In And Out Of School Janet Atkins Summary

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People in today’s age, especially students, are constantly reading and writing. The internet and social media has made a more connected world. However, as children and students are reading and writing through technology constantly, teachers are forced to prepare their students for standardized test and countless other mandated tests. This inhibits the teacher from helping their students grow as readers and writers (Atkins 12). This is exactly the message that Janet Atkins is trying to send in her 2011 article Reading and Writing with Purpose: In and out of School. Atkins wrote this article to help teachers find new ways of utilizing technology to help students grow as readers and writers. Throughout the article, Janet Atkins uses ethos, logos, …show more content…
Her writing fits perfectly with the times we currently live in. “I see it every day in my classroom. There are electronic books (which I allow), cell phones (which I don’t), assorted fiction (assigned and unassigned), and the occasional note-passing in the absence of texting” (Atkins 12). The author knows that this claim she makes about what she sees in her classroom will be relatable not only to her intended audience (teachers) but to anyone who may happen to read her article. This is because what she is saying she sees in her classroom can easily be observed and confirmed by simply walking outside. People are constantly on their phones or some sort of electronic device. This is why her claim: “informal learning is a big deal in 2011” (Atkins 12), is almost irrefutable. Of course informal learning was (and still is today in 2016) a big deal. When I was a freshman in 2011, I remember my English teacher, Miss Pogue, had an online blog at WordPress that helped me and the entire class during reading and writing projects. The kairos in Janet Atkins’ article is so strong that the only way that you can both understand what kairos is and not understand how her writing fits perfectly into the world today is if you are living in complete

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