the
WHITE house
NLLB-NO LITERACY LEFT BEHIND
The Red Clock Diary
2:00AM-read the instructions
on a temperal thermometer
and read temp-no fever
7:15AM read dosing
instructions for children’s
ibuprofen and allergy meds
4:30pm-read message from
husband who took baby to
doctor-sinus infection-fever-
stasis-I am an idiot and can’t
figure out how to take a
child’s temp
Literacy Journals
12AM: took notes on El Conde
Lucanor, El Cantar de Mio Cid,
El Libro de Buen Amor, tres
artículos académicos para la
clase de epañol, Las Cantigas...
z
disclaimer z
This is not a “model essay.” You should not use it for educational
purposes. It is basically a day in the literacy life of a graduate
student, wife and mother of a toddler and does not represent reality.
SED TELLUS SUS-
CIPIT IN ALIQUAM
experience in a 3 to 5 page
essay in MLA format with
pictures embedded in the text.
For purely academic purposes I
have already committed the
fatal flaw of not putting my
For writing essay in MLA format; thereby, negating the
assignment two possibility of an A. However, my strengths do not
it is necessary lie in personal narrative and frankly, I believe
to document there are some of my students that could/did do a
literacy as the better job than I. I will showcase some of their
author sees it work later in the text, I am not trying to be self
and reflect on deprecating, simply realistic. I spent several hours
that field grading Monday evening and was amazed at the
1AM assessed sleep needs-
deprived but took more notes, re-
6AM Driving back to school I listen
to the Beowulf in Old English. I only
read parts of the 3+ books we have understand a few words; is this lit-
for ENG675, searched class notes, eracy?
continued writing Week in Review,
interspersed with Camargo’s Finn
Episode in Beowulf, the Beowulf,not
as an appositive but as that I read...
quality of work that my students had. I believe
there could be seated amongst the students that
are in my classes the next JK Rowling or Tolkien,
maybe even a Yeats. I read several of their in-
class- constructions to another TA; she asked if I
had all honors classes. The technical answer is no,
but after you too read some of their work , you
may ask the same question. Each of us has a
story, a text within ourselves. As instructors I
think our job is to help each student construct,
relate, and find the voice that echos that literacy
experience.
KRYSTAL
Every Christmas my Papa gathers up
Krystal wrote about an artifact. I am not sure if it
relates to literacy or not, but the writing and the
description are precise.
There are threads sticking out in some places and a
permanently stuck pice of gum under its velvet pink tongue.
Its cushiony soft texture has been worn out in a few spots.
A marble sized black ball is keeping it from every being
symmetrical. Its brown and white color has not, as of yet,
been faded due to constant washing.
BRITTNEY-TXT
“HeY EvErY BoDy, Most ppl know me well
enough to know at least the basic facts but
for ppl who don’t… I'm a
freshman at TEXAS A & M. I’m told by several
ppl that
I’m the “go to girl” cuz I kno how to help
ppl outta
their situations. I'm protective of my
friends, so if you hurt them be prepared to
get you’re a** kicked! I have a boyfriend
who I feel strongly about. I don't cheat and
I don't play games SO GUYS DON'T COME UP AND
ACT LIKE YOU GOT SOME THING I CAN'T LIVE
WITH OUT CUZ BELIEVE ME I'VE HEARDIT BEFORE
AND I DON'T WANT IT!!! I want to thank BRIT
forsetting my baby boy Sean and I up!”
DESTINY
Groups of dancing corpses circling to
angelic tunes.
Macabre sense of madness lit by
bonfires on corpse dust dunes...
CHELSEA
all the kids and before opening presents
we sit around
the
fireplace and read the story of Jesus’
birth. My Mema was the one every year
that none of the kids dared to cross.
If one of us tried to sneak a peek,she
would snatch us up and spank us. Then
her words would be, “Don’t you remember
Jesus always comes first?” This past
year was our first Christmas without
her, and nobody moved until I got up and
went to the Christmas tree and grabbed
that sacred book. As I grabbed the encounter this fall semester of 2009. Therefore, I
book, I had a flashback of when I was
submit that these are valid literacy experiences for
little and My Mema lived upstairs from
me. Every morning she would bring her me as their instructor. Since the “purpose” of this
bible, and have a quiet time with me paper is to document literacy experiences from the
after my parents and sister left for the field work and our research, I will continue.
day. I never noticed until I got older
that before she would shut
the bible, she would always
read me the same verse. “You
can do all things through him
whom strengthens
you” (Philippians 4:13).

