Introduction
Over the past few weeks the students of Writing and Literacy have been interviewing each other about our literacy practices in hopes of gaining some insight into common themes between students at College of Charleston. In the interview below I have a discussion with Reagan, a senior at the College. Reagan is majoring in English with a concentration in Writing, Rhetoric, and Publication. I think it is relevant to mention that at one point she was a member of the Honors College, but isn’t any longer.
Throughout the interview we discuss Reagan’s strategies to manage school work online and offline. Overall, Reagan showed a preference for reading print sources and writing in a physical notebook. Then for drafting and writing assignments she used online platforms in order to repurpose her work in the most efficient way. I think her choices to favor print text and to engage in reading books for pleasure might surprise some teachers. Reagan mentions using a creative planner to keep track of work and lists, reading and reviewing novels on GoodReads, and discussing class readings with friends. These literacy and reading practices are connected because Reagan makes them social. She engages in communities of journal keepers, readers, and classmates.
I think Reagan’s literacy practices suggest a richer reading life that professors might not be aware of. Often I feel that professors assume students either do not have a reading life outside of school or only read from online sources. Also I believe professors would be surprised that students like Reagan are trying to approach their academic reading in a social way by engaging with classmates, friends, and roommates. Reagan mentions that she favors in person class so she can make connections with other students. She says she likes to exchange phone numbers so she can discuss readings, assignments, or studying together. A huge motivation here seems to be the social aspect of reading. It appears that being able to connect with others is a large part of why Reagan engages with readings. So professors could also consider making small reading groups, encouraging more group discussion, or other activities that allow students to connect not only with the text, but with one another.
“…Students recognize and explore the disconnect between their personal literacy practices and their academic literacy practices on their own time.”
Reagan’s actions also suggest that she desires to connect her texts for school with her personal literacy in a larger context. In the interview she describes a sort of challenge she gave herself to read “school” books for fun on her own time to see how her feelings changed towards them. Throughout her college experience she describes a change in her attitude approaching the texts, which seems to have a significant and positive impact on how much she enjoys and feels connected to her school work. I found it interesting that she actively returned to books that she deemed in the “box” of schoolwork, so she could find the disconnects in her feelings towards the readings. This actually did not surprise me because I have done a similar thing and know multiple friends who have as well (the common thread between us is that we are English majors).
Often I think teachers make assumptions that students don’t read often, are trying to read as little as possible, or want to do the bare minimum. However, I think professors would find it interesting that students recognize and explore the disconnect between their personal literacy practices and their academic literacy practices on their own time. If professors take into account the ways that different students approach the text and what is motivating them to read, I think it could make many classes more engaging and successful. Some ways I think professors could address this is by not requiring students to take notes or make annotations, encouraging mindful reading without distractions, and explaining why they enjoy the text or how it will benefit the students in the future of the course or more broadly.
Navigating Virtual Class Through Print Text
You mentioned printing materials for class and that you read like physical books… How do you think the format of the text changes your interaction with it?
Um, I like printing stuff out, because I like being able to physically write on the piece of paper, like highlight things, especially because if I’m writing, like, typing, a response paper or something like that, I don’t like having multiple screens up on my laptop that I have to reference.
And I think I’m more likely to read every line and like, understand and comprehend it versus like skimming through stuff like on an online PDF.
So do you take all your notes then on actual looseleaf? Or do you mostly write them online?
I take my notes in a five subject spiral notebook. Like a five star one with like, five folder tabs? Each folder is a class. So I’ll just take all my notes and stuff in there. Sometimes I’ll write stuff online, but for the most part, I like to write it down. Especially because I think I remember it better if I’m actually writing it down versus typing it.
Do you feel like converting assignments to more tangible or non digital formats helps you feel more productive or satisfied?
Yeah, I mean, I feel like it helps me feel like I know the information better, even if that’s not necessarily true.
I mean if some point later on, I’m making it like into an assignment, I’ll type it out on Word. That’s how I normally summarize my ideas and put them out. And I like being able to write stuff online because it’s easy to go back and change the order of stuff in Word for final projects and stuff. It’s easy to edit. But if I’m just taking notes and jotting down ideas I’ll do that on paper.
Do you have a planner? That’s on paper?
Yes. I just got a new one. And I’m really excited.
I used to bullet journal, and then it just became too difficult. So I mean, it wasn’t anything beautiful. But I have a new one, it’s called an “A6”. You can buy inserts for it, so it’s like a bullet journal and you can organize it how you want to and pick what you want to do. And you can pick what spreads you do? And you can even get bullet journal pages for it if you want to do that throughout too. So it still gives you the freedom of the bullet journal without actually having to write each week down.
Here’s an example of the A6 planner and the different creative options one can choose for it.
Are there any virtual platforms that you prefer to use? Or do you mostly like physical sources?
Yeah I use Word a lot. I use Word, write my papers and stuff like that. Um, I don’t really like Google Docs and all that stuff.
Why do you not like Google Docs?
I just don’t. Maybe it’s because I’ve always used Word and so I prefer it because that’s just what I’m used to. But like I’m able to navigate within it, use its tools, and I understand it. And I also like having things downloaded on my computer versus having to make sure I have internet for Google Docs. And then I actually really like Oaks. I was studying abroad last semester and we used Blackboard for all classes. I did not enjoy how that was set up. So I found myself having a new appreciation for Oaks. Then there’s Zoom which has really not been that big of a deal. It’s been an adjustment, but last semester when my professors were abroad and I had a time difference learning about Italy without actually being in Italy was really difficult. Having online school in Charleston is a lot easier because I’m still living here and my professors are here.
