"Writing Is a Technology that Restructures Thought"

Walter J. Ong writes about how literacy tends to begin to take on the form of supreme power by simply attaching to itself [literacy] the human expression and thought. Ong has argued that the term "illiterate" suggests that people belong to the class of deviants, based on the simple fact that they lack something most others have gained, literacy. Deviants in regards to normative/normal world tend to be thought of as a group comprised of individuals lacking a simple mechanical skill.

The quote that stuck out to me was when Plato Socrates explains that "writing destroys the memory" (page 21, Writing is a Technology that Restructures Thought, By Walter J. Ong). Socrates goes on to explain that though the use of external sources (e.g. computers, calculator, etc.) individuals have failed to rely heavily on their internal resources. This simple fact proved that writing has weakened the mind. Showing that we have become slave to the machine in society. We no longer find it necessary to stimulate and expand or internal resources (the mind) because so much emphasis now has been placed on the fact that machines have taken over and reduced the human ability to want to think. Machines, I believe take the drive, energy, and ambition away making the mind become complacent.

The critical term that is essential to the text is the word simply put "writing" (page 19, Writing is a technology that Restructures Thought", By Walter J. Ong). This term appears at various points throughout the text in how writing is compared to a mechanical skill, like tying a shoelace that one must master in order to become fully literate. Writing can take on many forms, existences, feelings such as inhuman, artificial, or a manufactured product. In this essay Ong places a huge emphasis on how writing has changed and will change the human mind either for the bad or good of society.

Overall, Ong described that writing and literacy are somewhat co-related relying on the fact that writing has become an essential tool to the human mind residing in the fact that it contributes to a richer, fuller, interior, human potentials. Ong discusses some critical elements that writing causes separation. Separation has begun to reveal itself as a divider of all sorts of things at all sorts of levels.

Finally, Ong compares writing to the everyday computer comparing it to the fact that writing is self-corrective to a certain degree. Print and electronics have started to separate know er from known more then writing does. Print has the effect on the human mind by placing a strain on the know er and known stages of writing in the context of complex structures of material. Writing has become a double-edged sword to some degrees it can benefit certain people however it can also hinder other people while at the same time taking on new shapes and forms throughout it's usage.

"Technology and Literacy: A Story about the Perils of Not Paying Attention"

In this essay about how in today's society computers are becoming a more important tool in the everyday classroom. In today's world we like to have the best of both worlds and this is the case in the everyday classroom that we will encounter in the future. With having access to computers we will be able to have them available for our own studies, for support in our classes and profession, but to a negative aspect we have begun to regard these technologies into the background of our teaching lives.

The quote that is important is that during the Clinton-Gore administration is when they published a document called the "Getting America's Children Ready for the Twenty-First Century" in which they announced that their was a program underway to expand technological literacy. One of the quotes that was harvested from the text was that "they wanted the ability to use computers and other technology to improve learning, productivity and performance" (page 416, Technology and Literacy, By Cynthia L. Selfe). The purpose of this program was to make sure that students are technology literate in which this refers to meaning that to use computers not only for it's rudimentary purposes but also for reading, writing, and communicating.

The term that is essential to this article is the word "technology" (page 412, Technology and Literacy, By Cynthia L. Selfe). The reason that this term is essential to this article is because this resource is becoming ever more important in today's classroom setting. Their has been a direct correlation between technology and literacy. One of the key components is that 70% of the jobs out their are now requiring a B.A. degree or further along with requirements for using computers. 89% of teachers and the public believe that the Internet (technology) adds to the value and learning that students will receive. Finally, 86% of parents believe that computer (technology) is one of the greatest investments that you can afford a child.

One of the main issues with this article however has to deal with the fact that schools that have served students of color have less than sophisticated computer equipment than do the schools that primarily are serving more affluent and white students. Students of color and poor students continue to have less availability to Internet, less multimedia equipment, less access to CD-ROM equipment, local area networks, and video disc technology.

