Struggling with Early Literacy Early literacy has been one of the obstacles my family has gone through and growing up as the oldest of five children there were many things to fix around the house before practicing on reading and writing skills. Both of my parents had the same struggle with literacy because they had to learn English before one them can teach us reading or writing. Early literacy for me was challenging. I started to learn reading and writing at age six. I still remember students from school would make fun by not knowing how to read, but they never knew I was struggling with both English and Spanish reading and writing. My parents are both from Guatemala; they came to the U.S at a very young age. My father was the only one to go to school. My mother did not attend school because it was difficult by her immigration status. When I was little, Spanish was not my mother's first language, so when she wanted to help me with reading and to write in English, she had a difficult time. My mother taught me reading and writing in the Mayan language. My father only …show more content…
My father and mother were always proud of me, but I knew that my father's one hour learning time was not enough for me. When starting kindergarten, I only knew the first ten letters in the alphabet chart but knew how to read and write my colors. My teacher would tutor me after school so that my mother could not worry. My father then encouraged me to read Spanish; it was like a rock hitting my face while still in kindergarten, but he knew I could learn it at a very young age. In third grade, I learned much more about Literacy, but spelling was my third obstacle, but I started to get better with the help of my teacher. My siblings did not suffer as much as I did in writing; I was their after-school teacher at home. Whenever they started their first year at school, they had already known how to write their full
Deborah Brandt (1998) wrote “Sponsors of Literacy”, a journal where she explained her findings of the research she has done on how different people across the nation learned to read and write, born between 1900, and 1980 (p. 167). She interviewed many people that had varying forms of their literacy skills, whether it was from being poor, being rich, or just being in the wrong spot at the wrong time.
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
I have very few recollections of my early years and the exact age I was able to read and write. Some of my earliest memories are vague on the topic of my literacy. However, I do remember small memories, such as, learning how to write my name in cursive, winning prizes for reading, and crying over every assigned high school essay. Over the last twelve years my literacy grew rapidly with the help of teachers, large school libraries, my family, and so on. There is always room for my literacy skills to grow, but my family’s help and positive attitude towards my education, the school systems I have been a part of, and the horrible required essays from high school helped obtain the level, skills, habits, and processes that I use as part of my literacy
Support from parents has proven to be of extreme importance in the literacy success of a child. This often begins with the simple ritual of “bedtime stories” in the home. Studies show that children who are read to as infants perform better in literacy later in life. From a young age, children begin to understand the workings of the written word if they are exposed to it frequently. Babies who are nowhere near having the mental capacity to read and comprehend a book are still able to “follow along” when their parents or caregivers read to them. These children understand that each segment of writing represents a word and they are even able to recognize when a text is upside-down because they are accustomed to the appearance of writing. This puts the child significantly ahead when the time comes to learn to read.
It was finally time to head to gym class in the afternoon where we were instructed to take part of a physical test. This test would determine how fit or unfit we are based on a system that was implemented by those with greater authority, on which concluded that it was on such a scale society should be based on. So it was that afternoon that I preformed the tasks that were instructed on to me and my peers. I was able to completed them to my utmost potential which can be consider to be something not so distinctive. It was on this day that I was mocked by one my peers of my lack of ability to preform the instructed physical tasks, that was a no brainer to such a fit individual like himself. It
My first experience to literacy came as a young adult. I have always been reluctant with my education, because of the family problems I experienced growing up. The harsh treatment our family received growing up made it very difficult to study in school, my body was physically in class but my mind was not. The trials and tribulations I went through growing up as a kid continued throughout my teenage years. Dropping out of high school I believe brought upon literacy difficulty. At the age of twenty-three, I finally had enough of feeling undereducated. Living in my mother’s basement with no job and an 8th grade education, the walls started to close in on me as my frustration became greater by the minute.
As a child, I have always been fond of reading books. My mother would read to me every single night before I went to bed and sometimes throughout the day. It was the most exciting time of the day when she would open the cabinet, with what seemed to be hundreds of feet tall, of endless books to choose from. When she read to me, I wanted nothing more than to read just like her. Together, we worked on reading every chance we had. Eventually I got better at reading alone and could not put a book down. Instead of playing outside with my brothers during the Summer, I would stay inside in complete silence and just read. I remember going to the library with my mom on Saturdays, and staying the entire day. I looked forward to it each and every week.
Reading has help shaped my development as a second language learner by being able to acquire what I have learned as a student. I have teachers who are willing to help further my education as a second language learner. Although I am not a fluent native English speaker like other ethnicities, I learn to strive hard in order to understood and communicate with others. Growing up, I struggle with my literacy because my parents did not have any books that will help me advance in my reading growth. Therefore, I can say that my personal sea of stories were different from other peers. I do not have the brightest literacy experience since I grew up in a traditional Hmong family and we lack the advantages to our literacy because my parents were never
Teale and sulzby (1989) pointed out that almost all children who come from literate families begin to develop skills in reading and writing from an early age through active engagement (Alleyne, n.d. p.2).
When I was a Child, I have never stopped wondering what it would be to fly in the sky. I had tried to jump from sofa or bed with an opened umbrella in my hand，and imagined myself as a flying bird. As I grow up, those wonderful fantasy become faded in my brain. I still like flying, and I had experience something like helicopter tour, but never a real fly. I always have the thoughts to explore life, to experience
Children’s progress in reading and writing is an indicator that predict how they will function at school. Its meanly important how young children learn how to read and write because it will affect their development and functioning in life. The development of literacy is affected for the experiences through the early childhood years, birth trough age eight. “Failing to give children literacy experiences until they are school age can severely limit the reading and writing levels they ultimately attain” (Learning to
As the first born, my parents had no idea on how or what to do regarding on teaching me how to read and write. Most parents have an idea on how to raise a child, but my parents had no clue because they were kids themselves. As a kid I learned how to read at a young age, I was probably three year’s old. My parents would always put educational TV shows that would always keep me quiet and distracted. Technology was my first english instructor.
I received my first library card just before I turned 4. In order to achieve this I had to be able to write my first and last name. Although I could not yet read I desperately wanted my own library card. My family began teaching me to read when I turned 4 and was still illiterate. Although most would consider this early my mother was concerned, my older brother was reading by 2, why couldn't I? I began reading at the age of 4 1/2. As you can imagine my family has a strong culture of early literacy. In early childhood, my mother encouraged my reading children's science magazines, while my older brother introduced and fostered my love of fantasy books based on classic fairy tales. Growing up a majority of my writing was school-related, although
As I was sitting in my new apartment unpacking all of my things, I started to reminisce about my childhood in Logansport, Indiana. I have a lot of memories from where I grew up. “Ahh I remember my first day of kindergarten like it was yesterday.” I said to myself. After all, not many people can say that their first day of kindergarten ended up with them being on black and in the principal’s office. But I unfortunately can.
Growing up in a predominantly white school system the expectations for students were held on a higher standard than other school districts. Everyone goes through the stages where they attempt to learn to read and write. Most children are able to succeed and be able to comprehend and the other children become more illiterate. I was in the category as the “other children”. Don’t get me wrong I could read