Title of Article + Proper MLA Citation for Works Cited page	Brandt, Deborah. “Sponsors of Literacy.” CCC. 1998, 166-172.
Summarize the article — include your reaction, thoughts, anything to help you remember its claims. 100 to 150 words
Define new terms and concepts by quoting or paraphrasing the original author.
How does this reading connect to other articles from class and/or your own research?
Based on the reading, craft one question to act as a springboard for class discussion.

 

 

Title of Article + Proper MLA Citation for Works Cited page	Gee, James. “What Is Literacy?”. Journal of Education. Volume 171. Issue 1. 1989, 18-23.
Summarize the article — include your reaction, thoughts, anything to help you remember its claims. 100 to 150 words	In the article James is trying his best to explain what literacy is and gives an example of where an old word comes from and what it means. He talks about how being a linguist is his discourse and that every person in the world has one that contributes to society. My reaction is that this passage was very banal and I didn’t really take anything from it mainly because it’s old and I simply wasn’t interested in what this man had to say. I find it kind of hard to remember any of his claims because he isn’t really saying anything new that isn’t related to something I have already heard before.
Define new terms and concepts by quoting or paraphrasing the original author.	James uses the word discourse as way of explaining a person’s identity in social networks.
How does this reading connect to other articles from class and/or your own research?	It connects with the video I watched that also had him as the narrator.
Based on the reading, craft one question to act as a springboard for class discussion.	Who gets to decide what words mean certain things?

 

Wednesday, September 2

11:55 am

Zoom call with writing teacher

Talked for like 6 minutes

 

12:10 pm

Went down to the cafeteria

Got a burger and fries

Ate my food in my room

 

12:30 pm

Watched YouTube on my PS4

Took a nap

 

3:00pm

Walked to the Union for Panda Express

Got on a bus 

Rode until I realized I was on the wrong bus

 

3:40 pm

Got off the bus

Called my sister to pick me up

 

4:00 pm

She picked me up

Went to the bookstore

Got a notebook and card

 

4:20 pm

Got to my dorm

Group FaceTime with old classmates

Them: You want to play 8 Ball and Uno?

Me: Yes

Played 8 Ball and Uno

 

7:00 pm

Ended FaceTime

Watched Youtube on my Ps4

Took a shower

Took a nap

 

9:00 pm

Doing some writing work

 

Title of Article + Proper MLA Citation for Works Cited page Inviting the Mother Tongue Peter Elbow. “Inviting the Mother Tongue: Beyond “Mistakes,” “Bad English”, and “Wrong Language”” The Journal of Advanced Composition (1999)
Summarize the article — include your reaction, thoughts, anything to help you remember its claims. 100 to 150 words In the story Peter is really talking about the way different people talk or write and how certain people try to say that it isn’t proper English. What probably stood out to me the most was his mention of  AAVE because up until a few months ago I’d never heard of it. I honestly thought that it was just the way we talked and that was it without explanation. For so long and even till this day the lingo of Black people has been looked down on as ignorant, ghetto and unprofessional because we may slur our words or don’t pronounce every syllable or sometimes give words entirely new definitions. Everyone’s tongue is different depending on their environment but nonetheless we are both speaking English.
Define new terms and concepts by quoting or paraphrasing the original author. Many Black Americans were critical of AAVE (African American Vernacular English) because speaking proper English gave them a sense of equity amongst whites.
How does this reading connect to other articles from class and/or your own research?  It expands on how Europeans tried to colonize every small aspect of life so much that if you didn’t speak their language the same way they did then you were inferior.
Based on the reading, craft one question to act as a springboard for class discussion. Do you think it is best to speak and write as you are or should you change to what you thing other will prefer?

 

I am Dennis Foster from the North. I am good at artwork and the thing I would like to improve in my writing is tone. It doesn’t really matter the type of criticism I get and I’m good with anybody who is good with me. I am House Gryffindor. I would like an A.

To be Black America is an experience that affects every aspect of your life in ways you don’t realize until you see how your white peers are treated. Every story ever told of African Americans all have the same origin and this country will never let us forget it. Enslavement, brutality, rape and decades of discrimination begins to numb your mind to the pain of being Black. You get angry by watching the news of Black death and then the justifications that soon follow after. Marley Dias is just another example of Black children being forced to have to face the harsh realities of their Blackness at such a young age. Her activism is brave but also sad because this is an issue that she should’ve never had to deal with. Black girls are constantly being overlooked and oversexualized so for her to use her platform to raise awareness and ask people to educate themselves is inspirational. So whenever I pick up a pencil to write a story, years of trauma after trauma after trauma comes flooding in and there is no other way to express it without coming off as angry. Because I am angry.

The advice about finding something to do in your spare time was useful because for most of the time you’re in college you’re not going to actually be working. Another piece of useful advice was that not every teacher is going to have a problem with you because some students come in feeling already defeated because of negative stereotypes about professors. I am least forward to having to read books that I have no interest in this year. I am most looking forward to watching Lovecraft Country on HBO this year. The advice that I would give to a person entering their freshman year of high school from my own personal experience would be to don’t get the attention of your teachers and do not overachieve at anything. Just do what is required of you to do and do it at a basic level so that your teacher has low expectations and will expect nothing more from you. If you do that they will never call on you because they already know what you’re going to say and eventually you will become a shadow in the classroom that people will forget is even there. Be mild because at the end of the day the most you can make is a 100 just like everyone else.