Kayla; Turn Around
Concept: Effects of being a child Prodigy and then losing interest in the topics of reading.
“When students portrayed themselves as child prodigies, they conceived of themselves and their literacy abilities are exceptional,[…]” (619 Alexander)
“I was always a good little reader and writer in elementary and middle school. I always loved to read with my parents when I was little;”… “Until I got to around seventh grade I read a lot. When I was forced to read things I didn’t like, I lost interest really quickly. I stopped reading for fun an only read when I was absolutely forced to read.” (Kayla)
This shows us that she had a great interest in reading and was told she was a great reader. However, once she got older her passion for reading dropped down because it was topics that did not interest her. Therefore her skills in reading also decreased, in many instances, child prodigies start out strong but then they start to lose the drive to push themselves to the next level.
Sam; Passion for Writing
Concept: Having a great literacy sponsor from a young age that creates a passion for writing can lead to success no matter the subject.
” Yet many students do not feel successful as readers and writers think that these identities are the result of external judgments handed down by the literacy authorities” (Williams)
“As I moved on to high school, writing just didn’t seem to have the thrill that it did in Miss Foster’s class.” … “I could draw some interest from that subject and in writing it, it wouldn’t seem as dull or boring.” (Sam)
This shows us that at first Sam did not know how to write but then due to help sam was able to find a passion for writing, however, this was easy fun writing, but because Sam had a good development of a love for writing the change in what they had to write about did not hold them back from succeeding in writing.
Hannah; Expect the Unexpected
Concept: Literacy authorities effects on a student with a victim narrative start which then turns into a success story.
“As teachers, we have a responsibility to challenge students to interrogate the assumptions they have about literacy leading to success, including the broad, general claims they make about what literacy can do for them.” (Alexander)
“Teacher’s are always so hard on students, no matter what we do or how we act. Although, we may never fully understood why teacher’s want us to achieve more. They constantly push us to go the extra mile.” … “I realized it doesn’t matter what you are writing about, you should be creating a piece of work you can always be proud of.” (Hannah)
When Hannah got a bad grade on the paper that she was very proud of, she then decided to not become a victim of her teachers harsh words and made her story a success story, because she realized that her teacher (literacy authority) just wanted to push her to keep on trying to create better and stronger papers.
Blake; Recess and Distress
Concept: A rebel narrative which then became a success due to a strong and positive influence from a teacher who is a literacy authority.
“[…] successful and powerful in terms of literacy and to imagine as well what that would entail in terms of actions, attitudes, and emotions.” (Williams)
“Mrs. Johnson would always tell my Mom the same thing, that if I just took my time instead of rushing I would produce a much higher quality of work. I would get so annoyed and still rush through the assignment” … “probably since second grade. I know that if I slow down and take it one step at a time,” (Blake)
Blake started out by ignoring his teacher’s words and started to do his work even faster, however that ended with poor work and forced him to take more time on his writing. After he learned this from his teacher who was patient and found the right way to push him to take his time and get it right the first time. And now he is successful and takes his time.
ENG110J
