I learned a lot new terms concepts about literacy that I didn’t know existed. Before I entered your class I was under the expression that when I heard the most commonly word in institutionalized learning literacy, meant that you either could read or you couldn’t read or write. I didn’t understand how to define literacy or even how it was measured. I can in this class a as blank canvas, only ready for colorful ideas to be mixed and to applied upon to create a master piece of unimaginable proportion.
To my surprise that is exactly what happened, I left any preconceived notions about literacy at the front door as I entered class on the first day. As we discussed many complex readings in class I began to notice common patterns of literacy in very different cultural, soci-economic and political environments with one common theme passing valuable knowledge to future generation to use for their future children’s success. Literacy unveiled itself as a means of learning not limited to reading of writing but everyday life. Just being able to function as a member in society makes you literate. You may suffer as a student in a classroom setting and excel at understanding the daily complexities of routine life like filing out DMV forms, filing IRS taxes, Social networking like Face book, Gaming or maybe your interest lay in a isolated subject that you are most passionate about.
But the way that Institutions measure Literacy is way too sterile and standardized and are unqualified to give a any truly accurate results that can help us be more decisive about how to fix high literacy rates in varying schools. The one thing that test result did truly shed light on, was the fact that what policies are currently being solidified into administrative orders are failing both for the system and its subjects. How? For example these traditional ways of teaching must evolve to suit its ever evolving generations of subjects. The educational system needs to respect and encourage cultural, social, religious and racial differences within a healthy environment where ideas are free to grow and be shared for future participants to utilize.
Our system is collapsing because our foundation for learning is too narrow minded and weak to support the pressures of change, our traditional styles of teaching must evolve into more efficient and productive forms of learning and teaching. We continue to pass a torch of knowledge from one generation to the next, yet we are so blind not to see that the light of wisdom has been dead for too long and we pass only a torch not out of foresight, truth, integrity or even justice, But we pass this torch out of ignorance, because that’s what the last generation did so we’re to stupid and lazy to take some responsibility and become active participants in our children’s future education. We can only look to blame ourselves for lack of active involvement in our life’s as a reflection of the problems of our society and the struggles that the generation will face if we stand silently by yet again and watch actively the destruction of our children’s futures.

So often than not i Find myself glancing blankly at my over stocked and under appreciated books, sometime I almost feel motivated to just glance an skim through them to keep the webs from forming. I felt alot of guilt about not completely reading every single book I’ve started, like I cheated myself. But after reading “Pedagogies of Reading and Not Reading” By Jesse Stommel I found a calm sense of relief to his philosophy about not taking reading to serious, I enjoyed his idea that books by design are meant to be read in entirety but that should not be the narrow in its scope. Everything we do to prepare ourselves to read, our curiosity, our environment, our reluctance to put the book down should all be considered equally as important in the process of learning. “Reading feels sometimes like eating. But more often like the murmur of hunger just before eating.” I feel that this statement capture the core of his idea, when i read i can feel myself sometimes drifting away in a boundless body of water to a destination unknown but yet to be seen.

I just don’t read in a one style but utilize many common techniques like speed reading, skimming, glancing, researching, imagining, creating and experience within itself. Its kinda like I’m just full filling a curiosity of the mind and every thing that’s connected in someway or another “Reading for me has always been more akin to a series of willful cursory glances.” He alleviates the “Shamefullness” that alot of teacher guilt their student for when they don’t read books completely, by sharing various reading techniques/ strategies that allow the students to develop their own ideas. His approach to teaching students allow them to see this experience and a “encounter” and not a compulsive task “Like teaching and learning, reading cannot be compulsory.” And that sometimes its better to stop reading and look away, giving yourself time for different aspects of the reading to develop spontaneously as your mind analysis and digest these ideas.

• The Pedagogies of Reading and Not Reading March 7, 2014

Robert Genaro

Fanfiction  

       According to one source the Urban Dictionary “Fanfiction is when someone takes either the story or characters (or both) of a certain piece of work, whether it be a novel, tv show, movie, etc, and create their own story based on it.” Fan Fiction in its simplest form, is fan made/created material (writing) based on others works. These definition is have very similar overlaping concepts,in Reading in A Participatory culture Remixing Moby-Dick in the English classroom “fan fiction refers to original stories and novels set in the fictional universe of favorite /television series( Star trek) films (50 Shades of Gray) comics/animes (Samurai Champloo) and even be seen as far back as some early British literature (Paradise Lost) etc.

       It allows the reader to have a voice within a desired text, some unregulated freedom to decided whether the character and/or plot can evolve/devolve or be expanded more in depth. These inventions come from other ideas consider the I phone and graphic’s engine! Basically it creates opportunity for individual genius, a myth of sorts allows for a stigma of the original work. In a nut shell its learning through remixing. The theory is that it allows for a newish creation of the original, where the reader can critique, experience and entertain. Serves as a outlet to relieve frustrations and empowers the original (idolizing). Although fan fiction has no definable origin because it goes as far back a oral traditions, it gained much popularity with women “who wrote the majority of fan stories” before the internet boom. Fan fiction has many genres each having it own form of media lens to see what can’t be seem from just one point of view, encouraging diversity and innovation in a personal atmosphere.   

Wow, at the least I think this is going to be interesting…this is NOT a disclaimer!

It almost almost like not knowing how to recycle or what recycling is, everyday you just keep throwing away useful and valued information with nothing gained but over filling and already full trash can. When a sponsorship pops in the picture and shows how to separate you ideas and where the proper places are to put them. All of a sudden your like damn that was easy, aluminum goes here and all of a sudden it has a $-value of blank. But instead your reward is not in a currency form of cash but instead the reward is your feedback which can be almost instantaneous or almost non existent if you mix up the way(s) you deliver your questions/opinions to your given audience. Very similar to mixing your plastic with your other recyclables, its considered a dirty recyclable and you hardly get and profit from you hard work. As Keri found out first hand about social media,

      I learn alot about how literacy changes over time according to the environment and the progression of human innovations.I now understand why literacy is almost undefinable because there is no solid standard to measure individuals gained or ungained skill set upon. Literacy as a measurement of skills varies according to social status, social needs,  culture, religious stands, communication with one another, its almost impossible to measure literacy rate in whole societies, maybe on a case by case basis.

      So lets give this a shot on a purely case by case basis! I chose a really close friend of mine who i have know for many years. Her name is Kath, she is a retired assistant Teacher at a elementary school I once attended. What she had to say was really surprising to me, the especially the technique and approaches when being taught how to read and write. Everything was approached from a basic fundamental ideology that you had to learn to read to write in order to survive in this world or it would eat you alive.

3) What stories did you parents tell you about their own efforts to learn to read and write? What kind of values did they place on reading and writing?

“They had chalk boards and had to walk 10 miles in the snow, rain, heat up hill both ways” They had grown up in the depression era, a lot of male couldn’t go to school because they had to get a job(s) to support their family. It was a little easier for my mom to got to school than my dad,because he was 1 of 11 and she well had grown up in a middle class family.

    Their values were straight forward, stay in school until your finished. They believed in getting out into the real world and earning a living through sweat and blood. There was no big push to continue schooling after high school, unless you family had enough money to pay your way.