Composing for the participants did not always involve putting pen to paper. In an era of multiliteracies, writing takes many forms (see Table 4).
Table 4
Multiple uses of writing (CCCC Position Statement)
DISCOURSES FORMS OF WRITING
Academic discourse Analyses, reports, exploratory essays, essay exams, case studies, summaries, abstracts, and annotations
Workplace discourse Memos, proposals, evaluations, oral presentations, lab and progress reports, letters, reviews, instructions, and user manuals Civic discourse Arguments, commentaries, charters and manifestoes, surveys,
debates, petitions, and editorials
Personal discourse Journals, personal narratives, memoirs, reflections, meditations, conversations, dialogues, and correspondence (all in various media)
Cross-cultural discourse
Collaborative, visual, and Internet-based projects, including websites, wikis, blogs, newsletters, interviews, and profiles Aesthetic discourse Poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, drama, screenplays, and
songwriting
Summary of CCCC Position Statement released November, 2007
My interviews with the participants revealed that they were surprised to learn about what may count as writing in the 21st century. Rodrick became very talkative when he discovered that sending text messages could be considered as composing. According to the International Association for the Wireless Telecommunications Industry,
Americans sent 75 billion text messages in June, 2008 (Wireless quick facts, 2008). Despite these numbers, research on teens and text messaging is lacking. A number of literacy researchers (Chandler-Olcott & Mahar, 2003; Jacobs, 2006; Lewis & Fabos, 2000; Tagliamonte & Denis, 2008) have investigated instant messaging (IMing) as literacy practice. However, according to Rodrick, texting is different from IMing
because it is done with mobile devices (cell phones) instead of computers. Rodrick said he rarely IMs, but he uses texting as a major form of communication. According to the Nielson Company, American teens, ages 13-17 sent a monthly average of 1,742 text messages in the first half of 2008 (SMS text messaging, 2008). Rodrick also said that using a typical cell phone keypad is very different from a computer keyboard. ―It takes lots of practice to learn to text fast because you have to learn how many times to hit the keys for letters.‖ A QWERTY keyboard has all the letters laid out separately while most phone keypads combine several letters on one key. For example, to type the letter ―s,‖ one has to hit the 7 key four times.
As a result, there are more short cuts in text language and messages often have numerous errors. Rodrick said he is able to keep his phone in his pocket and send text messages without looking, and that he is not concerned with accuracy.
When a school administrator confiscated his phone, Rodrick borrowed a friend‘s phone and sent a message to his mother. She came to the school immediately, got the phone, and took it to him in class. She said she wanted to be able to reach him in an emergency. Rodrick said that without his phone, he ―felt naked.‖ He was angry because the administrator turned his phone off and he wasn‘t able to retrieve his messages.
Greg was also surprised to hear that composing is being defined in new ways, and that making up dance moves was a mode of composing. In fact, another name for
choreography is dance composition. I found only one study that looked at dance in association with literacy. Noll (1998) studied two American Indian teens who
demonstrated literacy strengths outside of school through language, art, dance and music. She found that they expressed their sense of identity through their cultural explorations.
Greg‘s creative expression of his identity was also related to his dancing. He belonged to a Discourse community (Gee, 1996) of dancers with shared ―ways of behaving,
interacting, valuing, thinking, believing, speaking, and often reading and writing that are accepted by instantiations of particular roles (or ‗types of people‘) by specific groups of people‖ (Gee, 1996, p. viii). Greg called his dance crew his ―true family.‖ They dressed the same, hung out together, and spoke the same slang, such as ―trap‖ for the streets and ―trap star‖ for a street celebrity. His crew had a common ―‗identity kit‘ which comes complete with the appropriate costume and instructions on how to act and talk so as to take on a particular role that others will recognize‖ (Gee, 1996, p. 127). As hip-hop dancers, Greg and his crew were recognized by their peers for their talent and local success. It was the hope of his life that he could continue his dancing activities. Weinstein‘s (2002) study of teenage graffiti artists demonstrated the importance of belonging to a Discourse community that allows for self-expression.
Both Sankeisha and Jason were artists who drew pictures and wrote stories in their free time. Both associated their drawings with their writing, but neither had reflected much on the compositional aspects of their activities. I asked them to describe their creative processes. Sankeisha said,
I get a picture in my head, sometimes from a dream or something I saw online. I carry the picture in my mind for awhile and then I‘ll sit and draw. I carry a sketchbook around to record my ideas, then when I get a chance, I flip through the book and find a sketch to work on.
I was struck by the similarity of this process to the writing process. Many writers carry notebooks or paper to jot down ideas throughout their day. Her description of writing her manga comic based on one of her drawings and ideas from her friend‘s dream shows that she composes new forms in traditional processes:
I drew this one picture of a girl flying through the air. It was just a picture without any words, and Anthony saw it and said it reminded him of a dream he had where he was flying through the corridors of a building. He was flying and flying and never got anywhere. So I drew this whole story about the girl flying and flying and she didn‘t know where she was or why she was there or where she was going.
Jason rarely drew anywhere except in his bedroom. He said he needed at least a two-hour block of time to work on a drawing. He listened to music and worked on one drawing at a time. Sometimes he would go back and change a picture, but only after he finished the one on which he was working. He described a similar process for his music compositions and arrangements: ―I lock the door to my room and sit at the keyboard until I have the bones of a song. I work on them for a long time and change them every time I play them.‖ Both of Jason‘s artistic endeavors were recursive and ongoing in ways similar to the writing process (Emig, 1971).
Shatasha‘s writing was more traditional. She kept a poetry journal and enjoyed writing love notes and letters to her boyfriends. Luttrell and Parker (2001) conducted a case study of a high school student with similar practices. Their informant, Alice, felt that her personal poetry and journals were the only meaningful writing she was doing. Shatasha wrote a poem about the importance of writing poetry:
Write, write my sistas on what life is known to you Write on the stories of life that no one knows is sadly true Write on the deceit of life
And the two-sided knife That kills you while killing It‘s chilling to the bone
To think that these blank pages are your only escape To speaking your mind and letting go
Of your feelings
Feelings that if you keep, your brain cells Will wither and break
Table 5 illustrates the diversity of modes and genres that students use to compose. Table 5
Summary of Participants’ Multiple Modes and Genres of Composition
NAME AGE MODE/GENRE
SHATASHA 3rd grade 4th grade 6th grade Middle school High school Love note
Poem for school assignment Story for school assignment Poetry journal
Poetry (love, grief) Letters
GREG ―kid‖
Middle school High School
Story notebook
Rap poem for school assignment Video narrative Dancing moves SANKEISHA 4th-8th grades Middle school High school Diary Poetry Stories Plays Manga Drawings Fanfic MySpace page RODRICK 5th grade Middle school High school Family tree Rap lyrics Love poems
Rap lyrics/recorded songs Love letters MySpace page E-mail Texting JASON ―little‖ 4th grade Middle school High school Comic book
Book for school assignment Stories for online game Web site
Music Drawings
Finding 2: Three of the five participants talked about the importance of technology