blog #2

It can be very difficult to compare education standards and methods across decades, let alone centuries. Ideas change and develop, theories are disproven, and traditions are modified but it does not mean we cannot learn from it. Not every and any definition will always fit perfectly and figuring out why this is so explains it to us that much more. Extracurriculum can be explained in different ways and has multiple definitions, as seen in Gere’s article. While Applebee, Rudolph, and Graff have very specific definitions for extracurriculum which leaves them somewhat limited and stuck in the era it developed in, “Significantly, Rudolph, Applebee, and Graff all describe the extracurriculum as a white male enterprise” (79). Gere’s explanation for extracurriculum is a much broader one and seems to be more relatable to education in the past and present. Trying to quote her whole definition really would not give justice to her explanation in this article but this aspect of her definition I thought was most important, “it extends beyond the academy to encompass the multiple contexts in which persons seek to improve their own writing” (80). People have to want to do better for themselves and not be forced to.

I feel that my English experiences, from elementary to today’s, have always challenged me. With a private school education I always felt the standard was so high and the difficulty almost pushed me away from wanting to improve my writing and composition skills. Gere pays attention to literary practices outside of formal education and takes interest in cultural influences. Thinking back on my earlier education it was rare that I ever wrote for something that did not involve my formal education. I am what Jeff Daniels, the actor, would describe as a “Philistine” in the movie The Squid and the Whale. It is one who has no interest in intellectuals and books and is only interested in the shallowness of athletics. Although there may be one instance where I could have had extracurricular literacy practices, but Gere’s concept of extracurriculum would not agree. During the long summers my father was always trying to get me to write and practice my writing. He would sit me down in front of our gigantic computer monitor and tell me I could write whatever I wanted as long as I wrote for 1 hour and then I would be free to go play outside. I was not directly seeking to improve my writing skills but unconsciously used other desires to accomplish my writing. My father forced me to use my writing to achieve different means; in terms of extracurriculum people will always use their writing as a tool for success.