Multimodalities

Seigel's article is one of my favorites, although I'm still left wondering how this actually works in practice. I was especially taken with her point about social justice. I do believe, as we touched on in class, that many people are kept out of literacy just by virtue of its definition being so limited. This isn't that hard of a thing to grasp, but its implications are huge. "We" (whoever that is) need to think about what exactly are the goals of school. If we want it to be simply (ha, ha) that students learn to read and write, then there will always be students who are labeled and marginalized, and others who are labeled and held up. If the goals include developing a range of modalities and deep experiences then schools must redefine what constitutes a schooled literacy practice.

I don't think anyone is suggesting doing away with reading and writing, but even if one were to argue they need to remain priority, it still makes sense to encourage other modalities. As was discussed, anytime one transmediates, "you get smarter" (Randy). This is the depth of experience I referred to a moment ago. To touch on an idea in writing, in drama, in art, in song, etc., only deepens one's understanding; thoughts reconfigure and become more complex; things are viewed through a different lens.

If we want social justice, perhaps we must first reconsider our conception of literacy. Instead of straining to bring more people into a small room, maybe we should knock down the walls.

Hypertext, Children's Lit, & Writing Instruction

As I was reading Hammerberg's article, I found myself distracted by one of her main points: the comparison of sophisticated, postmodern children's literature and the writing instruction that young children, beginning readers, receive. I'm not sure that's a fair thing to do. The so-called postmodern children's books are one kind of book, and important ones at that. However, to suggest that because this type of writing exists and is popular that kids should be initially taught to write in that style doesn't really make sense to me.

There is a line of thinking that for art or writing that "breaks the rules" to be significant, the creator needs to know the rules he or she is breaking; otherwise, what statement are they making? By the same token, young children should initially be taught writing in a traditional format--they need some standard/default style with which to later compare and create other forms. When someone has never written before, I don't know if it helps them to begin at the cutting edge.

I do strongly agree that children should be read and read themselves all forms of literature. The form of the books should be discussed, especially in relation to the writing that the kids themselves are doing. Then after kids have some experience under their belt, I can see them producing postmodern hypertexts of their own. I guess to me, a more fair comparison would be these books and the writing instruction that older kids (maybe third grade and up, but definitely preteens and teenagers) are getting.