Intro:   

In this paper I focus on how kids that have disabilities are affected in the way they view literacy. I focused more on a personal disability to better express what I know and inform everyone real life issues children are going through. I am proud that I got to talk about an issues that I have struggled with personally. A plan to continuing growth as a writer is writing more about personal experiences.

“You read slow, read faster. Fix your grammar. You can’t write.” Words that taunt one’s way of seeing English class. Words that make you not participate because everything you say you will just get judged for it anyway. Getting judged on issues in english class that kids everyday are suffering with the same problem, so, at least, I am not the only one. I have a comprehension problem where I have issues comprehending what I read as well as others. The comprehension problem was worse in middle school because I would have to read a book maybe three times to fully understand what the story was about. I would read slower so I can understand what I am reading at the first try and not have to keep reading it over and over. People always told me to “read faster” but what good would that do me. Getting put in “special classes” just because kids like me don’t read or write like the rest of them shows us that we are not like everyone. Sherman Alexie once said in the essay Superman “I refuse to fail” was something we always followed. We didn’t want people thinking they have a right to say hurtful things to us just because we have disabilities. Especially me  I was not going to let them get to me, I will show them I am just as good as anyone of them. Everyone is their own person and we are not always going to know to same as other people. I thought we were suppose to do everything at the best of our abilities not do something and if you are not on the level than they label you as being slow or needs extra help. That’s the problem especially in english class kids always point out the “slow readers” and criticize them. There is a reason for these kids reading slow and not being able to comprehend.

Today many kids suffer with reading disabilities, reading rockets states the abilities such as  phonological deficit, processing speed/orthographic processing deficit, and comprehension deficit are common . Phonological deficit is an explanation for the cause of reading difficulties and dyslexia. Processing speed/orthographic processing deficit is a disability that kids that don’t have good grammar. Comprehension deficit is “an active problem solving process in which readers relate the ideas in the text to own knowledge and experiences which allows the reader to create a mental construct in memory” (National Reading Panel, 2000, p. 23). A lot of young children feel alienated from reading and literacy because they suffer from these disorders. Often the classroom setting doesn’t allow kids that are slower at reading to fully enjoy the subject.  

“I want everyone to remake the story little red riding hood.” My teacher, Mrs. Goodnow, said. I remember I was in the third grade I didn’t really know much about how to write a story  because I was never a good writer. So, when she told us to write a whole short story.  I panicked the room started spinning and all I kept thinking how this could not be real. The spinning stopped “You have until tomorrow to turn in a draft,” Mrs. Goodnow said. The only good thing  that came out of this was we had to remake my favorite story little red riding hood. When school was over at 3:05, I rushed home to get started on my draft. 5 o'clock hit and  it was dinner time I still had nothing written down on my draft.  I had no clue how to start this story and I also need to draw pictures to match. After I was done dinner, I went to my room because it was the quietest place in my house. I stared at the blank piece of loose leaf paper admiring its perfectly straight lines.” “Lilly snap out of it,” the little voice in my head told me. Only a few hours left to write this before I had to go to bed. I finally started..with the title little green riding hood. Since I wanted to make it funny I started doing the original red riding hood but with funny twist. It took me about a hundred balled up papers on the floor to finally get a good start. After the start more and more ideas kept popping up  in my head.  

The next day I had to read my draft out loud before the teacher told everyone to pick their partners, me and my best friend Natalia gave each other that I choose you look. After we sat with our partners it was time to share out. I was not even nervous because I was partners with my bestfriend. I read mine first just to get it over with so I started with my title and author  “Little green riding hood by Liliana Guercio” then I started the story I wrote. Once..upon..a..tim-- before I could finish she cut me off saying “you read slow, read faster.” I sat there and gave her the death glare. “What?” she questioned. I responded with “that is how I read.” My own best friend criticizing me on how I read. She made me feel like I was dumb and I couldn’t do anything. That is when I became distant in english class. I stopped raising my hand because if I said anything I would feel like everyone would just think I am stupid.

The environment that an english class can present often can alienate children that struggle with learning disabilities.

