thoughts on Paris & Kirkland

"Where writing once meant print text- black marks on white paper, left to right and top to bottom - today 'writing' is in full Technicolor; it is nonlinear and alive with sounds, voices, and images of all kinds" (Lunsford, 2007)

I really appreciated the views of Paris and Kirkland on the use of AAL vs DAE. I feel that because students are often caught between 'a rock and a hard-place' (as my mother would say) when it comes to writing, students are not feeling confident in their communication skills. Traditional writing and grammar practice can often be exclusionary. The use of AAL through text-messaging as well as social media interactions allows students to have a "second space" to express themselves, their feelings, and their thoughts in a manner that is not necessarily academic. I feel that students should be encouraged to write as often as possible and through any and all creative outlets. I never was really "into" my English classes in high school, though I often found myself writing slam poetry and entering competitions because I was able to express myself and my feelings without the constraints of traditional grammar and structure. 

As a frequent Twitter user, I was really intrigued by the conversation that was given as an example in the text. I found that the girls were using more "proper" English, and though the grammar was still off and abbreviations were still being used, I felt that is was more legible and closer to DAE than the previous text messaging example. I wonder if this difference exists because Twitter is a public platform. By tweeting at each other, the community of people that follows you, are also able to view the conversation.