All I could remember on my journey to literacy was my concern over my brother and sister’s ability to read and write including solving math problems. That did not really motivate not to become literate; I was extremely playful as a child. What I am able to remember is my first day of school, I cried like a baby when my mom dropped me off. I soon began to grow out of my baby stage and school became really interesting. Even though it was not as hard as it is now, the value that pushed me to be literate was how my teacher was able to discipline students if they didn’t give the best to their education.
My first stage of being literate was when I learned the different names of careers such as policeman, fireman, and soon. Also my parent taught me bible verses, since they were not going to be around all the time. Like they said, “Give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day. Teach him how to fish and he’ll be able to eat anytime.” They began teaching me the alphabet, then taught me how to read the bible verses. Even as a child, my parents gave me a duty to have a morning devotional which included song service, bible readings and prayer. I was then introduced to the short bible book stories with pictures which fascinated me as a child. So, I became more curious about getting the well known stories in the bible which would increase my vocabulary and level of comprehension.
The second stage of being literate posed as a real challenge. In elementary school, I started to gain knowledge of verbs, adjectives, adverbs, nouns, pronouns, punctuations and the different tenses. It was difficult because my first language was Creole, but I was forced back to the basics with my reading and writing skills when it came to learning French. I was int...
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...best if you, not to only to break you. When my teachers are criticizing me, my writing, or behavior, I feel fortunate to have that because they want to see the best and
well educated man. At this stage in my life, I’m well aware if the importance of being literate and I’m chasing a dream of becoming a fine citizen.
As this journey continues in my life, I am happy that I’m almost to the end of my journey. But learning is like and endless line, one can never get too much of it. For what we have knowledge of are pinch of glass of water from the ocean of education. Looking forward on becoming more literate for it will guarantee me respect, credibility and high economic status from society. My early journey of literacy has allowed me to be reach a level my parents and I can be proud of. Now my curiosity not only partakes in literacy but also to a successful future.
For me, reading as well as rereading, books such as Junie B Jones, Berenstain Bears, or the Harry Potter series, impacted my life immensely by increasing my vocabulary, developing my vital language skills and many more developmental skills. In the past, being literate meant beating kids in how many books I could read and being able to comprehend difficult vocabulary, but now being literate in the adult world means developing new and creative ideas or being able to prosper an opinion based on facts and previous knowledge.
Being literate does not only mean that you understand to read and write. I believe that it’s a way you take advantage of what is given to you. Having the power to understand and acknowledge what is being said and read gives and great advantage of literacy. Graduating with honors from my senior class has given me greater self-esteem and a sense of accomplishment .Now being literate has given me great opportunities such as coming to college and given hope that we can do anything in this world
We were also required to read a certain amount of books to test on and write stories of our own. This meant that we had to take our knowledge to the test and find books that would interest us. As we went to the library once every week I was very eager to read many different books. I would go home and read so that I could try and finish books as fast as I could. Since I had nothing else to do as a child I always read after finishing my homework. Reading was my favorite thing to do because it kept me from feeling lonely or bored. My parents would see that I was trying my best to read as much as I could, which made them proud of me. They knew that I was capable of becoming a good reader and
Throughout my childhood, the idea of having a college education was greatly stressed. As a result, it was my duty as the next generational child, to excel in my studies and achieve a life of prosperity and success. Learning became the basic foundation of my growth. Therefore, my youth was overtaken by many hours spent reading and writing what was known to be correct "Standard" English. I first found this to be a great shortcoming, but as I grew older, I began to realize the many rewards acquired by having the ability to be literate.
Throughout my childhood I was never very good at reading. It was something I always struggled with and I grew to not like reading because of this. As a child my mom and dad would read books to me before I went to bed and I always enjoyed looking at the pictures and listening. Then, as I got older my mom would have me begin to read with her out loud. I did not like this because I was not a good reader and I would get so frustrated. During this time I would struggle greatly with reading the pages fluently, I also would mix up some of the letters at times. I also struggled with comprehension, as I got older. My mom would make me read the Junie B. Jones books by myself and then I would have to tell her what happened. Most
My first experience to literacy came as a young adult. I have always been reluctant with my education, because of the family problems I experienced growing up. The harsh treatment our family received growing up made it very difficult to study in school, my body was physically in class but my mind was not. The trials and tribulations I went through growing up as a kid continued throughout my teenage years. Dropping out of high school I believe brought upon literacy difficulty. At the age of twenty-three, I finally had enough of feeling undereducated. Living in my mother’s basement with no job and an 8th grade education, the walls started to close in on me as my frustration became greater by the minute.