Intro:

For this essay, I was studying the impact of culture on the definition of literacy. In particular, I was studying the Liberian culture on the definition of literacy. Liberia is heavily influenced by the United States and its definition of literacy. As a whole, first world countries have a great influence on third world countries view of literacy.

Essay:

This was the second time we’ve gotten my brother’s report card and his teachers were saying he wasn’t on his grade reading level. The feeling of knowing that my brother wasn’t on the top half of the class was something my father refused to believe. Being the fastest reader between all my siblings, my dad gave me the task of teaching my brother. I saw the potential in my brother as he continued to read, but the problem that I saw was that my brother had no motivation. He would start off really strong, but then he would always just stop and say, “I don’t feel like it anymore”. That attitude is what a lot of Black boys face and it was something I could never understand. I have always had that drive to keep pushing forward. My father always told us the story of his struggle growing up in the liberian civil war. The drive was something my dad described as something people have to just keep going. Sometimes we want to just in one place and give up and life just happen, but when someone has the drive, they refuse to sit down, maybe they stand for a little bit, but they never fully give. Knowing thing and having someone just give upon himself, was something I could never relate to.

Culture has always been in direct correlation with the general ideas of literacy. Throughout the world,I believe that there is a shared understanding how literacy is important. However, in different places throughout the world, the definition and application of literacy is very different. Cultures have different beliefs that influence the way literacy is interpreted and how it influences the way of life for people. Specifically, coming from Liberia, my parents never had an opportunity to have a great education, which is why their definition of literacy is to excel above others in all aspects of school. Liberia was founded by America, so many of the definitions Liberians have is heavily influenced, or basically copied, from the American system. As a result, school is a place where literacy is the thing that defines how you will live the rest of your life. While these values are of American value, Liberia is not in the same economic standpoint of America. Upon those facts, Liberian culture has a tremendous impact of the definition of literacy and literacy is defined as education everyone must obtain in order to be happy.

When I was younger, my Father was very pressed on all of children being advanced readers. My Dad would have a set time, usually in the evening that we would have turn off the tv and all other games we had, which was little to none anyways, and he would sit us around the dining table. We would all choose books and my dad would tell us we would for read for a set amount of time, the minimum time would be 30 minutes. After reading, we would be responsible for writing a summary of what we read and my dad would check over it and then we would read our summary back to him. The process was always something that I dreaded so I would always rush to read as much as I could and write quickly so I could go back to watching tv. This was a habit that developed of the years and as I got younger, I started to rethink of why my dad was so eager to have all his kids be at a certain level. When I would ask, my dad always described his struggles as a child in the civil war and he would tell stories of how America was always the goal for the Liberian people. It is the place where happiness and wealth come intertwined with one.

The type of images and messages sent to other countries who value America as a role model for literacy makes up very high standards set by people. This is due to the fact that America has had a reputation of being the country to hold the freedom and that freedom is built off of literacy, which is just defined as education. Literacy had a huge impact on the way people see life. Specifically, literacy in the Liberian culture is to embrace the american culture. In How to Tame a Wild Tongue, the author states “ if you want to be American, speak “American”. Liberia specifically takes this statement at the heart of its definition of literacy. The bigger idea is that third world countries have always looked up to first world country fro influences on definitions of literacy. This is due to the fact that first world leaders have used their definitions on literacy in order to advance their country and third world countries want to be able to give their civilians those same opportunities.

Scene 1

The thing with life is that it’s only lived once, and I mean what I mean is for sure it only happens once and I’m talking about life. I was blessed enough to experience the feelings of singing and the tours that I’ve been accepted to go too.  Then the wrong feelings of people were brought in the line and the lane. I brought back the feeling  back from the memories I shared with others in Japan, and I’m pretty sure you’d do the same. I went from back to back cycles with the mind in my head going from different mindset to mindset.

