RE_5539

The quote that best reflects my learning during this course is:

Text of pleasure: the text that contents, fills, grants euphoria; the text that comes from culture and does not break with it, is linked to a comfortable practice of reading.
Text of bliss: the text that imposes a state of loss, the text that discomforts, unsettles the reader’s historical cultural, psychological assumptions, the consistency of his [sic] tastes, values, memories, brings to a crisis his [sic] relation with language. Roland Barthes

Text of pleasure: By contrasting the effect of words, this quote illustrates that reading familiar text creates a state of pleasure. When my daughter was a little girl, her favorite book was Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day. Every time I read that book she would smile and squeal with delight. After reading that story at bedtime for about a week, she began to read the story along with me. Although she could not read the words, she knew the story. When she was older, she found that book in a box. As most mothers do, I put her most precious things in a box for keepsakes. When she saw the book, I saw the same twinkle in her eyes that were there when she was two listening to this story. She opened the book and began to read and squeal with delight. As I stood in the corner and listened to her read the words, I smiled because she could finally read her favorite story. Most importantly, she read it with ease and comfort because it was familiar to her. The same feeling of comfort and ease is evident in adults when they read familiar text. This occurs when reading books by an author that uses the same characters in all of his work, or by reading books by different authors about a particular subject of interest. Human nature enables us to cling to that which is familiar. It’s almost like having a favorite sandwich or entrée at your favorite restaurant. Even though you might want to try something different sometimes, you always know that you will thoroughly enjoy your favorite. I love John Grisham novels. Whenever I have an opportunity to read one of his books, I know I am in for a treat. I know that I can curl up in bed deep under the covers with a good cup of cappuccino and have a wonderful time. Reading his books is a form of enjoyment to me; it brings me pleasure. When I have an opportunity to read for enjoyment I find myself in a wonderful state of peace.

Reading for pleasure is an advantage that I miss. Being in graduate school has kept me very busy and I have not been able to read my John Grisham novels. I have had to retreat from my comfort zone and read so many books about everything except my favorite. All of a sudden, I felt like a child that was being separated from their favorite toy. This is especially difficult when reading a book about a subject that I am not interested in or more or less task oriented. However, I have grown to appreciate the effect of reading books that are not familiar. I realize that the point of being in graduate school is to master my craft and to become a deeper intellectual thinker. These two books, The Skin That We Speak: Thoughts on Language and Culture in the Classroom by Lisa Delpit and Reading Lives: Working-Class Children and Literacy Learning by Deborah Hicks that I have read during graduate school have become favorites; but in a different sense. I now love books that challenge me and make me think out of the box. I now want to be taken out of my comfort zone and placed into a world of situations totally different from my own.

In this class, reading the experiences of the writers in “The Skin That We Speak”. It was pleasurable in reading this book. This book had a tremendous impact on the me by stating that there is a problem, stating out right what it is, what has been done about it, and then stating possible solutions for all those involved in the process, from the child through linguists. Some of the quotes I read in this book were like listening to easy listening music. In Joanne Dowdy’s definitive quote, “The chains fell from around my tongue, and my brain began to feel as if it were oiled and moving along without hiccups... I could travel up and down the continental shift, moving from Caribbean to English intonations, without anyone being offended. Doesn’t this sound so melodiousness? We as educators must allow dialects into our classrooms and allow other students respect those dialects.

Text of bliss: The meaning for this part of the quote, it means for intellectual stimulation, it may be better to read unfamiliar text, as such presents a deeper and mental challenge. Believe me, in reading the philosophies and memoirs in “Reading Lives: Working-Class Children and Literacy Learning has definitely been challenging. I had to read the chapters in this book several times to understand the author’s point of view of the influence of social class relations on literacy learning and the stories of family literacy issues. By exploring their successes and challenges, the book revealed how children's home life experience influences who they come to be and how they come to know in relation to reading practices. From reading my colleagues blogs and this book directed me to move closer to the intersection of "feeling" and "knowing" in my role as a teacher. I have learned that it is essential that children feel valued and know that you accept them for who they are. It also showed me how to be that vehicle to bridge literacy education by connecting what is interrelated such as the student’s identity, relationship, history, beliefs, socialization, and cognition. I never realized that home literacy practices and the school’s literacy practices were like a foreign language. Just as we find ways and make modification for our non-English speaking students, we should do the same with children of working-class families.

I must admit that at my advanced age, I was leery and reluctant about this on-line course. I am from the era that the necessity of the physical structure of a classroom is conducive to learning. I am accustomed to having a teacher present and I didn’t think that this on-line course would offer me the opportunity to explore issues and help me think about my professional work in literacy. However, I was wrong. I found myself having a voice in this on-line forum. I was able to share my discourses from the comforts of my home. I really and truly believe that it comes from feeling safe and accepting my environment allow me to explore the possibilities of taking a chance on sharing my experiences and practices. I have found myself being more enthusiastic about the upcoming year and implementing the knowledge learned of recognizing the differences in my students and provide an environment that is conducive for them to be successful.

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading others’ on-line responses and the books required for this course. I am going to share these books with my principal and recommend that the staff read these two books just as we read Ruby Payne’s book, “A Framework for Understanding Poverty”. I feel that these books will have a great impact on our staff as it did on me. It would be of great value to all school administration for the problem of language in the classroom and how best to combat it from their level of authority. The people who I feel will value the most from these books are teachers. Teachers like myself who have not considered or are aware of how their student’s situated histories and their language patterns have a profound effect on their student’s academic success in their classrooms. Last week, I discussed these two books with a colleague of mine and she told me about another book that is written by Lisa Delpit called, “Other People’s Children”. Dr. Beth Frye, who is a professor at Appalachian State University, gave this book to her. I will definitely read this book.

The power of words never ceases to amaze me. The impact of literature can leave the most profound impact on the reader. While books that are familiar bring a state of instant pleasure and enjoyment, books that are intellectually stimulating can place the reader in an instant gratifying state of euphoria. ~ Shirley Mathis