The articles that we have read by Gere and Rodriguez have really caused me to think about the educational system in colleges and primary schools in a different way. Before, I would have thought that the shortcomings in education were mostly due to Eurocentric curriculum, incompetent instruction, overcrowding, underfunding, etc… In other words, the usual suspects that we hear about as problems in the educational system. These articles have made me think that there may also be fundamental problems in simply providing an educational experience that is meaningful and relevant.
Both Gere and Rodriguez have criticisms of schooling along these lines. In my interpretation, Gere felt that the field of composition in universities was more interested in promoting the professionalism of the field than providing a well-rounded curriculum to students. Extracurricular writers/ writing groups are purposefully left out. Rodriguez describes how in all of his years of primary school, college, and graduate school he lacked an educational experience that connected with his culture, or taught him to think for himself. From both of these authors, it would seem that the goals of the educational system are misguided.
If I were asked to define the word “literacy” I would say that literacy means the ability to read and speak, reading comprehension, level of vocabulary and word recognition. I would imagine when schools are evaluating the literacy of students these are the same things they are looking for. Rodriguez made me think that literacy also refers to intellectual sophistication to a certain degree. Rodriguez describes how although he was a bookworm, he never felt that a book caused him to reflect and come to his own opinions/ conclusions. Rather, he states that he read to be told what to think. I don’t know that I would consider this literacy, and it certainly should not be the goal of schools to develop this type of literacy in kids. It is not intellectually enriching.
Further, Rodriguez also describes how he would read just for the sake of feeling educated: “Most books, of course, I barely understood. When reading Plato’s Republic, for instance, I had to keep referring to the book jacket comments to remind myself what the book was about. Nevertheless, with the special patience and superstition of a scholarship boy, I looked at every word of the text. And by the time I reached the last word, relieved, I convinced myself that I had read The Republic. In a ceremony of great pride, I solemnly crossed Plato off my list.” (pg. 444) Obviously, this type of reading is not intellectually enriching either. So, I think we could stand to take a more sophisticated view of literacy and focus on more than just ability to read, speak with proper grammar, etc… Especially those of us going into the teaching profession. I found Rodriguez’s article to be more provoking to me personally, because I am and education major and his article addressed mostly his experience in primary schools. This article speaks directly to what my goals should be as an educator.
Gere’s article described the field of composition in universities as more self-serving and driven towards prestige than interested in teaching comprehensive background in composition. Gere speaks about many people in private/ extracurricular writing groups that function much differently than those offered in universities. Many of the people involved in these groups were rejected in the realm of academia. Gere’s article made me think that these academic institutions are trying to force people to fit a mold which may or may not utilize their unique talents. Gere feels that the world of academia should take a broader view of what they consider professional. She states: “Few of the participants in the Tenderloin Women's Writing Workshop or the Lansing, Iowa Writers' Workshop had much formal education, and many had negative experiences with schooling. They did not think of themselves as writers because teachers had taught them they could not write. Yet these individuals wrote effectively in workshops, published their writing, and gained personal and community recognition for their work.”
This made me think about how the system of education does take a very selective view in many ways. How could schools reject people and tell them that they cannot write when these same people are then going on to have some success as writers, and more importantly, take great satisfaction from writing? I don’t think rejection and humiliation have any place in education unless you’re somewhere like Harvard’s business school. In a primary or undergraduate level the most important goal of the educational system should be to encourage each student to find their own talents and interests and develop them. For my own future profession as a teacher, I would like to seek out a broader view of what kinds of experiences and materials I find to be of educational relevance. Gere’s article indicates that the current narrow scope of the educational world leaves many people behind. While Gere is speaking specifically of the field of composition, I see how this can parallel any are of education.
My personal reflections on this are that the educational system does not focus enough on intellectual enrichment in a real sense. These articles indicate that the educational system is focused a narrow view of what’s considered educational, and is dismissive of what isn’t. Further, literacy development in schools seems to be too superficial to be intellectually enriching. I have thought more about these topics and seen these areas for criticism. I’d be interested now in reading some articles with some practice ideas on how to improve education and promote deeper literacy.
