Fate

Working furiously on his last paper of his undergraduate career,  James was overwhelmed with finishing this before the next hour.  James was an inspiring lawyer hoping to attend law school in the upcoming fall, however if he didn’t turn in the paper in time it would be the least of his worries.  James came from a poor family, all his life he watched his parents struggled and hoped never to walk the same path his parents did.  The problem that James had was that he lacked motivation.  It was not until the beginning of his final year of college that he finally begin to understand that he had to do his part in order for his life to start.  At a quarter past midnight he finally finished his paper and submit it before letting out sigh of relief.  ”Thank goodness the professor let everyone turn in our paper after twelve or else I would be in deep trouble” he thought to himself.

James got up and went to wash his face.  As he entered the bathroom and looked in the mirror, James was greeted with a weary reflection.  James was not the best looking guy but he wasn’t the worst looking guy.  He had brown eyes like everyone else he knew, but was told that his gaze could pierce into people like no one else.  His hair was a sleek jet black hair, he had always left his hair short but decided that he needed a change so he let his hair grow out and it turned out in his favor.  He had some acne scars and his teeth weren’t perfect but they were doable.  James lathered soap in his hand before applying it to his face.  James was an average guy, there was nothing special about him.  At a young age he was taught that no matter what he would do to impress someone with looks, karma would come back to bite him in the butt for not being true to himself.  When he finally finished he dried himself off and jumped into bed.

…

“JAMES! WAKE UP!”  His eyes opened with a start to see his sister Jessica standing over him.  ”You are late for school idiot!” she yelled at she pulled him out of bed.  ”Ge-off-me!” He grouchily replied as he stood up and looked at the clock where the display of the time was 8:33am.  ”CRAP!” James said as he ran to the bathroom to brush his teeth and put on his clothes.  He had slept-in an extra twenty minutes and now was going to be in the carnage of looking for parking.  As James finished brushing and changing, he immediately ran to his car and rushed to school.  

James had left in such a hurry that he when he had finally found parking, he had received a text from Jessica with the message, “Good Job!  You forgot your backpack, lunch, and textbook at the house!”.  James groaned for he knew he would not be able to turn around and drive another thirty minutes back home.  His cellphone read 9:17am and as he saw this sighed.  ”GREATTTT” He said aloud, James always parked in the lot next to his class but because of today he had ended up fifteen minutes on the other side of campus.  Already being twelve minutes late and having to walk another fifteen, he would show up about a half-hour late.  After contemplating on whether or not to attend class, he finally managed to get out of the car and walked at a quick pace.  Being tardy was not an issue for the professor never took role, the issue was that he was the professors assistant for the next class and had been given the task to make copies of the finals which James had no time to do.  As James entered the Administration of Justice building and hurried down the hall to his class, the only thought that crossed his mind was “I need to think of the BEST apology as quickly as I can”.

Finally arriving outside his class, he reached out to open his door before realizing it was locked.  He hated knocking because he knew that he would be interrupting the lecture.  Having no other options James knocked softly on the door and to his dismay no one answered.  James knocked again.  Again nobody opened the door for him.  It was a lost battle and therefore the only way he could talk to his professor was after class.  As James checked his phone the clock read 9:35am, class would end in fifteen minutes and there was nothing he could do about it now.  ”What the?” he said aloud, he had noticed that he had received a notification about a new e-mail.  James opened it and read the message,

       Due to your papers being turned in all in the last minute, I am more than certain that the majority of you are exhausted and therefore have canceled the last class of the quarter.  I hope that you all worked hard on your paper and that I will be seeing you all for graduation!

Professor Preston

P.S.  To my three teaching assistants, you will not be required to come either.

James had received the message this morning at seven.  He had been in such a hurry that he never bothered to check his phone, and now was at school with no class until 11:05am.  Being disappointed at himself for the simple mistake, James decided to grab breakfast.

As James exited the building, he decided to go over to the Del Rio commons in order to grab breakfast.  ”Great I didn’t even bring my laptop”  he thought to himself as he walked on campus “at least I got my phone”, with that he took out his phone and decided to check for any other e-mails that would prevent him from making another mistake like earlier.  As James looked down at his phone he paid no attention to his surroundings.  ”LOOK OUT!” someone shouted and the next thing he knew he was on the floor under a bicycle.

