Upon entering this class, I had a feeling that I was throwing myself into the scary and unknown world of literacy that lay outside traditional and general understandings of the term (else why would there be an entire class on it?). When Kim started to explain that literacy did not come from just books but electronics, social circles, and unconventional readings, I began to understand the massive scope that this class would look into. After my initial shock, I was intrigued and pushed myself into group work that had topics I was not very well versed in like video games and rap, hoping to open up my mind and delve deeper into the unknown.

Knowing that I am aiming to be either a high school or college teacher, I have taken the entirety of the course with a mind set on conveying many ideas of this class into my future classes to encourage alternate literacy practices and reach a diverse student body. Even though I already know standardized tests are pure evil, I was surprised at the lack of correlation between countries that have high literacy rates and therefore high success. Throughout not only English classes, but history as well, we have been taught that the first step to making a country prosper is to give access to information and to teach their citizens to read. While this may help the country, the actual literacy levels of individuals are so differed that it is near impossible to judge ones textual literacy compared to another, especially in standardized form. While an ADHD child may not be able to sit and read a novel for class (resulting in a bad grade and remedial reading courses), s/he may love to read all of the history that is incorporated into a video games codex. In this way, we see Szwed’s idea of alternate literacies, accepting the black kid that loves video game’s fantasy historical texts rather than old white, unrelatable authors from Europe.

I really enjoyed my book club presentation where I was able to demonstrate the concepts of identity in a Xbox 360 game (Dragon Age II) to the class. I found it incredible how the game-player influences how the in-game character develops, because out-of-game morals that the game-player gives to the in-game-character will change outcomes and even cause different conversation options. This identity is transferred into the idea in which our minds build patterns from probing the video game’s environment. After probing the virtual environment, we observe the reaction that comes from the action and begin to form a hypothesis about the connections of both the action and reaction. Later, we reprobe and apply this hypothesis as a generalization, hoping for a similar reaction. This video game literacy directly transferred over to dealing with my parents technological difficulties during Thanksgiving break.

As I discussed in class, my parents got a new car stereo that they had little to no idea on how to operate. When they recruited me to fiddle with the system and eventually teach them the ropes, I thought to this class and began to probe the interface I was working through. By process of elimination and deductive reasoning I figured out how to connect Bluetooth, add channels, add different devices, change the EQ, and attach a remote. My parents were astounded until I also helped them figure out the Jacuzzi (which was relatively easily understood in comparison to the stereo). Before I was able to give them crap for their lack of technological literacy I realized that my generation has grown up in an era of growing technology usage, while my parents were introduced to the same medium at a much less impressionable time on their life.

After helping my illiterate parents I have come to realize that I have been navigating PC settings, Playstation game menus, and other such technical electronic mediums since I was very young. This constant exposure has helped me to build hypothesis and look for generalities within different programs. As it is difficult to mess up electronics permanently (due to the ever useful reset/restore button), I had a much more experimental and patient mindset compared to my parent’s short-tempered attempts that end in yelling. I’d have to say this is because I played the same level of Dragon Age II probably 45 different times before I could actually win.

I really loved having this class and I hope you have a great time on sabbatical this coming year! This class has been awesome and I may choose between this or rhetoric studies for my graduate and doctorate focus.

After being in the gaming group for our book club presentation, I thought it would be interesting to switch things up and join the Hip-Hp in literacy group. As a future English teacher of either high school or college, I have begun to approach topics in a way that presents opportunity to steal ideas and incorporate them into future lesson plans that may help a diverse audience grasp concepts. I found it interesting that the gaming group focused on the ability to work within a virtual world and how that helps people to become experimental and overcome different obstacles in game. I think that this may give kids the ability to think on their feet and adapt to changes by approaching a problem with multiple tools and avenues, rather than trying to hit the problem head on in a strictly scholarly manner. This could be related to my own group when freestyle rapping or having a cipher in which participants need to react quickly to situations presented.

After having looked into a good amount of articles about hip-hop and literacy, I have clung to the idea that rapping can help to engage students in a non-traditional form of literacy as well as bring awareness to social issues.

As hip-hop has become attached to the younger generations of today, there is an amazing amount of criticism that seems to try and diminish the culture and music into an oversimplified depiction of the stereotypical dangerous and violent black youth. Being a future English, I believe that is important to delve into students different forms of expression, engaging them at their level of personal interests. Although this is a goal that may not be accomplished in the minimal free time curriculum allows, the students can digest a deeper understanding of content when it is displayed in a manner that coincides with what brings them pleasure outside of class. A possible future assignment could be for students to write a rap that explains a concept in full, rather than making a student write an essay that they have previously shown disinterest in.

