed appearance versus thought shows the power and impact of literature. Without literature, we would be nothing; we would have no thought, feelings, or life. By reading, sharing, discussing, and writing, literature breathes life into the breathless. Students are not the only ones who grapple with these questions. What is literature? - is the very question Terry Eagleton opens with in his book Literary Theory: An Introduction. Moving away from the nontraditional student, how does a prominent professor and esteemed literary critic answer the same question? Remarkably, he dittos that of the mechanic. In Eagleton’s opening chapter “The Rise of English,” he responds in much the same way by asserting literature’s “task is to transform society in the name of those energies and values which art embodies” (17). Eagleton adds further elaboration to his view of literature’s development and definition; in his chapter “The Rise of Literature” he

Reading and writing are both important; you can’t have one without the other. They are skills that are increased constantly due to little things that most times are not noticed. Whether it is from a book to a poem, there will always be a way that it helps out your school performance. Reading and writing in general only helps absorb information, and enhance leisure or school related writing tasks. It has also made life itself so much easier because reading and writing are so beneficial for school and for life. How much you read and write today, will somehow affect your future job, family, position, or even your salary.