11/09/09
In my second reading of Ong's Article "Writing is a Technology that Restructures Thought", I noticed a couple things I didn't touch on in my first blog. One of the major points Ong tries to make is that writing separates the known from the knowner. Now what does Ong mean by this? I believe that Ong means that writing seperates knowledge from a person that knows it and allows it to be passed freely to another person in the form of writing. This is evident in Ong's article "Between knower and known writing interposes a visible and tangible object, the text. The objectivity of the Text helps impose objectivity on what the text refers to. Eventually writing will create a state of mind in which knwoledge itself can be thought of as an object, distinct from the knower." Ong also argues an interesting point that writing separates academic learning from wisdom. This point I had a litlle trouble understanding but I waded into the troubled waters so to speak and came out with an aswer. Ong means that writing allows for information to be passed without the need for an apprentship or mentor Thus making it much widely spread to society. That is all from my re-read of Ong. I just wanted to address and clean-up some things i missed the first time I blogged.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
"Writing is a Technology that Restructures Thought"
11/03/09
Walter Ong, the author of this essay, brings up very thought provoking points about writing and literacy. He begins the essay by arguing that writing is not a mechanical skill that is obligatory for every human do know and understand. In fact Ong argues that writing, although created by humans, is not natural to humans like oral communication is. By natural he means that all humans, unless effected my some mental or physical disability, learn to speak at a relatively young age. This is not true for writing. Writing, as the title implies, is a technology that humans use to help express thoughts like computers or musical insturments. Ong compares writing to a musical instrument to show how both are technologies "The Fact is that by using the mechanical contrivance a clarinettist or pianist or an organist can express something poignantly human that cannot be expressed without the mechanical contrivance... I instance the moderen orchestra here to make the point that writing is an even more deeply interiorzed technology than the performance of instrumental music is." So if writing is an instrument it needs to be practiced, much like any other techology, to express human emotions and knowledge. I agree with Ong on the subject of writing and literacy. We should not look at illterates as sub-human beings with a sickness or disability but rather just realize they need to be taught an unnatural way to express something so human. Ong also argues that writing can also divide socities creating a "high" and "low" language. The high language, like learned Latin, is completely controlled by writing and the "low" language is compeletly controlled by speech and oral communication. This divison can cause tension between groups that speak different discourses than one another. This article completely changed my view on literacy. When we first started talking about literacy I believed that illterates were somehow worse than literates. I know that is not the case now as Ong made me realize that writing is not natural but rather a human invention that must be learned and practiced to express human thought, emotion, and knowledge. As Ong puts it "Writing is a humanizing technology" and I to believe that it is.
Walter Ong, the author of this essay, brings up very thought provoking points about writing and literacy. He begins the essay by arguing that writing is not a mechanical skill that is obligatory for every human do know and understand. In fact Ong argues that writing, although created by humans, is not natural to humans like oral communication is. By natural he means that all humans, unless effected my some mental or physical disability, learn to speak at a relatively young age. This is not true for writing. Writing, as the title implies, is a technology that humans use to help express thoughts like computers or musical insturments. Ong compares writing to a musical instrument to show how both are technologies "The Fact is that by using the mechanical contrivance a clarinettist or pianist or an organist can express something poignantly human that cannot be expressed without the mechanical contrivance... I instance the moderen orchestra here to make the point that writing is an even more deeply interiorzed technology than the performance of instrumental music is." So if writing is an instrument it needs to be practiced, much like any other techology, to express human emotions and knowledge. I agree with Ong on the subject of writing and literacy. We should not look at illterates as sub-human beings with a sickness or disability but rather just realize they need to be taught an unnatural way to express something so human. Ong also argues that writing can also divide socities creating a "high" and "low" language. The high language, like learned Latin, is completely controlled by writing and the "low" language is compeletly controlled by speech and oral communication. This divison can cause tension between groups that speak different discourses than one another. This article completely changed my view on literacy. When we first started talking about literacy I believed that illterates were somehow worse than literates. I know that is not the case now as Ong made me realize that writing is not natural but rather a human invention that must be learned and practiced to express human thought, emotion, and knowledge. As Ong puts it "Writing is a humanizing technology" and I to believe that it is.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Technology and Literacy: A Story About the Perils of Not paying Attention