“I think he’s fine” a voice said.  ”Are you sure? He got knocked the wind out of him being crashed into at that speed” said another voice.  ”Hey you wake up” said the first voice as he felt a finger begin poking him.  James opened his eyes and looked straight up for the second time.  There were two male faces standing over him which both shown extreme concern.  ”What happen?”  James asked with a confused look on his face as he sat up.  ”Another student crashed into you with her bike” said the first face that the first voiced belong to.  ”I shouted ‘look out’ but it was too late” said the student who had the second voice.  James stood up and checked himself until he was certain he was okay “Thanks you two, what happen to the student?”  James asked very annoyed.  ”I’m sooo sorry” a third voice finally came out, this one was female and he had not heard it while on the floor.  There sitting on the bench with her bike next to her and full of tears, sat the prettiest girl he had ever seen.  

“Uh.. you should be” James replied, she may have been pretty but it didn’t help her from crashing into him.  ”I’m so sorry, I was going so fast and not paying attention because my friend and I were racing.  The next thing I knew I saw you and then I crashed into you”  her voice was full of guilt.   Dumbstruck by the guilt in her voice and the way she looked saddened, all that annoyance that James had gained disappeared immediately.  ”It’s okay, it happens” James said “Don’t worry about it”  he assured her.  ”Oh okay, well if there is anything I could do just let me know now” she said guiltily.  ”You can buy me breakfast”  James said jokingly.  ”I’m James by the way not that it matters since school is ending at the end of the week”.  James did not expect her to take him on his offer but she cheerfully replied “Okay! Breakfast it is! I was going there now actually before this happened…”  she looked down in guilt again and began having her index fingers touch each other.  It was quite cute.   “Relax don’t worry about it anymore what’s done is done right?”  James said with a smile.  ”Sorry, I don’t even know who you are”, with that he extended out his hand.  ”It’s Serena” she said with a smile and shook his hand.  Her hands were soft and the moment they touched James felt as though electricity was exchanged.

Her name was Serena.  She was the prettiest girl James had ever seen on campus.  Perhaps fate had something to do with all the mishaps and whether it was or not James did not seem to think about it.  Little did James know she was about to change his life.

As always send me your advice, comments, thoughts.  Is this okay?  I did this on a whim I don’t know where I’m going but I hope it has potential?

Non-Native Speaker Project

Amy Bishop, Paul Cao,

Chris Ho, and Judy Oh

Professor Russikoff

ENG323

Non-Native Speaker Project

     Non-native speakers all have their own experiences and challenges as they try to learn English.  Linguists over time have developed theories that explain how people learn a second language, which are commonly referred to as L2. These theories can predict the mistakes that non-native speakers will make and the issues they may face.  To test these theories, we conducted interviews to non-native speakers currently living in the United States having emigrated from their country of origin.  Through our interviews, we were able to see how Shuman’s Acculturation Model and Krashen’s Monitor Model were accurate in describing a non-native speaker’s experience.
It is important to have some basic information about our interview subjects.  Our project participants emigrated from areas in such as: China, Mexico, South Korea and Vietnam. We had eight subjects, four that ranged from the ages of eighteen to thirty and four in the forty to sixty age brackets. We had interviewee in where; one was from China (Wai Shui), two from South Korea (Alice & Gloria) and Vietnam (Hanh & Trinh), and three from Mexico (Alex, Carlos and Hector).  Wai Shui was approximately 5, Alice & Gloria were 8 and 3, Hanh & Trinh were in their mid-twenties and Hector was approximately 2.5 years whilst Alex and Carlos were infants when they arrived into the United States.  All the subjects we interviewed were unable to speak English at their age except for the two immigrants from Vietnam, who both knew a little bit of English.  The interviewees that didn’t come from Vietnam all fall into the category which linguists refer to as Generation 1.5.
The term Generation 1.5 refers to children who are young enough to attend school. Children who are raised in a linguist enclave are also considered members of the Generation 1.5 population.  Gloria and Alice (the two interviewees from South Korea) came here at the ages of 3 and 8 respectively, and learned English through school.  At first, they both had difficulty in the learning and writing form, which is a major characteristic of members of the Gen 1.5 population.  When asked about what aspect of English was the most difficult for them, Gloria responded with, “Pronunciation,” while Alice responded that, “Grammar was the hardest part because the sentence structures are different.” Native Speakers can not directly translate a sentence from Korean to proper English. Alex, Carlos, and Hector (the interviewees from Mexico) are also apart of Generation 1.5 because they were infants when they arrived. All three of them also had problems with grammar and pronunciation like Alice and Gloria did. They all mentioned how sentence structure was a major issue for them to overcome.  Also, all three agreed that writing in English was the hardest thing for them to learn.  Learning to speak, write, and read in a second language is important and difficult, but another issue for non-native speakers was if an accent was retained while learning.
Many non-native speakers may feel intimidated and embarrassed that they have an accent while speaking English, while others may feel proud of having an accent.  Carlos, Alice, and the two interviewees from Vietnam (Hanh & Trinh) all agreed that others can tell they were not a citizen and that they do say some words with an accent.  Both Carlos and Trinh commented on how, while they liked American culture, they still wanted to retain some of their cultural value.  This connects to Schumann’s Integration theory.  Carlos and Trinh both were interested in their native culture; therefore they assimilated rather than fully adopt the culture of the second language.  Since they were just assimilating, they retained some of their old culture and their accent.  Hanh, however, was very interested in adapting to American culture and living the American Dream even though she retained her accent.  Her accent may still linger because she was older when she immigrated to the United States.  This relates to the fact that children can learn a second language faster at times, mainly because they have the time to learn a language. Adults usually don’t have that extra time.  Alex (one of the interviewees from Mexico) commented on how he did not think that he has an accent but in reality, at times he does.

