Most of my life has been centered around school. Preparing for school, getting through school, going on to higher education, and what to do after I have finished school has been one of my main focuses for the past eighteen years. Most everything that has shaped me as a reader and writer has been linked to school. From oral and group vs individual reading, to being incentivized and even the most positive influential sponsors have had a direct link to school. However, School as an institution has been one of the worst and most tedious literary sponsors of my life. This juxtaposition it what pushed me to go against the system my entire way through school which is why I did so well in school. Oral reading has played a pivotal role in my life. …show more content…
This wasn’t a problem for me because I had my parents and two older sisters to help prepare me for school. As a child, I was always read to, which turned into reading along, and eventually I would read by myself and even to my family. Growing up with this oral story telling inspired me to participate in UIL, University Interscholastic League which was created to provide leadership and guidance to Texas public and primary school’s academic and athletic competitions (About The UIL). I participated in UIL storytelling and oral reading from second grade to eighth grade where I got first place every year. To this day I love oral stories, being read to, or reading to someone else because I have grown up with it and it has been an enormous and influential part of my life. I believe that this is why we, as a society, love oral story telling so much. Even as a high schooler, when we would read books in class, we would with the help of audiobooks, or take turns reading to each …show more content…
In elementary and middle school, every grading period we would have to get a certain amount of AR (Accelerated Reader) points. You got these points by reading books then taking quizzes over them. The longer or more difficult the book, the more AR points the book was worth. Based on your reading level, you had to get a minimum amount of points every grading period, but there were incentives to go beyond that. If you got 25 pts, you got a piece of candy, 100 pts and you got to go to a pizza party etc. This seemed to help many students get the motivation to read, but it really didn’t affect me. I liked to read on my schedule, not my teacher’s. No amount of candy or extra recess time would change that. There were times where I would read like crazy, three maybe four books in two days, other times I didn’t feel like it and go a week without reading at all. And I observed that in the long run, those who were incentivized to read in grade school lost that motivation by high school when there were not any incentives other than your grade in the class. This only added to my frustration with my school and school district. Instead of letting students discover the incredible joys of reading on their own, like I did, they were forced to read just so they could get a mediocre piece of pizza at the end of the year. This not only damaged the fundamental pleasure of
As American’s we place a high level of importance on attending school and receiving a certain level of education. Across the world, the recommendations for attending school vastly differ based on the culture of the society. In America, we require our children to attend school until they are almost of legal age, push high school graduates to attend college and we constantly emphasize structured learning. Many children in today’s world lack many skills that would allow them to “teach” themselves outside of school leading to an increased interest in televisions, computers, and phones. Technology has taken away society’s attention away from independent learning such as reading, writing, and outside experiences. John Taylor Gatto’s emotional voice in his writing “Against School” has allowed me reveal my psychological voice regarding the educational system.
Struggling with reading came early on in Mikayla’s academic years. Her family was definitely an early influence in her reading ability. Her parents and grandparents were very involved in Mikayla’s reading development. Her father on his off nights would read bedtime stories to her and her sister until about third grade. After third grade, she was expected to read at least thirty minutes before bed every night. She also joined in on Grandpa’s morning rituals of reading the paper, she would read the funnies. According to Jongsu Wee, we learn our reading habits because it is embedded in our everyday life (Jongsu, 2009). Pamela, Mikayla’s mother, said that often Mikayla was very talkative about the books her parents would read to her. She was so excited about reading the next one that often times her mother would stop in the middle of reading to leave her in suspense. Her grandfather, Carl, was also a great influence in her reading. When she would stay at her grandparents’ house, Carl would often read her the funnies or a story in...
Because the education system does not relate classwork or homework to the lives of students, they do not see how writing essays or solving math problems can help them in everyday life. “By the time Roadville children reach high school they write off school as having nothing to do with what they want in life, and they fear that school success will threaten their social relations with people whose company they value. This is a familiar refrain for working class children” (Attitude 119). As students begin to realize how low their potential is within school, they chose to cut school out of their life and start working. These students do not understand how they can benefit from what they are learning. “One woman talks of the importance of a ‘fitting education’ for her three children so they can ‘do better’, but looks on equanimity as her sixteen-year-old son quits school, goes to work in a garage, and plans to marry his fifteen-year-old girlfriend ‘soon’” (Attitude 118). Students are settling for less than what they can actually achieve to have, just because they see no purpose of being in school, and believe they can do better without the help of the education system. Even parents are not actually supporting and encouraging their child to stay in school. “Although Roadville parents talk about the value of school, they often act as if they don’t believe it”
High school was not a completely dreadful experience, but I did not get a really an exceptional education. As I entered high school, I thought it would be a whole new exciting chapter in my life. I started out as an involved student, and went through all of the Advance Placement and Honor classes, and managed to be at the top 12% of my class. In high school, I basically placed myself to enjoy it; I joined all of the extra curricular activities I was interested in. I was in band, tennis, swimming, dance team, and Key Club. Sometimes I was at school for about fourteen hours a day, four times a week.
