Martin Austin Professor Wolcott English 1102 5 September 2013 Literacy Over Time

Writing is nothing new to me. I have been writing since I was a little child and nowadays I like to use writing as my own form of expression. I can recall my mother telling me many times that I had a special way with words and that I should put them to use. Eventually, taking her advice, I started writing poetry and since then I have loved to write. As much as I love expressing my thoughts and ideas, Im not too fond of reading. I dont have a passion for one more than the other for no reason though. Every aspect of my literacy is based on my personal experiences with it. A literacy sponsor, which could be a person or an institution that helped you learn to read and write, are responsible for the expansion, or even the withholding, of literacy throughout society. From the time that I was a kid, I remember lying in bed at night and my parents coming by my bedside and reading Dr. Seuss and comic books. Consequently my parents became my first literacy sponsors, trying to teach me to read before I was even in grade school. My mom told me that I learned to write between the ages of 2 and 3, with simple letters and by the age of 3, I was even able to write my name. Living in Okinawa, Japan, I went to an elementary school on base and it was a requirement to read a certain amount of books within a specified time period. Every night we were required to read a set number of pages in our given book and to make sure that

we read, our parents would have to sign off on the hand sheet. Reading books such as Captain Underpants and the Bernstein Bears, I slowly but surely became a developed reader. Being that I was such a competitor at everything that I did, I felt the need to try and read more than the rest of my class. Being that I was learning in an institution with other members, everybody had their own level of literacy. The teacher was still able to teach us at a set stage and we all learned together. By using materials such as markers to write on the blackboard, pencils to write our work on paper, or projection screens to display learning activities, we were acquiring different learning methods to attribute to our personal literacy. Everybody has a mind state that they tap into when they began to read to themselves. I was in about 4th grade when I realized that my focus level of reading depended on the setting that I was in. For example, if I was in a classroom and we were all told to read a story to ourselves, I would have to read over the same line more than a few times to fully comprehend the meaning. However, if I was in my room lying down on my bed, in a quiet and calm environment, I could read a story twice as fast than if I was in a classroom. I think the reason for this is because Im so prone to any distraction and in a classroom setting, people are constantly moving around and I cant concentrate. This early problem was the first factor that contributed to my ill feeling towards reading. When I turned 13 and began getting into music, I started to appreciate poetry more. Music to me is the easiest way of expression and I take advantage of that. I write music, which in turn ties into the act of poetry. I do enjoy reading poetry but mainly topics that interest me, which tends to be a wide variety. A lot of my friends enjoy the same interests as me when it comes to writing because we are all into music but not all so

much into reading. My family however, (i.e. grandma, aunt, sister) enjoys reading as much as they can. Like Malcolm X experienced, by reading a plethora of books, you gain knowledge that you can use in the future to your advantage. My Grandma reminds me of this all that time and constantly boosts me to take advantage of the many books out there. Even though I didnt care for reading, while in school I was still required to do so by taking the FCAT and using a reading software called Read 180. Read 180 was a program that instructed and assessed your reading development. By being forced to answer questions based on what you had just read, your reading comprehension level was being tested. By the time I got to high school, I was forced to read multiple books for school assignments, even those that didnt interest me. That was just one more reason that I gave myself in pushing away from reading as a past time. I lost the drive that I once had and it wasnt fun for me anymore. Fortunately, I had an ample vocabulary and was doing well enough in school that my parents didnt force me to read, although they always encouraged me to. But even now in college, I can read a book and it might be difficult just because the reading level is so complex and the vocabulary is very diverse. As you get older it gets harder, which is why its important to always read. Im not an avid reader like most, unless the read is something that I know Ill be interested in from the get-go. Thats a problem that I think I have, because I dont give books the chance to gain my interest. I guess you can say I judge a book by its cover. The older I get, I actually enjoy writing more and more. By taking a look into my background in literacy and how I began writing and reading, I realize how different everybody can have it. For example, in one of Brandts stories, she explained how the economic status of one family with more money could be different than a poor family because the wealthier

one would be able to provide their children with the necessary products to become a better reader than a family that is poor (Brandt pg. 170). Thats why it is extremely important to always read, because knowledge is power. That same kid who grew up in a poor family with not many literacy sponsors might grow up and read all of the time and become more successful than the kid from a wealthier family. Literacy is an important indicator of development and is very beneficial to any educated person. Without being literate, you wont be able to accomplish your main goals in life. Seeing how important it is, I wouldnt mind getting back into reading on my own time, starting off slowly, because when you do, you cant lose. Theres always something to gain. Over time, specifically within the last decade, technology has changed how everything works. All around the world, different cultures have different literacies but in this day of age, technology is advancing everyones learning skill set. My generation, especially, has many more resources when it comes to learning than those before us. I grew up writing all my notes down on paper but as I transition through school, I see things are changing before my eyes. Nowadays I see institutions provide students with Apple iPads as a form of learning, and doing away with the traditional paper and pencil. This change in technology and our culture goes hand in hand with literacy. Literacy is constantly changing within our society. Personally, I like the new technological age and have adjusted well with the change. I would say that I fit in with this culture of technology because Im constantly using the newest thing. These new inventions are opening up a lot more opportunities to learn but at the same time those that are novice to technology have to take the time to get used to learning how to use new devices. Overall

however, I believe it does more good than bad and it will help the next generation become more literate than the last.

Works Cited
Austin, Renee. Interview. August 28, 2013 Brandt, Deborah. "Sponsors of Literacy" College Composition and Communication. National Council of Teachers of English. (May, 1998) August 20th, 2013. X, Malcolm, and Alex Haley. The Autobiography of Malcolm X. New York: Ballantine, 1999. Print.