Literacy Blog on Bartholomae and Eckert

English 329

Professor Boland

12 November 2009

Literacy Blog on Bartholomae and Eckert

            The relationship between literacy and it’s role in the traditional classroom can be seen in the following literacy texts, “Inventing the University” by David Bartholomae and Lisa Schade Eckert’s “Bridging the Pedagogical Gap: Interactions between Literary and Reading Theories in Secondary and Postsecondary Literacy Instruction”. Bartholomae speaks about the student and teacher relationship in the university, more specifically the role each person is responsible for pertaining to a piece of written work.

Bartholomae explores the errors that may arise in the relationship, for example, a new college student writing a paper for one of her classes will have to determine the teacher’s styles and expectations and write according to her standards. According to Bartholomae, “Every time a student sits down to write for us, he has to invent the university for the occasion—Invent the university…” (60).  This type of constant behavior will cause the student to automatically adhere to that genre’s expectation of that teacher. Bottom line is; the student will have to learn to write like their teacher/professor. Therefore, causing the student to lose or lessen her personal and creative voice to satisfy the professor. This may cause someone to lose faith or their love for writing because they will have to learn to write for the expectation of someone else. Losing a piece of themselves in the process.

            Furthermore, Bartholomae delves into the important relationship between writers and their readers. This is evident on page 64; he states, “…A writer’s ideas or his motives must be tailored to the needs and expectations of his audience”. He wants the author’s writing to tailor the needs of the readers and establish the relationships (“build bridges”) between their point of view and the reader’s (64). This is so the reader can understand the point the author is trying to convey and to make sure the reader is strongly following along in the work. For him, the reader’s understanding of the text is important to the quality of the work and if the writer is able to cater to the needs of the reader.

This leads to how Bartholomae also wants the author to write for the expectations of others. Thus, “The writer who can successfully manipulate an audience...is a writer who can both imagine and write from a position of privilege” (64). By being able to cater to the needs of your reader, you will be a well-rounded and very good writer. You’re creative skills will be very good which will also enhance your creativity and ultimately making you an overall better writer. Bartholomae is very specific in what he wants in the relationship between a writer and the reader. He shows the specific roles each person should play and how the writer should always be in control of their work and be able to accommodate the needs of their readers.

Moreover, Eckert focuses more on the student’s ability to understand and interpret the text. This article dealt with the importance of being able to understand literature in it’s entirety before you must comment or further break down the reading. For example, “There remains a gap between the conception and teaching of a reading and interpretation”(Eckert 110). This shows how pivotal it is for a student to first know how to interpret a text before they can actually do so. If you don’t know how to interpret a text or extract important items from that piece of literature, then you will just read without ever knowing the meaning of what you’ve read. Hence, “Too often, secondary school teachers and college professors expect students to effectively use advanced reading strategies and interpretive approaches…” (111). This is very true, students enter classrooms expecting to learn how to analyze and interpret texts and they are the ones who end up doing the analyzing. They aren’t taught how to do it but rather thrown the homework and expected to make the best of it. This is what sets the student up for failure or a difficult time in the class, learning and understanding the work. For instance, “Words mean something because the reader expects them to” (114). This shows how a student has the ability to give meaning to something they see fit. They have the option to give it importance, whether it needs it or not. Overall, Eckert shows how important it is for the student to be able to extract the meaning out of a text. It is both the teacher and the student’s responsibility to ensure their understanding of using strategies and being able to interpret and analyze texts.

In conclusion, both texts speak to the importance of the relationship between the student and the teacher and the importance of understanding how to analyze a text before attempting to even do so and also, the importance of the writer having control over their literature and making it understandable for the reader. Both text coincides with each other, you need to know how to analyze and interpret in order to read and respond to an author’s piece of work. I would like to know what kind (if any) of research is being done to assist the student in learning strategies to interpret literature and texts? This will help then to become better students and overall learners.