Another strategy according to Schumann is adaptation.  Alex wanted to be a part of the American culture and that played a role in him “losing” his accent at the same time. However, a person can never lose their accent.  Hector (interviewee from Mexico), Gloria from Korea and Wai Shiu (interviewee from China) all said that they lost their accent.  However, as mentioned in class, a person cannot lose their accent but they can learn a new one.  The environment and people they interact with can also determine how well their language is developed.

Seven out of eight interviewees said most of their closest friends speak the same native tongue as they do.  This relates to Schumann’s comments on enclosure.  Enclosure can help a person learn the native language by letting them become more comfortable in the non-native country, but at the same time, it can negatively affect their learning of L2.  If they exclusively begin to use their native language, it could possibly hinder their second language development.  As seen with Schumann’s case study on Alberto, who lost his ability as an English speaker when he became so enclosed in his linguistic community that he never used English.  One of our interviewees had no friends that spoke his native language.  This also connects to Schumann’s integration strategy of adaptation.  He wanted to be apart of the American culture so much and immersed himself with friends that did not speak his native language.
Seven out of the eight interviewees rated seven or higher on how American they felt they were.  Trinh Le rated 5-6 on his degree of Americanism which is a low rating compared to the other interviewees.  One reason that Trinh may have rated himself so low is because he came to the United States at a much older age (26). Unlike the other interviewees who came at a young age, Trinh had to sacrifice more than the others.  He had to leave his friends, memories, and his culture that he was accustomed to for over two decades.  Also, Trinh’s five closest friends speak Trinh’s native language which can be another factor for his degree of Americanism. While his wife Hahn Le also came in her mid twenties, she rated herself an eight on Americanism because she achieved the “American dream”: having a house, car, family and a while paying job as a chiropractor.  Although the other interviewees felt more American with ratings of 7 or higher, none of the interviewees rated 9 or 10 and this shows that no matter how early or late someone arrives from their native country, they will always have ties to their native culture and want to keep some of their culture with them.
When they were asked whether they speak, read or write better in English, many interviewees said they read or speak English better.  Alice was the only one who claimed that she wrote better than speaking or reading.  It is common that non-native speakers and native speakers find reading or speaking easier because writing requires knowledge of various sentence structures, vocabulary, and the ability to express their ideas clearly.  Although Carlos had a hard time reading in English at first, he says that it is one of his strengths.  Some interviewees feel that speaking is easier, and therefore that they are better at speaking. Nevertheless,  Cardenas has claimed with his iceberg analogy that everyone has a superficial language that is more commonly used than the intellectual language.  This intellectual language is rarely used in social situations that people find themselves in very often, making speaking easier than writing.
After our extensive research, our study showed that people that are learning English as L2 indeed do struggle with learning English and do back up Schuman’s and Krashen’s theories.  Although results may vary depending on the test group conducted.  We were able to to understand how non-native speakers felt; whether it be out of place or within reach of L2.  The results also showed how many people felt speaking and reading were easier than writing.  Therefore we have established that all groups learn differently from each other.