As a child, I have always been fond of reading books. My mother would read to me every single night before I went to bed and sometimes throughout the day. It was the most exciting time of the day when she would open the cabinet, with what seemed to be hundreds of feet tall, of endless books to choose from. When she read to me, I wanted nothing more than to read just like her. Together, we worked on reading every chance we had. Eventually I got better at reading alone and could not put a book down. Instead of playing outside with my brothers during the Summer, I would stay inside in complete silence and just read. I remember going to the library with my mom on Saturdays, and staying the entire day. I looked forward to it each and every week.
Writing is a form of communication that has changed over the years, whether that is the way it is used or the meaning it has for some people. In the generation that I grew up in, writing has been around in many different ways, such as texting or instant messaging friends. I remember using Facebook at an early age and communicating with my friends and family through a different form of writing. Compared to my elders, the way they were taught and the way they used their writing has changed immensely. Since I grew up in a newer generation than them, my writing experience has been partially different in a good way. My literacy narrative will reflect that difference.
My achievement of becoming literate in both English and Spanish, after overcoming a myriad of obstacles distinguishes my literacy history. Writing was one of the things I didn’t like to do as a child. I always thought writing was a waste of time and that I wasn’t going to need it in life. Even though I didn’t invest much time writing, I was one of the best writers in all my classes, probably because I was very dedicated in the other subjects and I loved reading adventure books. I learned how to read and write by the age of four, since in my native country “the Dominican Republic”, kids are enrolled in school at the age of three; usually parents start their child’s education at home before that age.
It was finally time to head to gym class in the afternoon where we were instructed to take part of a physical test. This test would determine how fit or unfit we are based on a system that was implemented by those with greater authority, on which concluded that it was on such a scale society should be based on. So it was that afternoon that I preformed the tasks that were instructed on to me and my peers. I was able to completed them to my utmost potential which can be consider to be something not so distinctive. It was on this day that I was mocked by one my peers of my lack of ability to preform the instructed physical tasks, that was a no brainer to such a fit individual like himself. It
My ongoing journey of literacy began in 1993. I was four years old. The memories I have of my first few years of school is very blurred, as they happened over twenty years ago. However, these early years of my life is where I believe my literacy journey began to take form.
Early literacy for me was challenging. I started to learn reading and writing at age six. I still remember students from school would make fun by not knowing how to read, but they never knew I was struggling with both English and Spanish reading and writing. My parents are both from Guatemala; they came to the U.S at a very young age. My father was the only one to go to school. My mother did not attend school because it was difficult by her immigration status. When I was little, Spanish was not my mother's first language, so when she wanted to help me with reading and to write in English, she had a difficult time. My mother taught me reading and writing in the Mayan language. My father only taught me reading and writing one hour per week. Whenever my father was through showing me an hour of writing and reading, I had to explain the same lesson to my younger
My literacy journey commenced at a young age. My story begins with the typical bed time stories and slowly progresses into complex novels. Some points in my literacy journey have made me admire the written word but other times literacy frustrated me. These ups and downs within my story have made me the person I am today. My parents noticed that my reading was not up to par with other children in kindergarten and I was diagnosed with mild dyslexia at the age of five. My parents provided me a reading mentor named Mrs. Mandeville who has shaped my literacy journey in many ways. Events in my childhood have shaped my literacy in various ways.
I believe that reading and writing should not only be done to receive a good grade or because a teacher tells you to but you should tackle it like most journeys, because it begins with a single step and they both need to be practiced daily and also both appreciated and respected and on as a trial students need to overcome or as a punishment but as a creative outlet for the mind. I know for me I hope that my love affair with the spoken and written word and my love of books only gets deeper and more involved as I get older and move up in the world because I understand that we need to have many skills in order to accomplish anything in the world that we live in today and the more goals that we achieve in our life whether they be professional or personal the better we will feel about ourselves and how we look at the world around us will also change for the better.
Being literate defines who I am, and forms an integral part of my life. From the practical to the creative, it aids, and enables me to perform in the tasks that modern society dictates. I shall explore the many aspects of my life that are affected by literacy. Through this, understanding in greater depth what it means for me, to be literate.