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There is an issue in the misconception upon the impact of technology on literacy. There seems to be a negative connotation on technology, which leads to a decline in literacy ability. This could be seen in Sheil’s article “Why Johnny can’t write”, in which she argues that technology is hindering student’s literacy development. In her newsweek article, Sheils reported that technology is the “culprit” of student’s illiteracy because they allocate their time on social media. Even Knoblauch made an implication that people start to exchange literacy with their “competence in the technological world” (Knoblauch). These old articles are alluding to the perception of technology's negative effects on literacy, however this perception is old-minded. One must consider utilizing technology as a medium for developing literacy skills. As mentioned by Yancey’s article of the 21st century, social media is not the culprit of illiteracy, but rather a driving force behind population’s literacy. For instance, people are fixing grammatical errors in other people’s facebook posts. Yancey suggests that instead of prioritizing print, digital and networked literacy, we should operate it concurrently with each other to further enhance literacy. Even Parrott mentioned that technology is actually making writing easier and faster compared to mechanical writing, technology has increased frequency of daily interactions with language. These new scholars are contributing to broaden the perspective of the impact of technology upon literacy by providing evidence and solutions. They, as a scholar, use their position and insights to persuade readers, mostly other writers or students, of the positive impact of technology on the development of literacy.

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A common misconception students have is comparing their own writing with the "professionals." This gives students the wrong mindset when working and will negatively affect their writing. For example, in Edward and Paz's "Only Geniuses Can be Writers," authors set unrealistic expectations for students. These expectations can make the writing process intimidating, and students are more likely to have writer's block. People believe that one can be born with writing talent, but it is crucial to know that that talent or skill can be improved. Also, in Parrott's "Some People are just Born Good Writers," the author explains that anyone's writing can be continuously enhanced no matter their skill level. Inexperienced writers are commonly criticized quickly by educators, which is why students identify themselves as "bad" writers. To have excellent writing, one does not have to be inspired by their own uniqueness. The article argues that it is okay to be inspired by other people and encourages collaboration. Having a positive mindset is needed to leave room for improvement.

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A current problem that multiple sources address is the issue of college students' mindset about writing and their habits. For example, many college students think that good writing can only be achieved by geniuses and that it's something you're born with. However, the writers argue that every writer has the same process of writing and that they are not geniuses that can just produce masterpieces. Another example is college students' mindset that they must sit down and think before writing because they have no ideas. This mindset was considered wrong by another writer, who says that by doing the act of writing itself, you produce ideas. "Writing is thinking." Finally, there is the mindset that you must make a good first draft and that it should be perfect. Another writer proved that wrong with their argument that first drafts should be shitty. All these writers are trying to encourage students and change their views on writing, instead of being limited by rules they learned before.

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In the sources that we were presented with, many authors stress that being literate is critical to being able to participate in the 21st century. In order for students to be literate, there needs to be a change in the education system. Sheils claims that the education system has done a terrible job in leaching literacy and English in general and every year students’ skills in literacy are decreasing. Similarly, authors Miller and Schultz present a solution to fix the gap between students who are literate and those who aren't: teaching them each the literacies they need to succeed, the multi literacies framework. On the contrary, Yancey offers a few challenges regarding the change in the education system— developing new models of curriculum and designing models for teaching. All of these authors are connected to making the education system better for literacy and English. Other authors, such as Carillo and Bunn, focus on specifically how literacy should be taught (reading and writing should be taught together and reading like a writer should be implemented), whereas the first authors that were mentioned focus more on education and its impact on society as a whole.

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Problems addressed and contributions given

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Problems addressed and contributions given

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In the sources, we have read in this class, scholars addressed several kinds of problems related to literacy education at schools and family. In the article entitled "The 21-Million Word Gap", Shenk provides an astounding example of how children in professionals' homes were exposed to an average of over fifteen hundred more words in an hour than children in welfare homes, supporting the claim about intellegence is less predetermined by genes but more like an ongoing process. This is related to a societal problem about how children in unwealthy homes being excluded from literacy and related education. Similarly, Carillo's article entitled "Reading and Writing Are Not Connected", she addresses a problem in the education system which seperate reading and writing, causing students lack of basic writing skills. Moreover, Lammott writes in her "Shitty First Drafts" about how students are afraid of having a first draft with low quality and it is a common misconcept that causes problems in writing and revising. In these scholarships, authors are all trying to provide readers, which are basically students and educators, with advice in literacy, helping them correct misconcepts and improving methods of writing.

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From the works of Edward & Paz and Parrott, the idea of every one is born equally with the same amount of gift for writing, while the works of Shenk and Knoblauch are making the point of birthright influencing the accessibility of literacy. To my own extension, the argument of on birth or not is actually the development of the society. Nowadays the society has the shift to make sure that everyone has the same amount of chances for getting knowledge. But the actual difference between the higher class and the lower one can be the difference between their horizon. The ones with larger amounts of wealth may have a better chance to access various parts of the world instead of the same environment as they grow up. The authors are actually right about their arguments, all of them are. The points is, lower class and the higher ones may have the same amount of chances for them to gain literacy, but for the people with more density of family background, they might realize the importance of reading or writing more than the ones struggling with lives.

