Kairos article on CLiC by Carter and Dunbar-Odom

The purpose of this article is to show the reader the vision of the Converging Literacies Center (CLiC). The CLiC segment in the Kairos article is categorized by abstract, intro, definitions, process, implications, video, and references. There is an option in a few of the categories to either read a PDF document or watch a video. This has been put together in a few creative ways. CLiC was formed to reach out to a student population that primarily consists of socio-economic disadvantaged individuals.

One of the areas in which there was a lack in was multi-media. Before 2008, TAMU-Commerce was not properly equipped with multi- media equipment. This is one area in which CLiC was able obtain the proper equipment. CLiC not only brings in multi-media but, the writing center, developmental activities, first year and basic writing are all apart of CLiC.

Through the various areas of CLiC, students are assisted more properly than in the past. The vision is to keep this assistance going and to reach out to as many students as possible, and to help students realize their full potential in various literacies.

The Silenced Dialogue


This article addresses the issues of cultural clashes within the school system. The author has situated the white middle class community in the culture of power. This culture of power Lisa Delpit speaks of tries to impose help, when help may not really be wanted. Also, by offering help, especially in the area of education, children may respond in different ways.

In some ways I agreed with the author, but in other ways I did not. There are certainly cultural differences that exist between the two communities, but that also goes for various communities. She speaks negatively of the hegemonic influence of the culture of power; at least she does at the beginning of the article. And, I agree with her as to the unfairness of this treatment.

As the article progresses, her argument becomes weaker. Delpit seems to still hold on to the idea that this cultural clash between the two communities, and the undesirable outcomes that can stem from teaching literacy in a multi-cultural setting exists. However, she appears to be okay with this existance at the end of her article. This is quite a drastic change than at the beginning of her article.

Also, she appears to be supporting segregation. Delpit states on page 585 that, “I am also suggesting that appropriate education for poor children and children of color can only be devised in consultation with adults who share their culture.” I did not expect to get this message when I first started to read this article. It shocked me a bit!

Ch. 2 - The Ethnographer’s Field Entry and Tools of Practice


The field of ethnography sounds so interesting! Observing the environment in which individuals live would have to be an intriguing path of study. Before this semester, I was not familiar at all with the field of ethnography. Heath and Street give a precise explanation by stating,” Ethnography…is a theory-building enterprise constructed through detailed systematic observing, recording, and analyzing of human behavior in specifiable spaces and interactions” (29).

There are two ethnographic studies I would like to focus on from this chapter: the juggler and skateboarders.

The Juggler

I would have never thought about studying a juggler, and I certainly would have never guessed how much went into this! Ethnographer, Molly Mills, created an ‘intellectual framework” around the skill of juggling. Her study consisted of the observation of one juggler by the name of Roger. The purpose of Molly’s study was to probe into the life of a person who chose to pursue a “self-selected expertise” (34).

As a person who pursued the art of playing the violin growing up, Molly’s research needed to be the reflection of a study centered around, “making the familiar strange” (32). Collecting data, by avoiding the why questions, is how Molly conducts her research. Instead, Molly ask the “who, when, what, where, and how questions” to decide “what is happening” (35).


A research conducted in this fashion would be more likely to produce authentic answers. Responses that seem to be of little importance may be part of the missing puzzle for the researcher.

The Skateboarders

Shirley unraveled a missing piece of the puzzle while conducting an ethnographic study on skateboarders. Shirley had to look past any preconceived notions concerning skateboarders. The community in which the skateboarders belonged to viewed them as unreliable and ill responsible delinquents who failed at school and were destined to fail at any career. How could these unreliable teens arrive at the same location on a certain night and at a certain time without actually keeping up with the time?

Through observation and not falling into the trap of being lead by preconceived notions, Shirley discovered that the skateboarders actually were very prompt. The members of the group determined the time they would meet according to a television show. After the show, wherever they were at, they arrived at their destination on time.

Shirley was delighted about her discovery, even though the boys did not see much importance about it, and instead asked her questions about the show. Through observation and asking the appropriate questions, Molly was able to obtain the answers she was looking for.

Chapter 10
Alternative Approaches to Active Learning in the Classroom

Bean introduces the reader to the challenge of creating a collaborative classroom experience while lecturing. Lecturing is typically teacher centered and allows few opportunities for active engagement. Of course, lecturing is very appropriate at certain times when the teacher wishes to deliver information. All too often, this experience may be mundane and only a few students are being reached in the process. The goal of an educator is to maximize the student's experience of receiving information into a tangible concept that the student can actually work and identify with.

I would now like to discuss Bean’s ideas that I find interesting and the most helpful for students.

1) Develop Guided-Journal Tasks Keyed to Your Lectures

I feel that I do this now in my English 100 lab. Each day my students spend the first ten minutes in class writing a response to a Dialogue Journal topic. From now to the end of the semester, I will be generating these questions from their Final Critical Reflections grading assessment list. Hence, this will enable the students to implement these ideas into their paper. Rick McCraw is the one responsible for giving me this idea!

