Thursday, September 29, 2016
Practice Write 9/29/16
I enjoyed reading Anzaldua reading because I could her voice in it and it was easy to follow. It was long but it flowed really well. I enjoyed learning about Chicano Spanish because I didn't know before that there were different kinds of Spanish like Tex-Mex and standard Spanish. I found her interesting because she talked about borders and identity. The other reading was more difficult to read and follow along with because of the slang/ dialect he was using and going back and forth to his beliefs and Fish's beliefs. I felt it was easier to annotate Anzaldua's
annotation Blog #9: Anzaldua
1) Summary/ Main Ideas
Gloria Anzaldua talks about her identity to Chicanos. It says in the beginning that she is "concerned with many kinds of border- between nations, cultures, class, genders, languages." Which led her to become a speaker and writer about "feminist, lesbian, and Chicana issues and about autobiography." Gloria talks about when she was little she was punished for speaking Spanish at recess and says, "Wild tongues can't be tamed, they can only be cut out." She also expresses a concern on how their are only derogatory words toward women and not men, saying we are "robbed" of our femaninity . This article also mentions code meshing when she describes what patois is (variation of two languages). Like other readings we have read Gloria mentions many different languages she speaks including: standard English, working class and slang English, standard Spanish, standard Mexican Spanish, north Mexican Spanish dialect, Chicano Spanish, Tex-Mex, and Pachuco. She speaks all these languages in certain places such as: home, school and with friends. She tells us that she switches back and forth between English and Spanish in the same sentence or in the same word (code meshing). Then she goes into the history of Chicano Spanish and how some words are in fact borrowed from English. As a result this puts pressure onto Spanish speakers to adapt to English. Chicano Spanish is affiliated with "for Spanish" according to Gloria and that they use their language differences against each other. She says that she speaks English as a neutral language during some events. She explains that "Chicano Spanish is as diverse linguistically as it is regionally" so it doesn't matter where you came from when you speak Chicano Spanish. Chicano text was forbidden o teach in schools, and when she was a high School English teacher to Chicano students she tried to substitute some English text for Chicano literature. Gloria writes that to her foods and certain smells are tied to her identity and to her homeland. In the end she is around of her language because she writes, " When other races have given up their tongue, we've kept ours.
2) Quotes & Reactions/ Responses
-" If you want to be America, speak 'America', If you don't like it, go back to Mexico where you belong".
I feel like right now people are still saying this. I see video of people yelling and others for not knowing English perfectly and one example of this type of racism is Donald Trump.
-" Ethnic identity is twin skin to linguistic identify- I am my language."
I have always thought that language is part of everyones identity thats why when I lost my Chinese and still can't speak it, I also lost part of my identity.
-" Your speaking the oppressor's language by speaking English, you're ruining the Spanish language."
I was shocked to read this but it makes sense. People who speak Spanish are taught English when they are in the U.S and some of them think Americans/whites are the oppressors.
3) Questions for Discussion
- What does it mean when she wrote" I will have my serpent's tongue- my woman's voice, my sexual voice, my poet's voice." ?Does that mean those are considered evil languages or is it referring to an actual serpents tongue and how its split into two?
- When she said " I had to 'argue' with one advisor after the other.." Why does she use quotation marks around argue? Does that mean that her argument was invalid and was unheard?
Gloria Anzaldua talks about her identity to Chicanos. It says in the beginning that she is "concerned with many kinds of border- between nations, cultures, class, genders, languages." Which led her to become a speaker and writer about "feminist, lesbian, and Chicana issues and about autobiography." Gloria talks about when she was little she was punished for speaking Spanish at recess and says, "Wild tongues can't be tamed, they can only be cut out." She also expresses a concern on how their are only derogatory words toward women and not men, saying we are "robbed" of our femaninity . This article also mentions code meshing when she describes what patois is (variation of two languages). Like other readings we have read Gloria mentions many different languages she speaks including: standard English, working class and slang English, standard Spanish, standard Mexican Spanish, north Mexican Spanish dialect, Chicano Spanish, Tex-Mex, and Pachuco. She speaks all these languages in certain places such as: home, school and with friends. She tells us that she switches back and forth between English and Spanish in the same sentence or in the same word (code meshing). Then she goes into the history of Chicano Spanish and how some words are in fact borrowed from English. As a result this puts pressure onto Spanish speakers to adapt to English. Chicano Spanish is affiliated with "for Spanish" according to Gloria and that they use their language differences against each other. She says that she speaks English as a neutral language during some events. She explains that "Chicano Spanish is as diverse linguistically as it is regionally" so it doesn't matter where you came from when you speak Chicano Spanish. Chicano text was forbidden o teach in schools, and when she was a high School English teacher to Chicano students she tried to substitute some English text for Chicano literature. Gloria writes that to her foods and certain smells are tied to her identity and to her homeland. In the end she is around of her language because she writes, " When other races have given up their tongue, we've kept ours.
