Meaning maker

In Linda Flower's article "Images of Empowerment", She discusses how reading and writing can empower not only those who teach, but those who learn as well. The most interesting point made in this article is one that Kurt Spellmeyer makes. Spellmeyer imagines a composition class "where instead of a focus on the establishment rules of discourse, students are first recognized as meaning makers in their own right, involved in the work of reading and writing because it addresses questions that matter to them". This phrase, 'meaning makers' has such a strong connotation and implication it struck me as being something very important. For a student to be able to leave behind the role of 'compliant sponge' and don a robe of 'meaning maker' empowers him to think for himself. He can now interpret information and put a new perspective on it. This is what learning should be. What it ideally is. It is one thing for a teacher to simply pass on information to a student and the student to be a willing recepticle for this information. It is a whole other, and wonderful thing for the student to form his own opinion of this information, inciting him to dig deeper for more information and more truth. On the whole, this article was effective in showing the different ways in which literacy empowers. But this one idea will stick with me and encourage me to stop being such a sponge and strive to be a 'meaning maker'.

Wading through a literary bog

What's in a list? by Goody
The intended audience for this article is obviously a very specific group of people with a very specific interest in the corrrelation between the history of listing various things in writing and the ability to compartmentalilze one's thoughts. The author lists various sorts of lists and their development and use throughout history. The article gets interesting when it gets to the section entitled: Listing and Cognition. According to Goody, "The existence of the alphabet therefore changes the type of data an individual is dealing with, and it changes the repertoire of programmes he has available for treating this data". The idea that writing as a technology, or the alphabet itself, as an integral tool in this technology, is capable of expanding the inert abilities of the human mind is one that I had never before considered. To imagine a world without our alphabet, and consequently, lists as we know them, is impossible to do. It is so ingrained in us at this point, that it would be improbable to go back now that we have the ability to "deal with masses of disordered information". It is in us to see order in chaos, but not so to look at an ordered situation and dream it in disarray. I believe this is the point Goody is trying to make, even if he is doing so in a manner that takes a great deal of concentration and compartmentalization to wade through.

Unpackaging Literacy by Scribner and Cole
This article expands on some of the ideas touched upon in the Goody article. For example, the section entitled "Speculations About Cognitive Consequences of Literacy", it is quoted that "the cognitive restructurings caused by reading and writing develop the higher reasoning processes involved in extended abstract thinking". The article also goes into detail about the different aspects and consequences of wrting and literacy among different cultures. A case in point is literacy among the Vai. The whole of this article is abstract theories on the importance and relative consequences of placing so much emphasis on literacy. Though the authors present evidence for both schools of thought, there is never a right or wrong answer clearly stated.

Meet and Greet

Hi, my name is Sarah Wayland. In addition to being a first time blogger, I am an English major with aspirations toward a Masters in Library Science. Other than the obvious benefit of having yet another degree requirement under my belt, I hope to gain knowledge relevant to my future career while taking this class. As a librarian hopeful, literacy is very important to me. Literacy is the key to success in any field and an opportunity to learn and grow for the rest of one's life. I hope to learn the causes behind illiteracy and how to help people achieve literacy.  I am looking forward to the service aspect of the class and the opportunity to positively impact the Corpus Christi community.