Spoken word is a broad term that encompasses many mediums of art and literature. Slam poetry, motivational speeches, rap, and song are all popular ways the world interacts with spoken word. However, despite the large amount of people that participate in spoken word, few see it’s value, and may often look down upon it. Searching it on the internet brings up hundreds of articles titled, “Why I Hate Spoken Word” or “Why Spoken Word Is Bad”. Many don’t even bother listening to it, nor understanding what it’s trying to show. Nonetheless, this doesn’t stop many artists and writers to continue with their craft. So what do people get from spoken word?
Spoken word creates a platform for marginalized and oppressed groups of children to encourage solidarity with one another which ultimately leads to better social and political leaders.
Connection of Spoken Word to Social Justice
Spoken word is used to cultivate revolutionary ideas, and when children and teenagers are the future for our country, spoken word can be very effective in creating social activists. In her article, “Stealing the Air ': The Poet-Citizens of Youth Spoken-Word” Rebecca Ingalls argues:
“We 're channeling the voices of the next generation to speak for themselves about what they want the world to become. In spite of everything--war, the economy, environment--youth have a
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In her article, “Never Knew Literacy Could Get At My Soul” Ruth H Kim, a doctor of education and sociological studies, insists, that by creating opportunities for young students to build school clubs that originate around spoken word, organizations “promote community organizing capacities and tools among youth. These tools and experiences directly link young artists as spoken word activists” Kim (2013). In other words, by encouraging young students to use spoken word as their method of self expression, school’s can create future leaders for important social
Throughout history, the youth of the generation challenges the status quo. At the zenith of physical vigor and sensitivity, we expose ourselves to influences of a broader world. Subtlety is lost, acute distinctions of what was black and white suddenly become the different shades of gray. Our appetite for curiosity shape our worldview. Life becomes visceral, and truth is revealed rather than logically proven. In the graphic novel, March by John Lewis, he tells the story of his youth as he reflects on the past. His generation refused to accept the narrow confines of the social norm and sought to break free. Their nonviolent protests was not only an act of resistance but that of also self-expression. The societal dogma of segregation and institutional racism would finally come to surface during the early years of his youth. We can gain further insight of this historical time from the following passages.
Language has the power to influence and reshape our thoughts and actions. In Anthem, by Ayn Rand, there is a society which controls the language of everyone in it. Under the World Council, everyone is to follow the many rules put in place and no one even tries to break them. There is no “I” in their language, there is only “we”. With the power to influence and reshape people, language has a big impact on our thoughts and actions.
Black art forms have historically always been an avenue for the voice; from spirituals to work songs to ballads, pieces of literature are one way that the black community has consistently been able to express their opinions and communicate to society at large. One was this has been achieved is through civil disobedience meeting civil manners. In this case, it would be just acknowledging an issue through art and literature. On the other hand, there is art with a direct purpose - literature meant to spur action; to convey anger and shock; or to prompt empathy, based on a discontent with the status quo. That is, protest literature. Through the marriage of the personal and political voices in black poetry and music, the genre functions as a form
Erin Gruwell began her teaching career at Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, California where the school is integrated but it’s not working. Mrs. Gruwell is teaching a class fill with at-risk teenagers that are not interested in learning. But she makes not give up, instead she inspires her students to take an interest in their education and planning for their future as she assigned materials that can relate to their lives. This film has observed many social issues and connected to one of the sociological perspective, conflict theory. Freedom Writers have been constructed in a way that it promotes an idea of how the community where the student lives, represented as a racially acceptable society. The film upholds strong stereotypes of
Language is more than words and the ability to communicate. It allows the world to express thoughts and ideas, but along with that comes influence and authority—matter that run society. Language impacts society in various ways, both bad and good. Everyday life, even texts and films, portray the effect of language. Whale Rider, “The Myth of the Latin Woman”, and The Crucible demonstrate that language is power.
All throughout history, individualism has been key to the advancement of humanity including - most importantly the spreading of freedom. The world we live in has been changed greatly through the individual's critical understanding of literacy. The vigilant and knowledgeable use of the written word is what carries one's claims to the world. "Emancipatory literacy is a necessary foundation for cultural action and freedom, a central aspect of what it means to be a self & socially composed agent. X" This type of literature is used to empower the people who use it. It involves engaging in acts of writing and reading that are used to liberate humanity. How can anything be changed without the use of this emancipatory literacy? "We must write as if our lives depended on it. X" Literacy gives a voice to our ideas, and creates a space for us in the world to work toward change and to reflect on that change so that it is not forgotten.
