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.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
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.
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