Assignment #1: Literacy Narrative
Assignment #1: Literacy Narrative
Perfecting Eloquence: Jesuit Pedagogy in the First-Year Writing Classroom
DUE DATE
Assignment Background
In this assignment, you will write what many teachers call a “literacy narrative." Literacy narratives are stories about how someone acquired a specific skill. This skill could be one that we normally associate with literacy, like reading and writing, but it can also be a skill that’s more distinct and meaningful to the author: for example, dancing, drawing, swimming, video games, or making a certain meal with family.
By transforming their journey with this skill into a story, writers are invited to 1.) Better understand how they learn and where they find passion in learning, 2.) Reflect on and explore an important aspect of their identity, and 3.) Develop their ability as a storyteller.
Jesuit Inspiration
Between 1553 and 1555 CE, St. Ignatius of Loyola dictated a “spiritual autobiography” to his friend and fellow Jesuit, Louis Gonzalez, S.J. This text, now known as The Autobiography of St. Ignatius, describes historical events in his life—his experience as a soldier, his near-fatal injury in the Battle of Pamplona, his subsequent physical recovery and spiritual re-conversion to Catholicism.
However, the Autobiography also describes Ignatius’s formation as an individual by detailing the steps he took to deepen his understanding of and relationship with God. Moreover, through his famous Spiritual Exercises, Ignatius encouraged his readers to reflect on their lives in a similar manner to find patterns and themes that would give them a deeper understanding of themselves and their relationship with God and others.
Prompt: Using the Ignatian practice of reflection modeled in The Autobiography of Saint Ignatius Loyola, reflect on a literacy that you’ve acquired at some point in your life. Then, write a story about how you acquired that literacy and why it’s meaningful to you.
Assignment Goals
After completing this assignment, students should be able to...
- Understand the meaning of "literacy" and how it impacts their life
- Identify the patterns and themes of a narrative in their own life and the lives of others
- Communicate why something is meaningful to them through the medium of a story
- Compose vivid descriptions in order to captivate a reader