By the above statement it shows that without these available technologies that students of color and of less affluent make-up aren't afforded the same opportunity to gain an education that is enriched with technology, thus giving these students the privilege of being able to gain access to technology rich jobs and economic prosperity after they graduate.

Literacy and Individual Consciousness

In this article by F. Niyi Akinnaso describes the term "individual consciousness"
as the totality of that person’s individuals knowledge, thoughts, beliefs,
impressions, and feelings in ways that can be represented in the behavior. This
is especially true in speech and writing that most individuals participate in.
Akinnaso wants to show that human interaction within the cultural context have
helped shape individuals view of literacy and from this have shaped their
individual consciousness.
The quote that stuck out at me was the point were Akinnaso states that his teachers
had a profound effect on the way literacy was viewed by him. He states,
"first of all, it has to be noted that I had no reading partner at home. There was no one [that] read to me and almost no one to read to. In the absence of
domestic literacy, much of my learning in the early years took place in
school" (page 145, Literacy and Individual Consciousness, By F. Niyi
Akinnaso). The reason that this quote is so important to the text is because itshows how important that his teachers were in shaping his view of literacy and
the impact that it could have on him as a student. His teachers showed him the
usefulness of learning this literacy and the practical applications in his life
that it could be applied to.
The term that is critical to the text is literacy (page 139, Literacy and
Individual Consciousness, By F. Niyi Akinnaso). The term is important because
it was one of the ways that he helped his father early on. By acquiring this literacy he was able to help his father
count the pounds of cocoa that was harvested by the village. Later on in the

story after he acquired an English form of literacy. Akinnaso’s view of literacy changed throughout his village
life (scribal to political, then to recorder to negotiator). It shows how
literacy is constantly evolving and changing shape and for these reasons can
have a different impact on you as an individual. Even though you loss a sense
of yourself through acquiring new literacy. It’s this literacy that will help shape the person you wereand want to become.
The idea in this text is how literacy shaped Akinnaso life and the ways in which he
views it now. Even though he wasn't able to gain access to literacy early on in
his life, usually only from simple sources such as Sunday school, books, or
higher education were some of the earlier ways in which Akinnaso was able to
gain access to this literacy. Through this however the further he became
literate in "English" the more he lost a sense of his tribal "dialect."
Finally, through his ability to gain access to "proper" dialect he was able to
help his village when people were trying to take advantage of the tribal
villagers. Through this literacy he was able to shape a new sphere of his life
in which he surrounded himself with educated elite in the nearby city. Akinnaso
began to associate literacy with not only small tribal functions but also with
social organization in the villagers local government, which was a microcosm of
which was provided by the village branch, which was the Cooperative Union.

"Sponsors of Literacy"

In this essay by Deborah Brandt she tells about

that from the industrial revolution till now that literacy has loomed as one if

not they greatest engines of profit and competitive advantage in the 20th

century. What Brandt calls sponsors of literacy have influenced these individuals?

These sponsors of literacy are agents local or distant, concrete or abstract,

who enable, support, teach, model, as well as recruit, regulate, suppress, or

withhold literacy and gain some advantage by having it in some form or another

The key quote that I felt was important in this essay was one in which she compared

literacy to a sort of commodity, or good. Brandt states, "literacy, like

land, is a valued commodity in this economy, a key resource in gaining profit

and edge. This value helps to explain, of course, the lengths to which people

will go to secure literacy for themselves or children" (page 558, Sponsors

of Literacy, By Deborah Brandt). It is true about literacy that it does hold

high regard in society. By being able to speak and write well gives you the

advantage over others that aren't quite as able to express themselves in a

certain way. That is why people place such high standards for acquiring

literacy for themselves and others around them.

The key term critical to the work is that of sponsors (page 556, Sponsors of

Literacy, By Deborah Brandt). Brandt explains that these individuals are people

who are a tangible group of people that literacy has required learning

throughout history have always had to ask for permission, sanction, assistance,

coercion, or at minimum, contact with existing trade routes. In simpler terms

it means that individuals have always had to gauge their discourse to somebody

else to make sure that they are following the rules and guidelines that for mentioned

group is participating in.

