Digital Literacy (from Virginia Heffernen)

1.  To be honest, I cannot think of many tips that I could give my previous school teachers to prepare me for the technology I use in school today.  I have been predisposed to most of the technology that I am currently using in school.   All of the programs that I have never used before this year are specific to certain classes, and I do not think that we could have used them in elementary, middle, or high school because of their level of difficulty. 

2.  After I finish my undergrad. at Oakland, I hope to continue onto medical school and become a doctor.  In this career, I will always have to be up to date in the latest technology.  I think that Oakland may be able to prepare me for some of the technology that I will have to use.  In my science classes, I will be learning how to use equipment that I will one day use in the work place.  This is beneficial for me because when I start working I will have a predisposition to using the equipment. 

3.  I do not feel that I write better in a more relaxed setting.  I prefer to write so that if I had to turn my writing in to be graded, I would not be embarrassed by its content.  At the same time, I like my writing to contain lots of voice so that it still sounds like they’re my words.  This is a delicate balance.

4.  If I were a science teacher, I would put an emphasis on teaching writing that is geared towards analysis and conclusions rather than form and style.  It is not as important to be creative and stylistic when presenting scientific findings, but it is still important for science majors to have a strong understanding of literacy.  It would probably also be helpful for me to teach my students how to use technology that they might be unfamiliar with so that when they encounter it later in life they will know how to use it. 

5.  I think that the tone of the piece is condescending but not rudely so.  What I mean by this is that Heffernen presents her argument by creating named characters that the readers of the article will be able to relate their children to.  By doing this she causes the reader to realize all of the hopes and dreams they have for their children, and Heffernen explains how there is not a proper way to prepare them for their future careers.  I used the word condescending because Heffernen is presenting an argument that many parents probably have not considered; many parents think that if their child succeeds in school, they will get a good job.  This is no longer the case.    

Literacy Time Line

• 2001:  Second Grade:  Mom read me Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. 
• 2001:  Second Grade:  I saw the first Harry Potter movie and went to my first sleep over afterwards.  This is a very good memory.  It made me want to continue reading the series.
• 2002:  Third Grade:  I saw the second Harry Potter movie and was scared, so I didn’t want to read it.
• 2003:  Fourth Grade:  On a long drive, my parents played the Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets audio book on the way, and I realized that the book was not as scary as the movie so I began reading the series again.
• 2004:  Fifth Grade:  I joined a North Hill Helpers and read to senior citizens at a retirement home.  It was Halloween, so I chose to read my favorite Halloween-themed story:  A Woggle of Witches
• 2005:  Sixth Grade:  Harry Potter 4 was the last movie my family saw before divorce, so I’ve always really liked this one.
• 2006:  Seventh Grade:  Harry Potter 5 movie came out and I went to see it with my mom and her new boyfriend, who I did not like, so naturally I did not really like the movie either.
• 2007:  Eighth Grade:  Seventh and final installment of Harry Potter came out, so I finished the series (it is still one of my favorites)
• 2008:  Eighth Grade:  My cousin told me there was a book I had to read:  Twilight.  I loved it so much that I read it in three days and hastily did the same for New Moon and Eclipse.
• 2008:  Summer Before Ninth Grade:  Breaking Dawn came out that summer and even though I was on vacation I managed to get to a bookstore the day that it came out so that I could read it.
• 2008 - 2009: Summer Before Ninth Grade to Tenth Grade:  Distraught that I had finished reading both Harry Potter and Twilight, I turned to the young adult section of Barnes &Noble and started reading religiously.  I think I read around two hundred books that year.  I made lots of friends this way.
• I always looked forward to snow days because I would still get up at the time I would for school and I would read all day long.  One day, I read the Complete Collection of Grimm’s Fairy Tales.  It was a little over 600 pages.  I read it in one day.
• 2009:  Tenth Grade:  I had tested into Honors English, which was a class that required lots of reading.  I read 12 books that year; I hated all of them.  It turned me off of wanting to read for pleasure because I was always reading for school.
• 2010: Eleventh Grade:  A.P. Literature made me dislike reading for fun just as much as Honors English.
• 2011:  Twelfth Grade:  I missed enjoying reading, so I opted out of taking A.P. Compositions.  This way I had time to read for fun.  I began adding to my previous collection again.

Literacy Narrative

In Amy Tan’s Mother Tongue, she discusses how she developed an understanding of the language through experiencing it in literature.  I find it interesting that she says she uses different language with her mother than with native-English speakers because she does not want to confuse her mother.  I do the same thing with my grandmother who is from India.  I find myself speaking slowly and using less complex syntax so that she can keep up.  It is funny that those close to her do not even notice the transition in her speaking because they are so used to it.  Something I find a little strange is the way that Tan mentions she understands her mother’s broken English as though she is speaking like everyone else.  I think that because her mother was so often misunderstood, Tan made it her goal to help her gain some acceptance and respect in society.  Nonetheless, Tan always stayed positive and eventually discovered her affinity for writing.  

Why Writing Is Important

     I think that writing is so important because it can be used in such a vast array of different applications; it has become a prominent part of nearly all fields of work.  In the future, I hope to be a doctor, and I know that in this career, I will have to use my writing ability in order to be successful.  Although I am not entirely positive of what my exact duties will be, I know that I will have to write reviews of patients' health, write out prescriptions, and to even get so far as medical school I will have to apply my knowledge of writing to pass through all of the exams.  I understand that being a science major will influence my style of writing to be different than that of an English major, but that does not mean my writing will be any less creative, nor does it mean that writing will be any less important in my future career.  From this class, I hope to learn more about what style of writing suits me best, so that I can be successful in the future.