Chapters 1-4 in Language in Though and Action

Chapter 1:

I found this chapter and the conclusions it made about the human beings superior development of language to be very interesting. The following quote caught my eye more so then other parts of the chapter:

“Instead of remaining helpless because of limitations of their own experience and knowledge, instead of having to rediscover what others have already discovered, instead of exploring the false trails others have explored and repeating their errors, they can go on from where others left off.”

I liked this quote because I think as a linguistically developed species; we take for granted our ability to communicate feelings and experiences. This quote made me think about how different human beings would be without the use of language and the ability to share stories and experiences with others, whether they were recommendations or warnings. Communicating our experiences and knowledge with others is in many ways the root of our survival, just as this chapter correlates language and survival of the fittest. Language has evolved, and engrained itself as a necessity for human survival over time.

It is interesting also to think about other species and their lack of both written and social language. The development of language really does seem to be what has put the human race a step in front of all other species over the course of time in which we evolved.

Chapter 2:

It is interesting to think about the fact that symbolic elements are unique only to the human race, and that animals are not capable of making any kind of symbolic connections. The first section of the chapter talks about the fact that animals can tell what something is but not what it stands for. How is this something that we can prove? We don’t really know what kinds of connections animals are making in their heads. Because of language we can communicate the connections we make, but animals cannot.

I was drawn to the discussion of how strongly we as a people embrace symbolism.
“The not so wealthy imitate these symbols of wealth; symbolize their conviction that, even if they do work for a living, they are just as good as anybody else.”
This is so true. People feel a need to fit a certain label, because of the way certain clothes, life styles, behaviors or beliefs symbolize superiority. We have made our society this way. I don’t think there is anything wrong with it, but if you want to fit the mold of success, there is no escaping the want to emulate these things. As society becomes increasingly technological, with cell phones, cars etc, you see even more of this imitation.

Chapter 3:

Reports are verifiable. What is considered acceptable means of proving that something is verifiable? Aren’t we just using more reports to verify the ideas for our reports in most cases? …and at some point wasn’t everything written down based off of an inference to a certain degree, since there had to be an initial discovery of every verifiable subject?

Before reading this chapter, I had never seen reaction related words (so called snarl-words and purr-words) be analyzed. It is interesting to compare the things we say without thinking, to the growling or purring of an animal.

Thinking about one’s own bias:
“The individual with genuine skill in writing-and in thinking-can with imagination and insight look at the same subject with many points of view.”
This is so true. For me, it is very hard to respect the writing of an extremely biased author, whether or not I agree with them. Using insight to cover all the bases and points of view on a topic is much more interesting and believable reading. Being able to try an find understanding in what you are biased against will produce better writing, because it shows your ability to think outside of your bubble.
It makes the author appear to be more cultured, experienced and more educated in my opinion.

Chapter 4:

It is fascinating to realize that if we don’t know what a certain word means, we can listen to the words surrounding it in the sentence to try and uncover its meaning. It is a process that we don’t even notice ourselves using, and we probably do this more often when than we think.

“The context of each word is collected, along with the word itself”.
This part of the reading caught my eye because it is very true. The context in which we use a certain word says a lot about the message we are really trying to get across whether or not the word is even the main idea. The context in which we say things is even more important than the words we use. I think this is a good point on the subject of language, writing, and what we take from the literature we read in this class and in our lives.

Educating Rita

1) I believe the reason Frank sees education as a trap, and Rita sees it so differently is because Frank is bored and unhappy with his life. Since education has played such a large role in Franks life he resents it for making him unhappy. Frank does not like the way his students think. He feels that education has made them more like bank vaults than intellectual thinkers, to use Freire's terms. When Frank begins to see Rita starting to regurgitate information the way his other students do, he becomes angry and concerned because he was starting to fall in love with her for the way she was before. Rita had her own unique way of thinking and was very opinionated about the world before her education. Becoming educated changed her by molding her to be like the masses at the college, and at the same time taking away what made her so unique.
2) Frank begins to change as a result of meeting Rita, because I think she makes him feel important. He feels that she is beginning to really learn from him, so he cleans up his act for a small period of time. Once Rita starts to surpass the knoweledge that Frank has given her, however, he becomes angry and goes back to his old ways of drinking and being a bad teacher. He is hurt because he feels like he is not needed any longer. What she had made become alive in him, is now dead again.
3) Rita does not go to the party at Frank's house because she does not feel that she will fit in with this educated crowd, due to her social class. I think this is sort of the turning point in the movie, because Rita not only realizes that she does not fit in with Frank's social class, but she also does not fit in with her own working class husband and family. When she goes to the bar and sees them all singing the same song and not thinking intellecutally about anything she cant bare the difference between them any more and she leaves.
4) The way Rita discusses being a hairdresser and the way Rita discusses herself at the end of the movie differ because of Rita's sense of self pride and achievement. When she was just a hairdresser, Rita felt that something was missing in her life. She didnt feel like her mind was being enriched or challenged. By the time Rita is done with her education, she is able to have the power of choice. Her education gives her this freedom to chose between travel, a number of careers, or going back to her old life. This is something of which she can talk about with pride and a sense of acheivement.

