Your enormous reply (minimum 200 words) – Answer at least 6 out of the 10 questions below:
- According to Szwed, what are the 5 elements of literacy?
- Select one of the 5 elements of literacy and describe it in more detail.
- What method of studying literacy does Szwed recommend and why?
- What does Szwed mean when he writes, in reference to ethnography, that “we must come to terms with the lives of people without patronizing them” (427)?
- Imagine you are a literacy instructor at a high school in the Bronx: if you followed Szwed’s advice, how would you teach literacy?
- What, according to Elizabeth Baker, is the sociocultural perspective of literacy?
- What are the four characteristics of literacy that Baker suggests we use and why?
- What did you learn from researching the term “orality versus literacy?”
- How are our literacy practices shaped by communities of which we are part and in which we are raised (reference at least one of this week’s readings here)?
- How are literacy standards created, who do they serve and and how are they assessed for cultural bias (reference one of this week’s readings here)?
+ Reply to 2 classmates (minimim 50 words per reply x 2).
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49 thoughts on “Discussion Board Post 2”
Week 2 –
Activity 1: What does the word “ethnography” mean? If you are not sure google it. Next, write down the definition in your own words.
The Word Ethnography means the scientific description of the customs of individual peoples and cultures . In my own words I would say it means the different customs or traditions people have in their own culture their way or style of living .
Activity 2: What does it mean to annotate? Do you annotate when you read? What are the benefits?
Annotate means to add little notes or anything you think while reading that paragraph or book and you just jot it down. I actually do annotate when i read its very beneficial to me because it helps me understand the reading more in my way , breaks it down when i need to find answers answering questions about the reading later on.
Activity 6: What is orality? Research the term “orality versus literacy” to see what you can find out.
Orality is the quality of being spoken or verbally communicated. What I found out was literacy is understood by the ability to read and write as for ” orality ” it describes and focuses more of the primary verbal medium employed by cultures with little or no exposure to writing at all.
Basically inteling literacy is more for people who have the ability to read and write and orality is for people who aren’t really well at it.
According to Szwed, what are the 5 elements of literacy?
The five elements of literacy was semiotic meaning students read from gained meaning alphabetic text , photos , graphs and videos and then there is literacy is public meaning reading and writing were not private activities, literacy was transitory which meant the products that the students read and wrote were constant flux, more dynamic than fixed or static.
Select one of the 5 elements of literacy and describe it in more detail.
literacy was public I feel that it meant reading and writing were out to the public there was no private moments and I feel that must of been unfair to students who couldn’t read or write because they probably kept it to them selves or got embarrassed when it was there turn. I feel kids or anyone should feel comfortable in private when they read or write.
What method of studying literacy does Szwed recommend and why?
His method was writing and I think its very effective because you retain more information by writing and verbally saying it to yourself. its a great method actually.
Imagine you are a literacy instructor at a high school in the Bronx: if you followed Szwed’s advice, how would you teach literacy?
I would because they’re effective and fair to use when teaching literacy because literacy is based on the ability to write and read and the more you practice these methods you can improve and get better at it however I do respect students and people have different ways of learning and comprehending material and new information.
What, according to Elizabeth Baker, is the sociocultural perspective of literacy?
Sociocultural perspective of literacy- examines literacy as an artifact of culture. from this perspective the nature changes as a culture changes.
What did you learn from researching the term “orality versus literacy?”
What I learned from researching this term is What I found out was literacy is understood by the ability to read and write as for ” orality ” it describes and focuses more of the primary verbal medium employed by cultures with little or no exposure to writing at all.
I really liked your approach when it came to teaching literacy in high school. I agree that Szwed’s methods will incorporate different means to have everyone invested in becoming literate.
I agree that writing more frequently will help you effectively to build your skills and it will also help to retain more information. It may be easier to snap a picture or copy and paste information, but writing it down helps me to comprehend it more effectively; while writing down the information, I am also reading it over and over again which helps me install the information to remember it.
