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As a Sophomore in high school I joined the Cross Country team for my school. I was very nervous at first because I felt intimidated by everyone there. When I made the team and practices started I focused on myself and how I could improve. After a while of doing the same routine I got bored and started to lose purpose other then being competitive with others. I felt a bit lonely after a while running by myself and being my own cheerleader. When competitions came I would focus on myself and no one else then I realized that in order to win you had to work as a team to make it to the finish line. I started giving tips to my teammates and talking to them and in return I got useful advise as well. I started noticing as I talked more to them I started to feel comfortable. I realized I found a new family of friends that were there for me as I was for them. Zadie Smith gave a speech to the New School and she advised the graduates to take in importance of being social and also being part of something. Networking is great example of getting around to meet new people and being active. Zadie gives an example of helping by describing the time she passed out rum cake on her mothers birthday and other women helping as well. Zadie realized that even in the small things people can still work together to get things done like one women said “many hands make short work.” and its true because the more people collaborating in a project things get done much quicker. “generations are defined by the projects they take on together” I find this quote she said to be true because when I was in my Cross country team I was shy and intimidated by how good everyone else was and I was just a beginner. I didn’t do much interaction with them because I was af... ... middle of paper ... ... I was very uncomfortable with the situation but I knew it was beneficial for the team. We then all started to be more comfortable about each other and work together things began to change and so did our attitude with one another. We began to win races because we would cheer each other on and give each other advise. What social literacy means to me is an experience that has occurred at a point in your life and has changed the way that you saw or thought about the situation and made a change to make it different through the ways of communication and action being done. Social literacy doesn’t just only have one definition or example it can vary from the situation that someone is in. The authors that I chose resembled some type of way that I also delta with my situation which was through the means of communication and being thoughtful of others then just myself.
Soccer has guided me in many ways to become the person I am. Especially in high school, the sport has showed me how to be much more cooperative and open with others. Before high school, I isolated myself from others and had only a few close friends. Rather than being a sociable, I acted as though I was the only person in the world and had the outlook that as long as I do what is right individually, there is no need for me to work with others. This outlook changed when I joined the soccer team at Holy Spirit, my high school. With the way soccer is at the high school level, I had no choice but to cooperate and associate my selves with others. Once on the field, instead of introducing myself as "me" I had to introduce myself as a part of the team. You win as a team and you lose as a team. Sometimes I wanted to drive to games myself, and I was not allowed to because we are supposed to travel together and it would be wrong to the team for me to separate myself from the group.
Other People’s Words: The Cycle of Low Literacy by Victoria Purcell-Gates recounts the author’s two-year journey with an illiterate Appalachian family. Purcell-Gates works with Jenny, the mother, and her son, first grader Donny, to analyze the literacy within the household. Throughout the journey, we learn the definition and types of literacy, the influences of society and the environment, and the impacts of literacy on education from the teacher’s perspective. In order to evaluate literacy in the household, one must study multiple types, including functional, informational, and critical literacy. As the name implies, functional literacy incorporates reading and writing as tools for everyday survival. Informational literacy is used through text to communicate information to others. The highest level of literacy, critical literacy, requires critical interpretations and imaginative reflections of text. In her study, Purcell-Gates strives to teach Jenny and Donny functional literacy.
One of the propositions Barton and Hamilton include when defining the nature of literacy is “Literacy is best understood as a set of social practices; these can be inferred from
I have always loved sports and the competitiveness that comes along with them. In so doing, I have decided to eventually become either a high school or college coach at some point in my life. Subsequently, I decided to interview the Vilonia High School Cross Country Coach, Coach Sisson. As I walked into her office, I instantly noticed all of the trophies and team photos from all of the past years of coaching. She is also the school nurse so her office has first aid equipment intermingled into the trophies and team pictures. While I set up my notes and questions for the interview on one of the desks in her office, she was finishing up a diagnosis of one of the high school students who felt sick. After her patient left, I quickly started the interview in order to waste no time. She began with how she got involved in coaching. The Vilonia School District expressed their interest to her as being the next cross country coach several years ago. She was widely known for her passion for running and she gratefully accepted the position and has been a coach for numerous years now.
As a freshman, I was timid and had little to no confidence. When I went to my first drill practice, I felt like I was in my element. Everyone there wanted to be there, they all joined NJROTC because they wanted to. After attending many drill practices, and NJROTC events, I started to come out of my shell. Instead of staying quiet in class, I voiced my opinions more often and sometimes cracked a joke here and there. Then came our first drill competition, where I was the freshman drill squad’s squad leader. At the end of the day we won first place. This taste of victory showed me how a little self confidence can go a long way. Sophomore year went even better. My friend group expanded, as I met more people through NJROTC. Every drill practice became so much more enjoyable, because I found out that I was actually enjoying what I was doing, because the people around me were as well. I became so confident with myself, and more and more people started to look up to me and admire me for how much I had grown. At the end of my sophomore year, I went to Area Four Leadership Academy/Sail Training for two weeks, which was a life changing experience for me. I met cadets from all over my area, and spent every waking moment with the same 35 other cadets who shared the same pas...
