Month: November 2018

One’s literary identity is made up of the experiences they’ve had both in and out of the classroom. These experiences being good or bad are highly influenced by the sponsors they are exposed to. Throughout the learning process it is very possible that one can have shift in their identity. This shift can be a factor of many different things.  For instance a student like paige who never expected to go to college. Her teacher Rosanne taking a special interest in her lead her to not only do better in school but eventually attend college and thrive while doing it. The influence of Paige’s sponsor lead her identity to shift from a victim to a hero narrative.  Another way a students identity can shift is by forcing the acquisition of literacy upon them. An example of this is a student like Emily who loved to read with her father. When she attended school and was forced to read her identity changed and she hated it. Emily had a negative experience while reading in school. This experience lead her identity to shift from a success to victim narrative.

 

In my own experiences, i have found that i learn something the best when i want to learn it. if I’m interested in something and do it on my own then it is something that i love to do. Forcing someone to do something even if they love to do it can cause them to not enjoy it. Specifically by forcing a student to read or write for example in school can cause them to have a bad experience with it. Alexander presents in her article “ the popularity of the victim narrative in student texts indicates that students associate school based literacy practices with oppression and even cruelty” (618). Some students may enjoy reading or writing on their own time but if someone is forcing them to do so, especially with material they don’t like, the student may have no interest in it. We can evaluate an example of this in Emily gagnons literacy narrative “The Wizard of Oz Saved my Brain”. Emily read nearly every night with her father but when she was forced to read in school she despised it. Emily states in her narrative “My love of reading disappeared when it came to reading in school” (1). This can be associated with nearly anything. By doing something unforced, on your own time it is pure. You do it because you love to, but as soon as someone starts to make you, that love can be lost.

Literacy narratives can create an identity for the author of the narrative. Based on different experiences the author goes through, their identity can shift. One of those factors is the environment in which the students are learning. As alexander states “students of differing socioeconomic backgrounds invoke the child prodigy narrative differently” (620). Placed in an environment where an identity of literacy scholarship is valued a student is more likely to want to succeed in the given field. To compliment that statement there are students who start out thinking they don’t have an interest in succeeding with literacy who have a change of heart. This can all be a factor of a few different things. One is the positive influence of a sponsor. Paige hibbard speaks in her literacy narrative of how the norm in her family is not to attend college. She went through much of her schooling thinking that she would never attend college but with the positive influence of her teacher, Paige’s identity changed and she was the first in her family to attend college.  Paige explains in her narrative “I thanked Rosanne, she changed my life” (3). Having a teacher that takes a special interest in a student can have a major positive impact on the students life. Another factor that will lead an author’s identity to shift is the simple way in which they learn to read or write.

 

 

1. In my first draft for paper 3 I use both Alexander and Williams. I use quotes from each explaining the identities that students create while acquiring literacy skills. My peers seem to think i do a good job of using the quotes to support my ideas but they also believe that i can do a better job of explaining them as well as go into more depth during my explanation. as i move to my final draft i need to explain more about my thoughts. I believe i show a decent amount of evidence but a better explanation will make my paper stronger.
2. The comments from my peers show me that i do a good job of introducing quotes from alexander and williams but i need to do a better job of explaining them. I think i need to use more quotes from the scholarly texts followed by a deeper explanation.
3. I think i do a decent job of using quotes from the scholarly texts as well as the literacy narratives. i can definitely add more quotes from the scholarly texts as well as another literacy narrative. so far i think i have done a decent job in this area but looking forward to my final draft there is a lot of work that i need to do.

Every literacy narrative creates an identity for the author of the narrative. Throughout the narrative the authors identity can shift based on several different factors. One of those factors is the environment in which the students are learning. As alexander states “students of differing socioeconomic backgrounds invoke the child prodigy narrative differently” (620). Placed in an environment where an identity of literacy scholarship is valued a student is more likely to want to succeed in the given field. To compliment that statement there are students who start out thinking they don’t have an interest in succeeding with literacy who have a change of heart. The can all be a factor of a few different things. One is the positive influence of a sponsor. Paige hibbard speaks in her literacy narrative of how the norm in her family is not to attend college. She went through much of her schooling thinking that she would never attend college but with the positive influence of her teacher, Paige’s identity changed and she was the first in her family to attend college.  Paige explains in her narrative “I thanked Rosanne, she changed my life” (3). Having a teacher that takes a special interest in a student can have a major positive impact on the students life.

 

Forcing someone to do something even if they love to do it can cause them to not enjoy it. Specifically by forcing a student to read or write for example in school can cause them to have a bad experience with it. Alexander presents in her article “ the popularity of the victim narrative in student texts indicates that students associate school based literacy practices with oppression and even cruelty” (618). Some students may enjoy reading or writing on their own time but if someone is forcing them to do so, especially with material they don’t like, the student may have no interest in it. We can evaluate an example of this in Emily gagnons literacy narrative “The Wizard of Oz Saved my Brain”. Emily read nearly every night with her father but when she was forced to read in school she despised it. Emily states in her narrative “My love of reading disappeared when it came to reading in school” (1). The can be associated with nearly anything. By doing something unforced, on your own time it is pure. You do it because you love to, but as soon as someone starts to make you, that love can be lost.

 

The area of literacy acquisition that I’m most interested in is the positive influence that a sponsor can have on a student and the identity shift that can be a result of that. Not everyone is born with a love for reading and writing. With a positive influence of a sponsor then can learn to excel in the subject.

Jess Larson – The Best Teacher I Ever Did Have

Skylah Buchanan – Living in a Fairytale

Christina Sevilla – Anything is possible

Brandon Rico – The New Side of Literature

Ashley McCarthy – Cars Turning Over by the Sea

Tevin Francois – Books and Life Over Ball

 

Blake Beverage Narrative Worksheet

Paige Hibbard Narrative worksheet

 

Michaela Fischer Narrative Worksheet

Emily Gagnon Narrative Worksheet