New York City is one of the most diverse cities in the world. It is a melting pot of different cultures, nationalities, ethnicities, ideologies, religions, etc. However, something that binds New Yorkers together is the hunger for success. Last week we discussed how literacy is the foundation of achieving individual and societal success. John F. Szwed is a scholar and an anthropologist that has done research on the ethnography of literacy and he came to many eye-opening conclusions. According to Szwed he states that literacy is composed of 5 elements: text, context, function, participants, and motivation. I found that Szwed’s interpretation of motivation was an interesting take. He states “Reading and writing skills may indeed vary according to motivation with varying degrees of skill following differing of motivation.” Improving literature should be approached as a motivator instead of a chore that should be instilled at a young age. If individuals do not find value in it they will not participate. Szwed also dives deep into studying ethnography of literature and the best way to approach it. He finds that conducting a mass survey is not a productive means of gathering research and it becomes too distant from the actual study. Instead, he believes approaching individuals and creating a bond with them is a more appropriate approach to this kind of study. Szwed states “we must come to terms with the lives of people without patronizing them…” and I see this as Szwed trying to introduce the importance of literacy without shoving down the idea in people’s throats. The more the idea is being shoved in people’s faces the more people will turn away from the idea. If I was given the opportunity to teach literacy in a high school according to Szwed’s method, I would have students’ have the option of picking the literature they want to read and well as having students discuss among themselves the literature they picked up. This will allow students to have more control in their hands as well as picking a piece of literature the student will be interested in. I will also implement some sort of reward system to motivate the student to finish and keep up with individual student’s progress. In Elizabeth Baker’s Sociocultural Perspective of Literacy, she brings up the topic of orality in literacy. Upon some research, orality is the means of using speech rather than written text. However, an individual could have oral speech, but could also be illiterate. Literacy is the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute, using printed and written materials associated with varying contexts, while orality cover a very specific aspect of literacy.
Great connect using our city of New York. It is very diverse and an migrant immigrate myself it was such a transitional change for me upon entering school year. I too was told my way of speaking was illiterate because of my broken English but it was the way how I was taught and learned how to speak to my knowledge I was speaking perfectly good English. Addition I agree that literature such be approached as motivator instead of a chore because
it’s what makes children interested in learning especially with your point on giving the students the option to pick what’s they’ll be interested in reading.
I love your approach to teaching literacy in a classroom environment. As stated in my own post, I believe common ground and appreciation of interest can go a long way in setting the foundation for an appreciation for literacy. Sometimes I had wished my teachers in school had done the same. While I already had a passion for reading, I’m sure my classmates weren’t too thrilled about the material we were forced to read.
” Improving literature should be approached as a motivator instead of a chore that should be instilled at a young age” this is well said. However, it may be quite difficult to encourage a child at a young age to read or write, if they’re struggling with reading or writing they may lose interest in developing their skills. On the contrary, learn the child weaknesses and what they’re interested in, it will gradually motivate them to want to develop reading and writing skills.
I love how you answered every question in such detail and made it into a paragraph instead of answering each point. I like the idea of giving students an opportunity to read what they find interesting and necessary, it will definitely motivate students to succeed in class and catch up with work instead of giving them an assigned reading that might frustrate them and prevent them from learning.
“I would have students’ have the option of picking the literature they want to read and well as having students discuss among themselves the literature they picked up.”I also like this idea, but it seems to me that one should always consider that a person does not always follow reason and strive for self-development himself. Also, a person is more inclined to laziness, to idleness. Our brain does not like to strain, this is inherent in anatomy. And the fact that you only want to be led by the student is also not a good decision. The student can choose to read porn comics, it is fun and interesting for him. Will you read them with him throughout the course from elementary school to high school? Who will you grow up? Animal or “Homo sapiens”. Labor made a man out of a monkey, didn’t it?
Hi Sung, your commentary was very interesting.. It shows you put much thought into it. I liked your thoughts when you were describing how you would teach and the methods you would imply. I agree with Szwed (p.427) that every day in educational setting literary assumptions are place on our individual students that seem not to be borne out by the students day-by-day lives.
I agree with your comment on how conducting massive surveys is not productive in gathering information. It’s so important to create that bond with someone from a different culture so we can learn firsthand how people from other cultures communicate, and learn their ways.
According to Szwed, what are the 5 elements of literacy? According to Szwed the five elements of literacy are context, function, text, participants and motivation.The element of using motivation is defined as a reason behind a character’s specific action or behavior. This can tell a character’s willingness to do something. Activities that promote enjoyment of books. Establishing motivation for literacy is particularly important in the early stages when it may not be obvious to young children why they should care about learning to read and write. However educators should strive to make literacy activities motivating at all age groups. Motivation is a crucial element for deep engagement in learning. What method of studying literacy does Szwed recommend and why? Szwed recommended Ethnographic literacy for studying literacy because it can be widely measured and that we are inheritors. Meaning that we learn better by observing. What does Szwed mean when he writes, in reference to ethnography, that “we must come to terms with the lives of people without patronizing them” (427)? I believe Szwed meant that we should not cheapen the value of everyone’s education. That we should all get the same level of education that the elite upper class receive for the lower class as well.or he could also mean that even though the world is evolving we must respect the foundation of what our ancestors put in place for us when it comes to literacy. Imagine you are a literacy instructor at a high school in the Bronx: if you followed Szwed’s advice, how would you teach literacy? If I were to follow Szwed’s advice I would make sure to make literacy available in different languages for the non bilingual students and also understand that context is important. Different individuals have interest in different things and that imagery plays a huge part in getting participants engaged and motivated in wanting to learn.
