Gee - Swales Dilactical Journals

Greg Warman

10-29-12

Eng 1510

Gee Dialectical Journal

“Language is a misleading term; it often suggests ‘grammar’” -483

-          James Paul Gee goes on to explain how a person can perfectly know the grammar aspects of a language, but still not know how to use that language. I agree with his point here that the word “language” is often misconstrued as a synonym for “grammar”, however, by declaring that a person knowing grammar may still lack the skill to articulate expressions in the language is a bit too much. They may not “perfectly” present their ideas, responses, thoughts, etc. in language, but if what they are presenting, whether it be acceptable by Gee or not, is understood by the listener or reader, then I do believe they know how to use the language: They have successfully transferred their message to another person, though, it indeed may not have been presented as “perfect” as Gee thinks they could have presented it.

“At any moment we are using language we must say or write the right thing in the right way while playing the right social role and (appearing) to hold right values, beliefs, and attitudes.” -484

-          Gee is explaining his idea that as a bearer of knowledge, to communicate with others in the most efficient and understandable way, one must act as sort of a chameleon, if you will, in that they must mold and shape the way they talk, how they talk, what they talk about, and how they present it.  The different combinations of ways one can fit into a certain role are called Discourses, or “identity kits” as Gee refers to them as.

“…there is no real sense in which we humans are consistent or well integrated creatures from a cognitive or social viewpoint, though, in fact, most Discourses assume that we are.” -485

-          Gee is explaining that human beings, as a whole, all come together in specific groups called discourse communities.  Each one of these communities have their own ways of functioning, and though many communities are similar and share the same traits, there is no real sense that anyone has the same exact social viewpoint.

“Though true acquisition is probably not possible, “Mushfake” Discourse is possible.”  - 490

-          When one has grown up “maladapted”, they indeed are less competent in the functionality of language, but also, it leads to the creation of something with otherwise less efficient things.  An example would be a prisoner making a shiv out of a toothbrush.

 

Swales Dialectical Journal

“Whatever the genealogy of the term discourse community, the relevant point in the present context is that it has been appropriated by the ‘social perspectivists’ for their variously applied purposes in writing research. “ -468

-          No matter what it exactly means or what it should be used for, a discourse community was founded by people in writing research.

“The absence of any one (different subject areas, conflicting procedures, no interaction, and multiple discourse conventions) may be enough to prevent discourse community formation – as international politics frequently reminds us.” -469

-          It only takes one thing different in a discourse community to cause it to flutter and fail.  Also, it’s often very small things (or at least they seem small) that can lead to a colossal difference in two discourse communities, as he explains we see in international politics.

“We need then to clarify, for the procedural purposes, what is to be understood by discourse community and, perhaps in the present circumstances, it is better to offer a set of criteria sufficiently narrow that it will eliminate many of the marginal, blurred and controversial contenders.” – 469

-          Swales is reiterating the fact that it’s better to have a set of “rules, to-do’s, laws, requirements” in each discourse community to get rid of gray areas and allow for a specific running of the community and it keeps it distinguished from other communities.

“The precise status of conflictive discourse communities is doubtless a matter for future study, but here it can at least be accepted that discourse communities can, over a period of time, lose as well as gain consensus, and at some critical juncture, be so divided as to be on the point of splintering.” -478

-          Swales is saying how this idea of discourse communities is definitely in need of being further researched, but by what he has gathered in his research, the next person who researched discourse communities can go into knowing a few things: they can lose/gain consensus, become divided as much as to splinter.

 

My Peer Review for Libby, Chloe, Erica, and Abby

Greg Warman

10-30-12

Eng 1510

Peer Review: Libby, Erica, Chloe, Abby

(the blogpost/facebook page)

Introduction:

                Your introduction in the blog was very catchy.  I’m not sure many people ponder on the idea that by constantly “tweeting” their thoughts in ordinance with a 140 character limit, they may be affecting their ability to create longer, more drawn out ideas, thoughts, and responses.  By getting into the habit of condensing your thoughts so that they’ll fit in a tweet, it may be creating a habit that affects more than just your tweets.  Great point!