Overall, the essay contends that sponsors are the type of people whom we look for guidance

and assistance when it comes to looking for the proper literacy necessary for

some sort of skill set. These either can be real people or simply by just

picking up a newspaper, book, or magazine. Sponsors can have the impact of

being able to affect one's feelings towards that person. It can affect how,

what, why, and how people read and write.

Finally, Brandt states that the affluent people in society have better access to

powerful literacy sponsors as part of their economic and political privileges,

whereas poor people or low-caste racial groups have less consistent, less

politically secured access to literacy sponsors. Individuals have the ability

as elder literacy sponsors to pass on their knowledge to other individuals.

Literacy can accumulate in layers from families, workplaces, schools, memory,

and ones in which literacy was shaped out of ideological and economic struggles

of the past history.

"The Politics of Teaching Literate Discourse"

In this work done by Lisa Delpit, she argues about how in Gee's article that even though some students aren't giving the discourse necessary to compete in this linguistic society that they can be overtly taught, contradicting Gee who said that it couldn't. She finds two key arguments that are key to her arguments. The first is that individuals who haven't been born into a dominant discourse will find it harder, impossible, to acquire such discourse. The second argument is that the individual born into the one discourse with one set of values may begin to experience a major conflict when attempting to acquire another discourse with a separate set of values.

The one quote in the text that had a profound impact on me was that when empowering children to make a change a message that is influential in shaping them is "the one thing that people can't take away from you is what's between your ears" (page 549, The Politics of Teaching Literate Discourses, By Lisa Delpit). The reason this quote is so powerful to me is because it's true that the one thing in life that nobody can ever take away from you is the discourse, knowledge, and facts one gains throughout a lifetime. In my future teaching career I want my children in my classroom to know that no matter what happens to you in life the education that you will receive will make it so that you have the ability to compete with anyone else in society.

The key term that is critical to the text is acquisition (page, 547 The Politics of Teaching Literate Discourse, By Lisa Delpit). The reasons that this term is critical is because it’s the main argument of Delpit that you can learn “overtly” through repetition and practice learn the discourse necessary to become successful in life. This means that through education and learning the proper discourse you are better able to compete in an environment that is dominated by words. The more that you have command of a certain discourse the better suited you are to be able to gain access to better jobs, better pay, and possibly a better way of life. You can acquire these skills not only from family, friends, kins, groups, but also from learning it in the school environment as well.

Overall, the text describes how one can begin to gain access to this discourse through the schooling process. The teachers that are most successful at achieving this task are the ones who can teach students to write and speak eloquently, maintain neatness, think carefully, exude character, and conduct themselves with a sort of decorum. This acquisition of discourse can be attributed to one or more teachers who are committed to this process.

The thing that teachers can do to overcome these barriers to teaching this sort of discourse is by being able to acknowledge and validate student’s home language without using it to limit their students potential. Secondly, teachers must be able to recognize conflict between student’s home discourses and school discourses. Finally, teachers can begin to be aware of the unfair "discourse stacking" that our society chooses to engage in.

"Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics: Introduction and What Is Literacy"

In this work written by James Paul Gee, explaining that you as an individual are more subject to gaining discourse from primary discourse (parents, siblings, family), and reinforced by secondary discourse (social goods such as money, prestige, power.) Gee states that "language" can be a term that is misleading because it often suggests that it refers to "grammar" However, language and grammar are two different things. Language, is written words whereas grammar is seen as fixing the written words to make the work flow better.

The quote that most influenced me in the reading was were Gee states "discourses are not mastered by overt instruction (even less so than languages, and hardly anyone ever fluently acquired a second language sitting in a classroom), but by enculturation ("apprenticeship") into social practices through scaffolded and supported interaction with people who have already mastered the Discourse (page 527, Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics, By James Paul Gee). This quote stuck out to me because I thought that you could acquire the skills necessary to learn a primary discourse from school. I knew that parents played a major impact on you learning a discourse but I thought instruction was used as a reinforcement tool. Gee contends however that to master your primary discourse you rely on individuals who have already mastered the discourse with which you are working with.

