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Reading Together

Perusall logoWe’ll use Perusall to annotate and read together. Link here to Perusall. Instructions for joining on the Assignments page.

Calendar: link here

A story.

A story.

 

I could read before I could speak. Or at least before people could understand me.

 

I had a pretty thick lisp and stutter and usually didn’t talk too much. I watched the world and read about other worlds, enthralled in the stories around me.

 

I was born on a military base. My family was strict- like a tracking system in my phone kind of strict. After my dad retired from his second tour of duty, he joined the FBI. I’m proud of what he does for my country, but seeing the worst of humanity brought a new type of paranoia into his life. He protected me against fears imagined and real, and taught me to be suspicious and brave. We moved to Texas when I was about five and stayed there for over a decade.

My mother was extremely sickly and my dad always took care of her. They weren’t really right for each other and divorced when I was pretty young, which was best for everyone. I took care of my mother and sister after that. My dad stuck around for my sister and I.

 

My sister wasn’t too healthy either, but she was happy all the time. She looked up to me only the way a little sister could, and that feeling filled me with warmth. I still remember it, although we live far apart now.

I loved riding horses, reading, drawing, and adventuring. I’ve moved over thirty times and get uncomfortable if I stay in the same place for too long.

 

The plan was for me to do a tour after military school. My father was a captain and didn’t want me to start as a grunt. After that, I was going to use the GI bill to go to art school so I could live in a studio in SF. I got my first job at 14 and started saving up for a car for when I was discharged.

My plans changed and so did my goals. I got a shake in my hands and couldn’t draw anymore. I moved to San Jose for my senior year of high school and left Texas behind with mixed feelings. I needed a new dream.

It took me two years, but I found another passion; teaching. A professor decided to help me out and got me a job as an English tutor. I loved it more than anything else I had done.

The tutoring center was kind to me. I began to study grammar in my free time so that I could be better, maybe even the best in that area. I was promoted to head of training and even got to create my own department. I began tutoring privately and even got an internship teaching.

I hoping this class teaches me the policies of tutoring at this university. They are different than my old job.

I read the news on a daily basis. I also read emails, reviews, texts/ communications, iFunny, and either a school or fun book since I don’t have time for both. What I read varies each day depending on what I’m doing, but usually contains those base things.

 

I write a ton of emails every day and usually take notes. I’m a kinesthetic learner and my hands hurt pretty bad so I don’t write or type a whole lot.

I record or type things I need to remember.

Speaking for so long with a stutter has really helped me with teaching foreign language learners how to pronounce and spell. I learned grammar pretty late as well so I enjoy teaching others how to solve problems similar to what I had.

 

I really related to the text because I came close to failing a few grades because of my speech issues. I was usually mocked, and disliked talking. Even when I finally got rid of them, I was unconfidant in speaking in front of people and it usually impacted my grades. I always felt like it made me seem less intelligent, even though there are plenty of intelligent things I am capable of. I worked at it and got better.

I think this is a lot like literacy because of the way speech impediments and literacy are treated by the school system. There is this idea that every single person needs to be good at every subject, or at least decent. I’ve always disageeed with this individualistic idea that you must be good at each subject so that you don’t have to rely on others. It’s pretty capitalist and devisive. If people worked together in adult lives, rather than it being every man for themselves, that would be ideal. Why have chemistry be a part of defining intelligence for each individual when only a fraction of these population is good at it? Why have people who hate art be forced into art classes? I think people should be allowed to specialize and work with each other.

Sure, a basic understanding of the world is essential, but people should not be forced to learn the intricacies of a subject they hate and will never use.

The text really stresses the point that there isn’t one way to be literate, or even intelligent. Everyone has different talents and abilities, and that’s just fine.

 

4 Replies to “A story.”

  1. Holy toledo Allie. What an amazing journey; thank you so much for sharing your story. Grateful to have your insights in our class and I look forward to all the conversations we can have about art, writing, teaching, etc.