What, according to Elizabeth Baker, is the sociocultural perspective of literacy? Elizabeth Baker sociocultural perspective of literacy as that literacy changes as culture changes.Also that literacy was different for everyone, example was that in the Appalachian communities,the literacies of their home culture were simply not the same as the literacies of the school culture. This tells us that maybe other individuals in their home or communities were not well educated and semi literate. What are the four characteristics of literacy that Baker suggests we use and why? The four characteristics of Literacy for baker were Semetic, public, transitory, and product oriented. Baker suggested we use these literacy characteristics because Reading resulted in products that would communicate what interested them. Because these products were all about conveying meaning, they had an inherent semiotic character and that “ With every new form of community, children are participating in new forms of literacy”
What did you learn from researching the term “orality versus literacy?” I learned that literacy is understood as the ability to read and write while orality describes the primary verbal medium employed by cultures with little or no exposure to writing.
How are our literacy practices shaped by communities of which we are part and in which we are raised (reference at least one of this week’s readings here)? According to Szwed some young poets in detroit works were dismissed for being semilerate and that speaks for itself because some areas of detroit is very poor and these young adult most of the times are not raised in home with college graduate parents or even surround by well spoken individuals in their communities that can affect a community area as whole.
How are literacy standards created, who do they serve and and how are they assessed for cultural bias (reference one of this week’s readings here)? With Elizabeth Baker reading it shared how Literacy was shaped by the culture of a technology-rich fourth-grade classroom that used technology to find and share information and insights. When it comes to bias I feel like the mention of literacy in Brazil was made to keep workers in their place. Were the big bosses the only ones who had a say and could speak down on their employees because they did not know much.
I absolutely love how you answered every question with as much detail as possible. It really helped me understand and when you brought up literacy in brazil too because I don’t think I’ve seen people bring it up.
I never realized how important building a foundation for literary development was so crucial for children, at least through the means of motivation. I always considered myself lucky because I naturally loved to read and enjoyed books, but I didn’t think not reading would be such a detriment to my ability to retain and understand information. Reading about how societal expectation of literacy in your own community plays a large part in literary development as well, I thought was super interesting.
Hi Joseph.
I agree with you. The sad thing is that because the schools get funding according to the numbers in the seats, they will keep promoting them and even graduate them. I have seen this happen time and again. There are many teachers out there that would put in the time, but its administration that makes the rules. Enlightening but also Sad really.
“What does Szwed mean when he writes, in reference to ethnography, that “we must come to terms with the lives of people without patronizing them” (427)? I believe Szwed meant that we should not cheapen the value of everyone’s education. That we should all get the same level of education that the elite upper class receive for the lower class as well.or he could also mean that even though the world is evolving we must respect the foundation of what our ancestors put in place for us when it comes to literacy. ”
Interesting conclusion I did not see such a hidden meaning in the author’s article. On the contrary, I understood it as the fact that modern education should move away from the standardization of all people, cease to be dominant, impose its own framework and canons. Modern education should begin to pay attention to the personal preferences of each person and also take into account the society and environment where he forms his circle of knowledge. But this is just my vision, it’s interesting that our points of view are so different, isn’t it?
Hey Elecia. I completely agree with you and how you explained what Swed said and meant on (427). It really cheapens everyone’s value of education. I also believe that everyone should be getting the same level of education. Having a certain level of education in the future it may be very useful. It’ll make it easier for your family.
I definitely agree when you stated that when teaching literacy you would make it available in different languages. That was very thoughtful because it would benefit everyone in a classroom setting. I do also see that Szwed mentions that we learn by observing like he suggested to go outside with students .By observing literacy in operations students can see that and learn what literacy is. So I like how you said that we learn better by observing.!
1. According to Szwed, what are the 5 elements of literacy?
The five elements of literacy are: Texts, context, function, participants and motivation.
