The Ethos of Literacy
Critical Thinking
Abstract of your project’s argument [Even though literacy may refer to both reading and writing, it is more reasonable to believe that writing carries more meaning than reading does. This idea is supported by academic pieces and my personal anecdotes, because they indicate that writing, essentially, is a method of interaction with our surroundings. According to Birkerts, acts of reading rely on writing, while the words of Harris imply the opposite. He suggests that writing is significant because it allows for the framing of a text, that is, writing can make a difference in every story. Also, writing offers learning experience and therefore a connection to society, because creating meanings do a lot more
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It also challenged the students to write their ideas using other people’s creative ways to identify similarities. Doing that means that the scholars obtain a broad exploration of the writing craft. This idea drives me into assessing Birkerts’ model of argumentation and writing. Birkerts says, “The first step requires at least that the language can reach the reader, and that the word sounds and rhythms come alive ...” (Eposito, par. 2). His statements focus on the writing acting as a tool for offering an appropriate opportunity for the readers to have the best understanding. The writing has to be communication between the writer and the reader. His argument brings forth the conclusion that writing is the most reliable tool to define literacy because reading significantly relies on the writing. This means, for me, in my experience, that when I write, I need to be sure that I am focusing on the reader, or the audience, because what I am writing really is just part of an ongoing conversation, and the reader’s experience depends on what I write. This impacts not only the content of what is written, but also the …show more content…
It entirely relies on the writer’s ability to utilize the available writing skills to obtain a derived meaning. These ideas also apply to the compositions that we write in our course. For me, creating ideas when writing compositions depended on my own ability to frame the concepts in a manner that it shapes the themes portrayed in the writing. This meant that I had to focus not only on the structure of the work as a whole, but also on increasing my use of quality vocabulary so that what I wrote was more precise. By using complex vocabulary, I was able to really be specific about my meaning. This is because of my understanding that literature should reflect how one’s way of writing influences and informs his meaning. In our lectures, the instructors taught us the need to develop introductions that prove useful in the dynamic setting up of the thesis and focus. It should create the likelihood of the re-reading of the composition or fiction. Although Birkerts argues that reading should not entail broad access to information, my opinion is that reading should consist of the complete access to information to make literature readily relevant (Eposito, par. 4). This view drives me to state that the writings should have a detailed aspect of sounds and rhythms to establish utmost relevance, for example music with out organized sounds and rhythms does not give you the interest to
In her article “I Stand Here Writing”, Nancy Sommers examines the writing process and formulating ideas for writing in a more empirical manner. She states that before she found her creative zeal/ niche her writing was often undisciplined, unmethodical, and sloppy. Sommers reveals that in college she was less known for her writing and more for her long hair and misapplication of phrases. She found her true inspiration while writing her Senior Thesis on Emerson’s “Eloquence.” Throughout the entire essay, Sommers provides the reader with advice about writing. A key point that she mentions is, “If I could teach my students about writing it would be to see themselves as sources, as places from which ideas originate, to see themselves as Emerson’s transparent eyeball, all that they have read and experienced-the-dictionaries of their lives circulating through them.”
Literacy has the power to transform us. By reading we learn new things and we are more likely to express ourselves to others. We can understand another’s language, other cultures, and know the way others way of thought.
“The more you read, the more things you know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” This is how Dr. Seuss thought of reading, and I think of it in much the same way. Literacy is everywhere and influences us every day, therefore, it plays a major part in each of our lives. I believe that reading is an interactive activity in which learning happens, or as Clay (2001) defines it, “…a message-getting, problem-solving activity” (p. 1). Reading is the process through which one reads information and from doing so, constructs meaning about the material. The more exposure and practice one has with reading, the more knowledge one gains. In this paper, I will begin by discussing my own personal educational philosophy, then continue by stating and explaining four of my beliefs about the reading process and the research that is found to support each of them before sharing the remaining questions I have about literacy. I am an existentialist, and a strong supporter of a balanced literacy approach. My beliefs about literacy come from these foundations and perspectives that I embrace. For students to be successful in their literacy development, I believe that identity acceptance in the classroom is crucial, instruction for all students must be differentiated, direct and explicit instruction is at times necessary, and vocabulary is a significant component in the ‘Big Five’ of children’s literacy development.