    I also appreciate your insights into what counts as literacy: who decides what counts? Why require the study of novels but not paintings? As we move through the semester, I’ll also introduce the idea of distributed cognition, the idea that much of what we “know” is distributed across the artifacts we use. So, for example, what I “know” about math is mediated by whether or not I have a calculator. And I really don’t care what people can do alone…but instead, what people can do with the resources around them.

    Remind me to give you the reading I handed out right at the end of Wednesday’s class. And thanks again for this great introduction.
    Kim

  2. “There is this idea that every single person needs to be good at every subject, or at least decent. I’ve always disagreed with this individualistic idea that you must be good at each subject so that you don’t have to rely on others. It’s pretty capitalist and divisive. If people worked together in adult lives, rather than it being every man for themselves, that would be ideal.”

    Allison, A story., (2017)

    I think this is true. It makes me nervous because I think everyone should have some exposure to things that may be difficult for them in life because how receptive they are to certain subjects might change at different stages in their life… and I’ve seen people be like, “I’m not good at math,” so they use it as a reason to not engage with or attempt to do certain things in life that there may have been a desire to try if they didn’t entrench themselves in some weird kind of phobia, you know?

    Convoluted I know^

    I’m not sure exactly what I’m trying to say. Maybe just that being uncomfortable with a new situation is okay sometimes, but I agree that the way we have things set up seems designed to shoot people in the foot if they get set on the wrong path. So I definitely hear you.

    Best wishes,
    David

    PS- I’ve been telling you Alli, you have a lot of potential for some incredible non-fiction in your personal bag of experiences. Incredible stuff. Sincerely.

    1. You are both so right here. Hard to know when to go with what you are good at (and hopefully also like) and when to push through something challenging. I find it particularly frustrating when students think they are not cut out for something, when really, it is the structure of the learning environment and not the ideas that are getting in the way. If someone thinks they are not cut out for science it might because of tests or not so great teaching and not because they can’t actually do science… And no one does things “alone”…not even the lone writer. Always in dialogue with texts and other’s ideas even when they are not in the room. Thanks both of you for an interesting conversation

  3. Hi Ali!
    First, let me just say thank you for sharing so much of your personal story with us. It’s not always easy to talk about things that may have had a negative impact on your early life. I appreciate your candor, and can relate to childhood difficulties.
    I am glad that you found your niche after your initial life-plan when defunct. I can empathize especially with this. My initial plan for my future involved serving a tour in the Army NG, then transferring to regular Army and completing the required 20 years for retirement. That plan ended rather quickly for me I was injured after only just over a year in. It was a huge adjustment, one that i’m still not quite over almost 9 years later. But enough about that.
    While I agree that forcing a person to study a subject in which they have no skill or interest, I’m not quite sure that I agree wholeheartedly to the sentiment that “basic world knowledge” is all they should know in everything but their chosen field. If indeed that is what you are getting at. No one should have to gain knowledge that they do not want, but at the same time, I wonder if being inept in another discipline would actually hinder them in the pursuit of knowledge that they ‘do’ want. I would question the focused gaining of a certain knowledge to the exclusion of all else. (Or am I being too extreme here…) I wonder if the student of a singular discipline might not actually benefit from further exposure and study of a differing subject. Perhaps not to the point of a dual degree (like my ambitious self), but to the point where the student finds themselves having broadened their understanding and lessened the stress that a singular focus can bring.
    Of course, I’m the one that brought up the discussion of “multidiscipline degrees” to you in class. I am of the opinion though, however misguided or optimistic or what-have-you that it may be, that many if not most people could actually benefit from a multidisciplinary focus in their tertiary education. Actually, I think that some people are hindered in a single discipline pursuit. You don’t have to agree with me, indeed I believe that you won’t, but that is my opinion.
    And yes, agreed on the point that there isn’t one way to be literate. And that defining “literacy” in terms entrenched with knowledge of language and grammar is profoundly bad idea.

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