Perhaps..?

While I was doing some research for my ENGL 461R, I came across the ten most banned books in America as of October 1, 2012. As I sped through the top ten, I saw books like Harry Potter, The Catcher in the Rye, and Huckleberry Finn. I couldn't help but be disturbed by the idea that many all-time American classics have been challenged and even banned from the school shelves. Come to find out, Huckleberry Finn is frowned upon due to the excessive use of the "n" word. A few years ago, publishers released a "better" Huck Finn, replacing over 200 "n" words with the words "slave". Since 1884, Mark Twain's novel has been challenged. I find this incredibly relevant with what we are learning in class because I couldn't help but ask myself why in the world would they take out every "n" word and replace it with "slave"? How does making a drastic change such as that, deem the book more "readable" for teens and adolescents? Language is such a powerful thing and I believe that it lies in the love of literacy too. We can't have literacy without language and vice versa.

I guess I should probably define my project a bit  more clearly:  I want to see how language has changed, how society has evolved, more specifically dealing with Huck Finn. I want my students to be able to come across a novel and look at it critically...and love doing it, of course. I don't want them to be restricted from the greats like Huckleberry Finn and To Kill a Mockingbird simply because the society we live in does not accept the language that was acceptable at the time. I want my students to be able to recognize the differences in the use of language.

Transcripts + Gregging.

Looking at the transcripts has certainly been entertaining. Even though we have only seen three transcripts, there has been such an array of strategies and situations but the one I see the most occurring is the teacher prompting and asking questions. They are never lecturing and telling the students what they want to know, but instead, they are probing through their knowledge through conversation in the classroom. I find this very intriguing. However, I do notice that if none of the students are talking, it appears that all of them are talking.

When it comes to my own classroom, I want it to look similar. I want to have class discussion and let the students learn from each other, not just me. I want them to ask questions about things they don't understand and more importantly, I want them to learn in a new way. Not just from lecture. I can imagine this happening but I understand that class will not, oftentimes, go as I plan...a lot of gregging may occur. 

C.C.R.

1.  When I picture C.C.R., I picture high school students ready to enter the "college world". I see them capable of filling out their college applications,  able to register for their own classes, and in those classes, succeed because they can read and write. Isn't that what we see as being literate? Shouldn't our students be capable of doing those things as they move on from the high school life and transition into the real world? As we dig into this definition of literate and even the English language in general, I am beginning to see more clearly what I want my own goals to be as a teacher. Along with many other goals, I want my students to leave feeling like they can fill out an application or write a paper with ease. I don't want to produce fear, dread, or anxiety whenever the words "paper", "read", or "write" come up. I was lucky to have left high school feeling capable and I want my students to leave feeling that way as well.
2. I want my students to leave not only feeling confident that they can fill out paper work, but also feeling comfortable with who they are and who they are becoming. I realize this is a bit sentimental but I get to work with high school students on a regular basis through an internship that I have with my church and every single one of them needs someone to believe in them. I want them to leave feeling like they are capable of greatness and can be whoever they want to be. To say they are literate is to say they can read and write with no problem and they can do it well.

Literate or Illiterate...Is that how you say it?

Literacy, literate, illiterate...mah. Why isn't it unliterate instead of illiterate? Ill reminds me of sickness...certainly that can't be right. This is the point. I don't think we can ever distinguish a line between the literate and the illiterate but if I had to draw a line I would say it in regards of communication; between whether or not I can understand what they are trying to tell me. If someone is literate, I can tell what they are trying to communicate to me. If they are "ill"literate, I have no clue what they are trying to convey to me. For example..someone who says the word "unliterate"...I would understand what they are trying to tell me. But if someone say "bobfinkitoo"...ummmm need I say more? I believe English can be taken to literate. It can be taken too seriously. We talked the other day about how who/whom is being lost:  I completely agree but do I care? Not really. As long as my students understand English, grammar, and are able to communicate effectively, isn't that the point? Isn't that enough? Maybe it is, but perhaps it isn't.

Grammar, Grammar, Grammar, Hey!

I think the issue with grammar is an ongoing one. For me personally I always thought grammar to be diagrams and rules and only diagrams and rules. However, Hartwell's article certainly opens my eyes to the misconceptions I have about grammar. Grammar is not about the diagrams...it's about far more:
1. Internal rules
2. Technical rules, analysis, and linguistic sciences
3. Linguistic is not grammar etiquette
4. School Grammar
5. Stylistic Grammar
I thought number 4 was all it was about. But now I am beginning to see that grammar is a more complex topic. It is all five of these points interwoven with each other. I feel like you can't have one without the other but our instincts and responses are based on our internal rules. It's a lot like the ten commandments...you cant break one without breaking the first commandment. In grammar, you can't break the others without breaking the first. I believe we all know what is correct and right, but we often go against that. I believe that is how I can help students...but realizing that grammar isn't a singular rule and class...it's a network of the inter-workings of all five of the above points.

When Bedtime used to be 7pm

It took a few minutes...maybe close to an hour for me to remember anything pertaining to my "early learning years". I lost my hearing by the time I was four years old so my speech and language became a bit delayed. It was also easy for me to go to bed because all I had to do was take my hearing aids out and all was quiet. Of course, that wasn't so much a blessing then than it is now. My parents told me before they found out about my hearing loss, I would crawl out of my crib every time they set me in and they would spank me and put me back in. Five minutes later I would be out of my crib and spanked once again...let's just say that I've learned to appreciate the fact that I can't hear at night.
 When it comes to remembering my bedtime stories, I think my childhood looked a little different because I couldn't hear. However, I do remember bits and pieces of it rather vaguely. I remember my parents singing to me. I remember the different story books they read (although I have no clue what they were called). I remember the stories my dad used to tell. I even remember the cereal boxes I read/looked upon before I went to school in the mornings. I never realized that those moments could have prepared me for school but I am especially grateful that I was able to catch on so quick to the language around me. I learned to read lips real quick and became an expert at it at an early age.  I wish I could remember the finer details but that's all I've got.

AppaJamainglish

Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed the presentations. It was fun and I actually learned a lot. I feel that I am naive to the world around me. Language is so complex and ambiguous. I don't think anyone can ever fully understand and know language. There is so much history and so many concepts within language it blows my mind. Even when we were learning about Appalachian English...it's right here in the United States but is a separate language in itself. I always assumed that English was English and Chinese is separate from German that is separate from Russian. I put it all in boxes but really, it's a web. Language is not a box, it's a web...hmmm interesting thought.
I feel like everyone did a great job preparing for their portion and it was a great activity.