All posts by Sarah K Hall

Saying Something

Blurring the In-School Ouf-of-School Line, Urban Adolescents

Kirkland, D. E., & Jackson, A. (2009). We real cool: Toward a theory of Black masculine literacies. Reading Research Quarterly, 44(3), 278-297.

David: Now Larry explained why clothes are so important. But help me understand. Does anything go?

[laughter]

Larry: naw man. It ain’t like that…[interrupted]

Etherin: There is just one rule: You can’t expect to be cool and wear something wack.

David: What’s wack?

Etherin: You know… Stuff that ain’t saying nothing…

For Etherin, clothing could speak. Moreover, opportunities to “control the mic” or “hold the floor” should not be wasted. This wasting or misuse of opportunity was deemed by Etherin and his peers as “wack.” Indeed, the young men were always in a position to be judged and to judge others.

To avoid unfavorable judgment, the young men used their clothes as a subversive tool, which allowed them to declare “what they gotta say without sayin it.” In this way, clothing helped them communicate their ideas on their terms despite being entrenched in a contested educational domain that is commonly hostile to black males. Nowhere else was this feature more evident then in the young men’s appropriation of hip-hop style.

 

I selected this passage because I was struck by the level of self-awareness of Larry and Etherin. I don’t typically credit my students with the ability to not only recognize, but also manipulate their own image. Continue reading Saying Something →

Wikipedia is not the Devil

eLiteracy and Social Media(tion), Media and Technology Critiques, Urban Adolescents

“Don’t use Wikipedia!” my teachers said, “You don’t know who wrote it, they could be giving you incorrect information.” Still, it remains a very useful and often used resource. It’s more convenient than a print encyclopedia and is kept much more current. So what’s so terrible about it? Teachers point to the fact that it is crowd-sourced. This means that anyone, from an expert in the field to some bored internet wanderer, can create, write and edit articles. This means that the article about astrophysics could be written by an astrophysicist from MIT or some dude who really likes UFOs. This is the feature that many teachers point to as wikipedia’s downfall, but they seem to forget that anyone could include their students. Including students as authors on wikipedia turns the whole thing on its head. Continue reading Wikipedia is not the Devil →

Challenges

eLiteracy and Social Media(tion), Urban Adolescents

Gainer (2007) Social Critique and Pleasure

“While this means that teachers cannot take the traditional role of ‘expert, this role is shared with students; it does not imply that teachers adopt an ‘anything goes’ response to media and popular culture. When engaging g students with critical media literacy, teachers must try to move fluidly between roles, ranging from that of learner to that of guide, and sometimes ‘authority’. This is a balancing act that opens space for pleasure as well as critique, and even the pleasure of critique. This is done with an eye toward imagining a more social order. Therefore critical media literacy that engages students with popular culture texts must navigate the politics of pleasure and acknowledge the pleasure of politics.”

I chose this quote because, as I was reading the article, I kept thinking, “But this sounds hard.” Continue reading Challenges →

You just don’t

Socioemotional and Psychological Development in Adolescence, Urban Adolescents

Parker (2012) The Story of a Suicide

“They never saw any sign of depression, and can’t even see it
retrospectively.’As a parent, what it says to me is that what you think
you know, you don’t know,’ Joseph Clementi said. ‘And that’s a hard
thing, because we all think,I know what my kid’s up to. You don’t.'”

This statement could be true not only for Tyler’s parents but also for Dharun’s parents. Perhaps they did not know the names he called his friends or about the aggressive behavior he displayed. Neither set of parents saw anything to clue them in that something could go wrong. As a teacher that’s pretty scary. The thought that no matter how well I get to know my students, there is still this other world where my students are interacting with each other and making decisions is quite unsettling. I recently sat in on an advisory session about appropriate internet use. The chosen materials were incredibly cheesy and obviously fake. No one was fooled and no one took the session seriously.I think we need to do a better job and encourage students to make connections between their online lives and their actual lives.

Keeping up with the Techies

Biological & Cognitive Development in Adolescence, Urban Adolescents

Philip, R. (2007). The brain during adolescence: Making sense of technology, media, social status, and education. In Engaging ‘tweens and teens: A brain-compatible approach to reaching middle and high school students (pp. 63-90). California: Corwin Press

“Adolescents are growing up in an age of cheap mobile phones and fast Internet connections–the gadgetry found in the bedrooms of many teenagers would impress the most ardent techie. Video-supported cell phones, iPods, digital cameras, and handheld organizers are “must-have” tools for the savvy sixteen-year-old.”

This may seem like an odd passage to choose since it is sounds very dated, but thats precisely why I selected it. Continue reading Keeping up with the Techies →