Blog Post Revisions

Revisions

            For my revisions, I chose three blog posts that originally only had bullet points of information. I included a bit of narrative, but not as much as I should have. The readings I chose to revise my blog posts for were “A World Without Print,” by Victoria Purcell-Gates, “Unpackaging Literacy,” by Sylvia Scribner and Michael Cole, and “The Queer Turn in Composition Studies,” by Jonathan Alexander and David Wallace. I enjoyed the process of revising my blog posts because I feel as though I've learned so much between when I originally wrote the blog post and now. I feel more educated and more sure of my opinions based on class discussions we've had. 

"The Queer Turn in Composition Studies"
Original Post:

Revised Post:

*I chose to revise this with more personal narrative/opinion than I included in my original blog post.

            It should be the norm for universities to have classes that focus on multicultural topics because minority rights are a much talked about issue in today’s society. People don’t necessarily know how to address LGBT issues and aren’t comfortable doing so, so I believe that if universities had classes centered on these subjects, it would be a learning opportunity for everyone. Specifically, the field of composition studies can do a lot to promote awareness about LGBT and other minority rights. As of now, it seems that only LGBT and minority writers know how to tackle these subjects in their work. Alexander and Wallace write, “Although we are proud to participate in a scholarly and pedagogical tradition that takes diversity seriously, we also feel a profound sense of disappointment each time we read the latest book or journal article in which a theorist or researcher whose work we respect takes on the knotty questions of how identity issues such as gender, race, and class affect the teaching and learning of writing but fails to address sexual identity or, in many cases, even to acknowledge it in passing.” But I feel that if everyone is required to take classes that address this subject, or at least have the option to take these classes, others will have the tools and knowledge to write about these topics as well.

"Unpackaging Literacy"
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Revised Post:

*I added more personal narrative/opinion rather than just stating facts about what I read.

            "Unpackaging Literacy" made me really question our school system. The chapter states that most of our notions of what writing is about is tied up with school-based writing, and writing outside of school is of little importance. This explains why so many people don’t like to write; they associate it with school, which isn’t really anyone’s favorite thing. However, the Vai people challenge this notion because their writing isn’t taught in schools. Writing serves a variety of functions for the Vai people that aren’t school-based. In America, writing only serves another purpose for people if they choose a writing-based career.

            I wrote this in my original blog post and I stick by my words: This chapter leads me to believe that we must somehow change our school system so writing is looked at in not just an academic way. Maybe teachers could be less stringent about requirements for papers so that writing is more fun for students. That way, they'd want to write outside of school as opposed to now where students are so sick of writing boring research papers that they've filled their personal writing quota. 

"A World Without Print"
Original Post:

Revised Post:

 *I chose to add more quotes from the text that supported the points I talked about in my original blog post. I also chose to add more narrative/opinion.

·      Written language is different from oral language

o   “Written language is not simply oral language written down. We do not learn to read and write speech. We learn to read and write written text.”

o   “Oral language is employed within a shared physical context. Written language is the opposite. It is used under the assumption that the two communicants — the writer and the reader — will not share the same physical space when the writing is read.”

o   “Markers that we use to distinguish between oral and written language include vocabulary, syntax, and reference conventions. Written language tends to employ vocabulary items that have been termed ‘literary’ as opposed to ‘colloquial,’ for example, entrance rather than door and employ rather than use.”

            I thought it was very interesting that both Donny and Jenny were able to adapt to the written world even though they were illiterate. Jenny used physical markers to help her travel, go grocery shopping, etc. Donny is able to build things and use his hands to communicate. He doesn’t see the need for reading or writing because he is able to get by without it (though this may pose a problem for him later in life). I guess because I am literate, I previously didn’t know how those who were illiterate got by in a world that places such a high value on being able to read and write; it’s not something I ever thought about. I thought the ways in which Donny and Jenny navigated a world where literacy is everywhere was very interesting.