2) Quotes & Reactions/ Responses
-" If you want to be America, speak 'America', If you don't like it, go back to Mexico where you belong".
I feel like right now people are still saying this. I see video of people yelling and others for not knowing English perfectly and one example of this type of racism is Donald Trump.
-" Ethnic identity is twin skin to linguistic identify- I am my language."
I have always thought that language is part of everyones identity thats why when I lost my Chinese and still can't speak it, I also lost part of my identity.
-" Your speaking the oppressor's language by speaking English, you're ruining the Spanish language."
I was shocked to read this but it makes sense. People who speak Spanish are taught English when they are in the U.S and some of them think Americans/whites are the oppressors.
3) Questions for Discussion
- What does it mean when she wrote" I will have my serpent's tongue- my woman's voice, my sexual voice, my poet's voice." ?Does that mean those are considered evil languages or is it referring to an actual serpents tongue and how its split into two?
- When she said " I had to 'argue' with one advisor after the other.." Why does she use quotation marks around argue? Does that mean that her argument was invalid and was unheard?
Annotation Blog #8: Young
1) Summary, Main Ideas
This reading references to a cultural critic named Stanley Fish. He contracts his beliefs with Stanley. He mentions that language differences and racial differences are intertwined, giving an example how there is racism in the work place if you don't talk or write the same. He emphasizes on how attitudes maw you vulnerable to prejudice instead of their language, dialect, or style. Oppression was a main point in this article as well. The author defines Standard language ideology and dominant language ideology. Standard language ideology is "the belief that there is one set of dominant language rules that stem from a single dominant discourse". An example would be Standard English. Dominant language is when you are free to say things how you want but only at home. He talks about dialects and how everyone has a right to their dialect and everyone should learn others dialects. He believes that we should teach language "descriptively", meaning that "we should teach what it take to understand, listen, and write in multiple dialects simultaneously. In this article he also defines two new terms: code switching- blessing two or more dialects, languages, or rhetorical forms into one sentence. Code meshing - the new code switching, its blending of dialects, international languages, local idioms, etc. in both formal and informal speech acts. He writes that code meshing is everywhere and benefits everybody. Young's goals is to help reduce pre justice.
2) Quotes & Reactions/ Responses
- " Besides encouraging teachers to be snide and patronizing"
I was surprised he used such strong adjectives such as "snide" and "patronizing" to describe teachers.
- " Dominant lanuage ideology also say peeps can speak whatever the heck they want to- BUT AT HOME!"
I feel like this isn't a fair to conceal people's language to just at home. It's shocking theres a definition that tells you specifically to keep it at home and not in public or school.
-" Fish saying he the only one who could judge what good writing is-not his colleagues."
I feel like this should be true but we are all judged by people around us and want to impress them.
3) Questions for Discussion
- I didn't understand when he said, "So when we teach the rhetorical devices of blacks we can add to the writing proficiency of whites and everybody else." Does that mean we push white language onto blacks so they write like whites?
- Why does he compare with Fish so much? Throughout ht reading he uses quotes from Fish but also disagrees with him about many briefs about language.
This reading references to a cultural critic named Stanley Fish. He contracts his beliefs with Stanley. He mentions that language differences and racial differences are intertwined, giving an example how there is racism in the work place if you don't talk or write the same. He emphasizes on how attitudes maw you vulnerable to prejudice instead of their language, dialect, or style. Oppression was a main point in this article as well. The author defines Standard language ideology and dominant language ideology. Standard language ideology is "the belief that there is one set of dominant language rules that stem from a single dominant discourse". An example would be Standard English. Dominant language is when you are free to say things how you want but only at home. He talks about dialects and how everyone has a right to their dialect and everyone should learn others dialects. He believes that we should teach language "descriptively", meaning that "we should teach what it take to understand, listen, and write in multiple dialects simultaneously. In this article he also defines two new terms: code switching- blessing two or more dialects, languages, or rhetorical forms into one sentence. Code meshing - the new code switching, its blending of dialects, international languages, local idioms, etc. in both formal and informal speech acts. He writes that code meshing is everywhere and benefits everybody. Young's goals is to help reduce pre justice.
2) Quotes & Reactions/ Responses
- " Besides encouraging teachers to be snide and patronizing"
I was surprised he used such strong adjectives such as "snide" and "patronizing" to describe teachers.
