Literacy History

            Literacy has always been a part of my life. Being born and raised in the suburbs of a “developed” country, my journey to literacy within the English language was pretty structured and common. This being said, my earliest memories in regard to becoming literate took place in the classroom of a public elementary school. Being in this type of setting, I was not only encouraged, but it was expected of me to learn to read and write the English language proficiently.

I remember being in kindergarten, sitting on the carpet in Mrs. Valentino’s room, looking up at the alphabet on the wall. We would go over one letter at a time, learning the sound it makes, and how to write it. One by one, we made our way through all 26. Each day we had class work and homework to help us remember everything we went over. Eventually these simple exercises in learning letters transformed into putting them together to learn words.

Outside of school, all of this knowledge was reinforced at home. Almost every night, before and during kindergarten, my parents would read to me before bed. Going through the same books over and over, I would look at the pages as I listened to them. This repetition of hearing the words pronounced as looked on helped me to form the correct sounds in my head, which would eventually help me be able to sound out and read words myself.

Of course, this learning continued in school as well. I would probably say first grade was when I first started to have a feeling of being literate, at least for my age. This was the year when we began to learn more of the language, now that we had a basis of reading and writing. We would have weekly spelling tests, in which we had to memorize how to spell about 15 words. Along with the spelling, we were also learning the definitions of the words, and expanding our vocabulary. Naturally, this did not always go smoothly. Throughout all of this, I had my own issues and struggles. It took me a lot of practice before I got completely used to the sounds that certain letters and combinations of letters make. The English language is known for having some strange aspects to it. I was not a fan of this. I am the type of person to get easily frustrated when I don’t get something right away. However, thanks to my wonderful teachers, and the continuation of these vocabulary tests up even through middle school, I was able to successfully learn the English language, and expand my vocabulary within it.

Unfortunately, today, I do not use my literacy to its fullest potential. Over the years, I have become less of a fan of reading, and even less of a fan of writing. I wish this weren’t the case, because I know that reading and writing are both great pastimes, however I seem to have just grown away from them. Though I don’t read and write for fun, literacy of course plays a role in my everyday life. Language is everywhere in advertising, television, school, most careers. It’s really unavoidable. Despite not being the biggest fan of reading and writing, I would like to get more into it. Generally what has encouraged, or in a way forced, me to keep at it is school. Being required to read and write usually forces me to do it when I otherwise wouldn’t. I usually end up enjoying the books we read, and never would have even thought of reading them had it not been required. Though it might not be my cup of tea, I am sure that my own literacy will continue to grow and develop beyond what it is today.