Understanding the term “Education Narrative”
To Do Before Class:
- Read “The Memory of My Grandmother” (City Tech student essay) by Anita Jiang.
- Read “Chapter 7” from the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass.
- Read “Learning to Read” by Malcolm X.
- Review “Double-Entry Reading Journals” (Butte College).
- Watch “Understanding Genre Awareness.
In-Class Writing:
- Jiang’s Technique: Choose one technique that Jiang used in her essay to bring you into her story. Was it effective? Why or why not?
- Create a “double-entry journal”: in the left hand column, write the quotes. Then in the right hand column, explain why it reminds you of your own learning experience (whether that experience was in an actual school setting or elsewhere).
- Complete a “genre” analysis for Douglass, considering the tone, occasion, audience, speaker, and purpose.
Double-entry Journal
Direct Quote
Pick one quote from each of the readings we did for homework. Choose a quote that reminds you of an experience that you have had. It doesn’t have to be exactly the same–just be sure to pick quotes that you relate to in some way.
Thoughts
Reflect on why you chose this quote. How/why does it remind you of your own experience?
Genre Analysis Chart
| Speaker | Who is Douglass? |
| Occasion | What is the context for this piece? (clue: it is a slave narrative) |
| Audience | Who is this piece for? |
| Purpose | What is the reason for writing this text? |
| Subject | What is the focus here? |
| Tone | How would you describe Douglass’s language? |
To Do After Class:
- Read “Allegory of the Cave” (Book VII) from The Republic, by Plato.
Note: I suggest focusing on “Book VII” which begins on p. 6. Please read carefully, annotating as you go. You should bring 2 questions and 2 comments about the text to class. These can be large or small, about a single sentence or about the ideas / arguments of the whole reading.
- Watch “The Cave: An Adaptation of Plato’s Allegory in Clay.”
- Watch “Plato’s Allegory of the Cave” by Alex Gendler.
