Reading and Discussion #12

"However, despite the flooding of "South Los Angeles" in the media, I have never heard any of my students refer to this community as anything but "South Central.""

This reminds me of being in my late teens (I think) and hearing about riots and other violence in South Central through the news and through hip hop music.  I did not know the media was trying to change the name but my initial reaction is to agree that a name change might improve morale.  Although, the residents might have pride in their neighborhood.  I know I have pride in my little neighborhood even though it wasn't much.  It was still my home.

I also chose this quote because I am interested in what really happen in that area.  Like I said, I was too young to really know for sure.  It is fascinating knowing there are essentially no white students in that school considering the area I live in now has very little diversity besides white people.  My middle school was predominately non-white in Florida but this goes to show white people are not going to be the majority for long (if they even are now!).

http://www.southcentralhistory.com/la-riots.php

This article gives a history of the LA a riots which started in South Central.  That seems like it might be a difficult thing for students to handle knowing about their neighborhood.  I know their elders must mention the riots somewhat regularly considering the widespread damage and publicity it caused.

1. How did Ask Anansi game support critical literacies?
"…the main product of this game is one of problem-posing critical thinking and civic participation…" (p. 113)
2. How did the Ask Anansi game support academic literacies?
"Illustrating the connections between 21st-century literacies and the academic literacies that are most heavily emphasized by standardized curricula, tests, and policies" (p. 113)
3.  How did the Ask Anansi game support digital literacies?
"Alleviating teachers from the strain of a digital participation gap" (p.113)
4. What is meant by the term "reading the word and reading the world and writing the world"?  Give an example from the chapter.
"Later, the digital world, too, was written upon by the class since the students took to the official Wikipedia page for South Central High School Wikipedia." (p. 122)