Blog #1 Szwed

Hello everyone, my name is Nicholle Schmidt and I am currently a sophomore majoring in English Education. I was raised in a small town called Placerville, which is located between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe. I chose to attend Chico State because it reminded me of my hometown. They are both small, woodsy, and out in the middle of nowhere. Throughout high school I debated upon multiple majors. First it was nursing, which turned into international studies, then nutrition, and finally I settled on English Education. English has always been a fun and interesting subject and I look forward to teaching future generations the power literature holds.

One aspect Szwed discussed was the “difference between public and private literacy” (425). For school and educational purposes I often find myself reading works by William Shakespeare, Ralph Waldo Emerson, or Edgar Allan Poe. However, in my spare time, I read modern literature such as It’s Kind of a Funny Story and Crank. My writing also varies greatly depending on the situation. Almost all of my writing for school consists of essays about vague topics that typically do not hold my interest. If I decide to write for the sake of writing, it is normally in the form of a letter or a poem. The writing unrelated to school helps release overwhelming emotions that I cannot express verbally.

Another point brought up in the article was the “different styles of reading and writing” (425). The literature read for school involves close reading, while the books read in private are merely for entertainment value. I often annotate the readings for school, but never the private literature. Any writing for school goes through multiple stages such as rough drafts, peer edits, and final drafts. On the contrary, when I write in the moment to release random thoughts and emotions, I rarely check my grammar or if it is logically sound.

Overall, this article opened my eyes to many new ideas and concepts that I had never thought of before. One concept I learned from Szwed was “reading and writing skills may indeed vary according to motivation” (423). An individual may be assigned a book to read or essay to write, but if one is not motivated to do so then their literacy may appear to lack. However, if the individual is passionate about fashion, they may read, examine, and take notes on a Vogue magazine. Szwed analyzed “non-standard” spelling in our society and how its appropriateness varies. A child is scolded for spelling the word night as “nite” when they are first introduced to writing. Ironically, the child sees this incorrect spelling on labels and signs, made by the said adults on a day to day basis. Only when an individual gains mature literacy skills can they use this form of spelling. Szwed outlined some of the most basic, yet controversial aspects of literacy in this article; because of that, it is a relatable and fascinating article to read.