RYAN
Ryan or Klink, as some of the other
students refer to him, is writing his literacy
experience through music. I do not mean to say
that he is a musical composer, although he may
one day very well be. I mean to say that he wrote
a beautiful essay on music (as in the notes) as a
text that he “read.”

I personally like to think of music as the

use of two unique languages, much like someone
who is bilingual, that work together to create total
harmony for the user to manipulate the language
onto an instrument. Much like the alphabet basic
rhythms must be mastered before even expanding
the next day
“Morning has
to a chord, or a word, and then combining all this
broken, blackbird
into a full bar phrase or a sentence. Rhythms
has spoken,” and I
break down from a whole note, which takes up an
read more student
entire phrase, and then to a half note, which
papers and discuss
breaks down the whole note into half and
texting, literacy, and
continues in this manner. Once the simple
peer reviews with my
rhythms are mastered the user can develop these
students. During the
“letters” into words and eventually entire phrases.
discussion one student states the reasons that she
would prefer peer reviews face to face. “When
someone reads your paper and you read theirs,
I realize that these three examples of writing are
and then we about the things we liked or maybe
not “my” literacy experiences, but it does relate
didn’t understand, it’s like, well, a conversation
the caliber of students and writing that I
about writing.” I just smile, shake my head, and "Reading does not consist merely of
then tell her how brilliant she is. She is, brilliant I decoding the written word or lan-
mean, and I get to be the instructor. Another guage; rather, it is preceded by and in-
student hands me a note with a movie and she
tertwined with knowledge of the world.
says I remind her of the teacher in the movie. My
eyes well up with tears, the note is thanking me … [R]eading always involves critical
and I have no words to say. perception, interpretation, and rewrit-
ing of what is read."
-- Paulo Freire & Donaldo Macedo, Liter-
the critics acy: Reading the Word and the World
This embracing of
literacy as more
than just books,
reading, and
writing has many critics. It seems to me
reminiscent of the history of higher education
when it was not considered “true study” unless in
was “difficult” such as the study of Latin or
Greek. English was not considered of enough
merit to study by itself.

If as writing teachers we are content with the
status quo regarding writing and the way students Victoria
view writing then we should not open anymore As I wrote this paper however, I felt no
doors in the halls of literacy. However, if we wish dread or anger as I was easily able to
write it. I exclaimed to my mother,
to inspire students to value their writing as well as “I just wrote my first paper without be-
others then we must expand the writing focus to coming
include the ever changing horizon of critical frustrated.”--

literacy.
 but since I did not get home until after ten, I could
not read them then. So, they sit waiting and I

what is literacy? write wishing... In continuance to that drive home,

I listened to one of Conan Doyle’s stories about
Sherlock Holms. Several books are available now
as an audio text. Since the poor yellow road
Driving the two hours home, I listened first to my
Beowulf class, then the medieval Spanish class that runner’s demise while I was DWR (driving while
I am taking. Incidentally, I have books beside me reading), I have preferred this audio version of
texts, at least while driving or running the
begging to be read, their glossy black covers,
vacuum.
unopened, creamy crisp pages, with no personal
annotations. They arrived yesterday, my books,
TYPI HABENT
Also, not only does
VEL SAPIEN SIT TAMU-Commerce
As the day nears an end,
boast some of the
literally, it is 13 minutes
leading experts in the
before midnight and my
field of literacy studies,
battery light is almost
we also boast bards and
gone, I will settle down
an “Open-mic” on
El Conde Lucanor and Los
Thursdays. Is the
Romances Viejos. When
rendition of their text
sleep overtakes me, the
considered literacy?
paperback books will fall
to the tightly woven
Berber carpet and wait
their retrieval on the
morrow. Incidentally,
while studying Chaucer,
I did dream in Middle
English and wonder
since I did not
understand the majority
of the text, was this a
literacy experience?
 Writing Assignment (WA2)
Document your everyday literacy experiences. Create an image in words for your reader to view your
literacy experiences through your eyes. Walk your reader through your day by describing in detail what
your literacy experiences are. What do you read? What do you write? What surprised you about
documenting literacy in this way? By the end of your paper your reader should know you better.

PURPOSE 4 Reflect RELATE

WA2 Research Revise

1 3
To develop research
skills by documenting
2 To better
understand
To use the field data
everyday literacies and connect
findings to compose an
through the diary study the way
essay reflective of the
and clock activity literacy
research
functions in
our lives,
why is it
literacy?

4 vivid image of those

experiences in our lives
To explain and explore
the multi-faceted aspects
of literacy by creating a