Compare and Contrast Post: Engkent and I

First off, I would like to note that I am the only person in my family that is “technologically-literate.”  Due to the fact that modern computers have evolved and been growing in power as I have been growing as a teenager, I have followed and learned the new and much-needed abilities one must have in order to properly engage oneself in the world of the Internet.  This is similar to how Garry Engkent, as described in his narrative “Why My Mother Can’t Speak English,” grew up in Canada from China and learned English as he was growing up.  For both of us, our mothers did not attempt to learn this new skill (the knowledge of the Internet for my mother and the English language for Engkent’s mother).

In Engkent’s case, his mother did not learn English for one main reason, which was that she did not want to drift away from her Chinese heritage.  “For thirty-some years, my mother did not learn the English language, not because she was not smart enough, not because she was too old to learn, and not because my father forbade her, but that learning English would change her Chinese soul.”  My mother, on the other hand, just didn’t bother to keep up with the changes of the technology of the personal computer.  It wasn’t because she was afraid to or had something against it, but that she just was too busy to keep up with it. 

Although the difference between our mothers (and our own stories) is quite different, both in what the problem was and why the problem existed, there are some similarities.  For example, both of us (Engkent and I) attempted to teach our mother the skills they lacked.  Engkent wanted to teach his mother English in order for her to do well on her citizenship test.  I wanted to teach my mother how to correctly use the Internet so that it would be easier to surf the web, and, more importantly, to make her job easier, for it involves much use of the Internet.  Both of our mothers refused our help, which frustrated us, the faithful sons only trying to help.

Compare and Contrast Post: Sedaris and I

As I was reading “Me Talk Pretty One Day,” I compared several aspects of the story to some of my own personal experiences.  This piece by Sedaris offers many ways that one can look back into their own lives and see how they were different or similar.  For example, one could describe how their own foreign language teacher acted while trying to teach the class.

As for myself, I found that Sedaris’s story could be compared to my personal experiences of teaching environment, teaching style, and language.

I took my third year Spanish class in my home country of the United States of America, while Sedaris decided to take his French course in Paris, France.  Even though my teacher spoke Spanish for most of the class, and that Sedaris’ teacher spoke only French during class, Sedaris was bound to learn the language he was attempting to learn much faster and more easily than I was, for he had to listen to French wherever he went, for he lived in France.  I lived in America, so it was unlikely that I was ever going to hear Spanish outside of my class.

When I entered my third year of Spanish, my teacher, like Sedaris’, decided to help teach us by speaking the language we were trying to learn.  My teacher only spoke in English in order to further explain directions that we may not have understood in Spanish, unlike Sedaris’ teacher, who never deviated from speaking French in the class.  Also, our teachers had a different method of teaching us the language.  While my teacher used the language to teach us, ask us how our day was, and similar normal things, Sedaris’ teacher decided not only to teach them in French, but to also insult them no matter how they performed.

Although a minor aspect in the comparison between Sedaris and I, it is worthy to point out that although we were both learning a language that was much different from our native language (which for both of us was English), Sedaris was learning French in his piece and I was learning Spanish, two different, yet occasionally similar languages.

Gary Engkent Short Story Post (Quiz 3)

Garry Engkent's "Why My Mother Can't Speak English"

1. Identify the obstacles that prevent Engkent's mother from learning to speak English. According to Engkent, what responsibility does he attribute to his mother for her inability to learn English? What responsibility would you attribute to Engkent's mother for her inability to learn English?

            Gary Engkent and his family immigrated to Canada to China when he was five years old and his parents were around forty years old.  As a child in a new country, Gary was able to pick up the English language easily, learning about it in school, listening to the people around him speak it, and frequently going to movies.  His father learned it in order to carry on his restaurant business.  His mother, on the other hand, not only decided not to learn it, but also was told not to learn the language by Gary’s father.  It is of course harder for adults to learn a new language than a child, for they already almost fully comprehend one.  Gary’s father made sure that his wife did not learn English because he thought it was a waste of her time, because, working in the family restaurant’s kitchen, she only needed to be able to understand the food orders. 

            There were still two larger, more important reasons why Mrs. Engkent never learned English, and they were because she did not want to abandon her Chinese roots and because she wanted to stay with Gary’s father.  Gary attributes this loyalty to his father as the reason for her inability to learn English.  By not learning English, she would not become a victim of the ideas of the “white man,” and create a conflict between her and her husband. 

