When I began kindergarten , at the age of four, I didn’t know to speak or write the English language. I wanted be one of the few Hispanic student who had the ability to communicate with American children. In “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexie, Alexie was an Native American that wanted to develop his education unlike other Indian children. He taught himself to read by reading many books like his father did. Alexie overcame his fears of being differ than the other Native Americans. Learning to read in English has improved the opportunities to a successful education. The beginning of the development of my education started in Kindergarten. The surrounding was new to me and I felt out of place by having various cultures around me. At the beginning of class, my teacher Ms. Pinto asked me for my name. I didn’t comprehend what she was asking me, therefore I didn’t respond. When she asked other children for their names, one of the english speakers said “Juan”- a traditional name for a Mexican then I understood that she had tried to ask me for my name. While the teacher was explaining what we were going to do in class, I wanted to ask her a question. I did not know the language she was speaking and she did not know mine, therefore I felt as if I couldn’t communicate. I found out that the class contained students from two races which included a smaller amount of American’s and mostly Hispanic. Whenever the teacher asked for answers on the material; only the English speaker children would be able to answer and I was ashamed that even if I wanted to answer I couldn't. The spanish speaking children didn’t seem to mind that we were academically behind, except for me. When the teacher would ask any of the sp... ... middle of paper ... ...I wasn’t able to teach them what I learn. I only speak English at home now because it became my parents main language. If they hadn’t learn English they couldn’t have the jobs they have right now because English is a common language used to interact and communicate with people from different countries. I learned a new language and wasn’t bothered that the American kids began with an advance education because of their parents and relatives. As well as Alexie did I learned to read by reading anything I saw and from help by my teacher. I shared what I have learned with my parents so that they will learn with me. It helped me when I was able to read English because the material in school was easier. I wouldn’t be able to have the education I have now because in the United states we might be surrounded by different language but English will always be the main language.
As I grew up learning to read was something I learned in school, yet for Sherman Alexie and Malcolm X can’t say the same. These two amazing authors taught themselves, at different stages of their lives, to read. In Sherman Alexie’s essay “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me” and Malcolm X’s essay “Learning to Read” they both explain the trials and experiences they went through that encouraged them to work to achieve literacy.
My mom is Panamanian and a very bright woman and loves school, while my dad is African American and didn’t care for school at all and isn't very educated. My mom first came to America to study at Vanderbilt University and my dad never went to college. When I was four my parents got a divorce and my mother maintained custody of me. In this day in time people would say that my odds are against me when it comes to becoming literate. Why? Well, I didn’t grow up in the best neighborhood. The area I was raised in was nicknamed "Little Mexico" because many illegal immigrants lived there. I quickly learned that most of the people around me didn’t know how to read or write and they only spoke Spanish. Imagine them living in an English speaking country. If they couldn’t read or write in their own language living in America must be pretty complicated. It would clearly seem like I wouldn't have much access to literacy sponsors at all. Literacy sponsors can be people, places, or even events that shape how a person reads and writes. Those same people, places, and events can play a big factor in a person's opinion about reading and writing as well. However, it was almost impossible for me not to have any literacy sponsors with my mom being in my
In the essay, “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me,” Sherman Alexie discusses about how a Superman comic book was the reason he learned to read. He believes that anyone can gain education and achieve their goals if they are willing to put effort, even if the world wants to see you fail. To begin with, Alexie opened up by saying that he learned how to read by reading a “Superman” comic book. Alexie grew up in a Spokane Indian Reservation in eastern Washington. Even though his family was poor, alexie’s father would find his way to collect as many books as he could. His father influenced his love for books and reading. Furthermore, the first word he learned was “paragraphs” and he described it as a “fence that held words,” and began
American Indian students make up less than one percent of college or higher education students, and less than one third of American Indian students are continuing education after high school. In his memoir essay The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me, Sherman Alexie recalls learning to read, growing up on a reservation where he was expected to fail, and working tirelessly to read more and become a writer. Sherman Alexie had to overcome stereotypes in order to be accepted as smart and become a writer, which shows that it is harder for people who are stereotyped to be successful because they have less opportunities.
In his essay “Superman and Me”, Sherman Alexie details how he rose above the limits placed upon him because of his ethnicity. Alexie begins the essay by opening up to his audience and recounting how he taught himself to read by using a Superman comic book. Alexie’s family was living paycheck to paycheck, so he began reading anything and everything that he could get his hands on. The purpose of Alexie’s “Superman and Me” is to inform the audience of how one does not need to be affluent to learn. With pathos, repetition, and elaborate metaphors, Sherman Alexie evokes a change of mind from his audience.
