Ticket Out the Door

I learned several valuable things during class yesterday, especially that it's important to look at the power structures behind reading and writing, and especially with multiple literacies. During our pinwheel discussion, one of my fellow students asked, "Who owns facebook and Twitter?" Her question made me realize that I myself take many different literacies at face value, instead of thinking about the power structures that lie especially behind social media and websites. What kind of agenda do companies such as facebook and Twitter have, and what kind of message are they trying to impart?Students need to be educated to not take everything at face value, but to analyze, question, be critical of, and scrutinize literacy, not just in books but in the web and media. 

I also found the pinwheel discussion very helpful and a great way to get all students involved. Listening to everyone speak from the viewpoint of the author allowed me to understand the readings on an even deeper level. Through articulating questions as a provocateur, I was able to process what I thought were the most important themes in the readings, namely critical literacy, and multi-modal literacy. Two things I want to know more about are project-based, student-based learning (as opposed to teaching to the test), and other activities that are helpful in students becoming critical readers and writers.  One thing that interested me the most was the idea one of my classmates brought up about students as interpretive communities, having a fluid literacy identity and literacy history. I want to help students delve more into their personal literacy histories and bring their thoughts out onto paper. 

The Role of Journalism

The media is a strong tool that shows me about what is going on in the world. Sadly, however, I do not check the news very often, except for what I see on T.V. while working out at the gym, what I hear from other people, or see on facebook. For a news source, I prefer the internet because it allows me to browse through quickly on what is going on locally as well as nationally and internationally. If I want to find out what is going on in the Middle East, for example, I can search "News in the Middle East" on Google Search, and it will take me directly to news sources featuring the Middle East. I enjoy listening to the radio and watching TV at times, but I prefer searching for news online.

Growing up, I remember my father frequently reading the newspaper during breakfast before work, and sometimes I would read it too. It made me happy or sad, depending on what kind of news it was. Having the newspaper physically there on the table made me read it and discover what was going on in the local community. I kind of miss having newspapers around to browse through while having some tea or coffee in the morning. While I do not get physical newspapers now, as a child and teen I enjoyed the physicality of flipping through pages, while sniffing that familiar newspaper smell. Sometimes my dad would talk about the articles, but most of the time I would peruse myself, especially sneaking off with the comic section on Sunday mornings. I think mostly my dad and I read the newspaper. I remember feeling immense joy in high school when I saw my article featured in the daily paper.

A couple of weeks ago, I was reading about the story about the Isla Vista shootings near UC Santa Barbara in California. I read many different articles on the story, some had the same evidence, while others revealed more and gave me a closer look on what happened with the student who decided to kill his roommates and some sorority girls as well as harm random strangers, before taking his own life. This story was of interest to me because I have friends I studied abroad with that were affected in some way by this incident. I was first alerted to this news through facebook, a friend posting about it as a status. I wondered what would drive a human being to do this. I watched videos of newscasters as well as interviews with friends and family members of the victims. The stories all seemed to add up to each other, not contradict each other. They basically had the same story line, but some news articles added more, while some had less information. How much information each article had also depended on how much time had elapsed since the incident.

About Me!

Reading and Writing go hand-in-hand when it comes to being creative and expressing yourself!

Hello everyone! My name is Kaori Becker, and I am originally from the Bay Area, California!
• I went to the University of California, Berkeley for undergrad, and majored in Social Welfare with a minor in Education
• My major interest for this class is journalism, learning how to write in a journalistic and professional fashion, and how to help my future students learn to write professionally as well.
• I am interested in teaching high school students, as well as community college students.
• I hope to learn more about Journalism and how it applies to teaching, and practices and curriculums I can use with my future students.
• My prior involvement in Journalism includes writing for my university's newspaper The Daily Cal for a semester during sophomore year. It was a lot of work, and sometimes immense pressure, but I learned how to write a clear and succinct newspaper article as well as find my sources quickly (many times that meant a lot of phone calls!). You can see my articles for the Daily Cal on this website. In high school I also had a chance to write articles once in a while for the newspaper in Hayward, California.
To me,
• English Language Arts is amazing because it is an open door to creativity, growth, and inspiration. I find myself inspired when I create writing because it expresses a part of who I am, and I want to teach ELA because I want to pass on the spirit of creativity and boundlessness and inspiration in writing to my students.
• I want students to feel inspired to be creative, to express themselves through writing, and learn from all of the great writers and authors out there.
• My world is… a place of endless possibilities.