The Only Person

Who is the hardest on me and the only person that can really get to me is my mother.

A little about me

As of a few minutes ago I was blog surfing and I came up on one of my favorite blog on Tumblr.  Usually this blog has things of inspiration but I guess as of late, it has been putting up a lot of awfully pessimistic things.

Now I’m a realist, I have my hopes and fears but at the same time I keep it real.  I think of the possibilities and over analyze all outcomes both positive and negative (yes, it is bad).  Sometimes I let my fears consume me and to be honest it is quite frightful.

However I had a talk with someone and that person helped me realized that:

“if I never take the risk then is life worth living?”

 I want so much but at the same time, I am so scared that I let that fear control my judgment and my actions.  

My old friend Duy Mai at one point in my life told me that “Sometimes you have to enjoy life; if you live in a world of doubt and uncertainty than you are letting that fear control you from being happy.” (take risks)

A risk is like a leap of faith; when you jump you hope the other end catches you and if you fall it might hurt a little bit, but at least you know you took the jump and can grow from that experience.

For me, I’m a person that gets close to the jump but never takes it.  It is as though I’m too scared to know because I’m too scared of getting effed over.  However, I think it is time for me to step up and realize that risks is what makes life exciting and makes things interesting.

Here is a little tip for you people when there is a point in which you do not know your decisions on something.  

The coin trick.

1. Take a coin, preferably a quarter.
2. Make heads and tails what you want your decision to be.  (It does NOT matter which side)
3. Flip the coin.
4. The side it lands on is NOT your answer.

Did you get the trick?

As the coin is in the air, you already have made your decision in what you want.  There is no denying it, there is no way around it. Example:  If you are deciding between buying a hotdog or hamburger and you flip a coin, the moment the coin is in the air you are already hoping for what side you want it to  land on.  Whatever side it lands on will make you happy (if you get it right) or unhappy (that you didn’t get the side you secretly wanted).

I hope that you people who stumble upon my page found this quite interesting and maybe uniquely helpful. Good morning world.

Music

Music is the key to your soul and represents everything that you can feel and want to say.  A long time ago I wanted to be a music major but was pushed away from it because I didn’t know where I could go in the industry.  Even though there are lots of things I have not been able to do as of yet,   I plan to get there eventually.   Many musicians and singers are featured on YouTube and I was fortunate enough to have time to get to discover new types of music and subscribe to many as well.  The people that are yet to be discovered are truly remarkable.

Dinosaurs aren’t that scary.

Crossing the threshold from the universe to my television.

 

When Across the Universe came out in 2007, I was extremely excited to watch it due to many people recommending it.

After four years I was able to buy a copy of it at Target during the Black Friday Sale and I finally got to watch it today.

 

Across the Universe is a musical movie that takes places in what I would assumed the late 1950’s to mid 1960’s.  The main character is Jude who comes to the United States from England in order to meet his birth father.  After meeting his father he meets Max  who attends Princeton University who drops out of school and starts a new life in Greenwich Village in which they live with a singer name Sadie.  Along the story Jude falls in love with a girl named Lucy (Max’s sister), Max himself gets drafted, Sadie meets a man Jo-Jo who embodies Jimmy Hendrix and Prudence  a girl who seeks attention from Sadie.  To get the full story, be sure to wiki it or even watch the movie (there is a thought!).

I enjoyed the movie personally.   The characters each had their own personal issues and we got as we saw these issues get resolved; when Max gets drafted into the army, he does his best to get out of it but ultimately fails and gets sent to Vietnam.   The movie was able to pick out things from the era which made it feel as though one was “there” such as;  civil rights movement, Vietnam War, protests of the war, 60’s era lifestyle, etc.  Another that stood out was the soundtrack for the music were all Beatles music which gave a sense of nostalgia since many older viewers grow up in that time and for me being only 23, I was exposed to the Beatles music but was not completely appreciative till a few years ago.

While the movie was very compelling, there were some things that seemed to bother me as the viewer.  While the story was compelling there were many times in the film that felt that there was some things did not add up such as;  when Jude meets his father, his father and him “bond” but says that he does not want to be a part of Jude’s life due to him having already built his own life.  It is not until the end of the story the father makes a short 5 minute appearance.  I was bothered because throughout the movie you barely see the mother and the father.   Now it was bothersome due to many issues being unresolved such as how the father was able to come for Jude when he did not want to be a part of Jude’s life and the conversation between Jude and his mother when he returned from the United States.  Another part I didn’t like was that while most of the characters did get issues resolved, one character stood out; Prudence.  Prudence appears in the movie as a girl who has left her abusive ex-boyfriend, she falls in love with Sadie (could be due to being curious about Sadies beauty) and then leaves the group to join the circus in which she returns later.  The problem with Prudence is that her character was not as in dept as it should have been (I know that six character is a lot to work on).