...use of this issue. Even I prefer learning for my own pleasure over school work, but this competition is what molds students into high-achieving individuals. Having to work up to a deadline, conducting research, and collaborating with peers for group projects are all necessary tasks in the "real world". It is true that success can be achieved without school, but school is only one of the many pathways an individual can choose in order to become educated. School provides students with the ability to strive in the real word by providing them with the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed. When asked what I am studying for, I can say that I am studying to become someone who can make a difference. I may not enjoy the stress and anxiety that comes with school, but I cherish the fact that school is providing me with the knowledge and skills I need to further my dreams.
School is something we all know and understand. Regardless of whether we wanted it or not, we have all passed through school. School is, first and foremost, a place designed for people to go and learn. It is a place to better yourself, to learn facts, discipline, to learn social and economic skills. But for all that school is intended for, people go for different reasons. Some are hardworking and academically minded, they go to learn, to set a good foundation for their future, with an aim of becoming successful and accomplished in their career. Others are carefree, going for the social side, to be popular, have lots of friends, and in the end just to have a good time. For others it can even be a place of safety, a place where they can get
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
It can be assumed that every parent knows reading to their child is important. Most pediatricians suggest reading early in a child’s life. In a more technological world, children aren’t being read to anymore. For parents, it’s important to know exactly why childhood reading is important because it might determine their child’s future.
Let’s flash back in time to before our college days. Back to then we had lunch trays filled with rubbery chicken nuggets, stale pizza, and bags of chocolate milk. A backpack stacked with Lisa Frank note books, flexi rulers, and color changing pencils. The times where we thought we wouldn’t make it out alive, but we did. Through all the trials and tribulations school helped build who I am today and shaped my future. From basic functions all the way to life-long lessons that helped shape my character.
Throughout my life, reading and writing were a positive thing because of the support from the people around. I was never really the confident or extroverted type of person back in the day. This then caused me to be anxious when I read or be doubtful of what I wrote. I can still remember breaking balls of sweats and tensing up whenever I had to read something aloud in elementary. It was a pretty big social problem for me but I can also recall many times where I was laughing and having fun while doing something with reading or writing with my mother. Although there have been many things that affected me so far in my literary journey, my mother has been the most supportive and impactful person to me by reading short stories, going to the library, and giving me writing prompts. One of the activities I liked to do before I fell asleep was to read.
My grades in elementary school were poor because I had trouble paying attention to things that were not challenging. I tried to play sick just about every day but my parent were not falling for it. My favorite classes were gym, music, and art. Competing in sports is where I spent most of my time. The words of my parents and teachers went in one ear and out the other. “School just wasn’t interesting to me”
Reading was never something I fussed about growing up. As a child, I loved genres of realistic fiction. I was hooked on The New Adventures of Mary Kate and Ashley, Goosebumps, The Amazing Days of Abby Hayes, Judy Moody, and especially, Zoobooks and Highlights magazines. My mother was always ready to help build my reading and writing skills. She took me to the library constantly to feed my passion for books and knowledge. I loved exploring the shelfs, organizing the books, and filling up my library cart. I tried keeping a diary in elementary school to keep track of my outings with my parents and grandparents to museums, zoos, movies, and libraries. This flash of writing enthusiasm was spun from books I read in the 4th and 5th grade that were
Taking a close look at a text takes much more than looking at words or fining word and phrases to answer questions. Close reading is define as the mindful, disciplined reading of an object with a view to deeper understanding of its meaning (Cummins, 2013). According to Fisher & Frey (2012), the practice of close reading is not a new one, and in fact has existed for many decades as the practice of reading a text for a level of detail not used in everyday reading. Therefore, teachers need to foster this skill on students in early stages of literacy skill to become proficient in comprehension. In order for students to examine complex text, teachers need to model and guide them through various strategies that would support their understanding
Speaking is a natural ability given to most reluctant individuals. Since the beginning of time, it has been assumed that we have a right to speak and use words, thus we naturally begin our development of language during the early stages of live. After years of grasping and perfecting our vocabulary and language, it seems unnecessary to study the purpose of our development. Why, then, should we study “oral communication?” There are many purposes, benefits, and institutions that branch from oral communication. Of course, communication is the basis of interaction with other individuals through the use of expressions and words; however, through studying oral communication, one can take the words and expressions being used and apply them to his or her own life. After all, the most effective and useful knowledge is applied knowledge.
At the beginning of one’s journey of gaining more knowledge, most children don’t mind school, for it is a change of environment for them. The majority of elementary school adolescents even enjoy school to some degree. As time wears on, we usually, and sadly, begin to see a change of heart. Children become fatigued from school and therefore don’t take pleasure in going anymore. Maybe their teachers didn’t teach them in the way that they learn most efficiently, or maybe students just become bored with the whole “school scene” itself. Whatever the case, it is apparent that by the time they reach high school, their interest for learning alone has died out.