Author: Zainab (Page 8 of 9)

• What, from what you’ve seen so far, are the “ingredients” (also known as “conventions”) of an education narrative?

The plot, word choice, diction, sentence structure, and figurative speech.

• What do you think might be a place to get started with your own education narrative? Use examples from the readings– especially “Saved Myself By Writing,” since that is the homework for today.

I think a place to get started on my own education narrative is talking about my past that has to do with education. An example from “Saved Myself By Writing” is, “When I was a teenager, I felt like I belonged nowhere. I know it’s a cliché: Ni de aqui, ni de alla, but damn if I didn’t feel that. I walked around with my head to the ground. I was just trying to get through each day.” The narrator is using “was”  because the narrator is writing in perspective of adulthood and he’s talking about his past. Olivarez found a core idea to write about his education narrative by stating, “I decided to write a book of poems, Citizen Illegal, about what it was like for me as a teenager. I didn’t always love poetry (though I always loved reading).” By stating this Olivarez is introducing me. to the topic, that he loves to read and poetry was his soft spot to put his voice out there.

• What are your questions or concerns about writing an education narrative of your own?

I don’t have questions per se, but in terms of concerns, I don’t know how my audience will engage with my education narrative. That will put me in a sticky situation because I’m not trying to force my audience to understand my point of view.

• If you like, you can also feel free to share an educational experience you had and ask for feedback from your colleagues (and me) to see if we think that might be a solid place to begin writing.

Unfortunately, I don’t have any of educational narratives archived from past writing. One of my educational experiences has got to be repeating 2nd grade in grade school. For some reason I felt traumatized and dumb, when that shouldn’t have been the case at all. To this day, I am glad that happened to me because it really shaped my learning and education moving forward in institution.

“Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan

Quote (Remember to use page#!) 

In this column, you will put a
quote that you find interesting or
confusing, or maddening. In the
case of the comic book, make
sure you clarify who is speaking
and describe the scene briefly.

1. ” I spend a great deal of my time thinking about the power of language — the way it
   can evoke an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth. Language is the tool of my trade. And I use them all — all the Englishes I grew up with.” (page 1)
2. “It has always bothered me that I can think of no way to describe it other than “broken,” as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed, as if it lacked a certain wholeness and soundness.” (page 2)
3. “I know this for a fact, because when I was growing up, my mother’s “limited” English limited my
   perception of her. I was ashamed of her English.” (page 2)
4. “Fortunately, I happen to be rebellious in nature and enjoy the challenge of disproving assumptions made about me.” (page 3)

Response to the quote

Why is this quote important? Why have
you chosen it? What do you want your
reader to know or notice?

1. This quote is important based on what she means when she talks about using language as a power to engage with others or make provoke thoughts to start a conversation. I have chosen it because I feel the same way too; whether it’s voice, accent, or tone, I would like to have the power of language to start conversations. I want my reader to notice that talking in a peculiar way can keep a conversation going.
2. This quote is important because Tan is talking about her mother and is not pleased that she sounds “different.” I have chosen it because it relates to how I talk with my mother. I want my reader to know that it’s okay if your parents are not fluent in English, the key is to understand what they are saying despite it being “broken.”
3. This quote is important because of how Tan is disregarding her mother’s attempts and flat out says she’s “ashamed.” I have chosen it because that’s not how a daughter or son should be like with their parents, in terms of how they speak, because at the end of the day they are trying. I never have perceived my parents differently based on how they spoke because they are trying and I love them for that, also they never gave up on me when I was learning how to speak, so I shouldn’t do the same. I want my reader to know is that don’t give on your parents trying to communicate with you, because they are putting in the effort and you should too.
4. This quote is important and possibly my favorite as well. As times goes on, social media arises, and how much I put myself out there, a lot of people feel the need to assume something about me. Whether it be a rumor or a lie, it’s out there in the public. Unfortunately, I can’t change the way people think about me, because I don’t have control of that. I can debunk many things about me that tend to irk me, but as I am growing, especially in the social media age, I don’t worry about online comments or “insults” thrown at me. I want my reader to understand that if you let people’s comments get to you, you’re isolating yourself and building this wall that you will not break free from. It’s okay to be upset, because your feelings are valid, but don’t burden yourself this way, otherwise you will not grow to understand yourself more.

*apologies on not making a T-chart, I hope this format of DEJ is easy to read*

Jamila Lyiscott “3 Ways to Speak English”

I have experienced various “Englishes” from people that are from/live in the Europe or Canada that spell “favorite” as “favourite.” Another example is when Europeans and Canadians spell “color” as “colour.” Other “Englishes” I have experienced are when people texting their friends. It’s common that when texting, some folks don’t like to spell out words, instead they abbreviate them. I do that a lot but that’s only when I’m texting because if I am typing really fast I tend to shorten the words. The common instance is shortening the word “you” to the letter “u” or “why” and put “y” instead. On Dictionary.com the definition World Englishes are, “English is spoken as a natural outgrowth of a colonial period during which certain countries, now independent, were part of the British Empire. In other places, people have been encouraged to learn English because of its widespread use as a language of global communication.” This definition raises a good point on how communication is apparent when talking in English, regardless of accent, voice, or tone as long as you are being understood that is all that matters. In Lyiscott’s poem shes repeating the word “articulate” and goes to show me how various “Englishes” are spoken around her and how she’ll talk but she’ll never be wrong because she’s “articulate.” An quote from Lyiscott’s poem is, “So when my father asks, “Wha’ kinda ting is dis?” My “articulate” answer never goes amiss I say “father, this is the impending problem at hand” And when I’m on the block I switch it up just because I can So when my boy says, “What’s good with you son?”I just say, “I jus’ fall out wit dem people but I done!”” It’s obvious that she changes the way she talks to people in different “Englishes.” When she’s talking to her father and he’s speaking in Ebonics, she is correcting him, but when she’s conversing with her friends she’s changing her speech. Overall, there is no correct way to speak English because it’s spoken differently all around the world.