2. Select one of the 5 elements of literacy and describe it in more detail.
The word I decided to describe in detail is “Function”. Functional literacy refers to the practical skill set needed to read, write, and do math for real-life purposes, so people can function effectively in their community.
3. What method of studying literacy does Szwed recommend and why?
Ethnographic methods because it’s the only means for finding out what literacy really is and what can be validly measured.
6. What, according to Elizabeth Baker, is the sociocultural perspective of literacy?
According to Elizabeth Baker, a sociocultural perspective examines literacy as an artifact of cultural, from this perspective, the nature of literacy changes as culture changes.
7. What are the four characteristics of literacy that Baker suggests we use and why?
The four characteristics of literacy are: semiotic, public, transitory and oriented. It shows the study is useful to demonstrate the focus of the sociocultural perspective.
8. What did you learn from researching the term “orality versus literacy?
Orality is the use of speech rather than writing as a means of communication, especially in communities where the tools of literacy are unfamiliar to the majority of the population. And Literacy is the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute, using printed and written materials associated with varying contexts.
Your definition of “functional literacy” doesn’t just mean you need to know how to function effectively in your real life in order to know how to read. For example some people read by tracing there fingers along the text but about people who had no arm/fingers?. Are you saying that you can’t function literacy effectively without it ?. Additionally I didn’t see your responds to the question but if you were giving the opportunity to teach literacy at a high school according to Szwed method, which method would you use ?.
It is evident that you did the research on orality vs literacy. I find it interesting that people obtain the skill of speech, but are never able to become literate. This is evident in countries that are underdeveloped and the people living in these countries obtain the skill of speech in order to survive.
I love your response and your definition to functional literacy , you defined it not just connecting to educational purposes you tied it to real life and I love THAT !
I agree with your comments on orality, and I liked the way you stated how writing may be unfamiliar to a majority of a population that doesn’t truly recognize the writing. This makes sense because I’ve seen many tribes throughout the world don’t use writing as a way of communication, just verbal communication.
ACR150 DISCUSSION BOARD 2
ACR DISCOSSUION BOARD 2
I completely agree with you about a readers motivation, I like how you worded it especially. Motivation is truly important in anyone’s life. When you said “. According to Swed and what I believe he meant is that this is cheapening the culture, language, and literature” I wish you would’ve expanded more on that because I like how your thinking about it.
1. Szwed utilizes five classes – text, setting (context), under what conditions the perusing and composing is being done, function, members, or who is engaged with the reading and writing, and motivation. 2. Context is the foundation, climate, setting, structure, or environmental elements of occurrences in the text. Basically, the context implies conditions shaping a foundation of an event, thought or proclamation, so as to empower the reader to comprehend the story. It is important to provide concepts, information in writing to develop context. Context enlightens the significance and importance of the text, and might be something social-historical or political. 3. Szwed recommends the utilization of an ethnography to support the 5 elements of literacy. This will help to gather information on how people use literacy in their daily life. It will expand the study of literacy which will widen the limits literacy has now. 6. Sociocultural perspective centers around literacy as a social occurrence that connects people and associates people with various points of time. Elizabeth Baker emphasizes that the nature of literacy changes as culture changes. 7. Baker suggests that we use public, semiotic, product-oriented, and transitory characteristics of literacy. 8. From researching the term “orality versus literacy” I’ve learned that orality is oral correspondence where there’s a sender and recipient of information that is expressed through talking. Literacy is the skill of reading, writing, and critical thinking about the written information.
I love how you answered the last question about orality vs. literacy because it’s different from how I wrote it and how other people in the discussion board wrote it.
I enjoyed reading your post. It was concise and informative. Great job on your explanation of context. I too agree that context really is the foundation to it all. The fact that you decided to include concepts in aid of context development is a good addition to your explanation.
According to Szwed, the 5 elements of literacy are text, context, function, participants, and motivation. One element I chose is motivation because it is the reason behind a person’s actions or behavior. The method of studying literacy Swzed recommends is Ethnography of literacy because it can be widely measured and that we learn better by observing. According to Elizabeth Baker the sociocultural perspective of literacy is that the nature of literacy changes as culture changes. The four characteristics of literacy Baker suggests we use are Semetic, Public, Transitory, and Product Oriented because in the reading it states that it ended in products that would communicate what interested them and they also had an inherent semiotic character. I learned that from researching the term “orality vs. literacy” is that literacy is understood as the ability to read and write, whole orality describes the primary verbal conduit used by cultures that have little or no exposure to writing.