The central terms to the text are primary and secondary discourses. Primary discourse are being a member of a primary socializing group (family, clan, peer group). Secondary discourses are the mastery of a particular discourse at a certain place and time, bringing with it the acquisition of "social goods" (page 527-528, Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics, By James Paul Gee). The reason these themes are so important is that a primary discourse is one in which you learn from individuals that are close to you. After, you have mastered the primary discourse you take what you learned from primary discourse, then through further mastery from other individuals you begin to construct the world around you. Once you have mastered secondary discourse you are able to compete for money power, and prestige.

The first concept of the text is that primary and secondary discourses are necessary for an individual to be able to compete in society. After, mastering these skills you are able to gauge yourself against other individuals and see where you "stack up" to them when it comes to competition for things deemed necessary for survival. One key fact to keep in mind is that primary discourses vary across cultural, ethnic, regional, and economic groups in the United States. This can sometimes put individuals at a disadvantage compared to individuals who haven't been placed in the same sphere having to come all the way from the bottom just to master a discourse deemed necessary for success.

The second concept in this text is that if you cant master the discourse then you are considered a non-member of the dominant group. By mastering the primary discourse you should are able to define literacy as the mastery of or fluent control over a secondary discourse. It is important to remember that discourses are attached to identity. If you fail to display an identity, which is key to announcing that you have the same identity as the members of that group. Mastering the discourse determines if the individual is a beginner or pretender.

"The Human Cost of An Illiterate Society"

In this article by Jonathan Kozol, he discovered that after graduating from Harvard University in 1958 that while teaching in the public school systems in Boston's inner city that he made a startling discovery. It was published in his first book, Death At An Early Age that the schools failed to provide an adequate education to the poor, mostly concerning the minority population. One of his most profound works was Illiterate America in which he begins to examine the human and financial costs that illiteracy can have in the United States.

One quote that was important to me that summed up the life of an illiterate person was when a woman stated, "you don’t choose" you take your wishes from somebody else (page 207, The Human Cost of An Illiterate Society, Jonathan Kozol.) The reason that I selected this quote was because it's true that if you can't read you are pretty much at the mercy of someone else dictating a world to you that you have no say in. You basically just live in the shadows of the literate society in which you hopefully don't get lost in the mix.

The term that is critical to the text is illiterate (page 203, The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society, Jonathan Kozol.) The reason that this term is important to the text is because it’s the premise of the whole article. If you can't read in this society that is driven by text then you are at a disadvantage. You have trouble being able to simple tasks such as writing a check, being able to recognize labels on food, to being able to travel freely.

Of all the blogs that I had to right about this is the one that touched me the most. I never realized how difficult life can be if you aren’t provided with the tools and skills necessary to be able to function in this word dominated world. You basically have to be "babysat” through simple tasks. This can lead one to be taken advantage of since you aren't able to understand the meaning behind the words.

Our schools have to be held accountable so it’s up to our schools to stop this trend of producing illiterate kids and change this vicious cycle. I practice being proactive instead of reactive when it comes time to teaching our youth. Its time that we teachers begin to reverse this trend, stand up, and shout "I WILL NOT ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN AGAIN!! This is when I quote Barack Obama and say to myself "change you can believe in."

"I Just Wanna Be Average" By Mike Rose

In "I Just Wanna Be Average" talks about how himself, Mike Rose, was placed in the "vocational education" program at his high school. While in this "vocational education" program Rose began to learn some dead end skills from his teachers that were to often unprepared, underprepared, or incompetent. Rose contends that those students in the "vocational" track have been written off but some show unrealized potential and specifies reasons why the school system allows them to fail.

The quote that struck out to me was when a student by the name of Ken Harvey was asked by the teacher an opinion about parable talents, about achievement, and working hard. Ken stated that "he just wants to be average" (page 3, "I Just Wanna Be Average" by Mike Rose.) Like Mike Rose this statement startled me for the simple fact that who just wants to be an average person. The school system is built that if you don't excel in the "normal" classes you are viewed as "slow" or just an "average" student trying to get by with minimal effort.