- " Dominant lanuage ideology also say peeps can speak whatever the heck they want to- BUT AT HOME!"
I feel like this isn't a fair to conceal people's language to just at home. It's shocking theres a definition that tells you specifically to keep it at home and not in public or school.
-" Fish saying he the only one who could judge what good writing is-not his colleagues."
I feel like this should be true but we are all judged by people around us and want to impress them.
3) Questions for Discussion
- I didn't understand when he said, "So when we teach the rhetorical devices of blacks we can add to the writing proficiency of whites and everybody else." Does that mean we push white language onto blacks so they write like whites?
- Why does he compare with Fish so much? Throughout ht reading he uses quotes from Fish but also disagrees with him about many briefs about language.
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
Practice Write 9/27/16
What other ways can we describe our close reading/ language analysis to someone. Who would an appropriate audience be? How would they help motivate your purpose?
Another way we can describe our close reading/ language analysis is to write a letter to someone else. An appropriate audience would be a family member or friend. They will help motivate your purpose because it is someone you are close with and can get to agree with you. I think a letter would be effective because it would be a personal and informal way of writing.
Another way we can describe our close reading/ language analysis is to write a letter to someone else. An appropriate audience would be a family member or friend. They will help motivate your purpose because it is someone you are close with and can get to agree with you. I think a letter would be effective because it would be a personal and informal way of writing.
Thursday, September 22, 2016
Practice Write 9/22/16
1) Before today I had never heard "rhetorical analysis". None of my previous teachers defined "rhetorical analysis". I somewhat understand it rhetorical analysis more from reading the article but the article was really long and full of information. The reading defines it as an essay that is meant to sway a particular audience, which sounds fimiliar like an persuasive essay I used to write in high school.
2) Out of the sample analysis I connect with the "Cultural Baggage" the most. I related to this sample the most because I feel like my ethnic background is "none". She talks about her struggles of finding how she fits into her ethnicity and how she lacks identity because of it. I can relate to this because my background is Chinese but I have been brought up in all the American ways so this makes it hard for me to find my identity to culture.
2) Out of the sample analysis I connect with the "Cultural Baggage" the most. I related to this sample the most because I feel like my ethnic background is "none". She talks about her struggles of finding how she fits into her ethnicity and how she lacks identity because of it. I can relate to this because my background is Chinese but I have been brought up in all the American ways so this makes it hard for me to find my identity to culture.
Annotation Blog #7: Difficulty Papers
1) Summary/ Main Ideas
This reading explains that a difficulty assignment asks you to look at moments in the text that seemed complex and begin through them to get a better idea of their purpose/ meaning. The reading explains it as: "Difficulty papers are essays that ask students to locate, describe, hypothesize, and reflect on moment s of difficulty through writing."These assignments allow you to learn what things are difficult for you ad to begin helping you figure them out and practice supporting the conclusions you come up with evidence form the text. There are 4 steps after reading the text to identify your difficulties:
1. name a place that was difficult for you- helps you pick something small or specific in the text
2. In your writing, begin to work through this place- start small and work outward
3.re-read hat you have written and go back to the text one more time
4. Now begin spiraling outward- explained outward to the rest of the surrounding scenes, rest of the narrative or argument, to the piece as a whole
Difficulty assignment sound be informal. The writer notes that, "the purpose of this writing is to less argument or answer driven and a bit more exploratory or thinking- oriented." Writing through the process should help generate ideas and have these ideas stick throughout your writing. The goal of using difficulty as a focus for writing, thinking, and exploration according to the article is to develop and make critical thinking skills stronger and to to develop strategies for figuring things out on your own. By focusing on our difficulties , it becomes a way for readers to work with texts in a new way. When we look at places where we had trouble, we can engage these complexities instead of asking someone for the answer.
2) Quotes & Reactions/ Responses
- "Your writing would take the form of an informal essay"
I was excited when reading this because those are my favorite kinds of essays. When I type formal essays I sound like I'm trying too hard to sound smart.
-"Teachers "solve" difficulty "for" students"
I think this could be correct in the sense that they correct all our homework and grade us based on whether we are right or wrong. We sometimes don't have a chance to go back and see where we make errors.
-"Students do not have difficult, particularly gifted students/ readers those who consistently perform well"
I also disagree with this statement because no one is perfect and everyone struggles with something even if they are "gifted".
3) Questions for Discussion
- Is difficulty papers after a essay to reflect on what what has hard about it?
-I have never heard of this style of writing, is it effective?