U2 frontman Bono.  I like U2 I really do however there was no reason for Bono to be in the movie.  Yes he added “star” power but I think the movie was just as good without him there at all.  Bono, we really appreciate your contribution to the music industry but lets be serious, you are a terrible actor.

 

Overall the movie was compelling, the characters were interesting and the music was uplifting.  The only downside was some issues that needed to be address (characters, places, things).

 

I give this movie 7.5 out of 10.0 badges.

The beginning of something new.

So it has only been a week and I already miss school.  I know I was already dying on getting out but honestly I woke up today and was looking forward to it.  As I mentioned in my reflection final piece a few days ago, I am hoping to begin a new journey on this wordpress and I’m going to start with a review!

Harry Potter a key to literacy and possibly a key to future generations of learning?

Harry Potter & Literacy

            When Harry Potter was published in 1997, nobody thought that a novel about a boy who entered the world of magic would become not just a popular character, but an icon that also got children to read his adventures.  Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was the first of the seven books in the series that would not only gain high notoriety, but for gaining a massive fan base.  Many readers who picked up the book at the time were young children, thus children grew up with Harry as each book was released by Rowling.  The series was unique because as each book ended, many loyal followers of the series would reread the older books and wait anxiously for the release of the next.  It was something truly unique for children and adults around the world to wait for a books release and gain a massive audience of readers. Harry Potter is a passageway into literacy.

            I, myself was a young child who picked up the Harry Potter book at the suggestion of my fourth grade teacher.  I had never ever been engaged into reading and any activity that had reading involved.  After finishing the first book however, I was deeply fascinated and waited and waited endlessly for the release of the other books.  At somewhere along the time I finished the third book did my life completely change, I was preferring reading books along the genre of Harry Potter, and that while I kept reading my interest in literature kept growing to the point where I was usually always found with a book in hand.  It was because of J.K. Rowling and the story of Harry Potter that made me fall in love with reading.  If I had never picked up book and read it, I don’t think I would have a passion for literature.  J.K. Rowling gave the world a book and from that one book, many people began to flock to learn the story of an underage wizard and his great adventures. If I had never ever picked up Harry Potter or discovered it, I could say that I would be in a completely different world.  I cherish the book as well, because of the fact that Harry Potter was what made me literate and because of this I discovered my love for literature.

            Many professionals agree that Harry Potter boosted literacy.  According to an article published in the Sydney Morning Herald in 2002 by Linda Dorethy, writes

“The Education Department’s deputy director-general (schools), Alan Laughlin, said the popularization of literature – especially the Harry Potter publishing phenomenon – was partly responsible for the lift in literacy because it had taken reading out of the “egghead” realm.” Literature is no longer seen as the province of the nerd,” he said.” (Dorethy)

In another article published on Scotsman.com in 2005 entitled Potter works wonders for kids’ literacy says

            “New research by the Federation of Children’s Book Groups (FCBG) shows that JK Rowling’s storytelling has had a major impact on literacy and reading habits in the UK.

Almost six out of 10 children (59%) think the books have helped them improve their reading skills. And 48% say Rowling’s creation is the reason they read more.  Teachers are even clearer about the effect Rowling’s series of books, the sixth of which will be released this week, have had on reading: 84% say Harry Potter has helped improve child literacy and 67% claimed the series has turned non-readers into readers.” Colin Harrison, professor of literacy studies at the University of Nottingham, who contributed to the research, said: “The sheer pervasiveness of JK Rowling’s books means Harry Potter will certainly have impacted on children’s literacy levels (scotsman).

Even though these articles are a few years old and book six and seven had yet to be to be released, it is proven that because of Rowling that literacy had indeed increased and even now it can be said that children who are discovering Harry Potter are not just discovering him but potentially other literature opportunities as well.  Rowling makes it clear that young children who grow up with Harry Potter and are able to appreciate literacy and literature because of that, they will be able to grow up alongside the stories because if any story can make a child appreciate reading it most likely would be Harry Potter.  Any story that can do that to a person will always be cherished until the very end.

