In such a setting, a more self-consciously "hybrid" text like a fanfic would serve the writer poorly.
Due to the educational system's rigid rules on what is and isn't considered a tool for learning linguistic rules and practices, things such as fan fictions tend to be locked in a state of informality, when they don't necessarily need to be.
At times, however, it appears that both gifts could have benefited from the assistance that contact with their teachers or classmates might have provided.
Noticeably absent from Eileen and Rhiannon's fanfic audience were their teachers.
Among the numerous points that resonated for us in the framework was the authors' contention that schools and other dominant institutions have historically privileged language, particularly written literacy, over all other modes of communication, thereby neglecting the possibilities of those other modes.
Literary studies are predominantly focused in non-fiction works or other subjects based heavily in reality. To break away from this promotes creativity and can help those with more imaginative minds to flourish in a setting where they may otherwise struggle.
Rhiannon reported devoting far more time and energy to her fanfics than she did to school assignments she dismissed as "the essay part of my writing"
Many students feel apprehensive about sharing their more creative work with their teachers due to the stigma around fan fiction, as well as the question of its validity and usefulness as a tool.
Rhiannon herself showed ambivalence about bringing her personal writing into school when we asked if she had ever shown her stories to one of her teachers: "[No, and] I don't think I'd want her to read them anyway," she replied, "because they're in a fashion that she probably wouldn't understand even if I tried to explain it to her. I just think that she isn't open-minded."
. In that school, where every student had a laptop, teachers' attempts to honor students' online-created content were often in conflict with centuries-old notions of what constitutes "quality" information.
The value placed on traditional texts tends to be much higher than that placed on fan-related content, regardless of the time, effort, and skill put into the latter.
audience appeal (e.g., having a space in which to affiliate with others who share interests or goals) and time for in-depth discussions around a finished text (perhaps one that was collaboratively authored) are the main factors in young people's decisions to create content destined for informal sharing after school.
A shared personal interest and connection increases engagement, regardless of what sort of environment the conversation takes place in. It just so happens that online spaces are the easiest environments to express such interest and make such connections.
When school work is deemed relevant and worthwhile, when opportunities exist for students to reinvent themselves as competent learners (even rewrite their social identities), then literacy instruction is both possible and welcomed.