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The importance of literacy education
The importance of literacy education
The importance of literacy education
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First, you must learn to read. Then, you must read to learn. Reading and writing has been and will always be a vital influence in my life. The two articles I read were, “Brandon Sanderson on Why We Still Read Books In the Internet Era,” posted by Emma Chastain and, “I Am Writing Blindly,” by Roger Rosenblatt. These two articles resonated to me because of my love for technology and interest in human psychology. Without my passion of these two topics, I would not be able to be my creative, imaginative self. In “Brandon Sanderson on Why We Still Read Books In the Internet Era,” Mr. Sanderson proposes the question: why are books still alive even though technology is drowning each novel page by page? My own reasoning for why books are still alive
Although the greater picture is that reading is fundamental, the two authors have a few different messages that they seek to communicate to their audiences. “The Joy of Reading and Writing” depicts how reading serves as a mechanism to escape the preconceived notions that constrain several groups of people from establishing themselves and achieving success in their lifetimes. “Reading to Write,” on the other hand, offers a valuable advice to aspiring writers. The author suggests that one has to read, read, and read before he or she can become a writer. Moreover, he holds an interesting opinion concerning mediocre writing. He says, “Every book you pick has its own lesson or lessons, and quite often the bad books have more to teach than the good ones” (p.221). Although these two essays differ in their contents and messages, the authors use the same rhetorical mode to write their essays. Both are process analyses, meaning that they develop their main argument and provide justification for it step by step. By employing this technique, the two authors create essays that are thoughtful, well supported, and easy to understand. In addition, Alexie and King both add a little personal touch to their writings as they include personal anecdotes. This has the effect of providing support for their arguments. Although the two essays have fairly different messages, the authors make use of anecdotes and structure their writing in a somewhat similar
On Reading to Write, Stephen King is promoting the idea that becoming a writer involves doing “two things above all others: Read a lot and write a lot.”
Each year as I grow old, I tend to discover and learn new things about myself as a person as well as a reader, writer and a student as a whole. My educational journey so far has been pretty interesting and full of surprises. Back in Bangladesh where I studied until high school, my interest for learning, reading or writing was so very different compared to how it has become over the years. I could relate those learning days to Richard Rodriquez’s essay “The lonely Good Company of Books”. In the essay the author says, “Friends? Reading was, at best, only a chore.”(Rodriguez, page 294). During those days I sure did feel like reading was a chore for me and how I was unable to focus and I could never understand what all those jumbled up words ever meant. It was quite a struggle for me in class when the teachers used to assign us reading homework. I felt like reading a book was more difficult or painful than trying to move a mountain. Just like how moving a mountain is impossible, trying to find an interest in reading was
There is no doubt, that literature has taken a back seat in the digital age. In a 2013 article for the Wall Street Journal, a top store executive for Barnes and Nobles revealed that the company expects to close twenty stores a year over the next decade. But Barnes and Nobles isn’t alone. Bookstore chains across the country are suffering the same losses. Consumers are choosing online book retailers like Amazon or opting out of reading altogether. These recent [trends?] are evident of a startling reality: people don’t read anymore.
On a daily basis, people read to increased their vocabulary, improve writing skills and keep updated with daily news. However, we waste
If you had the choice between your phone and a book,you would probably without thinking grab your phone. But what if you knew that reading is crucial to a future. In “Reading for pleasure Is in Painful Decline” by Stephen L. Carter and “Twilight of the books” by Caleb Crain, both authors argue about the state of reading in The United States. Within both passages they give valid points as to why and how the state of reading are negatively affecting the country. Stephen L. Carter represents how the decline in reading for fun is the main concern, while on the other hand, Caleb Crain shows it’s technology and social media that actually are the main contributors.
Growing up in working class family, my mom worked all the time for the living of a big family with five kids, and my dad was in re-education camp because of his association with U.S. government before 1975. My grandma was my primary guardian. “Go to study, go to read your books, read anything you like to read if you want to have a better life,” my grandma kept bouncing that phrase in my childhood. It becomes the sole rule for me to have better future. I become curious and wonder what the inside of reading and write can make my life difference. In my old days, there was no computer, no laptop, no phone…etc, to play or to spend time with, other than books. I had no other choice than read, and read and tended to dig deep in science books, math books, and chemistry books. I tended to interest in how the problem was solved. I even used my saving money to buy my own math books to read more problems and how to solve the problem. I remembered that I ended up reading the same math book as my seventh grade teacher. She used to throw the challenge questions on every quiz to pick out the brighter student. There was few students know how to solve those challenge questions. I was the one who fortunately nailed it every single time. My passion and my logic for reading and writing came to me through that experience, and also through my grandma and my mom who plant the seed in me, who want their kids to have happy and better life than they were. In my own dictionary, literacy is not just the ability to read and write, it is a strong foundation to build up the knowledge to have better life, to become who I am today.
