My Literacy Development Journey

Perfecting literacy skills at an early age greatly benefits a child in the future. However, it is solely through the child’s parent that they can develop the necessary components for literacy. As Joseph Addison once said, “Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” Additionally, it is important that a child’s parent has a solid foundation with literacy in order to teach their child.

In the United States, a great majority of Americans have the opportunity to learn the components necessary to perfect their literacy skills. However, there are few individuals that don’t—I am one of those few. Unfortunately, my cultural background played a vital role in my early literacy development. When I was a toddler, my parents were recent aliens of this nation, and were unfamiliar with the English language. It became difficult for them to teach me English, so they decided to teach me Spanish. Indeed, there were times where my father would try to teach me some words in English, however, he would teach me how to pronoun them incorrectly. Also, as a child, my parents never sat down and read books with me. However, they did teach me how to write a few words in English—hello, goodbye, how are you, my name, address, and their names. Certainly, it was quite difficult for my parents to sit alongside and teach me the basics of reading and writing. As an alternative, my parents bought me toys, and computer games. Likewise, daily, I would watch various TV shows, and listen to kid CDs—Reading Rainbow, In between the Lions, Sesame street, Caillou, ABCs, C is cookie, BINGO and MUCH MORE! Luckily, in having access to all these resources, I was able to slightly improve my literacy skills.

      Sadly, I learned very few literacy skills at the comfort of my home. However, it became more evident once I started pre-school. For the next few years, I was taught the components necessary to begin learning how to read, write, and think critically. Gradually, my desire to read increased. My thirst for reading became heavier as the years went by. My solution was quite simple—going to the library. As Alvin Toffler once said, “A library is a hospital for the mind.” Daily, I would visit the public library searching for books that I found intriguing—Dr. Seuss, Curious George, Clifford, Dora, and much more. At the age of 4, books were my best friend! They were the apple to my pie! The flame to my candle! The way I handled them was unique. I would hold books correctly, and skim through the pages from left to right. However, I was fascinated in gazing at the pages in various angles—upside down, and sideways. As the years went by, my desire to read significantly increased. The activities my teachers established made reading even more fun—popcorn reading, rug time, puppetry, and reading logs. Additionally, my desire in keeping suitable grades was a catalyst in helping me read more books.

While my reading skills strengthened, my writing skills remained weak. Indeed, writing has always been my passion. During the weekends, I would spend hours writing my own novel. However, beginning 6^th grade, my deep passion for writing quickly turned into hatred. According to my 6^th grade English teacher, my writing skills were below average. My so called “writing disability [could not be] solved.” She explained to me that “an individual’s cultural background plays a vital role in the process of a child’s literacy development. As a result of this, [I] will forever struggle trying to speak, write, and comprehend the English language.” These words deeply penetrated my heart! For months, I was heartbroken and believed that I was incapable of writing. It wasn’t until my freshman year of high school where I was able to restore my self-confidence.

Luckily, in my freshman year of high school, one teacher was able to restore my once broken heart—my English 1 teacher. She made writing extremely easy! She established various steps when writing an essay, or a short answer. She also helped me avoid writing run-on sentences, and when to use the appropriate punctuation marks. Most importantly, she believed in me! Thanks to her, I was able to significantly improve my writing skills and take complex courses such as Honors English II, IV, and AP Language Composition.

Now, as a freshman in college, I continue to enjoy writing—not essays though. Currently, I struggle trying to make my essays sound sophisticated, and mature. I also struggle in trying to explain myself. Rather than spending 30 minutes with an essay, I spend hours trying to make the essay worth reading. On the other hand, I still find reading books interesting, however, it all depends on the book. Personally, my literacy skills are used in my life daily—either writing essays, professional emails, and scientific or mathematical explanations. Fortunately, my freshman English teacher was capable of repairing my literacy skills. Thank you, Ms. Goodman.

                                                                                                                ~Luzangela Martinez 💗