This reading explains that a difficulty assignment asks you to look at moments in the text that seemed complex and begin through them to get a better idea of their purpose/ meaning. The reading explains it as: "Difficulty papers are essays that ask students to locate, describe, hypothesize, and reflect on moment s of difficulty through writing."These assignments allow you to learn what things are difficult for you ad to begin helping you figure them out and practice supporting the conclusions you come up with evidence form the text. There are 4 steps after reading the text to identify your difficulties:
1. name a place that was difficult for you- helps you pick something small or specific in the text
2. In your writing, begin to work through this place- start small and work outward
3.re-read hat you have written and go back to the text one more time
4. Now begin spiraling outward- explained outward to the rest of the surrounding scenes, rest of the narrative or argument, to the piece as a whole
Difficulty assignment sound be informal. The writer notes that, "the purpose of this writing is to less argument or answer driven and a bit more exploratory or thinking- oriented." Writing through the process should help generate ideas and have these ideas stick throughout your writing. The goal of using difficulty as a focus for writing, thinking, and exploration according to the article is to develop and make critical thinking skills stronger and to to develop strategies for figuring things out on your own. By focusing on our difficulties , it becomes a way for readers to work with texts in a new way. When we look at places where we had trouble, we can engage these complexities instead of asking someone for the answer.
2) Quotes & Reactions/ Responses
- "Your writing would take the form of an informal essay"
I was excited when reading this because those are my favorite kinds of essays. When I type formal essays I sound like I'm trying too hard to sound smart.
-"Teachers "solve" difficulty "for" students"
I think this could be correct in the sense that they correct all our homework and grade us based on whether we are right or wrong. We sometimes don't have a chance to go back and see where we make errors.
-"Students do not have difficult, particularly gifted students/ readers those who consistently perform well"
I also disagree with this statement because no one is perfect and everyone struggles with something even if they are "gifted".
3) Questions for Discussion
- Is difficulty papers after a essay to reflect on what what has hard about it?
-I have never heard of this style of writing, is it effective?
Annotation blog #6: From Inquiry
1) Summary/ Main Ideas
- " Several Hundred schools across the United Sates currently use Hirsch's model."
I was really shocked when reading this because I didn't know he wrote a curriculum based off his ideas and ideology.
-"We'd eaten ethnic foods in my childhood home, but these were all borrowed"
I feel like I never really thought about it this way and I can relate to this quote since theres not much culture in my family. When my family eats Mexican or Italian food it isn't the same like if we had the culture at home and it was homemade with a secret recipe.
-" A a child, I briefly nourished a craving for tradition and roots."
I think this has to do with a missing part of identity. I can relate to this quote because I don't feel like I any strong roots to my culture.
3) Questions for Discussion
- In the agency essay what did she mean by " that "hail" subjects who enter them"?? hail meaning like bow down to?
- In the Cultural Baggage essay what does the passage: " In fact, this ma have been the ideal cultural heritage for my particular ethic strain." ethnic strain??
- Analyzing a Text Rhetorically
- rhetorical analysis- claims meant to sway a specific audience
- includes: situation, purpose, claims, and audience
- Preface to Cultural Literacy
- culturally literate- to have the basic information needed to thrive in the modern world
- it is not restricted to social class or "culture"
- "children from poor illiterate homes tend to remain poor and illiterate" due to schools teaching fragmented curriculum based on educational theories
- cultural literacy has been attacked by liberals
- theories have dominated American education such as: Jean Jacques Rousseau who believed that we as adults should not impose adult ideas on your children before they can truly understand them. He believed children's knowledge and social skills will develop naturally without education. Hirsch explains how this theory is wrong because Rousseau had too much faith in children's ability to learn general skills from experiences.
- corrective theory is based on anthropological observation -all human communities are founded by shared information. Each country differs from one another (different cultural knowledge ).
- basic goal of education: acculturation-teaching children specific information shared by the adults of groups.
- Plato's theory- it is natural for children to learn an adult culture.