The term that is central to the text is "vocational education" program (page 2, "I Just Wanna Be Average" by Mike Rose.) The term "vocational education" program to me is providing the student with basic job-skills necessary for him to be "average" in society. The main goal is provide training to students who are deemed by the school system not able to gain adequate knowledge to get a better job in society. They provide them with the basic knowledge, information, facts etc. to get an average job which in turn affords them an average lifestyle.

These "vocational education" classes use various tests, such as the Stanford-Binet for placement in tracks which are deemed essential for the student in question. However like Rose some of these students fall through the cracks and are placed in these tracks, remaining there for extended periods of time. If you were a student like Rose after awhile you would begin to be bored with the subject matter if it was handed down to you in a "watered down" like manner.

The key component out of all of this is that nobody should want to be a "average" person period. Everyone should set high standards for oneself and go above and beyond the means established to get them. However, sometimes the school system places limits on who or how far a certain individual can go. School systems forget how powerful a layered or important knowledge is. It can take you from your present situation and place no limits on were you want to go. You shouldn't want to be "average" you should want to be "GREAT!''

"The Achievement of Desire" by, Richard Rodriguez

In the reading of "The Achievement of Desire" by Richard Rodriguez in order to understand the world around us we must leave the comforts of home to go into the world unknown. You have to start and begin losing the way you speak and understand certain situations in order to start and function in public life/society. Rodriguez contends that bilingual education is not conduisive to Spanish speaking students, in that it will only reinforce Spanish speaking students separateness from mainstream American life.

In the reading one quote that stuck out to me was when Rodriguez stated that he was afraid to read silently so he choose to read aloud. One day after a session with a nun at his school, the nun asked Rodrizguez why he was so reluctant to read alone. Rodriguez states, "that the way written words made me feel alone" (page 441, "The Achievement of Desire", by Richard Rodriguez.) This quote actually relates somewhat to me because when I read anything, I to feel somewhat alone. By reading various newspapers, books, maganzines, etc. I feel I'm gaining all this discourse and knowledge but what good is it if nobody understands what I'm talking about.

While I was reading the text one word that appears throughout the text is "scholarship boy" (page 432, "The Achievement of Desire", by Richard Rodriguez.) The reason that this term was important to me is because its true that this type of individual must move between two worlds: the home and school environments. The individual feels comfortable at home but weary of the outside world. Its a balancing act between intense pressure of intimacy at home and public instruction tends to bind you to the trusting lonely reason.

The central theme of the text is how schooling can have a two-fold process to it. The first step is to take the student out of the family context and bring them into the classroom setting. In the classroom setting you are surrounded by students aiming for a common goal...to be educated. Students begin to lose what makes them individuals because schooling tries to "assimilate" you into a American student.

The problem with this type of education is that even though you gain a better understanding of what it is to be "educated" you sometimes begin to lose yourself in the process. This is especially true of minority families who only have one family member that has higher then a high school education. This member of the family begins to lose a sense of belonging to the family. By gaining an understanding of mainstream public life; education needs to be able to teach both extremes. Still keeping what makes you an individual and also helping you become a productive member of society.

"The Banking Concept of Education" By, Paolo Freire

In "The Banking Concept of Education", byPaolo Freire talks about how the teacher-student relationship is an important concept when overcoming oppression. Freire believes teachers and students need to constantly work together beginning to develop the knowledge and consciousness that is necessary to overcoming oppression. There are various methods which can be used to overcome these obstacles associated with the teaching of education. They are the banking method and the problem-posing education method.

In this article Freire talks of how in the problem-posing method of overcoming oppression as men "you need to develop a power to perceive critically the way they exist in the world with which and in which they find themselves..." (page 82, "The Banking Concept of Education", by Paolo Freire.) This quote was important because I never realized the power that this type of education could impose on the students you teach. It begins to help students see their world not so much as static but as reality. You use your education to transform the current conditions that one is faced with.

