"Changing Our Minds: Negotiating English and Literacy"

Reading this article, I immediately became interested in how religion had such a play in education in the 1700's. Another aspect I found that would be quite boring as a student was the recitation learning. According to the article, "Critics of the schools complained about the general meaninglessness of recitations of preannounced, familiar materials, and they began to call for a level of literacy in which citizens could read unfamiliar, unanounced materials using a new 'scientific' approach" (Myers 77). Basically, students were not learning from recitations and another approach to learning needed to be established. Though the earlier methods of the compulsory English classroom seemed boring, it worked for them because according to the text, "For a society desiring to establish national cohesion and to introduce the young to printed materials, the English class became a place for reporting and defining cultural traditions." (Myers 69). During the time period from 1600 to 1916, the student held the place as mostly the listener and copier, not really teaching the student to think on his or her own.

From 1916 to present day, the student gained the ability to think and reason in the English classroom, where he or she became the analyzer, decoder, translator, and interpreter. No longer were teachers using recitations as a means of learning (thank goodness!). They were having the students decode and reconstruct the text. Today, a large goal of the English classroom is the theory of equity. According to the text, "This theory says that proof of an equal educational opportunity in schools should be necessary to enter the world as a functioning citizen, thinker, and worker" (Myers 116). For this reason, the Academic Content Standards were created so that people from all different schools can have the opportunity to receive the same quality education. Through it all, it was interesting to read how the English classroom changed throughout the years.

On another note, I am currently reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon about a 12-year-old boy who has autism and is trying to figure out who murdered a neighbor's dog. It is interesting to read a book in the mind of someone who has autism. The writing definitely intriques me and opens my mind to what it is like to have a disability. I have not finished reading it yet, but I highly recommend anyone interested in special education to read this book! It is quite powerful, and I'm excited to find out the end!