Conversation 2

A.B.

1. 5 elements of literacy, according to Szwed, are text, participant, motivation, function and context. One of these elements that I would like to describe in more details is the element of motivation.  Motivation focuses on more of what is the purpose behind reading and writing. Whether it be for school, for yourself, or for others, the element of motivation, in my opinion, is a very vast umbrella. Motivation can even be determined by other elements including context, function, and text. I might even add the participant. All of these factors or ideas come together to fire up and create the interest or motivation for the individual and their preferences.
2. A method for studying literacy, as recommended by Szwed, is ethnography. This doesn’t have to directly do with the study of literacy in general, but more of the customs of the individual, people, or culture in a certain area. Swzed believed through ethnography that important factors that are disregarded when it comes to improving literacy or expectations of literacy can be revealed. Such as, socioeconomic classes, age groups, ethnic groups and the likes. Seeing places that are behind on literacy when it comes to living on a day to day basis, could have a decline when it comes to the educational system since what is expected is, for example, every night a book is read or engaged in for some time, where as a certain ethnic group in the same area, may not have that sort of practice in their culture or day to day basis. So naturally, they might have some trouble keeping up with the expected level of lieracy.
3. When Swzed stated that, “..we must come to terms with the lives of people without patronizing them..,” he was talking about understanding that reading and writing or the level of literacy is a result of or affected by factors like family life, work patterns, economic conditions, patterns of leisure, and a group of other factors. And along with taking these examples into consideration, avoiding any type of stereotyping or labelling of some sort as if they are ill.
4. Me being a high school teacher in the Bronx, and following Swzed’s advice, I would teach literacy at the same level as taking into consideration their projected or seen lifestyle but with somewhat of extra work or level of practice just to help engage in the development of literacy for the individual. I would definitely have to be involved in their day to day life’s, by asking and getting to know each of them. And most importantly making sure I have their best interest in mind, and try to implement it into their curriculum.
5. The two model types of literacy discussed by Perry are, autonomous and ideological. Autonomous has to do with what most formal literacy instruction operates. Autonomous also attributes important consequences both to individual cognition and to society through the intrinsic characteristics that literacy is assumed to have. While ideological models expands into literacy as a set of practice rather than skill based on specific context and strongly linked to cultural and power structures in society. In my opinion I would have to chose ideological as the better, seeing that it has the idea of development in it understanding that it is a practice rather than a skill.
6. Literacy is seen as just the level of reading or writing for an individual, class, school, community, or then some. While orality focuses more on the form of speech rather than writing as communication, especially or more in the case of a community or culture practice.
7. Say you grow up in a community where it is made up of immigrants, and any cultural practices they might have brought with them. Some being large family households, heavy chores, responsibilities, day to day expectations aside from educational prowess, and so on. All of these play factors in an individuals literacy practice, because when you are in a distracting environment with loud noise, lack of privacy, outside of school responsibility whether it be working at a family establishment or taking care of family (not saying this is a distraction), all of these are probably leading factors in the decline of an individual’s literacy. And to add on to that these same communities, as I have heard, are usually the ones that are underfunded and limited on resources. As Swzed believed, motivation is a key element to literacy, and when being established with such examples motivation can be very hard to gain, when feeling like you are already burdened with enough, then come to add on, for example, the expectations of being able to read a 20 page chapter for assignment due in two days.   
8. It was said that one factor in regards to the level of literacy, is that “…we are currently inheritors-if unwillingly inheritors- of another nineteenth century perspective…,” and I also can believe that. Literacy standards are created from whoever was there before you, and now that the next generation has arrived that same level is to be expected, seeing that they will be born and raised on the same standards and practices. But this disregards, whether they come from the same socioeconomics, age group, ethnic group, and so on. When assessing for cultural bias, it would usually be expected to be standardized based on any previous experiences with same circumstances, or evaluated on their own basis.