When I was in eighth grade the teacher said I was slow in reading...she
just said, "Well, your reading as got to be upgraded. you know, like
you're kind of slow in reading."I knew I was but most of the time I was so
bored with school and so I didn't care if I read good or not.... Even now, I
read too fast, often missing the decimal point, I mean, the punctuation, often
missing words that I read. In order for me to become a good reader, I have to sit
down, and I have to read over what I'm reading a couple of times, and then read
at a slower pace. I'm kind of short when it comes to punctuation. I don't know
punctuation too good. (Jerome interviewed discussing past and present experiences with school)
[About a letter Jerome wrote to a judge] But then they gave me a court
date and I wrote this letter to defend yourself. I , Reverend Jerome, being of sound mind and body tell
this story on paper.... I gave it to the lawyers and they dropped my case. And
I often have to wind up writing the hospital letters....I think the hospitals
should pay part of the person’s bill, be responsible for the first part of the
person's b ill, just like I pay, uh, money to have insurance to pay for my
part. I think the hospital should pay a part, too.... I write to the accounting
department to let them know that they are responsible for some of that bill,
too. (Jerome interviewed discussing family and community literacy practices)
Rogers’ (2004) research suggests
that adult literacy learners ‘story’ their literate selves differently
depending upon which domain they are operating within.
She offers a richly
textured discourse analysis of extended interviews with various students who
talk about learning to read and school, at adult education college and within a
family domain. It is interesting that she uses these slightly different spatial
and temporal frames to analyse their literate lives and this connects to my
desire to view literacy as a pedagogic subject and it constructions by teachers
as a) classroom practice b) academic subject and c) personal experience – these
categories can be more clearly defined. I also need to be sure that it is literacy as
a pedagogic subject as oppose to literacy that I am seeking to explore.
It is to explore how
teachers construct their ideas about literacy / language within these different
contexts. I am here suggesting that it can be entirely possible to acknowledge
that literacy is purposeful in everyday lives, in their own lives, but in the
lives of their learners in class – their purposefulness is it of any great significance.
In other words, I am here echoing the hint in interview 2 that ‘literacy as
social practice’; is a framing that has relevance for literacy outside of
college but less relevance for literacy within the college setting. The
language and literacy that we learn / teach is ontologically different to the
literacy / language that we use on other settings. One is for the purpose of
passing an exam – the other is for a range of other purpose that need not
connect – or connect on theoretically to what is taught.
The reminder of
·
informational learning: deep & pervasive shifts in perspective & understanding
·
transformational learning: acquisition in more skills
and knowledge
Literacy, literate selves and literacy learning
each constructed differently within and across the domains. p15
Very helpful analysis of methodology deployed.
Genre:
the
sort of language (& other semiosis) associated with a particular activity
Discourse:
ways
of representing – systematic clusters of themes, statements, ideas and
ideologies
Style:
ways
of being – interpersonal choices active / passive voice; modality – affinity,
mood –
questions statement demands, transivity & pronoun use
An analysis of the role of the researcher is vital for this work. Thoroughly
entwined.
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