1) Introduce yourself. What’s your story?

2) Talk about your own literacy practices in relation to Szwed: what do you read and write? What is the purpose of that reading and writing? What does it DO for you? What is your take away from reading Szwed? What struck you as interesting or new or confusing?

This semester will be the second of my Junior year at CSU Chico. I attended Cuesta Community College in San Luis Obispo for two years, focusing on playing sports rather than obtaining an education. Eventually the time came for me to change my focus. I moved back home to Chico, and enrolled at Butte College.I knew all along that I wanted to study English, with a focus on Education. My ultimate goal is to teach English as a second language in Lima, Peru, where my father lives.

I enjoy reading Biographies of people who I find interesting, whether they are directors, actors or athletes. Other than Harry Potter, I have never been incredibly interested in reading Fiction.

Most of the reading and writing that I do outside of the classroom  is amongst friends. This style of writing is nothing like the style I use in the classroom. I use basic grammar when communicating with my friends because it is usually in a casual setting. I know the difference between formal and casual literacy practices, and recognize when each is acceptable. The concept that struck me as interesting is the fact that there are many ways to define literacy, and these narrow definitions used in an educational setting can often exclude people of different backgrounds, labeling these potentially intelligent people as unintelligent. If someone were to read a series of instant messages between a friend and myself, they would quickly assume that I do not understand basics of grammar, because in a casual setting, I am comfortable using informal writing practices such as ignoring proper punctuation, grammar and spelling. Szwed emphasizes the fact the there are many ways to examine literacy, and narrow definitions are often insufficient.