According to Szwed, what are the 5 elements of literacy? – There are five elements of literacy; there is the context, function, texts, participants and the motivation.
A major element of literacy is motivation, which seems that nowadays many individuals lack when it comes to reading. An individual must find the motivation to absorb and understand written text and that could be achieved in a variety of ways. If from a young age, people are not inspired to read or find no use in it, they will not be motivated to pursue to strengthen their literary skills.
What method of studying literacy does Szwed recommend and why? – Szwed recommended that people write down information that they need to learn, as people have a better time absorbing information when writing and speaking it to themselves.
Imagine you are a literacy instructor at a high school in the Bronx: if you followed Szwed’s advice, how would you teach literacy? – Taking Szwed’s advice, I would have to instill motivation for those in my class to read in the first place. Find common ground and instill a reason for them to seek to improve their literary ability. Providing context as to why literacy is important to my students would also aid me in teaching them on how to strengthen their reading and writing ability.
What, according to Elizabeth Baker, is the sociocultural perspective of literacy? – According to Baker, the sociocultural perspective of literacy is the idea that literacy is tied with to culture. Literacy is a complex social practice. As society changes, literacy changes as well.
What did you learn from researching the term “orality versus literacy?” – Generally, literacy is being able to read or write, while orality is a verbal medium employed by cultures with little or no exposure to writing. Speaking is commonplace but reading and writing is not. I frankly did not know that societies such as these existed. I know the world if a big place but I always considered that if you spoke a native tongue, you could read and write it as well.
I really like you explained your point of view on orality versus literacy and explained the world is a big place and that you considered if you spoke a native tongue you could read it and write it just as well , I totally agree with it But I believe People are better at speaking it then writing and reading it because some people are better in that sense of literacy or verbal aspect. Some people feel more comfortable talking than writing or reading in their culture. They learn at their own pace and when they are comfortable in doing it.
Hi Joseph,
It is a fact that nowadays individuals lack the motivation to read. I think the internet and the ease of finding videos to watch is a big factor. Growing up, I remember having to go to the library to read tons of books and articles to do a project for school. I also enjoyed reading the kid encyclopedias! Now because of my job I read so many reports and documents a day that and I am not motivated and avoid reading in my leisure.
I agreed that many individuals lack the motivation to read. I would always read books that I found very interesting and meaningful to me when I was young. Reading something that I liked felt enjoyable rather than a chore for school. The internet has made it difficult for people to be motivated since there are videos one can watch.
Hey Joseph. I totally agree with you that a major element of literacy is motivation. I believe many people nowadays once in a while go through lack of motivation. I believe it’s the key to literacy and many other things. Also bringing it how you would be as an high school instructor. It is always a good idea to motivate the kids because they are the future.
DB2
According to the reading “The Ethnography of Literacy”, Szwed identifies five elements of literacy which are: text, context, function, participants, and motivation. Swzed explains that one method of studying literacy is ethnography and is derived from field observations or interviews. This hands-on approach helps us understand how literacy is used in people’s daily lives. If I were to teach literacy using Szwed’s advice I would have students discuss their experiences with literacy and help them formulate their own of definition of what literacy means to them. In a sociocultural perspective Elizabeth describes literacy as an artifact of culture and changes in relation to culture. The four characteristics of literacy that Elizabeth describes are: Literacy is semiotic, public, transitory, and product oriented. These characteristics are important in showing how literacy is used to socialize and build upon one another’s understanding on a topic. In the previous discussion we looked at literacy and how it generally meant the ability to read and write or the ability to understand and produce written information Orality is defined as using speech as a means of communication instead of writing. Orality is most commonly found in communities or cultures whose populations have little exposure to literacy.
I like your idea of how you would teach literacy. Each kid would have so many experiences that they could share, each with different experience so each kid would have different lessons to teach to each other. I feel like students can learn so much from each other that sometimes teachers cant teach us.