            I would attribute Mrs. Engkent’s inability to learn English to the fact that she did not want to depart from her Chinese roots.  This need to live how she did in China allowed her to celebrate the Chinese way of life, including holidays and traditions.  It also was a factor in maintaining her loyalty to Gary’s father.

Richardson and Davis Post (Reading Quiz 2)

Elaine Richardson's "My Ill Literacy Narrative: Growing Up Black, Po and a Girl in the Hood"

1. Why does Richardson identify this narrative as an "ill literacy narrative"? Which events does she share to support the concept of "ill literacy"?

           

            Richardson identifies this narrative as an ill literacy narrative because it shows how the expectations of society are different in different places of the world, not only by region, but also by culture, class, and “social situatedness.,” and how these different categories are affected. “My Ill Literacy Narrative:  Growing Up Black, Po, and a Girl in the Hood” demonstrates various examples of these problems from Elaine Richardson’s life.   For example, Elaine was taught by the outside world that she was ugly, even though those around her thought that she was beautiful.  As an African-American, Elaine did not fit into the “beauty stereotype.”  “Both my brother and I learned through society’s texts that long flowing hair, light skin and Anglo features are equated with beauty.”  During her childhood, women were taught that men controlled them, and thus, Elaine was subjected to sexual interactions that she did not particularly enjoy, out of the “fact” that she was to do what the boys wanted.  “My actions or inaction (depending on the reader’s preference) appears to align me with the Black woman as sexual object/whore.  On the other hand, my inner thoughts as well as my outward squirming and struggle challenge the logic of the dominant discourse’s expectation of submission and helplessness.  The narrative is a helpful reminder of how expectations of society in culture, class, and “social situatedness” can undermine the actions and thoughts of people.

1. What role does dialogue play in the way that Sedaris makes sense of the challenges associated with learning French? How does it support/not support the purposes of this essay?

            Dialogue is a major factor in showing the challenges of learning French in the short story “Me Talk Pretty One Day” by David Sedaris.  By using dialogue, Sedaris demonstrated how the teacher taught them how to speak French and taught them the extensive vocabulary, although the teacher’s methods appeared to be quite abnormal and often barbaric.  For example, the teacher asked, “Do we have anyone in the room whose first name commences with an ahh?”  By doing that, the teacher showed the appropriate way to pronounce the words.  Also, by showing the ways that the teacher attacked the students demonstrated how the teacher got the vocabulary into the students’ heads.  It supports the purposes of this essay by showing how hard it is to learn the language and how hard it is to teach it well.

First Blog Post: Mountains

Hello, my name is Garrett Wojcik and I am from Plymouth, Michigan.  I am a freshman at Western Michigan University and I am majoring in History and Political Science.  I went to Plymouth High School and played trumpet in the Plymouth-Canton Educational Park Marching Band.  I also created the Ultimate Frisbee Club at my high school.  In my free time, I enjoy playing disc golf and spending time with animals, including my dog Zoe.  The following post is my first post for my Thought and Writing course, and it is a rhetorical analysis blog, featuring a blog by Steve Smith.

Blog Example:  http://mountainwandering.blogspot.com/

Blog Title: Mountain Wandering

Purpose:  Steve Smith was writing a description of the mountains he climbed towards the end of the summer of 2011.  Not only is he describing his experiences and observations, but he is allowing the reader to imagine that he is there with him.  This is an informative blog.

Audience:  The primary reader is anyone that is interested in the environment or in hiking/mountain climbing.  As one of these people, I was interested in the blog.  The writer is the owner of Mountain Wanderer Map and Book Store, and is an avid hiker, indicating that he is learned in this subject.

Genre:  This is a blog, with the goals of sharing the hiker's experience with others and recording his observations.  The writer may also be planning to persuade others to check out the mountains mentioned in his blog.

Stance:  The author has a nice, informative tone, never sounding angry or mean.  At some times, the writer includes a little bit of humor, keeping the reader from becoming bored.

Media:  Electronic.

Design:  The blog is on a web page.  The web page has a parchment-yellow background, giving it the look of an old traveler's journal.  The blog contains many pictures, each under a sentence or two describing or containing an event involving the picture.

Context:  The context is historical, for it provides information about the mountains the writer visited and with information regarding the present state and look of the mountains.