The central theme is the "banking concept of education" (page 75, "The Banking Concept of Education", by Paolo Freire.) This term is important because it tells just how the traditional educational system is teaching our students. Teachers are basically just filling up the "containers" of every student and telling them to take various examinations. Like Freire states you have basically turned education into a bank-clerk model in which the students are transformed into "depositories" and the teacher is transformed into "depositor." You basically fill all this information into the students minds without telling them the meaning or purpose behind the discourse.

Overall, the need for a reform in education is necessary in order for students to be better prepared for the "outside world." I'm not saying that this form of education isn't in the students best interests but sometimes as teachers you need to teach "outside the box" and bring real world situations along for the ride. This ride will ensure students that there is a reason I'm teaching you all this jargon of various subject matter.

One very useful resource that I took out of this reading was that as teachers you need to develop a further understanding of yourself and why "self" is important in society. By gaining a better understanding of the importance of "self" in society you can begin to provide an education that is both powerful/potent enough to students to have them say "change is coming!!"

"Engaged Pedagogy" By, Bell Hooks

In "Engaged Pedagogy" by, Bell Hooks that for one to be educated the educator must be able to take your through a "spiritual" journey in order to share that information in a "powerful" way. Your job as the teacher is to gain access to your students souls. In a manner that respects the whole self is key to the conditions of learning.

One quote that suck out is one by Thich Nhat Hanh. Hanh used this statement to describe his pedagogy. Hanh's unique way of teaching is one that encompasses "wholeness, a union of mind, body, and spirit" (page 68, "Engages Pedagogy", by Bell Hooks.) This teaching style was rooted in the Buddhist principles that you should be able to teach the "whole" person. This quote struck me as interesting because I never thought about teaching a "whole" student. In today's classrooms you just "fill" the student with information, facts, and figures. That as students they should be able to "spit" back to you on various test, quizzes and examinations. As teachers we sometimes forget that teaching is one thing but being a good teacher is taking all that ones learned and applying it to real life situations.

The critical term in this particular piece of work is pedagogy. Pedagogy appears in various statements throughout this reading (page 68, "Engaged Pedagogy", by Bell Hooks.) This term is important to teachers because it means a way or form of teaching information to your students. You will need to use and be familiar with this term throughout your teaching career. Like teaching it is ever-changing to meet students demands, as such, you as the teacher need to form a pedagogy around these demands.

The central theme that I got out of the text is that teachers sometimes forget what their actual role is. The teacher is there to guide and help students make sense of all the information that gets thrown at them through various points in the semester. By just teaching this information you aren't necessarily "healing" the students your just filling them up with "stuff" that has no meaning.

What teachers forget is to put passion behind their teaching. To show that you are as passionate about this transposes on the students in your classroom "that hey if the teacher is this passionate about this information maybe it's of some use." Your greatest gift to students that are taught under your guidance is that you taught with "heart" and that showed the students how meaningful this knowledge can be.

Re-Read "Inventing The University" By David Bartholomae

In re-reading, "Inventing the University by David Bartholomae I picked up on certain discourse that I missed the first read through. One of the main ideas after re-reading "Inventing The University" is that while writing academic papers you have the ability to use proper discourse in order to provide sufficient detail to essays. Understanding who and why you write is important. Beginning to be able to decide which type of discourse is suitable for that particular type of writing or speech is other trait of higher education.

One quote that stuck out the second time I read this piece was that "writers have shown a varied awareness of the codes-or the competing codes-that operate within a discourse" (page 521, Inventing the University, David Bartholomae.) It's your job as a writer that you have the ability to speak in another's voice or through someone’s voice that has some specific power or wisdom. You as a writer have to be able to enter into academic discourse not only when it's necessary but throughout your chosen profession. You may be called on by your specific "academic community" to speak a certain discourse on their behalf.

The term that I chose the second read through is more a statement then term and it is that as basic writers we have to determine just what a communities conventions are so that these conventions can be written out, "demystified" and then taught in our classrooms (page 517, Inventing the University, David Bartholomae.) To me this term means that sometimes teachers of a particular area of study are too vague on what they "require" their students to do. Terms like describing, defining, and use details are just a couple of terms that we have all heard as students at one time. As a result students have difficulty in choosing the proper discourse to be able to properly "meet" the needs that a certain teacher is asking for.

