Literacy Autobiography

Thinking back to my early childhood years – the first thing that comes to mind in connection to literacy is Dr. Suess. I loved reading Dr. Suess books with my mother. I vividly remember she had brought me a little back pack that had the collection of books and I carried it with me everywhere. I cannot remember if it was the colors, the fact that it was my first back pack, the rhyming or maybe a combination of all three but I loved reading in kindergarten. Attending a catholic elementary school, they were very strict on phonological awareness and spelling and I remember not being able to spell octopus and elephant (maybe because of the trick consonant and vowel sounds) but those two words drove me crazy and from then on I was determined to get better and be better. I practiced reading and letter sounds with my older cousin and I also loved the positive praise in school as I got better – which motivated me even more. My grades and reading had improved and shortly after I moved to New York around the age of 8.

Requirements in New York in comparison to New Jersey were very different. My fourth grade teacher – Mrs. Ben-Ari had a 25 book reading competition that we had to read AT LEAST 25 books and write a book report with an illustration as well. My favorite part about this competition was that the books could be based on our free choice as long as they were age appropriate. The winners received special prizes and a pizza party which at that point what 8 year old wouldn’t love pizza!?!  It was in 4^th grade that I was introduced to one of my favorite childhood authors, Beverly Cleary. My teacher had the Ramona Forever collection and I fell in love! At this point I was becoming an older sister and I think I enjoyed the sisterly bond and comical side as well. My fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Garfinkel had made the class read “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” which at the time I found difficult but also enjoyed because of the fact that it let your imagination run and the teacher never limited us to a certain setting or perspective so we were never wrong giving our incentives and opinions. My next two vivid books were in junior high school 7^th and 8^th grade – the House on Mango Street and Speak. I enjoyed the House on Mango Street because of its culture and background. Coming from a Hispanic background there weren’t many books that incorporated language, culture or diversity and I think this is memorable for me because it was my first experience in connecting myself and my family to a book. Following in 8^th grade my language arts teaching was in the midst of her masters and chose two students to share her assignment with. We read the book Speak and that book triggered many emotion I never realized lied within my body. As a child I had been through a similar experience and again this was the first book that had triggered all the emotions I had previously suppressed. In addition, it was also a very mature read for an adolescent but it made me feel empowered, it made me feel intelligent and reminded me I wasn’t alone.

It wasn’t until I came to high school that the literature and my love for reading began to go downhill. In high school back to back the literary texts and structure were repetitive. It was always based on “To Kill a Mocking Bird”, “Anne Frank”, “Gone With The Wind”, “The Crucible” and, Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” and “Hamlet”. For four years these texts were repetitive and boring. Not only did they imply the same questions, assignments and projects but also they did not incorporate creativity, higher ordering thinking or something to connect to. Reading and literature began to be based on passing tests and exams as opposed to pleasure and learning for fun. High school for me made reading dull and in return I began to stop reading. Instead, I would seek easier sources and ways such as pink money or cliff notes or sharing notes with classmates to find an easier way. Reading to me was no longer fun and also the texts began to lack substance.

Reflecting back I see that education made literature based on passing tests and credentials rather than impacting imagination, creativity and individuality. It limited the readers perception, reflection and opinion as opposed to helping it grow and build because comprehension questions and essays already had an outline of what it should be. Reading is supposed to be an open door to escape in words and in your mind. It is supposed to be a way to increase knowledge with expanding your current thoughts and perspective and it is also supposed to be something you enjoy doing and for me it stopped. Personally now, I enjoy reading literary pieces that I can connect to whether it be drama, love, or murder – something with suspense and based on true stories. In terms of writing and speaking I always enjoyed the aspect of self expression and increasing vocabulary or learning through conversation and expeirnce but reading – reading was something that was taken away from my enjoyment and I hope to be an educator that gives it back to the youth because it something so wonderful and amazing that is underrated for all the wrong reasons. As a teacher, I want to bring life back not only into literacy but into helping and encouraging children to enjoy reading not because they have to but because they truly want to – something I once did and hope to do in time again.