According to Szwed, the five elements of literacy are context, function, text, participants, and motivation. One element of the literacy is motivation, A person’s motivation is based on context, function, and text. Motivation is a reason for acting or behaving in a particular way. Not a lot of people have motivation in this generation to improve literacy because its not deemed as important anymore. However, literacy as we learned before could lessen poverty, hunger and crime. I like how Szwed said, “And even motivation itself is varied: one may be moved to read by nostalgia, ambition, boredom, fear, etc” because people truly do read for different reasons, I recently started reading because my best friend motivated me to read. The key to literacy is motivation. Szwed recommends Ethnography literacy as a method of studying literacy because we as humans like to observe things rather than study them, it’s easier for us if we observe and see. When Szwed writes, “we must come to terms with the lives of people without patronizing them” (427) it means that we must not judge how others live. We should come to terms with how others decide to live their lives without us judging them and telling them that they’re wrong. Weather hes saying it in literacy or just because people like to judge, I agree with Szwed, we often like to comment on how other people live their life rather than trying to understand that they might have their reasons too. If I followed Szweds advice on I would teach literacy I would try creating a bond with each student and see what they’re into, try including those lessons while also trying to teach the syllabus. I would intrigue the students so they’re the ones that want to learn and me not forcing them to learn.
According to Elizabeth Baker, the sociocultural perspective of literacy is related to culture. Baker said, as the nature of literacy changes as culture changes. The 4 characteristics of literacy according to
Baker is semetic, public, transitory, and product oriented. When you research “orality versus literacy”, you understand that literacy is reading and writing but orality is the use of speech rather than writing as a means of communication.
I love your response about how you would teach literacy. I agree because the bond is very important with every student, you have to connect with your students in order to teach them and understand when a student might not understand the material given to him. Bond would be helpful to help everyone who struggles and it would improve the classroom environment.
I like how you talked about motivation and how it is important to have. I do believe that some people do lose motivation when it comes to learning about literacy since they may get bored. Motivation is key to have when reading and writing and it comes to play in literacy.. But people should know the consequences that reading and writing can have like you mentioned in your response. Overall, I do think that literacy can make a big impact on a person’s life.
Reading and writing go hand in hand when it comes to literacy but there are multiple factors/elements that contribute to literacy. According to Szwed, the five elements of literacy are text, context, function, participants, and motivation. The one I find the most intriguing of these five elements, are the participants. I truly believe that the participants play a major role in literacy. How are the participants defined in relation to literacy you ask? When we think of literacy, the individual person or people as a group, matters greatly. Sociological factors such as culture come into play. Culture helps to shape our expectations of what children can and should know and do at various stages in their lives starting from a tender age. Also, the curriculum choices we make based on our beliefs becomes a part of person’s life that can affect their skills, motivation, and literacy learning. Szwed also points out an important fact of the participant which are the disparities in literacy between different ethnic groups, age groups, sexes, and socioeconomic classes to name a few (427). Szwed’s recommended method of studying literacy is ethnography. This is because ethnographic methods research people in their cultural setting taking into consideration a person’s day to day life and all factors that affect them directly and indirectly. Ethnographic methods are not simply standardized questionnaires and social surveys but rather a combination and include in-depth observations. With that in mind, a better understanding and insight about literacy can be achieved.
Szwed writes, “we must come to terms with the lives of people without patronizing them” (427), by this the author means when conducting such research, it is important to be sensitive and treat people with dignity with regards to their level of literacy or lack of and not with pity or in a condescending manner. Following Szwed’s advice on teaching literacy, if I were a teacher in the Bronx, I would be very aware and mindful of the Hispanic and Latin-American culture and influence of my students and also the local community. I would give the students multiple options to choose from for their content as opposed to dictating what they read. By doing so, it allows them to pick something that they actually want to read and find interesting which encourages them to continue. I would also provide books, literature, videos, etc. in Spanish as well. Our literacy practices are shaped by the communities we are a part of and in which we are raised in many ways. At a young age we start to learn from the home. As we grow and start socializing more, we further develop. We tend to observe what others around us do and mimic those behaviors and habits. It is the same with regards to literacy. Szwed writes, “For example, if children are not read to at home and the school assumes that activity as part of its foundations for reading instruction, then such students are likely to encounter difficulties in learning to read” (425). He goes on further to point out it’s not whether reading stories to children is or isn’t proper or an effective tool for preparing children to read, but rather the gaps between the two domains have serious consequences. This is a clear example as to how our literacy practices are shaped by the communities we are a part of and in which we are raised.
I like your idea on teaching literacy if you were a teacher. Allowing your students to pick what they want to read so they feel encouraged to read is something a lot of teachers should do. Being forced to read something that doesn’t interest you feels like a chore.
(1) According to the John F. Szwed, what are the 5 elements of literacy?
Texts, context, functions, participants and motivation.
(2) What does John F. Szwed mean when he writes, in reference to ethnography, that “we must come to terms with the lives of people without patronizing them” (427)?