- Steps to Rhetorical analysis
- identify the situation
- situation- what moves the writer to write
- identify the writer's claims
- claims- assertions that authors must justify and support with evidence and good reasoning
- thesis/ main claim- controlling idea that makes the writer's main point clear
- minor claim- an assertion that requires support
- identify the writer's audience
- audience- the reader/readers whose opinions and actions the writer hopes to influence of change
- genre- type of writing ex: formal argument
- creating curriculum= political act (subject to negotiation and discussion)
- Composing a Rhetorical Analysis
- identify the how writers man their arguments, then you can use their strategies in your writing
- Write a Rhetorical Analysis of a Pargragh
- Agency
- situation-
- purpose- learn more about agency to find out how people can control the stories they tell about themselves
- main claim/ thesis- there are different kinds of agencies: "ideologies, network of language, communities, performativity (identity), psychic disidentification, and the games of culture"
- audience- readers
- Write a Rhetorical Analysis of an Essay
- Cultural Baggage
- her race is Scottish, English, Irish. But she didn't feel like she connected to any other those races and had no roots. She says she didn't have a specific culture at home. When she married her Eastern European Jewish husband she wanted her kids to have culture and religion. Her kids thought she was crazy and told her she didn't believe in God and either did her parents or grandparents. She says it didn't "furnish me with an "identity", but it was at least something to work with". In the end she describes her race as "none".
- From Identifying Claims to Analyzing Arguments
- claim-a fact or belief that needs to be supported
- evidence- information that backs up a claim
- thesis- summarizes the writer's position on a situations
- it is helpful to identify the type of claim: claim of fact, claim of value, claim of policy
- Understand the Logos of the Ad
- "what the cluster images and text convey"
- Feeding America helps clarify the the images of children and the alarm bell. It reminds us that food insecurity is a problems for children in need everyday. Hunger is all around us even though we are sometimes blind to it
- "translating images and texts to argument requires inductive reasoning- moving from specific pieces of evidence to a major premise
- " Several Hundred schools across the United Sates currently use Hirsch's model."
I was really shocked when reading this because I didn't know he wrote a curriculum based off his ideas and ideology.
-"We'd eaten ethnic foods in my childhood home, but these were all borrowed"
I feel like I never really thought about it this way and I can relate to this quote since theres not much culture in my family. When my family eats Mexican or Italian food it isn't the same like if we had the culture at home and it was homemade with a secret recipe.
-" A a child, I briefly nourished a craving for tradition and roots."
I think this has to do with a missing part of identity. I can relate to this quote because I don't feel like I any strong roots to my culture.
3) Questions for Discussion
- In the agency essay what did she mean by " that "hail" subjects who enter them"?? hail meaning like bow down to?
- In the Cultural Baggage essay what does the passage: " In fact, this ma have been the ideal cultural heritage for my particular ethic strain." ethnic strain??
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
Unit 1 Refection
Academic writing is not a linear, 'cookie-cutter' worksheet-type process; it involves trial and error, taking risks, experimentation, and sometimes struggle, but ultimately discovery and growth. I recognize that academic reading and writing can be difficult!
In 2-3 paragraphs, using examples from your experience over the past 4 weeks, reflect on this definition of academic writing in your own process of Essay #1 and the class activities that led up to it. Be detailed and honest, as these reflections not only help you grow as readers and writers but help me design future courses (that yes, will involve processes of experimentation, struggle, and growth).
I enjoyed Unit 1 and writing my essay. I experimented and leisurely wrote my essay kinda informally with what I think is my "voice" in essays. When writing my essay, the prompt had me thinking about language way more than I usually think about Chinese and I enjoyed writing a bit about my past. When I was writing my second draft, that to me was my idea draft. I just put all my ideas into sentences and then later organized it. I feel like that works best for me if I have a lot to say about a certain prompt. I thought the peer editing was super helpful as well. When I was revising my final draft I looked back at my groups comments and it helped me clarify my essay. I have always been a fan of peer editing because when I am on a role writing my draft, I tend to leave out detail and forget my reader can''t read my mind.
I did however struggle with connecting to the authors. The blog annotations helped make sense of the readings but I didn't think I personally related to them. I was reading one of my group members essays and saw she used a lot of quotes. In the end I did find some things the authors wrote to put into my essay. During the peer revision I wasn't a fan when we had to just circle mistakes and really good sentences. It ended up making me confused when I looked back at my draft and saw a lot of circles without explanations or comments. I think its helpful when my editors on the side ask me questions or write "detail?" or "why, how, when?". I find those comments from peer editing helpful.
Thursday, September 15, 2016
Practice Write 9/15/16
Reflect on your past experiences with peer revision/review/response what did you do? Did you find it useful?
In my passed experiences I did peer review often. Usually I would swap my essay with someone else and start by reading theirs. Then I'd find their topic sentence/ thesis and underline it so that its clear they had one. After that I would ask questions and write down my responses in the margins. I would ask questions if I was unsure of what they were saying or to elaborate more on that topic.
I think Peer revision is useful because when I go home to edit it I can go see their markings and think about how to change my writing. I also like when they ask me to put more detail on something, because I sometimes have trouble thinking of stuff to write about in detail because I know all the details in my head.