Can you remember what your teacher taught you back in kindergarten? Chances are she was introducing you to the basics of reading and writing. Literacy is the ability to read and write, and because I did not think I was very good at either of the two, it had never been my favorite thing to do. It wasn’t until my senior year of high school that I had an English class that I actually enjoyed. My teacher was Ms. Holly Eubanks. The past classes had boasted about how good of a teacher Ms. Eubanks was and how, even though she may take a while to grade your papers, she was always trying to help you improve in every possible way she could. On the first day
Literacy plays a huge role in many people’s lives everyday, whether it is learning how to read and write for the first time or writing a five-page essay for the hundredth time. We experience literacy differently and have our very own unique stories on how it has impacted our lives and had made us who we are today. It is an essential aspect that I use in my everyday life, such as in relationships, daily interactions with others, and learning. It has become such a powerful aspect and human right in which it allows one to speak his/her mind and in some cases express their opinion to the world. My personal literacy history has shaped me into who I am today because without my experiences I would not have been able to gain the confidence and
Literacy plays a huge role in my daily life. Every single day I read and write. Whether it’s writing an email or reading a text message, class assignment, discussion board, etc. My literacy journey is unique because I have had different experiences. As a result, this is how my literacy journey has let me to be the reader that I am.
Our view of literacy upon commencing this course, was that it is the ability to read and write. Our understanding of it however was partially true because, reading and writing are essential of any person’s literacy, but reading and
Have you ever played a video game that you strive to beat the highest score, but try after try you fail each time? Well, that’s much like my literacy experience. Paper after paper, I had been unsuccessful yet for some reason I continued turning them in. Growing up, I realized I took advantage of the importance of reading and writing. Eventually, I learned the real challenge of perfecting a paper during my ninth grade year in honors English. When I started the class, I was in the habit of turning in terrible first drafts as my finals. I was in a comfortable state with putting little effort and time into my work, yet still wanting to achieve a high grade. Teachers practically participated in this by passing me without helping me in my struggle
As a reader, it is of the utmost value to note that Shakespeare has portrayed these attributes through a female entity. Evil female entities bring about a distinct yet fascinating appeal to audience members.Evil perceptions of women have existed throughout the course of human history, with the earliest of western literature building a negative perception of women. Sian Evans uses the Greek as a mere example to show this, as written in her book; ‘Through the Literacy Looking Glass: Critical Theory in Practice’ (2012). “The ancient Greeks and Romans purposely used literature as a socialising tool to reinforce the patriarchal structure of their society”. Hence, as she is a female character, Lady Macbeth may be looked up upon with a greater degree
Researchers and journalist are observing their work with other discourse communities around the world. People use literacy and voluntary writing to understand the ability of how to read and write in ways for others and themselves. For those who don 't know the meaning of literacy, literacy defines the ability to read and
Literacy, in my eyes, is the way we identify with and comprehend the world and the various works of literary value. From the beginning of my existence, I believe my literacy has compounded upon itself to bring me to my present state. I will measure my different literacy stages in parallel with the type of schooling I went through (i.e. elementary, middle, and high school). As my literary power grew, the significance at which it held to me personally, also rose. Therefore, I will be measuring the direct relationship between the significance and power of my personal literacy.
It is hard to imagine our world today without literacy skills. The absence of literacy will rob us of many things that we now deem as important. We will not be able to enjoy great masterpiece by legendary authors like William Shakespeare and know important scientific findings such as the discovery of gravity. In hindsight, literacy skills are essential in order to preserve and pass on knowledge from a generation to another. Because of this, it is not a surprise that literacy is a very popular topic of discussion in the field of education. Although majority of the world population nowadays are literate, the process of becoming literate actually is a complex process. New Zealand’s Ministry of Education (2003) comes out with a framework for literacy acquisition which includes three different aspects that are needed in order to be literate; learning the code, making meaning and thinking critically.
Literacy is more than just reading and writing. It is more than just learning how to blend letters into words and learning how to write those words. The article about how reading is a social process that has three different parts sparked my interest the most. The article made me see how literacy is much more than reading and writing. I definitely agree with what the author discusses in this article. First, the author talks about how literacy is used as a social context. I began to relate this to when I was in grade school and I had to read with a partner. Reading together helped us to develop a relationship that later grew into a friendship. I believe you learn more when you read with multiple people because you have different interpretations of what is being read. This makes you talk about what is being read. This brings about more of the social aspect of literacy.
How do we shape our literacy? Through culture, childhood or does it develops in the process depending on our interest? Is there a specific language that you have to master to be considered literate? In my opinion, literacy is the ability to understand what you read and write no matter what the language is. If you ask about my literacy background, it would be an interesting one. I grew up in the Philippines and continuously lived there for fifteen years. I attended a private school that utilizes a dual-language curriculum and mode of instruction, both “tagalog”—our native language and English. Thus, I became familiarized with the English language. However, a few years ago, my family decided to migrate to the United States for better opportunities. We moved in California and I had to make a lot of adjustments, both culturally and linguistically. Two major events which created a great impact on my literacy development were my family’s migration to the United States and my entire high school experience.
Literacy is a crucial part in our society these days. The advancements we see every day could not happen without communication and literacy. Everyone learns how to communicate in our world in different ways and for me, I find it starting for me with my siblings and continued plenty of ups and downs throughout school.