Blog Numero 2

The are if teaching is a skill that few in the world are able to master, of course I learn this the hard way. There was a day when I assumed that teaching a group of young children was an easy task but as I began to tutor in classroom and individually I learn that this was not easy feat. Luck for me patience is something I do posses. I find myself struggling to teach these young kids. I would explain it one way and then another but at times they still would not grasp the concept. Or they just simply would not pay attention to anything I was telling them. I learn that as a tutor/mentor you cannot approach them as stern, disciplinary individuals that do nothing but yet out orders. Instead you have to find the middle ground, in where you in when its times do discipline a child and when to have fun. I am by no means a perfect tutor/mentor, I still have plenty to learn and I am sure that it this is a skill that can take a life time to perfect.
When I tutor I try to relate to my own experiences that I have had through out my life time as a reader. As a second language learner there were a few challenges that I faced as a reader, as a young child the primary language spoken in my house hold was Spanish thus my ability to read and speak English was not up to par with some of my peers in my class. The sounding in English where quite different from that of Spanish but luckily for me my old sister was able to help me out. She spent countless hours with me working on my pronunciation and spelling of words, gradually over time I was able to become a good reader.
As I began to work with students that were second language learners I recognize the struggles they were going through. They saw the English language as an alien language that they would never be able to master but I reassured them that while it would not be no easy task, it was something that they could do and master. Of course when working with a student that English is there second language I take baby steps with them. For the most part I begin with flashcard or some sort of grammar game that allows them to work on the word recognition ans sound patterns. Start of easy and as they progress thought the activity the difficulty level of the words rises. Once I recognize that their proficient level is getting higher I introduce entry level reading books with some writing activities. And as I notice improvements I move the child to a harder activity. Yet as I stated before I am by far an expert in teaching and honestly I do not think I will ever be a master at this but I truly feel that children are always eager to learn, one must always find new and innovating way to teach to keep the children interested.

Literacy

The act of blogging itself has never really caught my attention, personally I do not really understand why people around the world are so into it. The closest I have ever come to blogging was an op-ed piece I wrote for a public policy class, which in my eyes I though was pretty cool. Besides all that I am approaching this blogging experience with an open mind, who knows it may become my new secret addiction.
I have been asked many times what the meaning of literacy is and each time I find myself baffled by the question. I sit there pondering the answer thinking it is a simple answer that should not take me more than five minutes but each time I can never give a clear definition. As I read through both the Gee and Scribber article I closely analyzed their conceptions of what literacy is, while one author gave a more simple definition the other based this very concept upon three metaphors that she used to define and describe what literacy was to her. All of these descriptions of what literacy was were very fascinating and intriguing. But then like a bolt of lighting I myself was thinking about at the experiences I had with school and literacy.
Yes it maybe something that many acorss time have tried to explain but I personally feel that the concept and definition of literacy is an ever evolving one. While at times you may sit there and think of all the endless possiblities, it maybe a daunting task. An individual, in my eyes, has to understand that when someone is asked to give a defintion of what literacy is there will be some common concepts that people will give but in the larger picture each individual person will come up with their own unique idea of what literacy is.
With today's state officials continously cutting back on state funding for education, the question of literacy is definitelty an interesting one. Will it be the same in ten years or why are our leaders cutting back on something that has proven to have been the backbone of the state and the nation? With all theis looming around I do not think I will ever be able to give a clear cut defintion.