In my passed experiences I did peer review often. Usually I would swap my essay with someone else and start by reading theirs. Then I'd find their topic sentence/ thesis and underline it so that its clear they had one. After that I would ask questions and write down my responses in the margins. I would ask questions if I was unsure of what they were saying or to elaborate more on that topic.
I think Peer revision is useful because when I go home to edit it I can go see their markings and think about how to change my writing. I also like when they ask me to put more detail on something, because I sometimes have trouble thinking of stuff to write about in detail because I know all the details in my head.
Monday, September 12, 2016
Book Club Blog #1: Predictions
Write brief, general response to the first 8-10 pages of the book, then come up with some creative predictions.
Also include how you plane to annotate your novel, to prepare for the annotation blogs.
I was really getting into the book after reading the first 10 pages. I like the way she writes and I can hear her voice narrating the story. I was fascinated about her fathers love story and secret child that he finally told her mom about before he died. I didn't really understand the whole "i flushed the turtle" thing but I think it was to emphasis her worry that she was going to be sent away. I predict that when Kwan comes into the story that her mom will have some time adjusting. I think Olivia will be intimidated by her at first but then get really close to her. I think Kwan will be super shy at first and after she hits it off with Olivia she will go into the "Yin eyes" and how she can see ghosts. I bet they have a ghost encounterment and will have a conflict with it.
To prepare for the annotation blogs I will first read the chapters, and then I think I will underline main points in every chapter and write questions or important quotes in the margins.
Also include how you plane to annotate your novel, to prepare for the annotation blogs.
I was really getting into the book after reading the first 10 pages. I like the way she writes and I can hear her voice narrating the story. I was fascinated about her fathers love story and secret child that he finally told her mom about before he died. I didn't really understand the whole "i flushed the turtle" thing but I think it was to emphasis her worry that she was going to be sent away. I predict that when Kwan comes into the story that her mom will have some time adjusting. I think Olivia will be intimidated by her at first but then get really close to her. I think Kwan will be super shy at first and after she hits it off with Olivia she will go into the "Yin eyes" and how she can see ghosts. I bet they have a ghost encounterment and will have a conflict with it.
To prepare for the annotation blogs I will first read the chapters, and then I think I will underline main points in every chapter and write questions or important quotes in the margins.
Thursday, September 8, 2016
Practice Write 9/8/16
How did you approach the Idea Draft for essay #1? What did you do? How do you feel about it moving forward?
When writing my Idea Draft I just typed in bullet points. I note down some of my ideas that I had for my essay from the top of my head. I looked at the guidelines of the essay/Idea draft and picked out some topics I could relate to. I think I have to read the articles and find examples that support my main idea and put more stories about my experiences. Once I include stories and find supporting examples I think I will feel better about moving forward.
When writing my Idea Draft I just typed in bullet points. I note down some of my ideas that I had for my essay from the top of my head. I looked at the guidelines of the essay/Idea draft and picked out some topics I could relate to. I think I have to read the articles and find examples that support my main idea and put more stories about my experiences. Once I include stories and find supporting examples I think I will feel better about moving forward.
Wednesday, September 7, 2016
Essay #1: Idea Draft
- Learning English and then relearning Chinese (struggle throughout high school)
- My mom used to say i was so fluent in Chinese (story when i yelled at 2 boys for playing with my dolls in Chinese)
- My whole family all speaks english, my mom took a beginners Chinese class before i was adopted
- Social media vs school language
- Social media: i use "same" "omg" "lol" "haha" and include a lot of emojis in my text
- School: I use proper sentence structure with punctuation and smart sounding words when i try to make sentences flow
- Theme: change and growth: Chinese was my first language, had to learn english when i was 4 (lost Chinese), and all through high school i took Chinese as my language and tried to re learn it
Tuesday, September 6, 2016
Practice Write 9/6/16
Did you personally relate to any of the readings? How?
I don't really personally relate to the readings, because most of the readings were on language and struggles at home with English. Since I am adopted my parents first language is English. If my parents first language was Chinese I think I could relate to Amy tang.
Did you enjoy any authors more than others? Why?
"I enjoyed Learning to read" Malcolm X and Amy Tan more than "From Silence to Words:Writing as a struggle" because I found them more interesting about language and they were easier to understand than Lu's. Amy Tan and Malcolm X's were straight forward and was easier to follow.
How did the video add to the conversation?
The video mentioned "broken english" just like Amy Tang's writing that relate to identity issues
Lu brings up discrimination due to language and the video touches on that also.