Scene 2

The trip I had was amazing with the Japan tour. It had teached me that not everyone is the same because if that was true then everyone would’ve gone on that tour, and everyone in the choir would’ve been happy. I was blessed to be go on this tour because I was up against about three hundred other guys to be picked on this tour and they chose me. I was very happy with the turnout of my conductor decision. I’m not saying that because he chose well actually yes I am because  of the decisions have been made in my life and the mindset I’m in now is because of Mr.Fisher. He impacted my life so much by just being there and not being a square basically just being  a lame, but back to the story.

This story means don’t judge by the cover or give someone a chance.

I was just in the airport going through security and saw many pretty girls in the lines to get to the airport. I think they call it the terminal and so after we got all the way through. I finally went to go get something to eat in the food court and I got japanese food and it was really good chicken. The rest of the group was doing their own thing in the terminal because we were set into pairs of two and the rest of the choir was sitting down because they didn’t want to spend there money. I suppose they would rather eat Airplane food rather than real food but that’s none of my business. Finally they called our plane number on the microphone and we approached towards the plane, and someone had forgotten there snapple so the plane waited for us while one of the members Tunde Sogo ran and grabbed his raspberry Tea Snapple and got on the plane. Then as we were packing our items on the plane one of our managers had started singing On the road again and we all started to sing along even some of the older people on the flight were singing with us. It was so heavenly to hear older/elderly people sing to our songs because that means we’re history in the making or the other way around.

On the plane ride I had sat next to a good friend of mine name Adam and we liked the same music so basically for the whole plane ride we listened to Kendrick Lamar and watched the Heat back to back.  We ended up having the seats towards the window so we just chilling there, so I don’t recall if I had used the bathroom, actually I did because I remember eating five of the airport dinners then taking a huge shit in the bathroom and someone had used it right before me.

Once we got off the plane ride we had gotten on a terminal bus straight off the airport. We were driving on land and I remember some of the people were looking at our windbreakers and kept asking questions about what KSB stood for and we’d tell them and we sung for them when we were driving in the bus. I wasn’t concerned about the singing part. I was mostly worried for how some of the people would’ve responded because all of our voices were a little horse and people actually ended up applauding us for our time and our voices. One man said he couldn’t believe seven boys could combine and a voice of an angel. The reason he said that because when we’re united our voices link and we end up being the sound that everyone gets so interested in. Finally we were leaving the airport and I guess you could say we were at the entrance of the airport waiting for the cars to come, and we’re in Hiroshima (One of the best cities in Japan in my opinion). Finally the cars came and they were on time and all of us were pretty hungry but our managers told us boys that we had to go check in our hotel rooms and then we’d go get something to eat. So I ended up driving with one of the managers Mrs.Martha and she’s so cool and chill. Finally we had gotten the hotel and when we got out the cars people were already unpacking the cars and putting the luggage onto the carts that they have in hotels, but I can’t recall if they’re actually named anything. Once all that was finished we got on the elevator and took it up to our floor while our managers were finishing up the rest of the check in. In Japan they give you the room key but they have a system where they can turn in

I could see her lips moving and her jaw going up and down but the words the sentences that she was speaking made no connection in my brain. When I think back to that day I think maybe it was her thick accent that I could never understand or her horrid pronunciation.  Even today I can never clearly understood what she was saying, but I will always remember her walking me into my first class walking in and seeing the kids sitting in there chairs quite focused and the teacher was sitting taken in her own world just as the students.

They all were reading their own books because they had a choice reading. Which I later learned found out and it  was  not just something Americans did in school. I remember the girl sitting next to me asked me for my name and I couldn't understand her it seemed like she was also speaking in language I did not know, I felt lost and out of place. Then she said to me would you like to borrow a book I feel like I said yes to her because after that I remember opening this book and feeling this spark of joy because there was finally something I could see and read that I could partially understand. It was weird to see how short the American's alphabet was so short I thought, but at least I am familiar with some of these words they are not all just symbols like the Greece's with their alphabet 2 letters then the rest seems like the jacked the periodic table of elements.