11/2/09
This article by Cynthia Selfe is an eye opening essay on Technology and Literacy. The Author argues that teaching the use of computer and technological literacy is just as important as teaching reading and writing to today's youth. Selfe later discusses the race and/or socio-economic divide of technology. She talks about how it is more likely that white children have access to computers and the internet at home or school than a child of afircan american or hispanic heritage. She gives us some shocking statistics on the matter: 73% of white kids owned a home computer compared to 32% of African Americans. Obviously technology is a growing field and will help provide the next generation numerous opportunities to succeed but if we do not teach children, espically the children who may not have access to technology, we are setting them up for failure. Also if we do not teach technology in schools to the 68% of african american's who do not own a home computer we are further the socio-economic trends that have plagued this country's history and are furthering the trend of a poor minorty class. It really comes through in this paper that teaching technology to America's youth is very important for cureent anf future teachers. Not only to provide an opportunity to those kids to succeed in life, but also to try and break free from the socio-economic line that is so prevalant in American culture. Technology is the key to doing just that if only it was stressed more in a child's early education.
This article by Cynthia Selfe is an eye opening essay on Technology and Literacy. The Author argues that teaching the use of computer and technological literacy is just as important as teaching reading and writing to today's youth. Selfe later discusses the race and/or socio-economic divide of technology. She talks about how it is more likely that white children have access to computers and the internet at home or school than a child of afircan american or hispanic heritage. She gives us some shocking statistics on the matter: 73% of white kids owned a home computer compared to 32% of African Americans. Obviously technology is a growing field and will help provide the next generation numerous opportunities to succeed but if we do not teach children, espically the children who may not have access to technology, we are setting them up for failure. Also if we do not teach technology in schools to the 68% of african american's who do not own a home computer we are further the socio-economic trends that have plagued this country's history and are furthering the trend of a poor minorty class. It really comes through in this paper that teaching technology to America's youth is very important for cureent anf future teachers. Not only to provide an opportunity to those kids to succeed in life, but also to try and break free from the socio-economic line that is so prevalant in American culture. Technology is the key to doing just that if only it was stressed more in a child's early education.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics
10/21/09
This article was very compelling to read. One quote really stood out to be and basically summarized the meaning of the article. " It is a trusim that a person can know perfectly the grammar of a language and not know how to use the language. It is not just what you say but how you say it." This is saying you may know how to construct a sentence gramatically, but you do not how to put words together to clearly put your ideas down in writing. Gee later goes on to define his definiton of literacy. "Thus I define "literacy" as the mastery of or fluent control over a secondary discourse." Obviously Gee is worried about the little things in writing. I kind of agree with him in that your not literate if you can not put your ideas on paper but I think you can still be literate even though the cannot achieve the small things in discourse.
This article was very compelling to read. One quote really stood out to be and basically summarized the meaning of the article. " It is a trusim that a person can know perfectly the grammar of a language and not know how to use the language. It is not just what you say but how you say it." This is saying you may know how to construct a sentence gramatically, but you do not how to put words together to clearly put your ideas down in writing. Gee later goes on to define his definiton of literacy. "Thus I define "literacy" as the mastery of or fluent control over a secondary discourse." Obviously Gee is worried about the little things in writing. I kind of agree with him in that your not literate if you can not put your ideas on paper but I think you can still be literate even though the cannot achieve the small things in discourse.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
"The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society"
10/13/2009
This was an interesting article to say the least. The author used examples way to much and beat the topic to death but still kind of an interesting article. Kozol makes an interesting point that I never really thought about and that is how debilitating illiteracy can make you feel. With out the ability to read you cannot understand something as simple as cooking instructions. Without the ablility to read you cannot perform the task of letting 911 where you are located in an emergency. So in that respect it opened my eyes. But the author justs keeps repeating example after example. I found myself saying "enough already" I wanted to hear some soultions to this problem and not just end the essay by saying something has to be done. Some author insight would have been better than the endless examples that make the reader want to tear his or her eyes out.