Video Notes:
"language is the foundation of society"
"how you talk shows where your from, accents"
"wrong language in different places"
"Began in the South , sometimes called African American English or black English "
"school has its own culture (raise their hands, speak differently)"
"when children are corrected all the time they tend to shut down and let down"
"ebonics-dilects?"
I don't really personally relate to the readings, because most of the readings were on language and struggles at home with English. Since I am adopted my parents first language is English. If my parents first language was Chinese I think I could relate to Amy tang.
Did you enjoy any authors more than others? Why?
"I enjoyed Learning to read" Malcolm X and Amy Tan more than "From Silence to Words:Writing as a struggle" because I found them more interesting about language and they were easier to understand than Lu's. Amy Tan and Malcolm X's were straight forward and was easier to follow.
How did the video add to the conversation?
The video mentioned "broken english" just like Amy Tang's writing that relate to identity issues
Lu brings up discrimination due to language and the video touches on that also.
Video Notes:
"language is the foundation of society"
"how you talk shows where your from, accents"
"wrong language in different places"
"Began in the South , sometimes called African American English or black English "
"school has its own culture (raise their hands, speak differently)"
"when children are corrected all the time they tend to shut down and let down"
"ebonics-dilects?"
Annotation blog# 5: From Silence to Words: Writing as Struggle
1) Summary/ Main Ideas
This writing starts off with the writer telling us her mom died and was in silence for two months before her death. She grew up in two conflicting worlds: home and society. She tells us that she is writing this paper to fill up silence with her words that she didn’t have when she was a student in China and teacher in the U.S. She speaks English,Shanghai dialect, and standard Chinese. She expresses how much English is important to her family just like education because her father’s fluent english created many more jobs for him. Her grandfather kept losing good paying jobs because he couldn’t speak english. These were both reasons why her bilingual skill made her successful. In high school however she experienced society differently. Her aunt was almost labeled as a Rightest for talking on the phone in english to her husband. This made Lu conceal her knowing of english from her new classmates and not use english outside of her house. She as well started to feel ashamed and self-conscious of the language she used at home. Now her daughter like her has adapted to speaking english and is even sensitive to the way her teachers speak english. Lu’s main point in her writing is that English or any language is a “survival tool” that will place you into different areas in life, but also help you.
2) Quotes & Reactions/Responses
-“ I had always know that i t was good to be a worker, but until then, I had never felt threatened for now being one.”
I felt like this is trying to say we are so pressured to work these days. Now, we have to work to survive it isn’t that it’s “good to work” anymore. For Lu and her family i think english got away of that.
-“ I reduced their metaphors to dictionary meanings: “red” meant “Revolution” and “red sun” meant “New China” in the “language” of the Working class. I learned mechanically but eagerly”.
I found this quote fascinating because she put her own meaning to words and made it related to something she knows about. I also was intrigued how she described her learning “mechanically”.
-“ the teacher ever explained exactly how we were supposed to “turn” into workers. Instead, we were given samples of the ritualistic annual plans we had to write at the beginning of each term. In these plans, we performed “self- criticism””.
This quote was interesting because she said “turn”. In real life we don’t really know how to “turn” into workers we just are learned to study and get educated and that will give us a job. She also includes “self- criticism” which i was confused about… like if the schooling system was strict there and that’s how they made kids get work by criticising themselves as a learning method.
3) Questions for Discussion
-When she was talking about speaking Shanghai dialect she mentioned only to the servants. Do you think her family valued education so much so she wouldn’t become a servant and have to speak Shanghai dialect? Why did they have servants?
-She mentions how some days each word had one meaning, is that because she learned one word each day or because she would like to connect a day to a word?
Annotation blog #4: Mother Tongue by Amy Tan
1) Summary/Main Ideas
Amy starts off stating, “ I am not a scholar of English or literature” and later writes,” I am a writer. I am someone who has always loved language. Language is the took of my trade.” She tells us that the “standard english” she learned in school and through books wasn’t the same type of english she used with her mom. Tan admits that she was once ashamed of her mother’s english because it was “broken” or “limited”. She shared a story on how her mother went to the hospital asking for her CAT scan and the doctors said that they had lost it. Her mother even told her that she spoke perfect english to them with no mistakes but they didn’t get her CAT scan. When Amy went to talk to the doctors about her mother’s CAT scan they found it only because her english was perfect and fluent. People have asked Amy why their isn’t many Asian Americans into American literature, and Amy goes on saying how statistically Asian-Americans do better in math and sciences because the english at home was probably “broken. Teachers probably steered them towards math and science. She ends the essay saying she has realized that all her stories are for her mom, so she has began writing stories using all the Englishs she grew up with: the “simple”, “broken”, and “watered down” englishes that will let her mom say “So easy to read”.
