Post 21: What issues does this “The New Literacy” address for you that you think are important?

I think this article brings forth many great points.  That people today are always writing for an audience is a truth I’d never thought of before.  Whenever I ‘update my Facebook status’ or post a ‘tweet’ on Twitter, I am immensely aware of my audience, and it almost always has a point or an opinion.  As the article says, “For them, writing is about persuading and organizing and debating, even if it's over something as quotidian as what movie to go see.” Moreover, I structure my Facebook posts (where family will see them) in a much different way than my tweets (strictly for friends), and those are both very different from my private blog that only a few select friends read.  Furthermore, all of these mediums of communication are radically different from the way I email or write personal letters and especially different from the way in which I construct an academic post or paper. 

The point of this article was RELAX! We know our audience. It is not difficult to switch our tone depending on our targeted audience.  I agree that there is some danger of text speak or other slang creeping into academia, but only if teachers fail to weed it out early on.  My honest opinion is that parents should be able to handle the explanation of when certain vocabularies are acceptable, however teachers are the gatekeepers.  It is the teachers express job in elementary school to show students Standard English in all of its’ glory and teach students when and why it is important and appropriate to use. 

It is my humble belief that once learned, it will never be forgotten.  Students who learn the rules of language usage early will use it adequately thenceforth.

I completely agree with Clive Thompson when he says, “We think of writing as either good or bad. What today's young people know is that knowing who you're writing for and why you're writing might be the most crucial factor of all”.