The central idea of the text is that everybody in society isn’t offered the ability to gain an equal education. Those that gain this education are able to use this to their advantage. You are able to sound intelligent and through this manipulate your audience.

Overall, the theme of this essay was that those who gain a higher education are better able to argue a point. Those that don’t have access to higher education are at a disadvantage because they aren’t able to validate or prove others wrong that have access to higher education.

"Inventing The University"

9-13-09

Inventing The University by, David Bartholomae

In "Inventing The University", by David Bartholomae it talks about going beyond the "average writer" and becoming more meaningful writers. Students "invent" the university by gaining some understanding and knowledge needed in universities or particular areas of study. A quote in particular that Bartholomae uses to validate this point is that as basic writers "it's hard for us to take on the role-the voice, the person-of an authority whose authority is rooted in scholarship, analysis, or research (page 513, Inventing the University, Bartholomae The importance of this quote means that first you are always evolving into better writers taking on the discourse of your particular area of study. Basic writers never go beyond simple language and jargon when the "setting" deems a particular discourse necessary.

A critical term is that a "writer has to "build bridges" between his p.o.v. and his readers (page 515, Inventing the University, Bartholomae). The term of importance is the "building bridges" portion part of the quote which exemplifies what you as writers have to do. Analyze the audience whom you are writing for. Understanding your audience will help you decide, as a writer, how to write and what to write about.

One thing of key importance found in the text is that your writing should reflect upon those that are reading your piece of chosen text. For example you have to write an essay for the School of Education in order for you to be excepted. In this paper it should reflect not only your personal experiences but be able to include the discourse that you learned in the variety of education classes you have to take.

The second thing of key importance is the fact that some writers have the ability to successful manipulate their chosen audience. By being able to manipulate your particular audience you gain a sense of power from the academic discourse. This sense of power can be reflected in the academic discourse you use by being able to include and exclude particular readers of your essay. Wow, don't you love the power of words!!

A Kind Word For Bullshit

A Kind Word For Bullshit: The Problem of Academic Writing goes in depth about different types of bullshit. Bullshit comes in two instances and these are prototypical and nonprototypical. Some people deny that these two instances exist in the first place since there is no pre-existing self to which the bullshitter is not true. These individuals feel that one's own self is bullshit, living independently from bullshit so thus how could you misrepresent yourself if that self lives outside of bullshit. Prototypical bullshit is easily summed up in that it is purposefully misrepresenting of yourself. Bullshit is practiced at both the professor level and the student level. At the professor level most professors assume that most papers contain some amounts of bullshit. The writing shouldn't be in question but whether or not prototypical academic writing is considered prototypical bullshit...and in whose eyes. At the student level students are considered "bullsters." An example is a student using Cliffnotes to write a term paper for a book they never opened, potentially receiving a favorable grade. Student bullshit comes in a different form when a student does all that is asked of him but tell the "truth." Jasper Neel calls it "anti-writing" stating ''it follows the conventions of academic writing but conveys the feeling I care nothing about the truth." (pg. 386) Professors and students alike lets take a step back, relax, and try not to bullshit!!

"On Bullshit"

"On Bullshit" by Harry G. Frankfurt was a delightful read about simply "bullshit." As we are all well aware of bullshit is always around us in one form or another. Many people bullshit about their weekends, who they are dating or the type of job they actually hold. Frankfurt explains that "bullshit" is the misrepresentation...of somebody's own thoughts, feelings, or attitudes. (pg. 12) When "bullshitting" a person misrepresents anything, in turn misrepresenting his own state of mind. If you believe the "bullshit" it must be true, but in actuality it also could be a lie. One quote in particular that I have heard before is "never tell a lie when you can bullshit your way through." It shows that people are more comfortable hearing "bullshit" then somebody lying." Individuals use "bullshit" as a sort of bluff, do you have the courage to call me out on what I just said.