According to the author, the education of the 19th century led to the standardization of the people without attention to their characteristics of a person and his interests. Education and literacy kind of patronized, imposed and taught a person the standard rules of what he should be able to do and what he shouldn’t. They taught a person what he needs to know and what he doesn’t need, and in what written or oral form he should express it. The author believes that people of the 21st century must learn to listen to the individual characteristics of a person and follow his desires. And on the basis of preferences and motivation, a desire to learn literacy will be formed. And that’s why I choose “MOTIVATION” as one of the 5 elements of literacy for my description.
(3) Motivation, according to the John F. Szwed, is important in shaping a person’s desire to learn literacy, especially in childhood, when we still do not understand why we need to learn to read and write. Accordingly, if I were a teacher of literacy in any school, then I undoubtedly chose the path of the Swede:
(4) It is necessary to build training on the basis of what a person needs, what is interesting to him and what is the prospect of this skill for further life success, based on changes in the social environment and follow the standards, interests of the new century.
(5) What four characteristics of literacy does Elizabeth Baker suggest we use, and why?
Elizabeth Baker identifies semiotic, public, transitory, and product-oriented characteristics of literacy. This research
it is useful to demonstrate the direction of the sociocultural perspective. Helps to multi-faceted the issue of literacy, its development and modification in the process of social use. To study the practical part, the real results, not only the theory.
(6) How literacy standards are created, who they serve, and how they are measured in terms of cultural bias. This is the most interesting question for me. We are cogs in the state machine. That is why the words in Elizabeth Baker’s article about the need to always ask questions about the purpose of this or that information. Namely: “Whose interests is this point of view, perspective or
exercise? Who benefits from his existence? She gives an example of Freire’s research, in which
he argued how “schools reify social stratification in order to maintain
economic status quo. In other words, Freire argued that literacy
Training in Brazil was designed to keep workers in place. “
According to Szwed, the five elements of literacy are context, motivation, function, text, and participants. The word I would like to describe is motivation, since most people read because they are forced too. If they aren’t motivated to take in the information they are reading or comprehending; it will end up weakening one’s literacy skills. Szwed stated that “one may be moved by nostalgia, ambition, boredom, fear, etc.” which is true since everyone has their own reasons to read. Szwed recommends ethnography as a way to study literacy since it’s the only means for finding out what literacy really is and what can be validly measured. What Szwed means when he writes “ we must come to terms with the lives of people without patronizing them” (427) is we shouldn’t judge one’s way of living but come to terms with it. I also think he means we shouldn’t judge on how they are taught when it comes to literacy. If I was a teacher I would try and get my students motivated to read and understand the material they are reading. I would want them to be engaged and motivated to read/learn rather than being forced. A sociocultural perspective examines literacy as an artifact of culture. The nature of literacy will change as culture changes.
According to Szwed, what are the 5 elements of literacy? 1.text 2. content 3. function 4. Participant. 5. Motivation -Out of all of these I like number 5 – Motivation because I think all the others can change but Motivation not as much. Text and Content can change based of writing or speech. Function and participant can change too I guess. If you ask a medical secretary to create a brochure, she would create something different to give to a sales person than to a person who needs more information on their ailment. I like Motivation because it seems the most honest. What method of studying literacy does Szwed recommend and why? Szwed recommended Ethnography because practicing “mass education” and “mass teaching” would not address literacy problems and may them worse. What does Szwed mean when he writes, in reference to ethnography, that “we must come to terms with the lives of people without patronizing them” (427)? Szwed’s advice. Szwed wants us to stop just looking at reading and writing ability but to take account of the things that are affecting the person as a whole.magine you are a literacy instructor at a high school in the Bronx: if you followed Szwed’s advice, how would you teach literacy? It would be much more than formatted test to rate reading or writing, I would start by letting the child know I can be trusted by getting to know his and her likes and surrounding when they are outside the school environment as well .