The way that this two people spoke were different so it came easier to understand  the girl because she has a less thick accent is the best way to describe it because the older women had a thicker accent and the region was hard to tell. It might also had to do with that she talked in a more proper way and some of the words that she was saying I could not understand that well.  The girl was saying words that I could understand because she was a first grader the boy next to me though who was the same age as me talked the same girl but when we got outside and he meet his friend the way that he was talking to to him was so different he switched his tone his way of speaking the properness.

I never put so much thought in the way that people spoke but the way that he spoke to me and then introduced himself to his “bro” was interesting because it made me curious to see if all people switched the way they talked to one another. That day I went home  with this thought in my mind do all people switcht the way they talk with one another or is it just people that have some kind close relationship. On the train ride home I saw a man interacting with one of his “boys” as he called him and when his other acquaintance came walking by he did not otter some type of saying like he did with the first two kids. That same day I went to introduce myself to the neighbours with my parents and the way that they were speaking bad but  not to the point where you could not talk they were speaking so proper on both sides and so generic it seemed like the entire time I was in a play scene waiting for it to be over but it kept going every one with these scripted words not real voice then when I went home I heard them speak normal.

This made me think of a quote from the story that we read How to Tame A Wild  Tongue

“I remember being caught speaking Spanish at recess - that was a good for three licks on the knuckles with a sharp ruler. I remember being sent to the corner of the classroom for “talking back” to the Anglo teacher when all I was trying to do was tell her how to pronounce my name. If you want to be American, speak ‘American.’ If you don’t like it, go back to Mexico where you belong.” This quote was powerful to me because it made me think that this girl was me at one point I was at the end of that stick I could not read or write or even speak English does that mean I should go back a go to where I was from. When I write I write with imperfections and and my type of writing is how I speak it's my voice taking form in words on my paper, does this mean that I should be kicked out and judged because of the type of english I speak . If so then who else needs to what is perfect english in speaking and writing what is the standard who should we follow.

Intro:

This paper is about the way that musicians, rap artists especially, use their words to influence their fans. I think this is important because everyone loves art and it is extremely important for people to share their thoughts and art. The way that rappers use literacy and change it up to tell stories is amazing and I find it very important just because they are able to inspire and influence their fans with their music.

Essay:

I once told my English teacher to “Shut the fuck up”. I do not know if you have ever been pushed to the point that you had to do things that were out of line but I have. At the time I was some depressed little kid whose new days were just a copy of the previous one. I wanted and needed something to happen so I looked for the opportunity and when a career discussion came up I thought that I would be able to shock the rest of the class with my goals. “I want to be a fashion designer” I said. I then talked about my role model Kanye West and how he has inspired me to be different. They laughed and the teacher told me that Kanye West was such a ridiculous man and I should never try to shoot to be something that I can’t do. I think he was just trying to “be real” but I found it being one of the most disrespectful things someone has ever said to me. So, in a calm but apoplectic voice I said “Shut the fuck up. You’re a teacher…a teacher that is putting his stress and hate on his students. I don’t appreciate what you said and if you really think that then I guess I will grow up to be such a ridiculous man as well but at least I’ll be more paid than you are.” I was told to leave the class immediately.

Everyone is influenced by certain artists who are considered their icons. They use literacy in such a way that creates pieces or songs that are just perfect to certain listeners, viewers or readers. Literacy is universal. Every culture has their type of literacy that shapes and defines who they are. It is in our arts, it is in our schools, we speak using words, our world runs on math, science, and literacy. In music, literacy is expressed in multiple different ways. Also, artists all around the world have different fan bases who are influenced through the music that the specific artist creates. For example, rock or metal fans would speak and act a different way than hip hop/rap fans speak or act. They could also influence fans to do things that are out of their comfort zone and or raise their confidence.

Kanye West is my biggest influence by far and because of him, I can say that I talk, act, and dress differently from other people. West, 38, once said before that his “music isn’t just music — it’s medicine.” Like other fans of artists, I find things like this true. When you are influenced by someone as much as some fans are by their favorite artists, they vouch for what they say. They also take the information and change themselves because of it. For example, if a rapper states that they go to a restaurant every Friday, many of his fans might be influenced to visit that restaurant just because they believe that is what is the “cool” thing to do. As a person who is heavily influenced by West, I would not say that he influences me because he is famous and I want to follow him in order to be cool like he is.... I would say that instead of following him, I am learning from him. The masses do not truly understand the difference between following and learning and that is why some fans who are influenced by artists who do bad things are most likely to do bad things as well and that could be a problem.

