We frequently hear critics argue that U.S. students can’t write well and that there is a “literacy crisis” in the U.S. What is the origin of these discourses? What do they have to do with immigration, national security, and economics? How does the notion that Americans can’t write drive the national push to test writing? Here we explore the history of writing and testing in the U.S., the “science” and technology of testing approaches, and how the rhetoric of assessment impacts the lives of Americans today.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Don't Insist on English



This presentation by Patricia Ryan exemplifies only a few ways that adherence to a certain language or dialect can create barriers for literacy learning. As we talked about in class today, confining one's self to a certain literacy ideology can restrict the types of literacy that one can develop.
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1 comment:

Kelsi Chuprinski said...

I liked when this speaker said that English teachers are the gatekeepers of students wishing to get out in the world…lots of pressure on English teachers to do their jobs! Whoever views teaching is a lower job in society is clearly mistaken. In reality, teachers are the gatekeepers for every single person who wishes to get an education, like this lady says. We are the ones who will dictate others’ futures. This is why I’m going to be a teacher!

April 6, 2011 at 7:19 PM

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