The process of pen to paper, page to eye(s), is the most crucial aspect of learning to read and write. Dennis Baron, a linguist who has studied literacy, and communication technologies once wrote “the computer, the latest development in writing technology, promises, or threatens, to change literary practices for better or worse, depending on your point of view” (qtd. in Writing about Writing 633). This quote has great significance to me in how one determines
“While it is true that more books are sold today than ever, recent statistics show that only about 15% of books bought today are read. Evidently, they are of more use as furniture—coffee-table books—than as a source of information or aesthetic buzz. The statistics continue; of those that are read, less than 20% are read all the way through. The unfinished book symbolizes the state of attention spans today”. Eric McLuhan opens up his 2010 argument against technology with this quote. He seems to believe that literacy is only fully achieved through limited technology and hard copies of books. He fails to realize there is more to literacy that picking up a book defined as a ‘classic’ and reading it cover to cover. Literacy covers all spans of artistic
Reading was never something I fussed about growing up. As a child, I loved genres of realistic fiction. I was hooked on The New Adventures of Mary Kate and Ashley, Goosebumps, The Amazing Days of Abby Hayes, Judy Moody, and especially, Zoobooks and Highlights magazines. My mother was always ready to help build my reading and writing skills. She took me to the library constantly to feed my passion for books and knowledge. I loved exploring the shelfs, organizing the books, and filling up my library cart. I tried keeping a diary in elementary school to keep track of my outings with my parents and grandparents to museums, zoos, movies, and libraries. This flash of writing enthusiasm was spun from books I read in the 4th and 5th grade that were
...y discardable, but has an advantage of changing font size and page brightness. With this exception, print books are going to survive. To quote British actor and writer Stephen Fry, "Kindles are no more likely to replace books than escalators are going to replace stairs“ (9). Works cited: Fry, Stephen. The Fry Chronicles: An Autobiography. New York: Overlook Press, 2012. Print. Polanka, Sue, ed. No Shelf Required 2: Use and Management of Electronic Books. Chicago: American Library Association, 2012 Pratchett, Terry and Stephen Baxter. The Long War. London: Haper Voyager, 2013. Print.
Reading habit has changed and reached a broader range of the past decades, where a paper has been the only choice for a long time. The technology development showed that most of the reading materials which used on paper being displayed in digital versions now. Currently, citizens are living in the world of ‘Digital Age’. Even though there are so many people describing and discussing the Digital Age, the existence is still lacking.
Digital media is on the rise, as computers and e-book readers are quickly replacing paper books and newspapers. Some thought this swing could only happen in a sci-fi movie. But is this shift, away from traditional paper books, really a good thing? People read books everyday around the globe, so this alteration has a large impact on most of the population. Since the creation of e-readers, more and more people have been converting to the technology-based side of reading. Although technology is slowly becoming more predominant, in this era we should not rely on it to always entertain and keep us occupied. This question is becoming more talked about in circles and is concerning. Are e-books the way of the future?
Some years ago, with the arrival of digital technology, the process of reading has been changed to make it easier for everybody; therefore digital books are replacing the actual physical books. In spite of the fact that paper books and digital books are very similar in some ways, such as tittle pages, copyright page, covers, chapters or tables of contents; they present a visual and a sensory difference. In fact, they have a similar action that gives benefits but drawbacks at the same time. Paper books are tangible, accomplishment, easy to share; they have a unique aroma, and a sensitive side. But people should take in consideration that digital books are the better choice, because they are portable, convenient, cheap in price, and easy to manipulate, not to mention that anybody is able to have an bunch of them in only one file, either their phones or
Books have been there to record and disseminate information for hundreds of years. They have been at the foundation of many civilized societies . Many have questioned the future of printed books in a world that is becoming increasingly digitalized as each day passes. E-books have become relatively easy to access and acquire because they are cheaper and convenient . These books are just a click away and do not require much space. The digital age has revolutionized many industries of the world today. The digital world is full of gadgets like iPad, which are relatively cheaper and make access to e-books very easy. Some people claim that soon printed books will be phased out. On the contrary, I believe printed books are there to stay because of the different qualities they possess that cannot be matched by e-books.