Bridging the Gap with Social Literacy
I know you like reading and using the app Goodreads in your spare time. But you mentioned that often reading for school feels like you put it in a box. So how do you think having a due date or a deadline affects your enjoyment of reading?
I don’t know I feel like it stresses me out to where I can’t enjoy it because it’s a task that I have to get done. And so for enjoyment, I mean, this summer I’ve been trying to read “school books” for fun to see if I’ll enjoy them and I found that I have enjoyed it more because it’s not for a specific class or assignment or I have to analyze it or anything stuff like that. You know, it’s because I chose to do it and that choice makes it so that I enjoy it.
What kind of “school-ish” books did you read?
I read Catcher in the Rye, which is horrible. It was just like this stream of consciousness where, he would talk about one thing and then just go to something completely different. And he rambled. And there’s a couple phrases that he used throughout the whole thing like “that just sucks” or something like that, he would just say it and move on to some complete other thought… I just did not enjoy it. Then I read The Kite Runner, and I loved The Kite Runner. Now I’m reading All The Light We Cannot See. But school has been insane and I haven’t really got into it.
So do you think it’s primarily the time constraints that make classwork less enjoyable? Or do you think it’s something else like the genre of the text, having to take notes, having to later write a paper, etc…
I guess time constraints would be a big one, like if you have to make sure you get something done. But I think another one is, especially with so many English classes and the couple history classes I am taking now, you can’t just read a text, you really have to understand it. So it takes longer for me to read because I feel like I have to analyze and understand and take in everything that I’m reading, to be able to discuss it or write a paper on it. I think that makes it a little bit less enjoyable. Not that I don’t focus on reading for fun, but it’s like you have to apply focus in a different way.
How has class being online changed the way you engage with the text in like, a social way?
Um… I feel like everything I do feels like it’s homework, especially in the beginning. When I was sitting down and having all my Zoom lectures and then I was having to do my readings, I was just sitting at my desk for eight hours a day doing school work. Versus having breaks, like going to class and coming back and then taking a break before you start homework. So that made it more difficult.
I mean, I felt like I was more productive when I sat down and just made myself do everything at one time. It was a lot easier to force myself to get stuff done versus if I come back from the classroom and I want to take a nap, or want to read or watch Netflix or whatever. Then it’s a lot harder to make myself get stuff done and focus on what I need to do.
You feel like it’s easier to focus when you’re online?
When I was having to force myself to sit down and do everything at one time versus like, yeah, the interjections of getting up and going to class. Yeah, I felt like I was more productive. I don’t know if I was actually more productive, or I just felt that way because I was doing stuff all day. But it felt at least. And then, I mean, logistics wise, I’m taking a history class on witchcraft. There are like 30 people in the class and when we were online, we all met every Tuesday and Thursday. Now the class is split up so discussion has been a lot better and people have more of a chance to talk and say what they want to because there are not as many people as online trying to interject and say stuff.
And do you feel like you discuss school readings with friends or roommates or anyone outside of class? Or do you kind of feel like you keep that separate, even when you’re working from home or you have class online?
I talk about school readings outside as well. I think I’ve tried, especially in college, to enjoy the reading that I’m doing. I go into it, trying to enjoy it and then I normally understand it better. That also makes me read it faster and enjoy it while reading it. Like my witchcraft class is just cool. So I’ve just talked about stuff that we’ve learned. And with Writing and Literacy it’s so relevant today, some of the readings we’ve talked about in this class I talked about with friends. Um, so it kind of just depends on what the class is about. But I do talk about what I’m doing even if it’s just like complaining about ‘oh, I have to do this for this class and this is what I’m reading about’ I’ll still talk about it.
It’s interesting, because I feel like part of that is your literacy being connected to social experiences.
Yeah… In all my classes I try to make a friend that I can exchange numbers with to ask questions. And when you’re online, you don’t really have that one on one experience in the class. You’re just like, “Okay, I’m showing up to the zoom meeting and talking”.
Have you had a moment where you feel like something you’ve read in class has affected you in a personal way, or like, in a social way?
Yes, I feel myself kind of fighting back more this semester on some of the stuff that I’ve read where I don’t completely agree with it. For example, the literacy method crises that we talked about. The text said that there’s upward mobility, that exists outside literacy, but how? There’s never any examples. And I wish there was more to it than that, that frustrates me sometimes. I feel like that’s comes from my own beliefs and my own background. But I feel like readings have also opened my eyes to new points of view and new things. In my 299 class when we were talking about literary theory and reading it from a historical perspective or an ideological perspective, it was cool to pick up different readings of texts or reading it for a different reason. I don’t know, it makes me more aware, even when I’m reading stuff outside of school.
Do you think the stuff that frustrates you is when things are overly theoretical, without actual context, or kind of without a real life example?
Yeah, I feel like I don’t know just so much of academia lives in these “academia worlds” of college and school and theory. And it’s not the real world application of those things. So where is this middle ground where you could actually come up with a solution?
Because these texts say you don’t need literacy or speaking about literacy crises makes them into existence, etc… And I agree with some of the stuff they say, but then I kind of want to fight back because they never give any examples of it. They say there’s other ways of achieving without literacy. I don’t know, personally I think literacy is not the end all be all, but you don’t see doctors and lawyers who aren’t able to read and write. So where is this in between? How do you actually put that into practice?