The readings for this week focus on the importance of integrating new media literacies along with traditional alphabetic literacy into the classroom, as these skills are proven to be a necessity today for composing writing both inside of school, and for preparation to write outside of the classroom as well. Meaning is derived through a diverse means of expression according to the essays written by Cynthia Selfe, “Students Who Teach Us,” and “Box Logic,” by Geoffrey Sirc.
The new millennium student, the ultra modern generation that includes my ten nieces and nephews …enter the earth plane from inside the womb, through it into their parents' arms seeming to understand the use of digital instruments, and then they are able to absorb applications of new media through observation, also through teaching themselves - basically - with little effort. And, I must add here that I wonder if Selfe is taking Selfie pictures to post on social media, which has become an artform among the students of generation X and Y and Z …ha!
Selfe states on page 57: “New media texts, I would argue, are an important part of a postmodern technological culture undergoing the same sort of rapid changes. They exist in electronic and technological environments that change so rapidly, few teachers of English composition are able to keep up. Students, in contrast–frequently immersed in new communication contexts–are often the first to experiment with new kinds of texts, to discover new literacy values and practices. They are also the first to understand the functions new media texts fulfill in their lives.”
I am encouraged by the student featured in Selfe’s essay, a young man from Detroit named David John Damon, who came from a disadvantaged background that lacked financial stability and consistent parenting. Despite his mother’s death while he was still a teenager, Damon credits her love of reading and language as the reason for his passion for expression, as well as the reason for his siblings avid reading of books. Damon actually makes it to college; almost miraculous it appears to me, especially based on the background shared through Damon’s voice within the text. This student then becomes involved with website design and management for his contemporaries on campus, specifically African American organizations and he creates a niche for himself as an online communications expert of sorts, another incredible feat in my mind.
Sadly, the reader learns that Damon is eventually forced to drop out of college due to his inability to accurately grasp the traditional form of composition in his beginning English courses. He is not able to pass them, this clearly talented individual …and an exception for composing, an alternate way to present ideas in writing was not offered as a means to bridge the gap for him, or simply put his professors thinking outside of the old box did not happen. Damon’s story is an urban tragedy for society because this student clearly has the potential to complete a higher level degree; he clearly has the potential to become a role model in the ghetto that Damon states he loves so dearly, but he was not successful in writing the basic traditional alphabetic essay, and this stood in his way of academic achievement – an essay he may not even need to write for earning potential in our current modern world.
Geoffrey Sirc’s essay also picks up on non-traditional ways of expression and communication in “Box Logic.” Let me begin by exclaiming that the mere mention of the name Marcel Duchamp makes my heart skip a beat. The description of writer, designer and artist as a collector resonates with exactly who I really am. The phenomenon of collecting objects …possibly to travel backwards in time and for inspiration found through their 'energy' resonates with my Sagittarian spirit - I get this. A specific line stands out for me near the beginning of the essay written by Jean Suquet commenting on Duchamp’s work - his collecting notes and objects inside of boxes.
He states on page 112: “If an interior journey goes deep enough, at some point it arrives where all roads meet.”
Hmmm. A variety of interpretations come to my mind. Going deep implies thinking outside, uh, oh, or I mean inside of the box in this case, and viewing digital composing in a new way. It’s a new day in the our world for writing composition …and, funny though - some of the old days' ways have returned as well.
Sirc writes on page 117: “A primary goal now in my writing classes: to show my students how their compositional future is assured if they can take an art stance to the everyday, suffusing the materiality of daily life with an aesthetic.”
Uh, enough and well said, and more writing-sharing to come on this blog post …later.
No comments :
Post a Comment