Language Investigation #3

My primary and secondary school teachers addressed reading and writing from a much different approach than the majority of my professors. I believe this has a lot to do with standardized testing. We were always pressured to develop clearly stated opinions about a particular topic and then write the standard five-paragraph paper (introduction, three main points, and conclusion). I was rarely given the chance to practice creative writing. Come to think of it, I am not sure I was ever given a chance to experiment with creative writing in the classroom. I found chapter five of Lives on the Boundary to be particularly interesting and inspiring because of this. According to my secondary and primary teachers, grammar is one of the most important aspects of writing. Therefore, grammar played a major role in the grades we received based on our papers. I happened to be mediocre at grammar, but found it unusual when I received better grades on what I considered to be worse papers simply because my grammar was up to par. It was as though the content held very little value in the eyes of my teachers. I never thought of it as unusual at the time because that was all I had known. Therefore, I would spend much less time considering which theme I thought to be most prevalent and important in a certain reading. Instead, I would spend the majority of my time grammatically revising each paper. Incidentally, my grammar was still below average by the time I completed high school, and my creative writing skills remained dormant. The methods of writing practiced at my school only left me with a mechanical knowledge of writing.

As for reading material, we often read adolescents’ literature in middle school and high school. We were asked to write based on very clear and simple prompts. For instance, the most common writing prompt in my high school was “State and develop what you believe to be the driving theme in” whichever book we were reading at the time. All of these characteristics of my experiences with reading and writing in primary and secondary schools greatly affected my previous experiences as a college writer. For instance, I took a “Study of Literature” class first semester of my freshman year, and attempted to write standard five-paragraph response papers to certain readings we completed. My professor was not at all upset by this, but did, however, inform me that it would be a good idea for me to try and expand my boundaries and attempt to write more freely. He even advised me to try and write a paper without initially having a clear answer to the prompt in mind, and that the answer will eventually make itself apparent. Ever since that particular course, I have struggled to find my own style in regards to writing. Until college, I was unaware of such a thing as style as a result of the methods by which I was taught. I suppose the implicit “rules and regulations” in regards to writing in my middle and high school primarily constrained imagination and creativity. The explicit “rules and regulations” were based on mechanical and grammatical errors. My education prior to college did help me understand the value of creating a well developed paper with clearly stated points, proofs, and examples. However, my college education has allowed me to tamper with certain writing conventions and restrictions, therefore increasing my creative writing abilities.

Warm Up #2: Rose Ch. 5-6

1. What kinds of reading and writing did you see students doing in school? Why do you think Rose chose these assignments?

Rose had the students at El Monte simply write about what first came to their minds after viewing certain pictures. He told them not to worry about spelling or grammar errors. He chose these assignments in order to build confidence in each “troublesome” student’s writing skills and to facilitate practice in regards to their writing capabilities. Rose discovered that these “remedial” students had amazing writing skills that few other teachers had acknowledged. In fact, the students were most likely discouraged by the other teachers and consequently chose to conceal their full potential.

3. What did you notice about the language schools used to refer to the students Rose featured in this chapter? How did this language mark students as “insiders” or “outsiders” to school? How do you think these labels might have influenced students’ literacy development later on?

El Monte’s elementary school avoided using terms that referred to students as less or more intelligent than others. However, the students were well aware of what these terms implied; for instance, one student informs Rose that he was in the “dumb” math class until the teacher realized it was too easy for him and then he was placed back with the “normal” students. Additionally, the school performed tests that labeled some of Rose’s students as “mildly retarded.” Of course, the students were not aware of these labels but Rose discovers that many of them were most likely mislabeled. These terms that the students have come to realize the meaning of do in fact mark students as either “insiders” or “outsiders” because the ones marked as “remedial” are treated as different or less intelligent by the others (including teachers). This can affect the students’ literacy development because many of the “remedial” students were not receiving the attention they needed from other teachers and were dumped onto other professionals; and furthermore, were discouraged to the point of losing concern or care for their own education.

Language Investigation #2

I have a community of friends that happen to have coined a rather large amount of terms and phrases. I believe they use these terms and phrases in order to feel like a more intimate group, and one that has distinguished itself from outsiders (which is why I don’t typically use these terms or phrases; that and they sound a bit contrived when I try). Some examples of the terms/phrases and their meanings…

“Tease it out” – this is a term used when one is telling someone else to use finesse when handling whatever situation/object they are currently dealing with

“Let’s talk about it” – typically used on the phone… it means to come over to the location of wherever the speaker currently is (it’s not exactly an invitation because the speaker only says this once they have established that the person is in fact coming over; however, it is not a farewell either because the speaker still says a farewell following the statement)

My friends also have a nickname for almost every person we know (except for me and my roommate Grant – this is not because they like us any less… I think it’s because Grant and I are the only two in our group that refuse to refer to these people by their nicknames and they have therefore understood that we do not want nicknames ourselves)

Some examples…

“Hot Sauce” – my roommate Jonson

“Squirley McSquabblesome” – our friend Shirley (hence the beginning)

“Diesel” – our friend Cody – it started as Codice (dice as in “niece”) and eventually transformed to “Diesel”

Most of my friends grew up together in Colorado Springs. Consequently, I do not know the origin of most of these terms and phrases, and have included the origin in the definitions of the few that I do

Apart from my friends, I also skateboard from time to time and there are many terms and phrases associated with it. However, I am only going to list the more general terms because every trick has a term itself and I do not want to list all of them. But here are some examples…

“Primo” – Primo is a position on the board in which the skater is standing on two wheels while the board is on its side… this position is sometimes purposefully incorporated into tricks, but sometimes it is an accidental position you land in when attempting flip tricks and can be incredibly dangerous and painful

“Flip tricks” – a trick that involves flipping the board perpendicularly to the ground for at least one complete rotation (different than a spin, which is when the board remains parallel to the ground throughout)

“Sketchy” – I feel like this term is used by a lot of people; however, it is used when one is making and observation or trying to discourage someone from attempting a trick that involves a potentially dangerous outcome (e.g. considering doing a trick down a 12-stair)

“12 stair” – figured I might as well explain this term next… a 12-stair is a stair set with 12 steps and any number can be placed before stair and the meaning changes accordingly

“Manual” – a trick that involves balancing the board on either the front or back trucks

“Shin-slap” – a bit more painful than it sounds… this is when you fall off your board while attempting a grind and proceed to bang your shin(s) on the ledge or rail you were grinding (can be very, very painful… I once had trouble walking for about a month because my shins swelled up so badly… you couldn’t tell where my knee-caps ended and the bruises began)

That’s about it for skateboarding, apart from the hundred or so tricks which all have unique names that I don’t care to mention.

Warm Up

What patterns did you notice?
I noticed that the majority of the posts were light-hearted and reflected the intimate relationship between family and language. However, many people discussed some of their struggles concerning their families, which provoked an even more meaningful relationship between the expressions and terms used amongst their families. All in all, the posted stories and expressions really helped bring each student to life, carrying the weight of their families' cultures and relationships.

What do these patterns reveal?
They reveal that more often than not, families have their own personal jokes and anecdotes, regardless of the nature of their relationship. Additionally, the less upbeat stories reveal that families almost always encounter stuggles as a group and use each other for support before anyone else.

What does it mean to be an insider?
An insider is a person who is a part of something that no one else can join or take away (in regards to language).