First and Second Paragraph:

                Good information, I’d just watch the repetition of the word “today.” Also, you mention “what we are used to” in reference to the age at which younger kids are being introduced to technologies: I would argue that there has never been a set age at which technology is presented to children, however, it started with the cell phone craze (around 8^th grade for me) and ever since then it seems like cell phones are being given to kids at a younger and younger age, and I’ve been getting friend requests from some of my friends’ little siblings, some of which are as young as 7 or 8 years old!

Third Paragraph:

I’d add more information to your statement about the study conducted in Great Britain.  What did the study entail? Who conducted it? How did the results show that social media helps improve students’ literacy? Put the results in your own words to simplify it and make it easier to read. Also, check your spelling

Fourth Paragraph:

                Awesome idea.  You make a great connection to the idea of technology, social media, and the difference between creating a private journal compared to writing for an online audience.

Fifth Paragraph:

                Spelling! In a paragraph about how spelling is positively affected by social media, make sure your own spelling is correct! Otherwise, intriguing information brought on by the survey. And again, I would summarize the results in your own words to make it easier to read and understand.

Rest of Paper:

                The surveys and results from the surveys add a great deal to your overall argument, just simplify the results and explain them in your own words to sort of “clean up” and simplify exactly what you’re arguing and how the surveys compliment your argument.

Facebook Page:

                I really enjoyed the layout.  Being a social media junkie, I found it to be easy to read and easily accessible.  Also, I liked how you incorporated your own Facebook pages by using them to comment on the group page!

Help with Dialectical Journals

I noticed how dry the reading on Gee is, so I did a little research and found a summary on his thoughts and views of literacy, dialect, and sociolinguistics.  I found these interviews with him and found it helpful to hear him explain his thoughts aloud instead of trying to derive his views from his writing. Hope this helps!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RmreVieKl0

Peer Review

1)

https://twitter.com/Yo_itsSeuss - Dr. Seuss’s best quotes

2)

Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, has influenced literature immensely for people of all ages.  His hypothesis on why kids were not able to read well was because of the books.  He felt the books were boring and didn’t catch their interest.  That’s why you can pick up any of the Dr. Seuss books and instantly be amused.  The way he catches the readers attention is by the fun colors, the catchy rhymes, and the goofy characters.  Doing this, especially for the kids, makes it fun to read.  In everyone of his books there is a message or a moral about the story it goes with.  He teaches children to use their imagination like in the book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.  When kids cannot go outside and play because of the weather, he gives them something exciting to do inside, like in the well-known book, The Cat in the Hat.  Geisel not only teaches people ways to learn, he taught us life long lessons as well.  In the book,How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, he teaches us that if you are nice and accept people that are rude and crude, they will end up with a bigger heart.  

His books give kids or anyone really, that are moving on to something bigger and better a sense of motivation.  The book, Oh, The Places You'll Go, helps you move on with your life, or at least makes it a little bit easier. One quote that really stands out, “You're off to great places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, So . . . get on your way!" If this doesn’t motivate you to try and succeed in your future then who knows what would.  

Compared to other children book series, Dr. Seuss is the most influential.  Other book classics like Berenstain Bears, The Magic School Bus, or any other books teach kids how to learn and in a fun way, but do not teach as much as the Dr. Seuss books.  Like I said before, Dr. Seuss books teach more than reading and writing, they shape kids by showing them many different ways to help others or act toward each other.  

All these facts are relevant to learning because growing up involves more than just a good education.  Don’t get me wrong, a good education is a huge part of growing up but there are other things that matter as well.  For instance: how to treat people whether you’re friends or not, helping the environment, using your imagination, and even the different places you can go with your life.  Dr. Seuss mastered his way of teaching people the important things in life and made it a fun and exciting way to learn.