2) Ask Students to Question Your Lectures

This method is a creative way to help students engage in critical thinking. They are asked to summarize the teacher’s answer, and are asked to provide further questions on the subject matter. It’s possible that through those further questions the students may find themselves in a situation in which they might defend a certain viewpoint. The information that has been received has become useful through this interaction.

3) Increase Wait Time

I really never thought about it, but it would be nice if the students are allowed time to think about the question that has been asked. The feeling of unease may cause the student embarrassment that otherwise may have been avoided if just given enough time to sort through their thoughts.


4) Have Students Generate the Questions to Be Discussed

What an effective way to get those thoughts and questions out in the open! Bean uses the example grouping students together, and those groups collaborate about what questions they would like to have for discussion that day. I think this method helps those students who are overlooked in class discussions.

* Bean mentions the subject of class discussion. While class discussion can be useful, it is very true that only a handful of students are benefitting from this – the ones who are always talking. The shy students are not given the opportunity to share their thoughts. Every student ought to have the opportunity to share!

Writing Local History: Panel of Experts


The head of the Special Collection Department, Dr. Jim Conrad, has organized a panel of local history experts for the National Week on Writing. The event will take place on October 20th from 1:00-2:00 at the James G. Gee Library.

John Hanners has been chosen to be among the panelists. Mr. Hanners has published articles on local history in the Commerce Journal, and has conducted research on the famous trial of Commerce resident, Velma Patterson, who was convicted of the murder of her daughter during the mid 1930’s.

Otho Spencer will also serve as a panelist during the National Week on Writing. Mr. Spencer is a retired photography and journalism professor from Texas A&M University – Commerce. He has also published local history articles in the Commerce Journal for three years.

Jim Conrad will be the moderator during the meeting. Dr. Conrad currently publishes the weekly “Blackland” column in the Herald Banner, and is the author of the book, "Freedom Colonies: Independent Black Texans in the Age of Jim Crow."

Another panelist will be appointed from the Silver Leos, an organization which mainly consists of retired faculty.

Each panelist will have the opportunity to read one of their memoirs for approximately ten minutes. The audience will then have the opportunity to ask questions and discuss local history.

Week 5 in Review


Ch. 5 Literacy and Work

We usually associate literacy in schools, but literacy thrives in the workplace as well. Sean makes an interesting parallel between what is mentioned in the chapter concerning WWII and the military recruitment that he saw during the post 9-11 period. These two events created a demand for stronger literacy skills. As Lindquist and Seitz point out the new technologies that came out during this time required its workers to of a higher level of literacy skills. Sean shares with us that “very shortly after September 11, they came to our class on an almost biweekly basis. The recruiters often emphasized the future job opportunities available through their programs, specifically the various college degrees that were sponsored. They offered to pay for a significant portion of a student's college tuition in a wide variety of subjects and degrees, provided they joined the armed forces.” These two major events played a significant role in expanding literacy.

Workers in today’s economy need to be not only literate, but to be able to offer flexible literacy skills. Lindquist and Seitz raise caution to the fact that down sizing is common today. Workers may find themselves shuffled from one department to another or completely out of their current job all together. So, the ability to offer a wide variety of literacy skills is a must to be a marketable worker in our current economy.



Ch. 6 Informal, Exploratory Writing Activities

Bean discusses ways to broaden students’ critical thinking skills through informal writing. Sean does a nice job discussing these various ways in his blog. There are a couple of aspects that Sean points out that are of interest to me and that is writing with the students and the check/plus/minus system of grading. Sean states, “While I love the idea of writing with my students, I have hit a few hurdles using this method: 1) students may feel intimidated by the instructor’s finished product. 2) If the student’s response differs radically from the instructor’s, then the student may feel afraid to share his or her work.” I can see that these would be hurdles; students tend to feel intimated by college in general. However, I think that this would be an excellent opportunity for them to see that instructors/professors support them. This is an activity that I plan to take part in. Also, I use the same system as Sean uses in my lab, and that is the plus/check/minus system. While this may seem a little vague to some, this system does let the students know if they’ve met expectations.

There are a couple of more aspects that I’d like to mention from Ch. 6. “Writing Bio-Poems” sounds very interesting to me. I am by no means a poet, but I think that even I could write poems using this formula – wow!! I like that!! The “Thesis Statement Writing” is very clear cut and to the point. This method is perfect for someone who is struggling with how to write a thesis.


Chapter 7 Designing Tasks for Active Thinking and Learning

Designing tasks that engage learners in active and critical thinking takes a great deal of creativity. Mandy was very creative in putting together a new syllabus for her class, especially the class summaries and writing center visitor reflections. This will give the students an opportunity to share their ideas on whether or nor they agree with the tutor and/or instructor’s advice. Such an exercise will promote critical thinking, which, with itself is a difficult idea for new coming students to grasp.

