Keri’s article reminded me of when I had to figure out how to use Facebook many moons ago when I was in junior high. The shift from Myspace to Facebook was indescribably hard to the point that I made a Facebook and didn’t actually use it for years. Digital literacies are everywhere now. From .com sites to apps on our phones, if you aren’t proficient in them, you’re left behind in the metaphorical digital dust. When it came to my experience with Facebook, it took a friend sitting down and walking me through all the different components step by step for me to figure it out and I still got lost sometimes. I think sponsors are the same for all literacies, the formats are just different. Even though we continue to advance with digital everything, it’s still a daunting task to have to learn a new website or application. The idea of “am I doing it right?” when people you know and interact with in person can see your digital attempts is scary.

I talked to my mom and step-dad as we ate dinner. There was a lot of shouting over each other and reminded me why I don’t talk to them about school related activities. My mom tends to get of topic and my step dad has a hard time formulating a sentence. That being said, my step dad is one of the smartest people I know. He’s not exactly “book smart” but “street smart”.

 

Les: “I’m a very slow reader, that’s why I don’t read books, it would take me forever. I can comprehend well, just a slow reader.”

Hello there! My names Lauren. I guess I’m a super senior, as this is my fifth year. I have one semester left before I can graduate with my major in English Studies and a minor in Creative Writing. Originally from southern California I migrated up here about ten years ago and can say I finally think of Chico as my home after a three week trip back down there for winter break.

In relation to Szwed, I read everything. I’ve always read everything. I read books, I read texts assigned by teachers, I can remember being about twelve and reading the entire back of the cereal box because it was fun. Put a magazine in front of me? Sold. Facebook posts? I dig those too. I like to think I can engage with just about any text that’s around (unless it’s science or math related, then you can count me out!). I like to write fiction and nonfiction, although I only show it to a few people. I’ve realized in the last few years that I read as an outlet. I’ve noticed that my personal reading picks up a lot when my mood is down. I write when I need to get something off my chest, or expel a life experience that I’m done thinking about. I’ve always been really attached to reading and writing because not a lot of people in my everyday enjoy either of those things, which is saddening sometimes but gives me something of my own too.

I wasn’t too surprised by a few of the claims that the article made. The one that struck me most was the we have expectations as to what makes a literate person. Just because we have individual ideas of what is literate doesn’t mean those translate to other people, in other countries. There is no way for every single person to be on the same page. Just because you don’t write well doesn’t mean you don’t comprehend. We all have different sets of skills and pacing is unique to each of us in the world. It seems cruel to have one fixed high stakes standard.