Jones Diaz, C. (2007). Literacy as social practice. In L. Makin, C. Jones Diaz & L. McLachlan (Eds.), Literacies in childhood: Changing views, challenging practice. (pp. 203-216).Marrickville, NSW: Elsevier.
When the cross country season started in August I became a mentor for the new runners. I was still a runner but now I was doing my running through my peers. During each practice I would lead everyone in stretching and would follow with encouragement on my bike during runs. The freshman looked up to me as if I were an assistant coach and I knew I had done the right thing in being there every day for
If someone asked you if you knew what literacy is, how would you respond? When my English professor asked us that same question, my first thought was that it had to do something with writing. I was in the right path, but just half way there. Literacy has to do with the ability to read and write. Now let me ask you one thing, do you remember who your first sponsor was? You probably are making a lost face expression, because you have no idea who it was. Dont worry I had that same expression a few weeks ago, but Deborah Brandt helped me get rid of that lost feeling.
Social pedagogy is a humanistic framework to support development. It refers to a holistic approach to the needs of the child through health, school, family and spiritual life, leisure activities and the community.
...for my first cheerleading squad, in the seventh grade, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. In fact, the try outs were so hard and so demanding I did not make the cut. This did not discourage me at all; it only gave me motive to try harder. Next season I came back with a bang; I made the cheerleading squad. Cheerleading is an experience that I would never give up for anything in the world. I learned more lessons on teamwork here than any other sport I played, because in cheerleading I mainly had to communicate with the other cheerleaders. Cheerleading involved much work and effort from me and my team mates. When I first started cheering I was a fairly fat cheerleader; by the end of the season my body was perfect enough for a show all bikini, and this is the one change that made me genuinely realize, “yes, I am an athlete; cheerleading is a sport.”
I was so excited to start my new journey in school. I knew that being involved in a sport was going to help me become more confident. Running has taught me how to achieve my goals, be tough; both physically and mentally, and appreciate life. The first week of cross country was difficult.
The start of seventh grade, I was far from the image of the typical cheerleader. I was clumsy, would spill anything and often tripped over my own feet. I also had a speech impediment, so people could not usually understand me. The thought of me being a cheerleader was laughable. However, my best friend convinced me to just try it, and after all, it was not something I had to do forever. After the very first practice, I was hooked. I was not very good; I would forget the cheers and forgot to smile. Nonetheless, I stuck with it. The thought of standing in front of crowds and doing
It was November 5th, 2013 – it was my cross country league meet. I was running the hardest, the fastest, and with more intensity than I have ran with the first three years of my cross country career combined. It was the hardest course in Michigan, but it seemed easy to me as I practiced on it every other day. The competition was at least thirty seconds behind me as the three-story hill was too big of a challenge for them. The screams and cheering of the crowd fueled my adrenaline and I hit my runner’s high. I had tackled the hill for the final time and the crowd was screaming louder than I have ever heard, which caused me to power up the hill, then I stopped in my tracks. I realized what they were screaming about. There was someone, or something, hunched over my coach’s body. It looked human, but there was something off about the figure. The “thing” turned around and looked at me. It was pale, fit, had red eyes, and was covered in my coach’s blood and intestines. My heart stopped. What the hell? Then, I ran. It chased me. I didn’t have time to think about where I was going or what I had just seen, I just ran as fast as I could and as far as I could get. I heard screaming from the other runners and other onlookers, and when I glanced back to see if the thing was behind me, it wasn’t. I ended up in the parking lot, hotwired an older car (by popping
I decided that I wanted to play a sport, I chose volleyball. Most of my friends played the sport so it wasn't hard for me to adjust and make new friends. Becoming a student athlete was a big adjustment for me, I could no longer float through my classes but I need to excel. And that's exactly what I did. For the first time in my high school career I made not only honor roll, but principal’s honor roll. For the first time my mom was proud of my report card, that made me even more proud. From then on I knew I wanted nothing less than what I earned, good grades and a proud family. From my decision to chose to become a student athlete not only make me work harder but, be great at everything I put my mind to. I had motivation to stay successful, to stay eligible. Three years ago if you were to ask me where I thought I would be my senior year, I probably would have told you low level classes barely making it by. Now here I am today excelling in my education preparing to take the next step in my future, college. Even if we don’t understand why we go through them, we have to be willing to let our obstacles become out
Participating in a team sport can increase one’s self esteem. By being part of a team, you will give and receive praise. Receiving recognition from a team mate or a coach will boost your self esteem because you have been acknowledged for your efforts. As you are praised for your efforts, you will become more confident, thus improving your self esteem. Often times, the bond formed between team mates on the field translates into a friendship off the field. As team mates come to depend on each other and know that they are depended on, their level of commitment or responsibility to the game and skills needed for the game increases.