Monthly Archives: October 2010

Resnick states that “not all segments of our population have come to demand literacy skills of the kind that educators, members of Congress, and other government officials think necessary” (371).  They seem to be saying that not everyone has to … Continue reading →

I was wondering about the Johnny articles, and the fact that students have really poor writing.  Does this mean that because many students still receive good and passing grades in their freshman writing classes or even higher level courses, that … Continue reading →

In her article, Heath explains that Trackton does not place a high value of print literacy in the home, and that adults “do not buy books for [their children]” and they “do not create reading and writing tasks for the … Continue reading →

One of the key points that really stuck out to me in Heath’s article was her discussion of literacy as an equalizing mechanism in society.  For the people of Trackton, literacy was almost always a shared event.  Its primary uses … Continue reading →

In Heath’s piece the children were in fact not initially taught to read but to decode the pictures and the fonts of products to check the prices. In turn, the children were able to understand at an early age through … Continue reading →

As I read the Cornelious piece, I tried to draw connections between the risks a slave would take in order to learn to read, and our own educational and social attitudes towards literacy learning. It’s hard to fathom anyone in … Continue reading →

There was some discussion last class about explicitly creating propaganda for the purpose of convincing children and adults to pursue literacy for their personal benefit, similar to the “Be All You Can Be” slogan of the army (“Read All You … Continue reading →

Cintron’s article Angels’ Town details different ways of communicating gang affiliation using main stream symbols that would otherwise seem innocent when looked at outside of a gang perspective.  The primary example used in the article is gang members wearing specific … Continue reading →

“Through their social actions, including their words, they establish their identities as knowledgeable people, socially included friends, and powerful actors; and, embedded in their actions is knowledge […]” (Dyson 326). Children are often actors in ways that they don’t realize. … Continue reading →

In Ralph Cintron’s article, he emphasizes that there is more to graffiti than we assume. He reflects on something seemingly simple, murals we often note as pure artwork or symbols of violence. However, he claims graffiti is composed of a … Continue reading →