Gabriel Sanchez
Critical Literacy
Journal Week 1
I was very excited to enroll in this class of critical literacy. I have always enjoyed the
subject due to the intense rhetoric that ourselves can engage in. However before last semester I
was not as aware of the attributes that entailed critical literacy. I did understand that much of
critical literacy involved Freebody and Luke’s “text analyst”. I know that text analyst is required
to ask the questions: who is speaking? Whose voice is being heard/silenced? What are the
powers at play; as well as, what is the meaning as a whole. When we analyze the text, we are
breaking down the text and interpreting the words in order for us to answer the questions that
need to be asked.
Our first day of class was enjoyable. It was my first class of the semester and it was nice
seeing so many familiar faces from last semester that I hadn’t seen over the summer break. I
liked that we got right down to it. We immediately introduced the nitty-gritty topics that we will
be getting into. These topics included, racism, sexism, classism and other social issues that we
could encounter. Since this is a critical literacy class, most of these topics will be discussed
according to the texts that we read including our books and various articles we will be given.
Although I’m sure that these will be brought into perspective involving our personal lives and
situations. Which to me makes the most since considering we (in my opinion) are a group of
multi-opinionated college students who come from different backgrounds.
We have two books assigned for reading this semester; one is Sherman Alexi’s “The
Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” and Michelle Alexander’s “The New Jim Crow”. I
am looking forward to reading both of these books because I have heard great things about the
two. I have been told that that “The New Jim Crow” is a bit of a harder read than Part Time
Indian, which makes me believe it will be more hard hitting on social issues involving race. The
title contains a significant reference to race conflict in the past. As for “The Absolutely True
Diary of a Part-Time Indian”, I have been told that it is a book of many emotions, parts will
make you happy, sad, mad, cry and feel a bit of both pride and guilt. This book is an easier read
from what I have been able to tell so far. Sherman Alexi’s comics and doodles/sketches are
something to admire. I was told that this book was on the banned book list in schools. After
reading some content I can see why (laughing). Although I don’t understand why, this book
portrays actual events of a person in America encountering numerous cases of racism. It is an
ugly truth.
Reading a book that has been or is currently on the Public education banned list, makes
me beg the question, “what for?” I have started to believe that there is a shameful presence
surrounding our older generations that govern these decisions in our community and country. As
the older generation being the culprit of multiple divisions of racism and many other “isms” it is
easy for them to sweep it under the rug and coin a phrase such as, “the past is in the past” or “the
past is behind us, let’s push forward!” It is clear that the past is not behind us and people suffer
everyday from that harsh fact.
I look forward to seeing and learning what this class has to give, as well as the ideals and
conversations we will have. Hopefully it will grant me a better, deeper and more wholesome
insight into the lives of others, especially since I myself am I a young white man. With a better
understand of critical literacy and all that it entails educationally and socially, I believe it will
better suit me as an educator towards my future students.
Journal Week 2
I cannot stop thinking about Christopher Columbus! It feels like a lie, like my teachers
have covered up a huge secret for me as a child. Now as an adult it feels as if times have changed
and more knowledge and information has been spread about the truth about Christopher
Columbus. Me as a kid, like…a long time ago, remember Columbus being a badass sailor that
had three ships and discovered America. It was a cool idea and there was no reason for me to
think anything different. My underlying knowledge of the subject was brief. I knew Native
Americans existed because of movies like “Squanto” and Disney’s “Pocahontas”. Obviously I
know now that those movies do not encompass the entire Native American culture – if any at all.
The movie “Squanto” gave a more adult interpretation about what happened with the Natives.
There were scenes where the natives were being captured and stowed away on boats, as well as,
natives being introduced to unknown diseases.
I became confused once upon a time when an episode of “Sponge–Bob” came on. The
episode was about Leif Erikson day, and how he was the one that discovered the new world. Not
that I take all historical knowledge from children’s cartoons, but it honestly filed me with
confusion and doubt. It wasn’t until sophomore year in college I had a Colonial Literature class
and one of the readings we had were Columbus’ letters sent to the king and queen of Spain. In
his first two letters, he wrote about his adventurous voyage and meeting the natives, finding gold
and claiming land in the name of Spain – typical explorer stuff. Without going into too much
history it was uncovered that Columbus was a liar and abusing his power, leading him to chains
and second chances crying, whining, and making excuses to the royal family in his later letters. I
had lost respect for him on whatever knowledge I had of him.
After reading the article “Once Upon a Genocide” my mind was blown and my decision
was made that Columbus was not the hero he was portrayed to be. What I read I believe to be
true because I cannot think of a logical reason why someone would be trashing a historical figure
in such a manner unless they were factual. I am struck with the thought, why for so long have the
interpretations and narratives of the Natives been lacking? How is it that for so long, Columbus
has been deemed America’s discover and granted a national holiday? Apparently California was
asking the questions and changed Columbus Day to Indigenous People’s Day.
Since critical literacy requires us to ask questions about the text, we can better understand
what it is we are reading. This allows readers to become more informed as well as being capable
of forming more opinionated educated rhetoric’s. Most stories about Columbus are told from the
perspective or narrative of the white explorers that landed on the shores of North America.
However the perspective/narrative that is never presented are the ones of the Natives. Imagine
how they felt when strangers with higher technology landed on their shores and started taking
things and hurting people, those who could have explained the violence or the horror that most
likely entailed while Columbus was hell bent on finding gold and land. The power at play was
white men, and most likely historians relaying this series of events were white men.
I can’t help but feel guilty about how white people have treated the indigenous people of
this land. The devil’s advocate side of this would be; without Columbus starting the rush of
colonization, I/we wouldn’t be here writing about this in our modern day civilization. However
we obviously cannot change the past; therefore, we live in the present and experience guilt of
what our ancestors have done. Or at least I do. I feel bad, I feel terrible about the lives ruined and
lost back when the land was being basically conquered. There was no discovery, because the
natives already discovered the land. History has proven that white people have overpowered
lesser civilizations and take what they wanted. Sherman Alexi is a perfect example of a native
being forced into terrible circumstances because white people were greedy and selfish hundreds
of years ago. This is why I feel “white guilt”. It is quite possible that if critical questions were