Another important aspect of hip-hop is the issues in the modern world that the genre’s artists dive into. In the song “03’ Adolescence”, the artist J. Cole talks about his times in high school and how he wishes he was more like his friend that makes money through selling weed. When J. Cole asks how he can be more like his friend,

He told me, “Nigga you know how you sound right now?

You won’t my mans, I would think that you a clown right now

Listen, you everything I wanna be that’s why I fucks with you

So how you looking up to me, when I look up to you

You bout to go get a degree, I’ma be stuck with two choices

Either graduate to weight or selling number two

For what? A hundred bucks or two a week?

     In stark contrast to the popular idea that hip-hop is merely about drugs, sex, gangbanging, and money, J. Cole offers a refreshing change of pace. As he admires a friend, he is reprimanded as his friend tells him that the roles are actually reversed. Rather than look up to a drug dealer, his friend explains that J. Cole is going farther because he is gaining an education instead of either moving up to selling “weight” (large amounts of drugs) or to a “number 2” (undercover cop).

Though a lot of hip-hop glorifies things such as sex, drugs, and violence, I think it is important to realize that hip-hop is the result of an oppressed race and culture that has been saturated with these kinds of influences for generations. Rather than viewing this as a completely negative influence, we must begin to see that the art itself can be a constructive outlet and escape from the violent and oppressive life that is very much alive right outside their own homes.

 

 

Upon choosing to read What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy, I imagined finding a book that was a nerd’s retaliation to a culture that does not value his/her favorite past time. What I didn’t expect was a highly structured text from the perspective of someone who is new to the world of video games. Despite my expectations I was pleasantly surprised to find a book that showed a fully competent adult struggle in a world that much of today’s youth is incredibly well versed in.

One idea in particular that struck me in talking in our group was the way in which our minds build patterns from probing the video game’s environment. After probing, we observe the reaction that comes from the action and begin to form a hypothesis about the connections of both the action and reaction. Later, we reprobe and apply this hypothesis as a generalization, hoping for a similar reaction. The feedback that the player receives from this action-reaction system will either fit the previous hypothesis, or contradict previous assumptions. Once the player processes the feedback, the hypothesis will either stand on steadier ground or will need to be revised.

In terms of video games transferring to real world literacy, this process of probe-hypothesis-reprobe-evaluate is critical in the scientific field as well as in general principles of how we learn as humans in a physical and controllable environment. To me it is great to see this process broken down and to observe how it helps young gamers to learn come to conclusions. The author explains that the validity of this idea is seen when baby boomers and older generations try to play video games. Many times these adults will not succeed and begin to anger when they try to read the game manual full of jargon and generalities, whereas younger generations are more adept at learning on the fly and reacting to the virtual environment, using the manuals only when drastic measures call for a deeper understanding of controls or hints.

So far I have learned a great deal about literacy. Before taking this class, I assumed literacy encompassed just the ability to read and write. Little did I know that this reading and writing was only a small part of an extremely broad category; largely influenced by socioeconomic factors as well as those sponsors that surround those acquiring literacy.

The idea that literacy is not just reading and writing resonated with me and piqued interest. The example of Dwayne Lowery and his union work stuck out to me particularly. Dwayne was given a crash course in the literacy of negotiation and union work, which held sufficient for some time. Despite his seeming rags to riches story, the union work was soon met with oppositions from lawyers. This shift caused the literacy level to jump to greater distances than Dwayne could reach. Dwayne’s form of literacy quickly became outdated with the start of lawyers bringing legal documents into what used to be simple one on one negotiation. This perfectly exemplifies the fact that our current culture has placed a high value on literacy and that “more and more people are now being expected to accomplish more and more things with reading and writing” (Brandt/Sponsors of Literacy, 173).

Time and time again we hear the argument that students in inner-city areas that are set up for failure, only to be critiqued by those that say students that truly strive for success will make it. I learned this was simply not the case in the Sponsors of Literacy piece as before mentioned. As a future English teacher, I find it important that we should realize socioeconomic factors are of huge influence to the success of students. I need to be able to view my students and take into account their life at home. As a personal example, my Filipino high school girlfriend was incredibly intelligent. Despite her aptitude for school, she missed a great many of days of class and failed to make it into her UCSD because her family and culture valued time spent with relatives. Instead of studying over the weekends, her family would drive from San Diego to Los Angeles and she would help take care of her sickly grandmother or watch her nieces and nephews. Although the smartest of her friends, she did not make it into half the colleges that others did. I cannot begin to make assumptions on how her life will/has ended up, but it is not too great of a leap to assume she would have had more avenues and paths to travel if she went to a UC rather than her local community college.