My perceptions of content literacy and the adolescent reader are as follows: I believe that educators are not granting the proper "tools" to their students. The tools they have granted them are very cut and dry and do not spur new interest into content topics. Thus, students remain disengaged and will not attempt literacy trials on their own. Students will continue to pursue a strict bare minimum as long as the tools afforded to them inspire them to do so. I believe as teachers, we should inact a new beahvior towards content literacy and grant our students the proper tools to support their own original discoveries. This can include using technology, finding different texts (other than the norm), or allowing for debate over a specific topic. Each of these efforts will allow for students to spur new interest and contribute at higher levels involving content literacy.

My content is mathematics, thus my experiences involving content literacy are lacking in originality. In the normal mathematics classroom, a teacher would give me a textbook and would assign readings in order to properly understand the vocabulary. That was the main goal of the literacy in a mathematics classroom. As long as the student could memorize the vocabulary to ace the quiz, he was deemed as exceptional.

My initial observations of effective reading in mathematics are discouraging yet fill with hope all the same. I intend to employ the methods I will learn in my Masters program in order to develop a method of effective reading in my classroom. I understand now that the memorization of mathematical vocabulary will not inspire upcoming mathematicians. Thus, I believe it will be my job to find effective literacy techniques to inspire not only the mathematical minds in my classroom, but everyone else as well. I will become inspired to do so by the discouragement I have felt through my previous math classes and the hope I have for my future math classes.