As Yagelski put it, “this young woman wasn’t uninterested; she was angry about being perceived as unimportant,”(Yagelski, 2000, P.1) he hadn’t directly encountered such skepticism of something that he himself had full faith in before. Abby spoke through the perspective of one angry child raised outside the glory literacy was described to bring, but many more have also brought up their lack of belief in its value, one such individual was Elspeth Stuckey. Stuckey discussed the misinterpretation of literacy in society through the perspective of those that have yet to reach any governmental influence after advancing their literacy because of society’s class system holding them and certain groups beneath others. “Literacy, she says, does not inevitably lead to economic success and social opportunity, as our social mythologies would have us believe,” (Yagelski, 2000, P.3). Abby as well brought up the point that she felt irrelevant and miniscule in the grand scheme of political issues that take place far away from her daily life, and how can literacy actually take her to those
The ability to articulate my thoughts, aspirations and hardships has been a big part of my recent literacy. From personal essays to an open discussion with a panel. To put my thoughts into words on a paper or have a discussion, I have had the privilege to be heard from many around my city and in other states.
Speech is the actual act of communicating through the use of words and sounds (American Family Physician, 1999 pg. 3121). The importance of verbal communication is the development of positive relationships with family and peers (American Family Physician, 1999 pg. 3121). Language is the act of understanding what is being spoken and the ability to express thoughts and feelings in return. Language is also understood and expressed through the use of visual aids such as pictures (American Family Physician, 2011 pg. 1183). The development of both speech and language is essential for healthy social and emotional skills.
Public speaking is one of the most under rated skills learned in school, yet is one of the most valuable. The way you communicate shows a lot about you, and can influence other’s opinions of you. In every profession communicatiis important. Good communication skills, no matter what you plan to do in life, will help you out greatly and improve your chances against a harsh job market. I am majoring in Business Administration and Law, and communication is one of the biggest parts of business and law, yet communication is hardly ever taught in business classes for my major. I think that a communications class like public speaking, for example, should be not just for a college class, but taught in high school and middle school as well. I believe several classes would allow anyone to become an expert speaking. The only way to fully learn public speaking is to get up in front of people and talk to them. One can not learn public speaking from a book.
Kirstof, Nicholas D. "Giving Voice to the Voiceless." International Herald Tribune. 28 Sep. 2012: 7. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.
We use language in a variety of ways, for example, to tell people how we feel, to talk about things that we like and to be able to question and understand the world around us. As well as giving children a sense of identity. Language can be diverse and standard, for example, language can be diverse amongst cultures with different English accents and language can be standard when the majority of people in a country speak a variety of English. Language can be seen through reading and heard through oral language. Halliday and Piaget 's functions on language indicated the important roles of language in children’s lives. Language has been outlined in this essay to play a major role in children’s lives. Most importantly it gives children the skills to learn to communicate and exchange information with others around
According to a 2001 Gallup poll, “more than 40% of Americans fear public speaking than death”, I was shocked to learn this statistics that I was not the only one. As I was pondering about what to write on my essay for my favorite school, I thought about my own childhood experience.
Speaking is a natural ability given to most reluctant individuals. Since the beginning of time, it has been assumed that we have a right to speak and use words, thus we naturally begin our development of language during the early stages of live. After years of grasping and perfecting our vocabulary and language, it seems unnecessary to study the purpose of our development. Why, then, should we study “oral communication?” There are many purposes, benefits, and institutions that branch from oral communication. Of course, communication is the basis of interaction with other individuals through the use of expressions and words; however, through studying oral communication, one can take the words and expressions being used and apply them to his or her own life. After all, the most effective and useful knowledge is applied knowledge.
Speech is vitally important for a variety of reasons. I believe that our words can increase or decrease our level of happiness or even have a positive or negative effect towards our future. Speech helps us as a society to resolve issues in a respectful manner; it helps us get important points across and convey messages, it also helps us structure our ways of communicating. The importance of speech is giving us the ability to make situations more...