What Does It Mean To Be A High School Writer?
Different theories effect how literacy influences adolescents today. In 1980, many scholars believed memorization was the way to literacy in England (Rigby pg. 459). In Rome, learning phonics was the path to a literate life (Bertonneau spara. 4), Now, Riesland argues over whether writing is even necessary to be considered literate (Riesland para 9). Knowing these alternative teaching methods we are urged to conform to each teacher’s classification. High school writing is a game, we start playing it at a very young age. The purpose is to write according to what you think the teacher find acceptable. We write with caution since the finished result will be picked apart and inspected.
When in class, everything that we do is based on the grade. We take notes, not on what we believe is interesting, but on what we think the teacher believes is important, our own ideas are pushed aside to make room for the instructor’s thoughts. The whole concept of high school is to obtain an ‘A’, even at elementary level, when students are given a task they reluctantly grab a pen and halfheartedly jot down something, anything apt enough to obtain the grade that they want. Will they write to their fullest potential if they already wrote what will get them a satisfactory grade? No, they will simply leave their paper as is, total “bull” (Perry.); lacking the “umph” it needed to be an honorable piece of literature.
We lack motivation and are too lazy to think. “Thinking, as Voltaire avowed, is a very tedious process which men or women will do anything to avoid.” (Hunt) We need a society that does not just look at grades. William Perry, a scholar who studied the relation between education and the development of personality, concluded that universities are looking for a black and white answer. Perry contrasts two epistemologies, one he calls “bull”, and the other known as “cow”. Essentially, bull is more analytical, and does not involve data or facts. Conversely, cow is pure textbook fact. According to Perry, “the grades which we assign on examinations communicate to students what [the professors beliefs] may be” Who is to judge if your paper is literate or not? According to Gee, literacy is based on your social context. If you can “[use] language and [make] sense in [your] speech and writing” you are considered literate. (Gee.) Is the paper fully cow or is it pure bull, and how does one decide which acquires a better grade if they are both deserving of E’s?
High school writer is being locked into a specific definition for the word ‘literacy’. Different areas have different expectations, Street argues that there is no definition for the word literacy; it “is not a measure… of skills, but [of] social practices that vary from one context to another.”(Street.) Riesland says that the “definition of literacy is outdated and that the new definition must account for the technologically evolving landscape.”( Riesland para. 2-3) A variety of people will judge what they think literacy is differently. A wealthy Maine Line teacher’s idea of it is going to be extremely dissimilar to an elderly teacher in Uganda. Literacy has to do with relativity of people and the context they use it in.
After delving into the many different pieces talking about literature I feel that I am more lost now than I was when I started writing this paper. Gee, Hunt, Street, and Perry are all intellectuals with totally different perspectives on the topic of literacy. I learned that there is no correct way of measuring if someone is literate or not. A high school writer is just conforming to their teacher’s theory. I hope after you read this you will learn to think outside of the box, no one thinks in black and white, so do not be afraid to write in color. Students should stop cheating themselves of insightful work. It is better to argue something and find challenging questions, than to accept something as is. Even if you never get hold of an answer, it is more rewarding to know you strived for it. That sense of accomplishment is the best feeling you will ever have.

Works Cited
Bertonneau, Thomas. “Phonics, “Whole Language,” and Literacy: the Alphabet and American Education.” Michigan Education Report 10 Feb. 2000. 29 Feb. 2008 .
Gee, J. “11 Orality and Literacy: From the Savage Mind to Ways with Words” (2004): 169-169.
Hunt, D, “Misunderstanding the Assignment.” (2002): 62-65.
Perry, William G. “Examsmanship and the Liberal Arts.” 51-54.
Riesland, Erin. “Visual Literacy and the Classroom.” New Horizons for Learning. Mar. 2005. 29 Feb. 2008 .
Rigby, Stephen H. A Companion to Britain in the Later Middle Ages. Blackwell, 2002. Google Book Search. 29 Feb. 2008 .
Street, B. “Literacies Across Cultural Contexts.” Encyclopedia of Language and Literacy 2 (2008): 2-3.
I want people to disagree and argue with my idea
this is for school so please, I need feedback and I want you to dispute my idea

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The centerpiece of the President’s accomplishments for 2009 was the health care reform bill. Even though this milestone legislation was not actually enacted into law due to time constraints coupled with obstructionism by the opposition, it still serves as the benchmark to set the standard for all of the President’s agenda moving forward into the future.

While the differences in detail between the Senate and House versions of the bill proved insurmountable in the time available, both versions had the same fundamental foundation: making health insurance mandatory, and imposing fines on those who failed to comply, according to the successful model program in the state of Massachussets. This basic structure won the support of a majority in the House, and even a fillibuster proof supermajority in the Senate.

Based on this achievement, the President feels confident in moving forward with applying this basic structure to the other pressing problems of the world today.

1. Persistent joblessness

The stubborn unemployment problem will be addressed by making jobs mandatory. Fines will be imposed on those who do not have a job, as an incentive for them to try to find work.

2. Homelessness

Homelessness will be drastically reduced by making homes mandatory. Fines will be imposed on those who do not have homes.

3. World hunger

Dramatic reductions in world hunger will be achieved by making food mandatory. Fines will be imposed on those who do not have food.

4. World peace

This is a toughie, but the President is confident that it can be addressed with meaningful solutions. Peace will be made mandatory. It will be considered a crime against humanity to use military force for any purpose, including defending against attack by a foreign army. Fines will be imposed on nations that get attacked, as an incentive for them to try to avoid being attacked.

For the sake of fairness, this law will not apply to world leaders who inherited a war from her predecessor. This exemption will extend to increases in troop strength and other forms of escalation that may be necessary to finish the job and withdraw with honor.

Air strikes against foreign nations will not be considered using military force, so that President Clinton’s 1998 attack on Iraq would not be considered a crime against humanity. Neither would the attack on Pearl Harbor or the 9/11 attack. A full scale invasion, such as the military action against Iraq committed by President George W. Bush, would be considered a crime against humanity.

5. Education

To address the issue of declining academic performance, high school diplomas will be made mandatory. Public high schools will be required to give high school diplomas to all students. Fines will be imposed on teachers who give F’s to their students.

For the sake of fairness, the fine will be limited to 1% of the teacher’s pay for each student who gets an F from that teacher during the school year. This will serve as an incentive for the teacher to try harder to help the students get good grades.

6. Literacy

Literacy will be made mandatory. Fines will be imposed on educators who give students low scores on literacy tests.

7. Illness and disease

Health and freedom from disease will be made mandatory. Fines will be imposed on those who get sick with an illness or a disease, as an incentive for them to adopt a healthier lifestyle.

8. Poverty

Prosperity will be made mandatory. Fines will be imposed on those who do not have money.

9. Death itself

Finally, the President feels confident that a dramatic breakthrough can be achieved in reducing the death rate, by making life mandatory. Fines will be imposed on those who die, as an incentive for them to try to stay alive longer.

Of course, people will not be fined unfairly. The fines will be waived for the poor, for those who have religious objections to such things as work and education, and for undocumented immigrants.

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