                                                                                       

3)

Dr. Seuss Survey Analysis

“How did/has Dr. Seuss affect literacy”

Out of 61 participants in the survey, here were the results:

1.       Have you ever read a book written by Dr. Seuss?

Yes- 57 (93.4%)

No- 5 (8.2%)

2.       If yes, did you enjoy it?

Yes-  50 (82%)

No- 1 (1.6%)

Some What- 8 (13.1%)

Never Read a Dr. Seuss book- 5 (8.2%)

3.       When is the last time you read a Dr. Seuss book?

Within the past month- 8 (13.1%)

Within the past 6 months- 15 (22.6%)

Between 6 months and a year- 11 (18%)

Over a year ago- 25 (32.6%)

Don’t Know-  10 (16.4%)

Never Read a Dr. Seuss Book- 5 (8.2%)

4.       Could you pick out an underlying message in the books?

Yes- 41 (67.2%)

No- 8 (13.1%)

Don’t Know 12 (19.7%)

Never Read a Dr. Seuss Book- 5 (8.2%)

5.       Have Dr. Seuss books impacted you in any way? If so, how?

Best Responses:

-          “The last time I read one it was to a two year old I was babysitting and just the excitment he had as I read to him made me want to work with kids! So now I want to teach kids.”

-          “They've taught me how to see lessons and morals from different perspectives.”

-          “No they were just fun to read.”

-          “I think it's impacted my love for reading, and Dr. Seuss was basically a part of my childhood”

-          “They always remind me how simple life can be even though it seems so complicated.”

-          “Yes, they promote creativity”

-          “They present a new way of looking at life and difficulties in life. They have made me more aware of the way I live life”

-          “They taught me to be accepting of other people, try new things, and how to count.”

-          “Yes I think they're creative and help you think outside of the box. Nonsense wakes up the brain cells”

-          “Dr. Seuss sends messages that are creative and meaningful at the same time.”

Basically, from the results that we’ve gathered, most people have read, and enjoyed at least one of Dr. Seuss’s works.  Even though Dr. Seuss’s books were published back between the 50’s and 70’s, his books are still being read by recent generations. By the responses we received about the impact that Dr. Seuss’s books had on the participant allows us to draw the conclusion that his books and writing are so popular because they are simple, the rhyme scheme is catchy, and he incorporates simple messages and morals in his books that can be applied to anyone, which allows his books to stay popular even in a new generation.   These simple morals and his format of expressing them acts as a great literacy sponsor in the molding and shaping of our literacy as we’ve matured and grown up.

4) (Each individual response on how Dr. Seuss and his novels acted as a literary sponsor for us) (there will be 3 other responses / one per each group member)

Greg's response:
For our project, we defined how Dr. Seuss, in all his simplicity, helped to become a large influence in the development of our literacy as we've grown and matured.  Dr. Seuss created simple works but in those silly rhymes and goofy stories, he always managed to open up one's imagination, causing you to delve into his fun, fantasy creations all while he was presenting an underlying message about morals or equality that for me, has had a lasting impact on not only my literacy, but my life and how I live it and view the world around me. Because of his great influence on me, I would definitely recommend his books to anyone; tiny and small, or big and tall.  The underlying themes in his books apply to anyone and continues to apply even though times are changing.

Marc's response:
I was introduced to Seuss at a very young age. It probably started much earlier than I can actually remember, but the defining moment came when I was three and it was around Christmas time. My mom showed me the red and green cover of the book How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I have seen the 30 minute show before and loved it, but now I have the book to reference. After my mom read it to me, I began noticing the plethora of Seuss books we actually owned (which turned out to be a lot, actually). Green Eggs and Ham, The Cat in the Hat, Oh, the Places You Will Go, and many more; I grew up reading those books with my parents. I moved from Seuss to Shel Silverstein around the time I was eight and from there started reading short chapter books like Scooby-Doo and Captain Underpants. I will always remember that I started reading with rhyme and that it started with a green Who who didn’t like Christmas. The books taught me many things about literacy using many tools, such as repetition and theme. All the stories had a neat and unique theme to them. Green Eggs and Ham teaches you to try new things, while The Lorax has a deeper meaning behind it, such as protecting the environment. Not only did Dr, Seuss help my literacy, he also brought up simple life lessons and pseudo-social change.