Not only do artists influence the way people act but they also could influence the way they talk or the way they dress. Rappers specifically, use different types of slang words depending on where they are from or what they represent. For example, over the years rappers have used words like “jawn” to “trill” to “bud” as slang words to replace actual words for the sake of rhyming, for fun, or to replace the names of drugs. The way certain musicians speak has such a big influence on fans and a lot of times, fans do not even notice that the way they speak has changed. One big influence is A$AP Rocky. Rocky is a younger artist who has grasped the youth and influenced the way we speak and dess. He has brought words like “trill” and “jodye” to the world of slang and although he impacted the New York youth scene the most, kids from all over the world have been heard saying words that he has brought into the game.

It is believed that what artists (rap artists) wear has the most influence on the fans. Fashion is such an important subject in society and almost everyone does not realize how influenced they could be when it comes to fashion and style. Since the beginning of rap, fashion, streetwear especially, has been talked about and has influenced popular culture even to this day. From Notorious B.I.G. and his Coogi sweaters, to A$AP Rocky and his Raf Simons and Maison Margiela, to Kanye West in Haider Ackermann and other high fashion clothing, rappers have dominated pop culture influence when it comes to fashion for the masses. Kanye West is a perfect example...because of him people from all over the world have taken more notice to high fashion brands like Givenchy, Marcelo Burlon, and Haider Ackermann. We also cannot forget that every sneaker that has been designed by Kanye West has sold out in less than two hours upon release. Not everyone listens to hip-hop but everyone does wear clothes and when people see rappers wearing the clothes that they are, they have to have it because this person might be their idol or they love the piece. When people see each other wearing certain pieces, the influence spreads and artists themselves become trendsetters. I believe that fashion has the biggest influence on fans (besides the music) just because it has been relevant since the beginning of the idea of popular culture. Rap artists are not the only ones that have influenced their fans either. Musicians in every genre have set trends for their fans over and over again and that is why music and fashion go so perfectly together.

Music being the influential tool that it is, has been around for decades and decades. But not only has the music inspired people but the artists themselves have inspired and changed the listeners every since popular culture has become a more relevant subject in society. Artists have influenced people’s speech, attitude, and fashion sense and it can be said that this will happen for as long as people are able to express and share their art.

Intro:

In this essay I wanted to focus on writing scenes of memory. In the previous essay I didn’t work as hard as I could have on the scene I chose to include and did not develop it very much. I also decided to focus on the development of my thesis and my ideas. I am proud of the growth of my scene of memory. I think I did a better job of writing it than the memory in my previous essay. I am also proud of the topic I chose and how I was able to tie it back to literacy and identity. As we continue to write essays I want to do a better job of making my scenes of memory more engaging. I want to be able to express my ideas more concisely and also be able to include a greater variety of ideas.

Essay:

I stare steadily at the open composition book lying on my dining room table. The pencil I hold trembles slightly as I tentatively move the tip towards the empty paper waiting below me. Slowly and carefully I start copying the words my abuela has written on a separate piece of paper. La gata come su pollo. I copy the sentence over and over again until I’m sure my abuela will be satisfied. When I’m finished I look down at my handiwork and smile triumphantly. The words I just finished copying are legible, though aesthetically mediocre. My handwriting has improved drastically since I began practicing at the beginning of summer vacation. It isn’t something I chose to do. My mother insisted that I learn to write neatly. In previous school years teachers often complained of my almost illegible handwriting and my mother decided it was time for a change. My mother not only decided that I would be taking daily handwriting lessons but also decided that my abuela would be my teacher. I had not been excited and I still am not excited to have to spend hours copying meaningless sentence after sentence. For what has to be at least the hundredth time this month I wonder why handwriting seems so important to every adult I have ever met. Why do I have to have perfect my handwriting? Is handwriting still relevant in an age where we can type everything we want to write on phones, computers, and other electronic devices?

