Language Investigation #2

Growing up in a city referred to as white lily Littleton exposed me to no more than one ethnicity: Caucasian. I went to a high school where the number of students who were not the typical middle-class Caucasian could be counted on one hand. The few who were not white lived like they were, conforming to the “high class” attitude Arapahoe High School took pride in portraying. This school suffers from very few of the issues circulating within America’s schooling system. Updated technology, qualified teachers, cultural differences, textbooks, supplies, and funding were never issues that affected the student body. Going to a high school like this made me completely oblivious to the harsh consequences of these issues many schools in the United States undergo. Unlike most of the students, my family did not fall into the “upper-class” category of social hierarchy. My background as being part of the middle class did not hinder my language use in the classroom. Even though I am a first generation college student, I was exposed to an intellectual use of language at home. Going into a “privileged” high school, I was fully prepared for the kind of language I was expected to use in my writing. As I went through schooling at Arapahoe, my reading and writing skills improved as specific guidelines were laid out for each assignment.
In regard to English, my freshman year of high school was filled with structured five paragraph essays. We wrote about controversial issues and the literature we were reading. For the controversial issue paper, we were required to use research and quote the material as support for our stance on the issue. I specifically remember filling out a step-by-step outline for this paper and many others. It was literally blank lines with titles labeling them. We were expected to fill in the blank following each title, making writing feel very much like a math problem. Part of the outline went as follows:
Introduction Paragraph:
Introductory sentence:
Introductory paragraph:
Thesis Statement: Concerning the issue of (your issue) I feel that …. Because (Reason 1), (Reason 2), (Reason 3).
Body Paragraph 1: Reason 1
Introductory sentence:
Lead-in:
Quote:
Lead-out:
Explanation:
Transition:
This outline was literally a fill-in-the-blank task that left little room for creativity or originality. As a freshman, however, this type of outline was helpful as we learned what should be included within a thorough and “correctly written” paper. The regulation and structure of these essays allowed me to organize my papers, and exposed me to the many puzzle pieces that make up an entire essay; that form the big picture all the puzzle pieces make when put together.
Through my sophomore year of high school, my teachers expected this basic form of an essay when we were assigned to write. These were the rules and guidelines to follow when writing if you wanted a good grade. Teachers were able to clearly see the ideas and proof included within your paper as you organized your writing in this “correct” way. With little critical thinking involved, papers about literature or issues were simply math problems with words.
My junior year, I had an instructor who taught students how to think critically. She introduced us to idea of being able to jumble around the puzzle pieces of a paper, and still achieve the puzzle’s picture at the end. The picture you created in this way, however, had different shades, tones of color, and small details that would have been absent if the “rules” or writing an essay were followed to create it. Thesis sentences strayed from being a list of ideas you were going to prove with textual evidence or research; they became fancy academic ways to play with words and still get your point across. The use of appropriate academic language became the only regulations in writing. As creativity and freedom sparked within my writing, the love for literature and writing became a fire within me. This teacher conducted her class like a college course, assigning what seemed like insane amounts of reading each night. She created a positive self-fulfilling prophecy by having high expectations of her students, which inspired many students to work hard and meet those expectations.
Once I was taught how to think instead of do, I was prepared for college. After high school, I was able to easily adapt to college reading and writing. As far as grammatical regulations and rules go, I was never given any lessons about them past middle school. By the time I got to high school, I felt confident with my use of punctuation, and was rarely corrected past a few misplaced or needed commas. I never had a teacher address problems students were having with punctuation or grammar. Rhetorical Grammar is teaching me more about grammar than I have ever known. I am pleased to find the information Kolln presents to be guidelines and not “rules”. Without having a teacher who taught me how to think critically, I believe that I would find college reading and writing to be much more difficult. The basics of writing an essay are not enough for college. Reaching beyond the “rules” of writing and analyzing is needed to create the best picture possible. Without knowing the different possibilities you have with the pieces of writing, the picture you create will look like everyone else’s. Guidelines should never be disregarded, but need to be seen as an optional approach one can take. My background in school and at home prepared me for the language I would be expected to use in college. I was one of the lucky ones introduced to critical thinking early, and had time to practice its use. Using critical thinking reaches far beyond the classroom, and needs to be used in all situations. This will allow all people to have all the pieces they need to create their own perfect picture of life.