Blog assignment 2

Blog assignment 2

In the article “Making Community Connections: What does academe Have to Do with the Real World” Dr. Xae Alicia Reyes describes the important role that teacher participation in extracurricular activities plays in a teacher overall effectiveness. Reyes is the Associate Professor of Curriculum and Instruction of Puerto Rican and Latino studies. She has strong convictions about students’ education not being hindered by the culture they live in. By describing the effect –out of school life- plays in –in school life- Reyes calls for teacher to overcome the challenges by getting involved in the local community and bridging the gap between school life and the real world.

Dr. Reyes seems to be writing in a teaching context; this article’s purpose being to teach teachers. As a Secondary Education major I am aware of the many facets that make up my profession. One important element is the ability to become part of the school community that Reyes discusses. While I was aware that this was necessary, my previous knowledge did not contain the specific information needed to execute this task. This article was written in order to prevent the issue of uninvolved unsuccessful teachers from progressing. It clearly states that the school system has an issue with teachers of that nature and as a result students are failing to realize the value of their education in the real world. Therefore the future of society is at stake.

The article is part of a compilation of articles written specifically for the instruction of secondary teachers. Therefore the author assumes that her readers will have some knowledge of the field as well as convictions about the topic that are similar to her own. Her view may be biased by her obvious Latin background however; all of her points and topics are valid for all ethnic groups.

The call to write is an invitation that all people receive at some point. Sometimes it comes in the form of a school assignment, grocery list, job requirement or a response to an injustice. All of those instances call for writing to take place. In her article Reyes is responding to what she believes is an injustice to students. As, a result she writes to teachers to adopt a new philosophy into their teaching style. Her writing calls for an urgent and immediate change of teachers’ involvement everywhere.

Reyes’ purpose in writing this article is clear. She is persuading future teachers to realize the importance of involvement in their student’s lives beyond the classroom. This is evident by the nature of the title being posed as a question as well as straightforward word choices she chooses in writing the article.

The intended audience of this article are teachers in training. While that group can contain broad and diverse minds; their overall goal is similar. Through her article Reyes attempts to build a mentor-mentee relationship with her readers. She does this by giving facts as well as personal examples of success. Reyes assumes that her audience has the desire not only to teach but to build relationships with students in order to educate them more effectively.

The language she uses is semi- formal. She stays away from the use of common street slang however she uses a teacher specialized vocabulary as well as the informal “you” to relate to her audience. Her word choice reflects that she assumes her readers are well educated in the field of teaching.

Overall, Reyes’ article seemed to accomplish the purpose for which it was written. It is available specifically to her intended audience, it raises awareness about the issue of teacher involvement, and it instructs on how to fix the issue at hand.