When this class began, I was firmly set in my ways.  I knew the importance of “high literature.”  I knew that by reading it, people were improving their lives.  I knew that this wasn’t being taught properly in schools, and wasn’t being utilized by those who had received a good education.  Finally, I knew that this type of literacy (really the only kind of literacy) was being degraded by the likes of video games, text messaging, comic books (and their associated movies, which I still think are total crap) and social media.  I was an avowed believer in the coming literacy apocalypse.

Oh how things have changed.  Maybe I’ve been caught up in the hype.  Maybe I’ve been brainwashed by subversive, liberal academes.  Call it what you will.  Now I think that the literacy crisis has always been there, always will be, and never amounts to anything but hot air and bad educational decisions.  Now I think  that social media and text messaging aren’t eroding the pillars of literacy, they’re just new kinds of literacy.  Now I think that literacy is hard to gauge, and that it’s hard to jam everyone into one mold because people have different access to it in the first place.  Now I think that maybe video games aren’t always bad for kids, they might even be kinda good.  I still love and am devoted to literature, but if playing a first person shooter is going to turn kids on to John Dos Passos or if watching “The Thin Red Line” on netflix is going to compel people to pick of James Jones, well…

I admit it.  It was amazing to see Rafe Esquith at the helm of his classroom in Hobart Shakespeareans.  In terms of sponsorship, it is hard to deny the positive impact he is having on these children.  Because enough has been written about Esquith as a sponsor, I thought I might examine a few of the other literacy sponsors mentioned in the film.  Our class discussion regarding Brandt made it clear that sponsorship is rarely, if ever, in the hands of one individual.  Firstly, Esquith’s class seemed to have a tremendous amount of money pouring into it from philanthropists and wealthy former students.  It was amazing to see each student playing their own guitar!  Contrast this image with students in other classrooms learning from outdated textbooks.  As Esquith’s fame continues to grow, it is safe to say that more and more sponsors (and money) will be sent his direction.  Could you believe it when Ian McKellen came into their rehearsal?

As I watched Spellbound, I was reminded of Scribner’s “Literacy in Three Metaphors,” particularly “Literacy as Adaptation.”  To what purpose does spelling esoteric words play in literacy?  In my opinion, it is just further evidence of the pointlessness of traditional literacy measuring doctrines.  It has about as much value as speed reading tests.  That being said, however, I think that the etymological training these children are receiving will have a positive impact on their ability to read, write, and communicate in the future.

As was the case with Hobart Shakespeareans, Spellbound  often seemed saturated with the idea of sponsorship.  Just think of the contrast between Neil and his private tutors versus Ted being forced to grow in a school who alienated him to the point of potentially contributing to his suicide.

While learning about adolescent identity and literacy, I was shocked at the ways our current education has made school so unfavorable for young boys.  The TED talk stats in particular were alarming.  The paranoia and over sensitivity to violence (also stifling political correctness in my opinion) we’ve fostered in this country is pushing males out of school.  This turned my attention to a discussion I had a few weeks ago outside of school.  My peers and I have been debating about the competing values within the male psyche.  On one hand, we’ve been taught to value the physical world: “practical” knowledge, the ability to work with our hands.  Competing with that value system is an education system which promotes abstract thought:  sensitivity, creativity, the arts, mathematics, physics, “book lurnin'”  My solution is to provide, within the confines of the classroom, role models for boys that have been able to do both–work with their hands and their minds.  Being a creative writer, my examples included Gary Snyder, the celebrated American poet who has also worked as a logger and merchant marine, and William Meredith, who wrote poetry and flew dive bombers in WW2.  How about Corky Gonzalez, featherweight boxer and Chicano Rights activist?  Abe Lincoln?  Nikola Tesla?  The point is, young boys need be taught that learning is not just for the girls.  One can be a man, and be smart man too.  It may seem obvious to us, but the studies say that it isn’t being taught that way.

A take away I took from the digital storytelling group is the concept of participation in modern story telling.    Whether it be the remixing of texts (word used loosely) or simply the creation of a blog, people are not content with just being consumers of literacy in the 21st century.