“Handwriting, e.g., using the hand to form letters on a page, is essential in the writing process and can predict the amount and quality of children‘s written ideas.” There are multiple reasons handwriting is important. One of these reasons, as quoted above, is the fact that handwriting influences the writing process and improves quality of written ideas. Handwriting influences composition, explained in the following quote: “Handwriting, and in particular the automaticity of letter production, appears to facilitate higher-order composing processes by freeing up working memory to deal with the complex tasks of planning, organising, revising and regulating the production of text. Research suggests that automatic letter writing is the single best predictor of length and quality of written composition in the primary years... in secondary school and even in the post-compulsory education years.”  Handwriting abilities are also pretty accurate reflectors of success in school, grades, and test performance: “Not only were students with better penmanship in pre-k found to have higher scores in both reading and math later on, but they also had higher grades in general and higher scores on standardized tests. Students with strong handwriting marks in pre-k were found to have an overall “B” average in second grade compared to an overall “C” average for the students that did poorly on writing tasks in pre-K.” Handwriting not only affects writing but also reading skills: “Dr. Dinehart did point out in her report that studies have found that children who physically write letters recognize them more readily than students who type them on the keyboard, possibly meaning that handwriting instruction leads to better reading skills.” All these studies and research on handwriting prove that it is a fundamental aspect of literacy because it influences writing, reading, and school success. Even with all these apparent benefits schools have stopped teaching children to write neatly, the focus is never on handwriting. Handwriting is essential to our development as writers and yet we are never encouraged nor taught to write properly and as perfectly as possible. In the past, students were graded on handwriting and taught to write neatly and legibly. Whenever adults talk about their experiences in school they almost always talk about how when they were in school they had to write neatly and they were taught how to write neatly.They complain about how that has changed and how awful their child or children’s handwriting is. After researching handwriting I have come to agree with them. Handwriting is an important part of developing literacy but it is also more than that. It is an opportunity for each one of us to express our own individual personality and interpretation of literacy.

In recent years we have been moving away from paper and pencil literacy and have been focusing on technological literacy. Although being able to type instead of always writing by hand is wonderful it is important to not dismiss the importance of handwriting. It is essential that we are be literate with technology but other types of literacy are just as important. There is no one type of literacy that can take precedence over the others and it is vital to keep all literacies balanced because different types of literacy depend on each other. To be well rounded and to truly understand the world we need to be literate in every way possible. We shouldn’t dismiss handwriting and certain other types of literacy just because we are now more technologically advanced. To do so would be to ignore a fundamental part of the development of our individual literacy and understanding of the soul, spirit, mind, body, and universe. To maintain our own individuality and uniqueness in relation to literacy we must know how to express ourselves through our handwriting. To be able to understand the ideas of the many people who use technology and social media to express themselves we must be technologically literate. To understand the music and messages spread through music we must be musically literate. None of these types of literacies outweigh each other; they all add up into a unique and complete understanding and comprehension of the world.

Sources:

Clark, Gloria Jean. "The Relationship between Handwriting, Reading, Fine Motor and Visual-motor Skills in Kindergarteners."Http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/. Iowa State University, 2010. Web. 23 Nov. 2015. <http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2432&context=etd>

Medwell, Jane, and David Wray. "Handwriting: What Do We Know and What Do We Need to Know?" Literacy 41.1 (2007): 10-15. Apr. 2007. Web. 23 Nov. 2015. <http://www.drawingchildrenintoreading.com/assets/handwriting-article-medwell_jane.pdf>.

Stevens, Angie. "Is Handwriting an Important Part of Language and Literacy Instruction?" - Reading Horizons. Reading Horizons, 2 Feb. 2012. Web. 23 Nov. 2015. <http://www.readinghorizons.com/blog/post/2012/02/07/is-handwriting-an-important-part-of-language-and-literacy-instruction.aspx>.