In Sherman Alexie’s “Superman and Me,” Alexie tells the story for how he “learned to read with a Superman comic book” and how the knowledge he gains impacts his life (Alexie 110). The knowledge he gains from the comic book leads him to become an adept reader. He is an underappreciated prodigy child who because he lives on a reservation. He was provided a gateway which leads him to a successful career as an author and as a teacher of creative writing to children on reservations. Some may call his knowledge a blessing, but it is not without consequence. Alexie “fought with [his] classmates on a daily basis,” because they wanted him to “stay quiet when the non-Indian teacher asked for answers” (Alexie 111). Indian children are expected to be stupid, and to grow up working minimum wage jobs. Alexie has to survive constant bullying, harassment, and ridicule from his peers throughout his childhood. Despite the fact that Alexie is blessed with knowledge, it results in his being tormented--undoubtedly a
When I turned eight, I discovered that English was an essential tool in my life, and no longer resent from it. As a Hmong child to three siblings and a single mother, it is tradition for a male descent such as me to firmly hold onto my roots. After my parents were divorced, my family lived in poverty. My mother spoke in broken English, and she had trouble finding ways to meet our needs. We were very limited to education. My siblings
Illiteracy is not limited to children, teenagers, adults, a particular socio-economic level, or a particular race. When George, now 68, was a child he moved frequently because his father ran a small circus. He never stayed in one place long enough to learn how to read. Finally, he quit school, never to return. Now after retirement, he has decided to learn how to read. He arrived at the library reading room to find the door was locked. The sign indicated that a key was available at the information desk, but George did not know what the sign said. So he sat down and waited several hours for someone to open the door. Meh Chin from China, the mother of a third grader, is interested in communicating better with her children, who have already become fluent in English at an early age.
I had always been a shy kid. I was always fearful of judgement and now my voice gave it away. I began to rely heavily on my parents for means of communication when the situation involved me having to speak in Spanish. I could not bear to see the look of confusion on people 's faces when I spoke Spanish, so I turned to my parents who were both fluent in Spanish. I was frustrated and fed up. It was one thing to occasionally speak Spanish but without it you couldn’t survive in Miami. I couldn’t wrap my head around such logic. I was struggling to make it by with so little Spanish while others were graduating high school with no English. This angered me so much I began to resent Spanish speakers.
In Miami, an eight year old girl from Barcelona, Spain, started school not knowing a single word of English. For half the day, she received half of her classes in Spanish and the other half in English. In five months, she learned English, and in seven months, she was the most active participating student in her class. Because she was placed in an English Language Learners (ELL) program, learning English was easy for her (HPL, 2013). There are many benefits of bilingual education in public schools for children of all ages, and many schools in the United States are fighting to keep ELL programs in the school systems.
Excelling in an area of literacy gives us the ability to comprehend or execute a task effectively and devotedly. Even those who start with nothing are capable of earning life time opportunities in order to better themselves. Despite coming from a Vietnamese family, I was unable to speak, read or write in my own native language. The devastation and shame I went through put me over my head, rendering me saddened since I was unable to even speak to my parents. If I was unable to speak to my parents now, how could I get along with them in the future? However, after enrolling in four years of Vietnamese classes in high school, I learned how to communicate and interact with others, making me literate in another field of language. From this experience,
As globalization is on the rise, so is the diverse student population rising in schools all over the United States, including students who are learning English as a new language. These students are English Language Learners (ELLs); they are learning English for the first time in addition to their native language. They’ve either had little or no knowledge of English before entering the school environment. According to the National Center of Educational Statistics (2013), an estimated 4.7 million or ten percent of the public school population are ELL students (NCES 2013). When formally entering the classroom for the first time, and depending on their prior experience with English, there are many ELL students who have a difficult time fitting into the American context of their classroom due to cultural conflicts and language barriers (Hakuta, 1986). Due to the language barrier and cultural conflict, it makes the ELL’s process of learning English challenging therefore affecting their literacy learning. Moreover, it becomes difficult for the ELL to do academically well in school. A study done by National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in 2011 shows there is a significant achievement gap between the reading scores of ELLs and non-ELLs, with the non-ELL’s scores being much more higher than the ELLs( NAEP 2011). There have been many ways argued to help improve ELL’s literacy skills in order to raise their reading scores, one way being is using multicultural literature. Multicultural literature can be used to create a motivating environment for the ELL student to help them feel included in the classroom context therefore improving and increasing their literacy skills.
Before coming to the United States for school, my mom knew I had to learn English, but she didn’t get around to it as much. I started learning English around
I grew up in a predominately Hispanic neighborhood, where I was one of the twelve Asian students in my grade of three hundred and fifty and the only Chinese student in my class. I struggled to understand what my classmates, friends, and teachers talked about because they spoke primarily Spanish outside of the classroom, and I could barely count to ten. Fitting in was hard not only because of the language barrier but also the racial and cultural differences. Making friends with people who have little or nothing in common is difficult, so I attempted to copy whatever my classmates would do. I ate what they ate, watched what they watched, and played whatever sports they played. I took Spanish lessons with the family who lived below me, and in exchange I taught them a bit of Mandarin. By the second grade, I had eased into the community around me despite only having two close friends. They helped me to embrace my Chinese side while being assimilated. I could stop being someone I wasn’t, and I was not scared to be myself with them because they were fascinated by my unique characteristic from having Chinese heritage. I enjoyed living in Corona, since everything I needed was so close, and this i...
“Learning a second language not only has cognitive and academic benefits, it also supports a greater sense of openness to, and appreciation for, other cultures” (Tochen, 2009). For many students in the United States, English is not the primary language spoken at home. There are several options for getting these children to reach proficiency in the English Language. However, there is only one model that preserves the child’s first language, while also gaining literacy in English. This model is Bilingual Education. Bilingual education is not new to the United States. It in fact started in 1968 under title VII. However, there is still a lot for the general public, and parents of language learners, to learn about this form of education. Bilingual