Bean mentions the “Thesis Support Assignments” as an option to encourage active thinking in the classroom. Personally, I did not think that this is too much different than the “Thesis Statement Writing” discussed in Chapter 6. But, this exercise will promote skill in an area that most students are lacking experience in. The “Data-Provided Assignment” takes it a step further in the fact that the students are actually searching for the thesis. This assignment should probably be scheduled toward the end of a series of thesis exercises, since such an assignment encourages independency on part of the student.

Chapter 8 Helping Students Read Difficult Texts

Toni states in her blog over this chapter that “Emphasis on the ‘can’ be… because nobody in my class is a dummy. Rather, they are unarmed and I am in a position to help them with that.” So true! Our students aren’t dummies, but rather they have not been given the opportunity to handle difficult reading in an effective manner. So, it’s our calling to help them! Toni provided help to her students when she prompted them to underline their main theme/point/argument/thesis/ in their WA 2 assignments. I’m sure that during this process that the students were able to point out the main theme in each paragraph, which is a hurdle that I see in the writing center.

As Bean states, students are under the impression that they have to be “speed readers.” Professors ought to give insight to students that this is not a reasonable goal. Difficult texts take more time to digest, therefore take more time to read. Also, Bean touches on the fact that “inadequate vocabulary” is an issue that college students struggle with. I also saw something similar to this in a student’s paper that looked like some parts of it was text messaged! But, it would be a good habit for students to carry a dictionary (and thesaurus) with them while tackling those difficult texts.

Chapter 9 Coaching Thinking Through the Use of Small Groups

The small group method certainly has had its fair share of objections through the years, as Laura points out. There are some who may regard this as just an easy way for the teacher to conduct class, and that it may lack form and time spent with the teacher. But, Laura states in her blog that “Besides, along with evident advantages, such as the fact that it can be used in classes with hundreds of students, can be integrated with other teaching methods and strategies, that it can promote student interactions, and leadership skills celebrating the diversity, Bean shows a wider, very important goal: it helps the developing of interpersonal trust in a society that is lacking this aspect related to social relationships.”

Some of my most memorable class experiences were those in which the teacher divided the class into groups. I noticed that students opened up more in this setting, thus creating a collaborative learning environment. That is why that the role playing that Bean mentions is a valuable tool in group discussions. Role playing allows the student to play a role that he or she would normally not play in a large class setting.

Peer Tutoring and the “Conversation of Mankind”

According to Kenneth A. Bruffee, knowledge is the product of the “conversation of mankind.” Conversation is derived from our thoughts, which is an inward experience. Thoughts surface, not only in spoken or body language, but in written language. The goal of peer tutoring is to help those thoughts come to fruition in written language.

Bruffee begins by discussing reflective thought. Reflective thought is “organically related to social conversation” because thought stems from conversation. Bruffee illustrates the example that humans do not necessarily have to verbalize the need to dial a phone number or walk to the coffee maker. Although thought is indeed an inward experience, it is essential to conversation and social interaction.

It is also essential for writing tutors to help students by engaging in conversation in order to help those thoughts materialize in written language. Peer tutoring is considered a “normal discourse,” which refers to an ongoing conversation “within a community of knowledgeable peers.” Peer tutoring is that among individuals of equal status. This allows an opportunity for collaboration, a discussion and exchange of thoughts and beliefs, essential for the growth of knowledge.

One might disagree by stating that this opportunity is nothing more than the “blind leading the blind.” However, this collaboration is a chance for the tutor and tutee to work together by “pooling their resources.” The information that one has, but the other may lack, is what fuels the thoughts that begin the conversation that lead to knowledge. So, peer tutoring is not an occasion to engage in proofreading or editing, but rather to engage in conversation about the subject of interest.

Peer tutoring is the “extension” of the “conversation of mankind.” Bruffee points out that the study of the humanities paves the way for this for this sort of social collaboration, such as in writing. Writing tutors have the unique opportunity to take part in this conversation.

What I think...

I think I want to study this more! I am trying to decide what to write my 595 paper on, and this is similar to what I have been thinking about. The connection between thought and written language, and how this becomes a social interaction through conversation, is fascinating.

I took a language acquisition course during my undergraduate studies, and encountered theories similar to this. We studied how language evolves in social interaction and in written language. I agree with Bruffee’s argument, but I would like to look into it more so I can make my own argument.

I would like to know if Bruffee believes if knowledge is only attainable through social interaction and conversation. Or, do we have to have that interaction? But, when I think of examples of self-education I always seem to see that there was some sort of conversation that took place that paved the way for knowledge.

I think that conversation encourages self-education, and written language is a product of this.