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Modern-day teaching styles hinder students’ writing abilities because they aren’t receiving the proper support to become exemplary writers. Students are given the deleterious idea that all successful writers work alone. Edwards and Paz’s “Only Geniuses Can Be Writers” argue that contrary to what we’re taught, some of the most impactful authors collaborated with one another to collect ideas. We’re also given the idea that all drafts that we write must be perfect when in fact, it’s the opposite. In Lemmott’s “Shitty First Drafts” she explains how all exemplary writers write “shitty” first drafts and how it’s normal for the draft to not make much sense. Another mistake educators in the 21st century make is not teaching their students to read and write collectively. Carrillo mentions how it’s crucial to combine reading and writing in order to improve on the subjects individually. Similarly, Bunn teaches us how one must write like a reader. Ultimately, the educational system has failed to teach us accordingly and these authors are emphasizing how.

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For all the sources I've read so far about literacy, I noticed that the problem that all of the authors address is the problem of illiteracy/semi-literacy amongst people in society via some aspect of discussion; and if the issue would be allowed to persist, dire consequences would emerge for the general population and society as a whole. For instance, there were quite a few sources that discussed about the link between literacy and one's socioeconomic status, while some examined methods or truths about how literacy can be improved or manipulated for improvement. All of the sources made contributions of some sort. Some were experimental contributions, in which they provided methodologies and terminologies for studying populations. Some were anecdotal contributions, in which they provided personal stories about tackling literacy. Some were historical contributions, in which the authors exhibited the history of literacy in America as a method to examine how illiteracy all began. Some were aggregate contributions, in which they gathered sources from what credible individuals say about the matter (similar to what we do in synthesis writing).

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One real world problem that the sources are addressing is about how students are taught literacy and about literacy in general. Some talk about how some of the best things are written, the writing process, economic effect on someone's literacy, and the literacy curriculum. These authors are trying to share different ways these problems can be addressed. For example, how they should change the curriculum so that writing is taught as something that is more creative, which will ultimately help students' in their writing skills. They are also hoping that their thoughts on how good writing is produced can help influence how people view writing. For example, they hope for their audience to start having more open first drafts. Almost every author of a literacy is hoping to change something and make a difference in one way or another. They're trying to get their ideas out there to the public.

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For all the articles that we have read so far, the author focused on the different aspects of writing. First of all, in the first few readings, we read about there is a difference between high school and college writing, and that is a gap. And in the following few readings, multiple author has made an argument that after entering the 21st century, literacy development will be differ from what we used to do in the 20th century. There are also different social economic status, and how it will reflect on the different outcome of literacy learning. After reading about the big picture of writing, the next few readings are more focused on writing itself. For example people think we have to write a great first draft, and there is a myth that people often think professional riders can produce a great piece in a short amount of time without revising. There is also one common problem that people don't brainstorm before they write.

The writer of those articles, by writing the article and publish it, has already archived raising awareness of those problem exists for educators and the general public. Most authors also provide some solutions in the article.

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The sources we have analyzed address the issues of current, inadequate literacy standards and education. From the causes of this issue to consequences to solutions, each writer offers a new perspective on the declining literacy rates of students. For instance, Shenk and Knoblauch argue that the cause of this issue is due to the socioeconomic aspects of a child's education and upbringing, whereas Carillo argues that the cause of this is due to a lack of proper literacy education in reading and writing. While they have contrasting opinions, they offer multiple perspectives that will contribute to solving this issue. On the contrary, Sheils’ and Strong highlight the consequences of proper literacy education being that students are not able to write by the time they reach college, and subsequently in future careers. Providing similar arguments allows confirmation in advocating for change. Many writers, however, such as Miller and Schulz, Murray, Lamott, and Wardle, offered the opposite end of the issue in terms of solutions. While all different ideas, from simply writing about writing practices to entirely new curriculum structure, they all suggest a different approach to solving the issue of literacy among children.

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There are overlaps of ideas and messages in the readings that we were assigned. A real-world, current problem that several of the texts addressed is the varying levels of literacy of students. In Shenk’s “The 32 Million Word Gap”, he brings attention to the difference in child development in kids that grew up in professionals’ homes and of those in welfare homes. The gap between the two is a 32 million word gap as stated in the title of the article. Another issue addressed in the readings is the relationship between reading and writing. In Carillo’s “Reading and Writing are not Connected”, she informs of the current unequal beliefs in the significance of reading and writing. Some schools focus on writing because it is thought that reading is only a part of the greater concept of writing. These methods of teaching undermine reading when in reality it is just as important as writing. Carillo elaborates on the interconnectedness of reading and writing and how they shouldn’t be taught in schools. The solutions to the issues addressed by the authors are also very similar. Schools need to be up to date on their curriculums and they need  to constantly revise their standards of literacy to make sure students are benefitting the most from the literacy strategies used. It is important to teach students to read through the eyes of a writer and write through the eyes of a reader.