            In the same article from Scotsman.com the unknown author conducted another survey about what the Harry Potter phenomenon has done   

 “ 41% said the Harry Potter books have made reading cool;

• 39% said they would miss their favourite television programme to read the new book;

• 66% said most of their friends have read Harry Potter;

• 70% of teachers say that Harry Potter books are talked about in the playground.

George Grey, head of children’s books at Waterstone’s the booksellers, said: “When children find books that inspire them, their enthusiasm leads them to read more.”

Although the sample size number was never given from the website, it can still be agreed that Harry Potter has heavily influenced many children and encourages literacy amongst them.  In a time when the media and television control the people, for children being able to be drawn away from that to read a Harry Potter book is something quite extraordinary.  The quote from Grey was added because I myself cannot disagree with that.  For many Harry Potter is a stepping stone for what other great works our out there.  If literacy is something that is harder to come by due to the changes of time and because younger children are less inclined to read, a book such as Harry Potter can possibly pull someone from that world and into the world of literature.  Harry Potter seems to be one of the passageways for people to discover the joys of reading.

            Even though Harry Potter has such an incredible following, it can be agreed that the next generation may not be enthusiastic about literacy. Harry Potter if given then chance can be able to give someone the gift of literacy.  With that said many people are should be encouraged to read the series because of this.  The generation in which were given the ability to grow up with Harry Potter was blessed beyond imagination.  According to Thenextgreatgeneration.com in an article written by Alejandro Gomez titled Harry Potter’s Literacy Legacy writes:

“Harry Potter and Rowling proved that kids still had beautiful and compelling imaginations – why else would they cast off their plastic/electronic/pixilated shackles and pick up a tome? In a crisis of literacy, the Harry Potter series gave us hope that books still carry sacred weight as tools for learning and reflection, even as our society self-reflexively remarks upon each generation of increasingly irreverent brats.” (Gomez)

Now that may have been a bit harsh on the end but it is true that many children may never get the chance to read the book and if that is so it is unfortunate that they will never discover literacy.  However instead of being pessimistic about let us look the other way, for those that are able to create imagination and become literate, Harry Potter is merely a blessing in disguise due to the ingenious writing of JK Rowling.

For many people who discovered literacy through the series, one person took that a bit further and created the number one fan site dedicated to Harry Potter; Emerson Spartz.  Now this is something that is important because on Mugglenet.com under the About Us page in which we discover the people who work behind the site, we are able to learn a bit of information about the founder quote:

“I founded MuggleNet 10 years ago. I was 12. I was bored. And homeschooled. Now I’m 22. I graduated from Notre Dame.. I read between 100-200 non-fiction books a year… At first, I thought I was ‘too cool’ for Harry Potter. Wizards, broomsticks?! Kid stuff! Then I read the first two books in one night. And PoA the next night. And started MuggleNet a month later.” (Mugglenet)

The reason why I chose to present this is because of the relevancy it pertains.  At a mere twelve years old Spartz fell in love with the book after he thought that the book was not something he would be able to take interest in and yet, if Spartz had never been reached out by Harry Potter he would have never started Mugglnet.  For a book to be able to get someone to creating a website dedicated to the series because of their love of Harry Potter, it is truly something that is quite fascinating to say the least.

While we have understood that the series can encourage literacy many people do not even know the first thing about where most of the text hints at comparison to other literary works. Due to Harry Potter being educational as well, there are some universities that have developed a Harry Potter course in which college students actually learn about the literary references with in it.  Now it may be silly to think that Harry Potter could be offered and that it is not likely, however on according to an article written by Sarah Ward titled Colleges that Offer Harry Potter Classes she lists six colleges that offer courses, one such school being Yale University with a course entitled Christian Theology & Harry Potter. “The course references the Harry Potter books and discusses the parallels with Christian concepts of sin, evil, and resurrection. The first time it was offered, 18 openings were available and 79 students showed up!” (Ward).  Other schools that offer it are Arizona State University with a course titled Harry Potter Inside & Out and Meredith College with Principles of Sociology: Harry Potter.

Harry Potter has grown from being just a book to becoming a class that teaches students about how the series can relate to today’s world.  It should be implemented from elementary schools to even high school text readings because of this as well.

