At the beginning of Gee’s article we are introduced to how important Language and Code Switching is to each Discourse. I really enjoyed his interview example because it really clarified the point he was making, about how you pick your choice of words and how they come across. This example also drew attention to how important code switching is to create the correct social role for each setting we are in. Your language (the way you are speaking), varies upon what you are doing and who you are speaking to so it is crucial you are able to adapt to these specific settings. He then begins to differentiate between Primary and Secondary discourses, as well as Dominant and Non-Dominant discourses.
Gee explains how primary discourse is initial discourse that you are introduced to early on in life, while secondary discourse is discourse in settings outside of immediate family. Primary discourse is usually exclusive to our immediate family and leads us into our secondary discourse. Later on in life, we are introduced to our Dominant and Non-dominant discourses. He defines them as the Dominant discourse being a discourse that brings money, prestige or status while the Non-dominant discourse brings unity within a particular social setting but does not bring status. I viewed these two as the Dominant discourse being your money maker while your Non-dominant discourse is the one that brings you joy maybe like a hobby or skill.
Which brings us to Carmen Luke’s article that talks about how something that used to be a Non-dominant discourse (the internet, ebooks, informational videos, etc) have basically taken over the classroom. She talks about how using both traditional ways of teaching and mixing it with the new advancements is the most beneficial form of Pedagogy rather than swinging the pendulum all the way to one side.
A quote that stood out to me was, “When learning is no longer geographically tied to a desk, the school, library, the book, or the teacher who demands “all eyes up front”, then old-style transmission and surveillance pedagogy becomes less stable and less defensible but complementary to the out of school pedagogies and practices in the households, communities, and workplaces.” This shows us that using technology and new advances in the classroom can be more beneficial for outside of school compared to inside the classroom so it really is all about balance.
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