Artifact Commentary #1 

 

          I have learned in class to understand how to create effective critical inquiry questions which is based around different observations to formulate a broad question that can have multiple answers and leads to more questions to be asked. I asked “With these concepts in mind, when is an appropriate time to leave the primary discourse and enter into the secondary?” Using definitions from Gee about primary and secondary discourses, I was able to conjure up my question to further add to his conversation and overall question what literacy actually is? To answer my question, I used evidence from Gee’s essay to support my claims “coming to school they cannot practice what they haven’t got and they are exposed mostly to a process of learning and not acquisition” (Gee 79). School is the first experience for children to leave their primary discourse and are challenged to work with others outside their immediate family. I learned the credibility or ethos comes from the piece of work I cite and the logic comes from the warrants or my commentary about Gee’s ethics. I also learned how to pan, looking at the broad picture and zoom which is looking to close specific evidence. Pathos was used when I talked about the feeling of the guardians, “…But when the parents feel comfortable letting their child go with the knowledge they have given since infancy.” This can reflect to my tone given the subject of the importance on development for both children and adulthood, that the older audience can remember letting their child go to their first day of school. Literacy means to become part of a discourse community that shares a common belief and uses the same language to communicate. School is the most important literacy as you gain the tools to further expand into secondary discourses of your choosing in order to obtain mastery or control of those preferred discourses. Reading Gee has taught me many of these new techniques and entices me to further broaden my understanding of critical inquiry.