            Since we are speaking about Harry Potter and how some colleges have implemented it is interesting that there is a website online that offers suggestions for educators for lesson plans to teach students about Harry Potter.  Travis Prinzi who wrote an article for TheHogsHead.org entitled For Educators: Literacy and Harry Potter, with Lesson Plans opens with “This is a project I did for a graduate class.  It includes a brief theoretical framework, some brief reflections on how Harry Potter relates to that theory, and then, for the sake of any educators who read this site, I’ve attached, as a downloadable document, this content plus eight lesson plans I constructed.  I hope it’s helpful, and I assume that the theoretical framework will inspire some debate… This course is designed as a high-school elective on the Harry Potter series (it would have to be limited to those who were already quite familiar with the series) or as a college course. “”  (Prinzi)  On the article he has Theoretical Framework and Overview of Course in which he gives details about how Harry Potter can be discussed.  The entire lesson plan and its full entirety are online for download.  A graduate student was able to create this.  This is how much Harry Potter has influenced people; from taking Harry Potter from the outside world and to put it into a classroom is something that is quite unparalleled.

Take a minute to consider everything you have taken in. The children who are now adults such as I, grew up with Harry and many people would more than likely be excited to show their future children the series.  One day instead of telling them old tales, children would be taught the Tales of Beetle and the Bard.  JK Rowling’s contribution to helping the growth of literacy should be praised because of the fact that many schools noticed that literacy had gone up because of the series.  Several college campuses even offer Harry Potter classes.  For someone to say that Harry Potter is not a stepping stone into great literature is an understatement.  If Harry Potter could reach out to me and teach someone like me to be literate as well as many others.  The possibilities that Harry Potter will extend through future generations is more than likely and it can be agreed that Harry Potter will become a literary classic for the ages.

Harry Potter should be taught because there is so much to learn from it.  It is relevant to literature and should be applied on all college campuses.

 

Bibliography

Mugglenet.com “About Us” MuggleNet

http://www.mugglenet.com/aboutus.shtml

 

The Leaky Cauldron

http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/

 

Doherty, Linda. “Harry Potter helps lift school literacy rates.” The Sydney Morning Herald, 19 Sept. 2002. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/09/19/1032054870385.html.

 

Hallett, Vicky. “The Power of Potter.” US News & World Report, 25 July 2005. http://www.usnews.com/usnews/culture/articles/050725/25read.htm.

 

Gomez, Alejandro.  “Harry Potter’s Literacy Legacy.” The Next Great Generation, July 13, 2011. http://www.thenextgreatgeneration.com/2011/07/harry-potters-literacy-legacy/

 

MacMillan, Arthur. “Potter works wonders for kids’ literacy.” The Scotsman, 9 July 2005. http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=765922005.

 

Prinzi, Travis. “For Educators: Literacy and Harry Potter, with Lesson Plans.” The Hog’s Head, 6 June 2008. http://thehogshead.org/for-educators-literacy-and-harry-potter-with-lesson-plans-742/

 

Ward, Sarah. “Colleges that Offer Harry Potter Classes.” My Colleges And Careers, 16 July 2011. http://www.mycollegesandcareers.com/2011/07/colleges-that-offer-harry-potter-classes/

“Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” – Winston Churchill

These words are hauntingly truthful.  While looking at other classmates entries I stumbled upon this quote and realize I wanted to write a commonplace about this.  During these weeks of English 303 I was able to grow and learn more than I could ever have as a writer.  It is sad to admit that I have disappointed some of my classmates and even my professor by my lack of commitment to the post and thus throwing whatever I could up can not help me as much as it should.  However in these times I have friends from class that can still help me further these skills.   This journey into a more in dept writing style was one that I could be more than thankful for.   From the in class discussions, the assignments, these commonplace, and even occasionally falling asleep I learned many things; critical thinking, analysis and research, reflection, and not to fall asleep.  With the closing of this class and quarter I hope that I am able to further my developing skills of writing and keep progressing as a writer.  I do not wish for this blog to become nothing more than a class project, therefore I have taken measures to keep up with this blog and to further my skills as a writer.  With this being said, i hope that people that stumble upon this blog will read and comment on all the things I have written if not their favorites.  In doing so they will help me create an audience and give me insight into what kind of ideas could help me further.

 

Again I would like Dr. Edlund for his patience.  He is the nicest professor I have ever had and if you were to come across him at Cal Poly Pomona make sure you take him for a course or two.  Thank You Dr. Edlund and many thanks to those that have read through this blog.