2) Quotes & Reactions/Responses
-“ That was the language that helped shape the way I say things, expressed things, made sense of the world”
I think this is true with all of us because no matter the quality of language our moms speak we still learn and respect them. We are raised by the words from our parents and get used to the accents and “brokenness”.
-“Whereas, for me at least, the answers on English texts were always judgement call, a matter of opinion and personal experience.”
I made a connection with this because English is different than all the other subjects in school because you use your own person experiences into your essays and writing. This makes it easier for classmates or teachers judge you based on your writing. There is a yes or no answer in English so people interpret writing differently, good or bad.
-“I wanted to capture what language ability tests can never reveal: her intent, her passion, her imagery, the rhythms of her speech and the nature of her thoughts”.
I liked this quote because testing can’t tell you who you are as a person. I felt that way when i got my SAT scores, I thought it defined me and who I was. That isn’t the case, Standardized testing isn’t as important as everyone makes it. It doesn’t tell you who you are or will become. This year no one cares what i got on the SAT.
3) Questions for Discussion
- When she was talking about how there aren’t many Asian-American writers is because they grow up in a home without broken english, is that the case for all races? (example:Mexicans, Indians, etc.)
- Why were her friends understanding of her mom’s english different? Some understood 50% and some understood 80-90%. Did her mom improve not embarrass her?
Annotation #3: Learning to Read (Malcolm X)
1) Summary/ Main Ideas:
This writing is all about Malcolm X's journey in "homemade education". He explains how when he was in the streets he only wrote in slang and couldn't read. Charlestown Prison was a turning point in his life because he got ahold of a dictionary and improved his penmanship by copying down every word. He learned so much from the dictionary saying, "Actually the dictionary is like a miniature encyclopedia." As his vocabulary grew he started to read books. He would sneak in reading past "lights out" because he was so intrigued. What fascinated him the most was history, especially between white and non-whites. He states that Wonders of the World series really impressed him. The subject of slavery made the most impact on him and how white men treated non-white men badly. Some examples he read about where how the British controlled India,White declaring the Opium War on Chinese, and the U.S enslaved and murdered African Americans. He ends the reading expressing how thankful he was to be in prison because it allowed him to study and teach him stuff about the world; it gave him more knowledge than he imagined having.
2) Quotes & Reactions/ Responses:
- “ ..during the rest of my time in prison I would guess I wrote a million words”.
This quote surprised me because he must have had a lot of motivation and determination to copy down the whole dictionary.
-“ In fact, up to then, I never had been so truly free in prison”.
This is impressive that he got a better education in prison than outside of prison. He says he felt the most free in prison because he finally gained knowledge and read many books to escape and distract him from the bad things happening to him.
-“ I knew right there in prison that reading had changed forever the course of my life”.
He says this because I think all his life he wanted to learn more but never got the chance til prison and that motivated him to read and write.
3) Questions for discussion:
-When he says, “ ..helped me to understand that if you start with a black man, a white man could be produced; but starting with a white man, you never could produce a black man”.
Is he referencing to genetics and birth or alluding to slavery and how white men treat black men?
- What do you think he did after getting out of prison? Is he part of a black union organization?
Thursday, September 1, 2016
Practice Write 9/1/16
How was your first "formal" reading process for this class?
My first "formal" reading process was easier than I thought it would be. I printed out the reading and annotated it with a highlighter and pen. I understood most of the reading but some ideas confused me. After I finished annotating I followed the 3 step instructions to rite my first blog post. I didn't know how much to rite for the summary because I thought the whole reading was important and new information so I wrote a lengthy summary. I liked finding selections from the reading and writing my reactions/ responses. I didn't know how educational our responses had to be but I mostly agreed with the reading. The questions are what I found the most difficult. I couldn't come up with really critical questions that the reading didn't answer for me or I couldn't ask google. In the end I had to think about it for awhile but I ended up coming up with a few short questions.
My first "formal" reading process was easier than I thought it would be. I printed out the reading and annotated it with a highlighter and pen. I understood most of the reading but some ideas confused me. After I finished annotating I followed the 3 step instructions to rite my first blog post. I didn't know how much to rite for the summary because I thought the whole reading was important and new information so I wrote a lengthy summary. I liked finding selections from the reading and writing my reactions/ responses. I didn't know how educational our responses had to be but I mostly agreed with the reading. The questions are what I found the most difficult. I couldn't come up with really critical questions that the reading didn't answer for me or I couldn't ask google. In the end I had to think about it for awhile but I ended up coming up with a few short questions.
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