 

Developing a New Approach to Pedagogy and Sponsorship

 In their essay, “Learning from Early Childhood Education: Higher Ed and the Process of Becoming,” Marisol Brito and Alexander Fink consider the application of early childhood development pedagogies for higher education. They use a “teachable moment” scene as a narrative anchor to drive home three main points: moving away from traditional forms of praise to emphasize process based learning, student engagement over “knowledge banking,” and the benefits of showing a teacher’s human side.

Brito and Fink argue that student concern with “getting an A” over “actually learning” stems from early conditioning. Getting praise feels good, and from a young age students do work to receive that praise. However, this has created a product based learning format rather than a process based learning format. According to the authors, if teachers want their students to truly engage the material, they would be better off communicating the progress the student has made towards his or her own goals. For instance, rather than “Great!,” consider “Ah, this paragraph is tying in with what you mentioned on the previous page…” The difficulty in this approach is getting through to students that just because it isn’t “great”, doesn’t mean that they aren’t doing great work.

This process based approach ties in nicely with the authors’ second point. Teacher’s should be actively engaging their students in the learning process and showing that they care about student outcomes, rather than just playing the role of “knowledge keeper.” Author suggestions range from tying questions about students education in with assignment notes, to simply asking “how are you doing?”

Finally, playing in to the fantasy of professors as “mythic beings” can hinder a students ability to recognize that failures are inevitable and indeed are part and parcel with growth. Teachers should be more willing to show that they too are vulnerable human beings. Furthermore, Brito and Fink suggests illustrating how professional adults work and engage in civic life by incorporating more student participation in the classroom process and less “traditional information transfer.”

Reading this article, I was consistently reminded of Deborah Brandt’s, “Sponsors of Literacy.” What Brito and Fink are suggesting are steps one can take to ensure that they are positive sponsors, rather than restrictive ones. As we’ve discussed in class, simply being a teacher, administrator, or faculty member in not insurance that one is making a positive impact on one’s literacy and learning. In fact, some “traditional information transfer” systems can actually have a negative effect on student learning. Furthermore, this essay asks that teachers assume the responsibility of sponsorship, and a concern with their students whole education and literacy practices, even beyond the classroom.

http://www.hybridpedagogy.com/Journal/files/Learning_from_Early_Childhood_Education.html

     Words at Work and Play  is a continuation of a project started in the late 1960’s by ethnographer Shirley Brice Heat.  Brice Heath’s work is not concerned with words in the public school setting (as so much is), rather her focus is on literacy usage and sponsorship at after school programs, soccer games and around the kitchen table–hence the title.  Brice Heath’s work is focused around a region called the Piedmont Carolina, but her work takes her and her readers to the suburbs of Boston, the inner-city of Chicago and a small mountain town in Colorado.

So far, the biggest connection I’ve been able to make to the text has come through her description of literacy sponsors.  As someone in our book club pointed out, the lives of some of these subjects seems to be saturated in sponsors. Because of this, Brice Heath has forced me to reevaluate my notion of sponsors, particularly those outside of the educational system.  The author herself seems to play a formative role in the lives of some of her subjects, unfortunately her writing at these points often becomes heavy handed to the point of sentimentality and self-righteousness.

Structurally, Words at Work and Play reads essentially as a series of case studies.  Like other ethnographic works we have read, some highlight a wealth of opportunities, while others highlight a scarcity.  That being said, there haven’t been any sob stories thus far.  Take for instance Jerome, who perseveres despite growing up in the foster system.  Our book club was able to draw connections between his story and Dora’s case study.  In both cases, the subjects may not have technology or wealth working in their favor, but they have sponsors who care about them and the dedication to overcome their adversity.

Would I recommend this book?  Well, I doubt it would make a good by-the-pool read.  Is it informative? Well, sort of.   Often times I find Brice Heath filling pages with what seems like common sense.  Take for instance this excerpt from page 51, “They and their friends did not like to ‘mess up.’  To avoid doing so, they learned that staying focused on what they were doing made a big difference in outcomes.”  You don’t say.

One of my club mates, Gary, has reached a point of epiphany and great enjoyment somewhere around chapter 5.  I am not there yet, but it’s comforting to believe that this book is going to get better.