Kozol+Reading+Reflection-AG


 * A)** I believe that Kozol is concerned with adults and students usage of third person in both their speech and their writing. He believes that we are trained at a very young age to use third person instead of first person. Using this type of language causes several social problems that he is troubles over. He believes that using third person allows students to separated themselves from their own work and not owning it. It is this lack of ownership that allows people to not take credit for their failures or achievement. This type of language also removes people from the present and allows people to take passive roles in the present and in history. This is giving us all a sense of self-worthlessness. His goal is to show the reader that by taking ownership of their language they will become active citizens that enact change and not just allow life to pass by.


 * B)** I really enjoyed his writing and all of his points. I remember as a student being told to remove myself from my writing so that my writing would have an objective viewpoint. I struggled with this in elementary school but it soon became second nature. Teachers all of my life have reinforced this idea of third person all through my academic carrier, especially in scientific settings. I believe that this type of writing inhibits me from expressing myself and causes my writing to seem choppy and impersonal. I remember the first time I was told to write my personal feelings and reactions to literature, it was not until my third year of college. This assignment threw me off tremendously but after a few tries I found that my writing became more fluid and insightful. I loved that feeling. Instead of feeling removed from the assignment I felt as though I was part of it. I accomplished more and did better in that class than I have ever done.


 * C)** I believe that this essay could be related to Postman and Weingartner’s ideas about education. They like Kozol want to change the way we see education. They want students to become active participants in their learning and become less passive. They both want to put students at the center of learning. These authors are trying to show us that students have been separated from the learning for too long and it is time for us to allow them to become more active. Students should not be given the answers; they should discover them. We will improve the educational system by allowing the students to connect with their work. The way we teach literacy has evolved tremendously, as we saw on our timeline. These authors want that evolution to continue with a more personalized student curriculum. Learning needs to become authentic to the students. By doing this we will be producing more active and well rounded citizens and not citizens that just wait around for others to take charge.


 * D)** I found this article extremely interesting and enlightening. It proposes a new way to teach students language in order to change how they connect with their work. I would recommend this reading to all teachers at any grade level or concentration. In order to enact a change students must be taught this method as early as possible and from all disciplines. Other than teachers I would only recommend this reading to college level students. The language is very complex and would be hard for many to understand. I believe that college students would be able to receive this information and put it to use according