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The sources address the need for literacy change due to new forms and perceptions of writing. This includes technological developments and historical change that changes how people perceive modern writing. Under the National Council of Teachers of English, Yancey highlights how the 21st century introduces people to a new digital writing era, where writing can be shared and written by everyone. She uses computers as an example to demonstrate the changing meaning and interactions of writing. As a result, Yancey also encourages the teachers to build writing on this change for their students, which implies a new form of literacy.  Knoblauch divides literacy in four categories of what literacy is for as he notes that literacy changes to be seen as a form of power and a need for contribution to society. One category he mentions is professional competence in the technological world, meaning he sees the use of literacy in a digital manner. Both of these writers acknowledge that the literacy change exists by showing how literacy is used in this time.

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I think one of the problems that were addressed  would be that environmental factors have caused the decline in literacy rates. In the sources of Shenk and Strong, they both argue the fact that some students are limited in literacy because of location. In Strong one of the main points was that High school many teachers limit their students' structure of writing. In the source Shenk, it argues that genetics and family environment can decide a child’s literacy. Both of these agree that a real world problem would be the environment the student grew up in. I think the types of contributions the writers are trying to make is to bring awareness that there needs to be a change in everybody to bring literacy rates up. This includes students, parents, and teachers and professors. As a student, we need to start continuing to practice literacy skills. This includes creating first drafts and analyzing readings as if you were the author. In addition, you can also practice with the uses of technology. The use of the online such as blogs, social media, and websites can help improve writing.  As a parent we can improve our children’s literacy rates by reading to our children at a young age and exposing them to more words. Finally, teachers and professors can allow students to spend more time on analyzing and writing first drafts. In addition, as teachers they need to be more equitable in teaching literacy because of the alarming problem of students not coming into college with good literacy skills.

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Some real-world problem the readings are addressing is that teachers teach literacy in a way that isn't helpful for the students. For example, Murray wrote about how teachers failed to see the importance of prewriting drafts as they give students very little time to write their first drafts. Also, since there is a due date for the assignment, the students had to think of something to write about before the due date which forces them to rush their thinking reducing the quality of their ideas. As Murray's writings are targeted specifically at the teachers, Lamott's writing (Shitty First Drafts) is targeted specifically to the students. Lamott wrote about how students are afraid to write a flawed draft when drafts are made to be flawed. We just have to start writing something and then we can build from that and finalize it—we gotta start from somewhere. In this example, Murray wrote to state the problems that the teachers don't recognize: prewriting is extremely important. He wrote about ways to complete the first draft: we shouldn't force the ideas to come (resistance to writing) and that everything will flow once we have the right idea. Lamott wrote to state the problem that students are too afraid to write an inadequate draft but the most important thing is actually to start from somewhere.

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A common theme I've seen throughout these articles is that a big problem in writing is how people view it in many ways. In "Write before writing", Murray says that in classrooms, students who are able to receive a prompt and write about it instantly are rewarded, whereas students who need lots of time to think and plan are punished by receiving bad grades. Murray argues that this should not be the case because in the real world, professional writers plan for years sometimes to write a book. Murray says that we should encourage the planning stage of writing, rather than what we are doing right now, which is making students think that they need to be able to write with no planning. Lamott makes a similar point that lots of writers do not like the idea of writing a "shitty" first draft. Writers are scared to write a bad first draft because in their minds it may mean that they made mistakes, but in reality, mistakes are essential for making an amazing final copy. Giovanelli follows this idea up by saying that right now, a lot of writers are scared to revise their work because they are scared of having made "mistakes", but as said before, "mistakes" are a part of writing, and they are necessary in order to improve and make a good paper. Another mindset we need to change is the idea that skill in writing is something that one is born with. Parrott argues that by viewing skill as something one is born with, it takes away one's motivation to want to learn to write, since they will believe that others will just naturally be better than them. Lastly, Edwards and Paz argue that a detrimental idea of lots of writers is that they are supposed to sit and write alone. They argue that instead, writers should collaborate with one another to gather ideas in order to create the best works possible. While there isn't only one specific mindset that needs to be changed, it is clear that a big problem in writing right now is a lot of the misconceptions that students have about writing.

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Thinking about all the sources we've read about so far in UWP 7Y as part of the scholarly conversation about literacy, consider and then write at least 150-word post that responds to the following questions. (You may want to return to the readings themselves, your HRCs, etc. for inspiration!)

What real-world, current problem, gap, or need are the sources addressing?

What kinds/types of contributions are the writers trying to make?