This was an interesting article to say the least. The author used examples way to much and beat the topic to death but still kind of an interesting article. Kozol makes an interesting point that I never really thought about and that is how debilitating illiteracy can make you feel. With out the ability to read you cannot understand something as simple as cooking instructions. Without the ablility to read you cannot perform the task of letting 911 where you are located in an emergency. So in that respect it opened my eyes. But the author justs keeps repeating example after example. I found myself saying "enough already" I wanted to hear some soultions to this problem and not just end the essay by saying something has to be done. Some author insight would have been better than the endless examples that make the reader want to tear his or her eyes out.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
"I Just want to be Average" by Mike Rose
9/29/2009
This is article is kind of the complete opposite of the article I last blogged about but it was just as provacative. "I Just Want to be Average" by Mike Rose provides a compelling look at the "average" kids in education and what they deal with. It details the defense mechanisms these kids set up for themselves just to get by in school. "What Ken and so many others do is protect themeselves from suffocating madness by taking on with a vengence the identity implied in the vocational track." I believe Rose wrote this article to tell that a student just needs to become inspired by a great teacher to escape mediocrity and become truly great in the world of academia. Rose himself was but an average student before he was inspired by his english teacher Mr. Macfarland. "I worked very hard for Macfarland had hooked me. He tapped my interest in reading and creating stories. He gave me a way to feel special by using my mind." I believe this is essential to a good education to be a teacher that inspires his/her students to become truly immeresed and interested in their studies. This is something I as a future teacher hope to achive for my students.
This is article is kind of the complete opposite of the article I last blogged about but it was just as provacative. "I Just Want to be Average" by Mike Rose provides a compelling look at the "average" kids in education and what they deal with. It details the defense mechanisms these kids set up for themselves just to get by in school. "What Ken and so many others do is protect themeselves from suffocating madness by taking on with a vengence the identity implied in the vocational track." I believe Rose wrote this article to tell that a student just needs to become inspired by a great teacher to escape mediocrity and become truly great in the world of academia. Rose himself was but an average student before he was inspired by his english teacher Mr. Macfarland. "I worked very hard for Macfarland had hooked me. He tapped my interest in reading and creating stories. He gave me a way to feel special by using my mind." I believe this is essential to a good education to be a teacher that inspires his/her students to become truly immeresed and interested in their studies. This is something I as a future teacher hope to achive for my students.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
The Achievment of Desire
9/22/09
WOW! This essay was one of the most fascinating articles on education I have ever read! This article was so much different then all the other educational essays. This is the only one i have have to discuss the problems of the other side of the educated. Some lines in this passage really stood out to me. Like "The scholarship boy is a very bad student. He is a great mimic, a collector of thoughts not a thinker." This struck my becuase usualll we think of a scholarship student to be the greatest thinkers of all but Rodrieguez argues that there are what I call "BSers". It also struck me of how he felt isolated from his parents and used books as a way to escape. A very interesting article and I am eager to discuss it in class!
WOW! This essay was one of the most fascinating articles on education I have ever read! This article was so much different then all the other educational essays. This is the only one i have have to discuss the problems of the other side of the educated. Some lines in this passage really stood out to me. Like "The scholarship boy is a very bad student. He is a great mimic, a collector of thoughts not a thinker." This struck my becuase usualll we think of a scholarship student to be the greatest thinkers of all but Rodrieguez argues that there are what I call "BSers". It also struck me of how he felt isolated from his parents and used books as a way to escape. A very interesting article and I am eager to discuss it in class!
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