My Literacy Journey

1669 Words4 Pages

Upon reflecting on my literacy journey, I realized how formative my elementary years were in shaping my understanding of literacy. Through my elementary years, I was able to learn not only how to read and write, but use my newfound skills to bring others joy. The anecdote “If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day, but if you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime,” comes to mind. My elementary teachers not only gave me the basic knowledge of how to read and write, but also taught me how to implement my writing abilities to empower myself and others. My literacy journey began in kindergarten. Here I was tasked with the new knowledge of the ABC’s and learning how to connect letters to form words. I had the opportunity to participate …show more content…

She looked solemnly at each of us, inferring that her message was important. Even as young children, we were able to sense the importance of our teacher's lessons, and therefore we sat quietly. The silence in the room was deafening as we waited for her to begin. The anticipation was crippling as she simply sat there for what seemed like hours, looking at each of us. At last, she began, “Today we will be writing a letter to a classmate. We will use our skills of forming words to write something kind.” She pulled a random name out of a hat and each of us was assigned an individual. I reluctantly chose to write for someone I barely knew. This student was quiet and reserved. I did not believe my writing would be appreciated by her in the slightest. I began writing with a frown, scrabbling together kind words for a person I barely knew. I begrudgingly gave her my jumbled letter after a few minutes of writing. I then watched as the letters I learned a few months ago changed into not only words, but kind words. As I watched my precious piece of writing be read by this classmate, tears began to fill her eyes. She ran to me and hugged me, explaining she had never received a kind letter

Open Document