Questions: 1,2,3,4,5,7
According to Szwed, the five elements of literacy are context, function, text, participants, and motivation. One of the elements of literacy that Szwed mentions is motivation. He states that reading and writing may depend on motivation. The reader may vary depending on context, function, and text. Szwed notes, “…motivation itself is varied: one may be moved to read by nostalgia, ambition, boredom, fear, etc…” (423). This explains how motivation can move when the reader feels a certain way. They may get bored and start reading. From this, we can infer that depending on how you feel it may cause the person to read. So motivation does come into play when it comes to literacy. The method that Szwed recommends to study literacy is ethnography. He recommends this because he thinks with this method we can discover “what literacy really is and what can be validly measured.” He mentions it is more relevant and that we are “inheritors.” We should look at reading and writing differently and instead see them as activities that have consequences in “family life, work patterns, etc…” When Szwed stated, “we must come to terms with the lives of people without patronizing them” (427), I think he meant that no person should suffer implications when it comes to understanding literacy. He is trying to say that we shouldn’t be harsh to people. Some people judge and try to understand people based on their circumstances or by their understanding of literature, which isn’t good. If I was a literacy instructor at a high school in the Bronx I would follow Szwed’s advice. I would first teach about the impact literacy can have and show what literacy is. For instance, Szwed stated the consequences that reading and writing can have in real life. Plus, I will make sure to help every student no matter what background they have and be understanding as well. Another way of teaching is also taking the students out to observe literacy in operations. For instance, by taking them out to libraries, offices, and parks, they will have the chance to observe literacy!
The four characteristics of literacy that Baker stated are semiotic, public, transitory and product oriented. She explains each characteristic because we have to understand what literacy was. She states literacy was public since reading and writing aren’t private activities and that students have the chance to share their work with a bigger audience if they wanted to. She explains this will help us show the “focus of the sociocultural perspective.”
Szwed says there are five elements of literacy which are text, context, function, participants, and motivation. (p.423) They each help shape the definition of literacy. I personally think motivation is a big part of literacy because like Szwed says a reader’s motivation may vary depending on how they are moved. I have noticed that growing up I needed motivation to start certain books or to read at all. A lot of people, kids especially are picking up books and trying to read and any bit of discouragement where they get frustrated and feel like they can’t do it they will put the book back down and most of the time does not pick it back up. Motivation is a big part of reading to help readers with their fears. Szwed suggests that ethnography method because it’s how you will find out what literacy really is, considering this method is what can be validly measured especially with the past research on the subject. “we must come to terms with the lives of people without patronizing them” (p.427) is Szwed’s way of saying that everyone is dealing with their own story and we can’t judge a person just because someone else is more advanced and making them feel shameful for where they are which can tear someone down and once again may lead to fear because of something out of their control.
According to Elizabeth Baker literacy is an artifact of culture, and the nature of literacy changes as culture changes. (p.15) I learned that literacy is often the ability to read and write as orality is verbal communication with little to no exposure to writing.
Q: According to Szwed, what are the 5 elements of literacy?
A: According to John F. Szwed the 5 elements of literacy are text, context, function, participants, and motivation.
Q: Select one of the 5 elements of literacy and describe it in more detail.
A: The element of motivation is important in literacy because of how impactful it can be to wanting to learn. Szwed says that reading and writing may vary on motivation because it affects the amount of work a person is willing to put in to be educated in certain subjects. Motivation has to do with a person having the need to complete a task, and it goes a long way when wanting to be educated on literacy. For example, an immigrant must have the motivation to want to read, write and speak a new language if they move to a new country. It is truly necessary.
Q: What does Szwed mean when he writes. In reference to ethnography, that “we must come to terms with the lives of people without patronizing them” (427)?
A: I believe Szwed is trying to say that people from all over the world are accustomed to different traditions, different ways of living life, and for that reason, we must not look at them differently according to literacy. Different cultures might not focus on the same elements we Americans do, and for that reason, we cannot look down upon them due to their situations.
Q: What method of studying literacy does Szwed recommend and why?
A: A method of studying literacy Szwed recommends is having field observation of literacy. This has to do with making key observations in one literacy because it can allow us to understand more information that can help us make decisions in the future. Also, we can use this field of observation to learn more about one’s culture and understand how a person of that origin learns.
Q: What according to Elizabeth Baker, is the sociocultural perspective of literacy?
A: Elizabeth Baker says that the sociocultural perspective examines literacy as an artifact culture. Changes in literacy occur due to the change in culture, meaning that culture is evolving throughout the generations, so literacy will change over time. Just as our behavior in our language has changed over time, the way we speak especially the rhetoric we use in our everyday lives.
Q: What did you learn from researching the term “orality versus literacy?”
A: I learned that orality has to do with the use of more verbal ways of communication that are employed by the culture, and uses little to no writing. The difference between orality and literacy is that one uses mostly verbal communication and not much writing exposure. While literacy has to do with having the ability to read and write, which is equally balanced.