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

I found this article interesting, but also to be very repatative. I have often thought about the idea that technology makes us use our brains in a different way and in many cases (like texting or facebook), makes our language and reading skills regress because of the poor writing and thinking we use. However I do not necessarily agree that Google is making us stupid. Yes, when we research information on the internet, we read bits and peices of many articles but perhaps this is giving us a broader more well rounded view of a topic than we would get by thouroughly reading one or two hard copies.
I also think that any essay written on a topic of techonology seems to be heavily swayed to the prospective of the time period in which the writer grew up. If you grow up with internet, you will tend to not think it as making you stupid because it is all youve ever known. For example, since internet was commercialized in the 90's, I have had it in my household since I was about 6. Because of this life long familiarity, I dont beleive my mind has been altered very much. I grew up in a time period where the internet was quickly becoming the norm.
Overall Nicholas Carr has a good, valid point and puts forth alot of evidence that the internet is responsible for changing the way we think, but in my opinion it isnt making us stupid. It is just making our minds adapt and think differently. Perhaps more quickly and efficiently for the time period in which we live.

A Homemade Education and Education and the Autodidact

A Homemade Education:

I enjoyed this text, because of the way Malcolm X took a negative experience, like being in prison, and turned positive by using his time there to further his education and read so many books. “My reading of books, months passed without ever thinking about being imprisoned. In fact, up to then, I had never been so truly free in my life.” Malcolm wanted so badly to learn, that he took his education into his own hands and started to teach himself to read and write. I felt that his passion for learning was what made his text so enthralling. I liked how at a point in time he could not read, or write, but now after educating himself, he was sharing his story with us via text.

Malcolm is the opposite of the Rodriguez in my opinion. They both found a deep passion in reading, but Malcolm was getting much more out of it. His mind was expanding and he was thinking critically rather than just being filled with information like a piggy bank. Malcolm’s experience with education made him feel free and enlightened rather than like he was losing something.
“As I see it today, the ability to read awoke inside some long dormant craving to be mentally alive. I certainly wasn’t seeking any degree, the way a college confers a status symbol upon its students.”
I think as the opposite of a ‘scholarship boy’ Malcolm X was getting much more out of his education, because he is able to expand ideas in his mind and appreciate the education so much more. Perhaps, the idea of a homemade education is more effective than the Banking Theory. Malcolm did not see his ignorance leaving him as a negative thing, or blame education for it in the way other writers have in this section. He “attacked his ignorance”, appreciating its departure rather than blaming education for its loss.

Education and the Autodidact:

This story was much more difficult for me to read. The most interesting quote that I found in the text was “educational entitlement, is ignorant of the right to be ignorant that is conferred by certificates of knowledge.” This quote stood out to me because we were talking a lot about the definition of ignorance and how education causes us to lose some of our ignorance over the time in which we are educated. This quote seems to be agreeing with just this, and saying that in thinking your entitled to education, you are acting ignorant of your right to be ignorant (staying uneducated).

I was a bit confused in how this text switched from themes of education to themes of culture. I could somewhat follow how the idea of social class intertwined the two, but I feel like I somewhat missed the overall idea. I am sure we will discuss it in class, and it will become more clear.

The overall understanding which I gathered from this reading was that there is more to being “cultured” than being educated. So overall this essay is criticizing education? I think this quote references this idea: “ Self-made men, they cannot have the familiar relation to culture which authorizes the liberties and audacities of those who are linked to it by birth, that is, by nature and essence.”