Alex's Response:
Dr. Seuss’s way of writing and style of writing has affected so many different people.  The way he uses the rhyming and different colors and pictures makes it almost fun to read.  Dr. Seuss does more than make it fun, you just have to look passed all of the silly things.  He gives the reader a new way to learn and think.  It is hard to figure that out at a young age, but now as a college student and by doing research on him, I have found other meanings in his writing.  It showed me to look more into the readings and find out what the author is really trying to get across.  There are many of his books if not all of them that have more than one meaning. Oh, The Places You Will Go was given to me for graduation and I was sure why.  I read it a few times to reminisce own my child years and I understood why it was a gift.  Not only to remind me of the book but to tell me I can do anything I want with my life and that I will make my own path.  I strongly recommend his series of books not only to children but all ages.  You can never be to old for a Dr. Seuss book.

C.R.A.P Assignment

      This picture of a billboard caught my attention immediately, for fairly obvious reasons.  The way the girl has position her finger(s), your mind automatically comprehends it as the middle finger. After a few seconds, you realize that it's not actually her middle finger, but instead, it's her ring finger. After reading the text "she's tired of waiting," the humor sets in. "I'm not flipping you off, I'm just making it known that my ring finger is ringless!" Basically, she's flipping you off, without actually flipping you off. I really like this ad because of the blunt and clever attempt to trick your eyes and mind. As for the C.R.A.P aspect of the billboard, the contrast of the darker background and the light color of the skin cause emphasis of attention to be directed towards the hand. For the repetition, "Robbins Diamonds" can be found twice: under the face of what I'm assuming is their company logo, and in their website name. The alignment of the middle finger is directly in the middle of the billboard, causing it to be the center of attention and the first thing seen.  For proximity, the blurriness of the face and the clarity of the hand and finger cause attention to be drawn to the hand and finger first.

Synthesis:
      Wysocki's article exposes the idea of looking more into the visual aspects of a text and the formatting of the writing as to gain better feedback from the audience. This idea of visualizing the text to be better comprehended can be related to the argument McCloud makes about his cartoon character.  It's better to use the 4 simple concepts of CRAP to protrude your message to your audience than to create an elaborate design, just as a simple comic character is better than a realist being. 

Literacy Narrative

Greg Warman   

10-2-12

English 1510

Literacy Narrative

                The first point in my life that started to mold my literacy was in 8^th grade when my 60 year old teacher, Mrs. James taught me how to diagram sentences.  She would stand there in front of the class in a floral dress that ranged from pink, to purple, to blue, to red, and back to pink.  She had your typical white, poofy/curly “old-lady-hair.”  Mrs. James always seemed to have an intimidating smile on her face that was accompanied by two grey glaring eyes; two eyes that gawked directly into your soul if you were to ever act up. The combination of her smile and eyes turned her into a villain-like being.  Every day, we all dreaded going over our homework.  Person after person would get called on to go up to the chalkboard to diagram the sentence she had assigned you.  Everyone knew to work diligently and effectively, setting off the subject and verb with the correct line.  At the same time, everyone feared screwing up.  Anyone who would mess up would face the heart-sinking, face-melting, degrading noise from Mrs. James: “Uh, uh, uhh… Something’s not right there…” As soon as you would turn around from the board, your eyes would meet hers.  The room would be screaming with absolute silence. Her eyes laughed in your face at the mistake you had just made, no matter how trivial it might have been.  The worst part about the confrontation about to take place was not only that you made a mistake, not only were those soul-less eyes staring at you, but that deviant smile was always on her face, almost as if it was the only thing that kept her from chewing off your face.  She would then go on to correct your mistake in an almost ridiculously polite way, but her voice was devastating and shrill.

                Basically, I learned how to diagram sentences out of pure fear of making a mistake and dealing with the wrath of Mrs. Fels.