Literacy Autobiography

Reading was always a part of my life from early on. From the day my mom found out she was pregnant with me, she read to me. She read plenty of books when I still in the womb.  That never stopped. She continued to read to me even after I was born. I remember seeing my mom with something to read always. Whether it be a book, a magazine or a newspaper. My dad was always seen reading the newspaper! My grandparents were a huge part of our family growing up and they read to us often. While I have an older brother who never read to me, I also have a younger brother. When I was able to read books, I read to him! My brother was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma at the age of 2. This made growing up difficult as my mother and father spent much of her time in the hospital with my brother. We relied on our grandparents and a very close family friend.

        

Early and Elementary School:

My brother and I spent our days at The Learning for Pre-school. I loved The Learning Tree! Perhaps I loved The Learning Tree because I was in my element.  While my parents were busy caring for my brother, these amazing teachers cared for us. While at The Learning Tree I loved playing with things, especially hands on.  We played with puppets.  Puppets were fun because we could act our scenes from books the teachers read to us.  I loved the variety The Learning Tree had for us to stay engaged with. I remember never being bored at school. I also loved the idea of going to “school.”  I often wonder if I loved school because the atmosphere at home wasn’t that great. I developed a love for reading early on I would say. I think I developed this love for learning early om because I was always surrounded by readers. Reading in our home wasn’t something that was forced rather it was something we enjoyed.  I would ask to go to the library and whenever we went to a store that had books I always wanted one! Actually, I lied, I always wanted a bunch.

         Throughout my elementary school years I read for fun, mostly. I didn’t enjoy reading what was required. I struggled with comprehension as a young student and still sometimes struggle. I cannot recall a teacher who spent the time to actually teach me strategies and skills to better comprehend. While I loved to read, I loved to read easy readers that peaked my interest. Some of my favorite books growing up were The Babysitter’s Club, Goosebumps, Amelia Bedelia, and The Magic School Bus. Our school had a library. I remember the old catalog system you would have to use to locate and take out a book. This was my favorite special subject in school because I got to select the book I wanted to read.

High School

Throughout high school the reading got much harder. It was hard to keep up with the required readings for school while still holding down a social life and athletics. I gave up a lot of my own personal reading during this time. My high school had required summer reading. While I did not enjoy this very much, I did read some classic books. Some of the books I remember reading were: The Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird, Lord of the Flies, Romeo and Juliet, and The Diary of Anne Frank. Of course I read much more, but these were a few I can recall off the top of my head. I enjoyed reading some while others not so much. However, I didn’t go to a traditional high school rather a county high school. We had a lot more freedom and even acted out some of the books we read. This made for engaging reading for us.

Adult Life/Professional:

         I find that in my adult life and professional career I enjoy reading much more. I think that without the pressure of school so much it makes reading for me easier and more enjoyable. Whenever we go on vacation, I always a book and some magazines to read. As long as the book keeps my interest I can get it done fairly quickly! Professionally, I hope to instill a love for reading my students. While I know this may be challenging as some students just do not like to read whether it be they struggle with it, haven’t found that book to peak their interest of don’t have the resources to continue to read. It is my goal to teach my students how not to struggle with it, offer them endless opportunities to find books they like and offer them books to take home and further read in their own element!