I Think I Have the Wrong Book

I think I got the wrong book.
In third grade I read a book in class named The Sword in the Tree. I t was a required assignment that I wasn’t much interested in doing. Every day the teacher aloud us a certain amount of time to read a book after lunch, it’s been so long I don’t really remember how long we had to read, but im going to say it was for about 20 minuets. In this time we were aloud to go and read anywhere in the class room or at the picnic table in the quad. The room had little nooks where people could go and read.
I wasn’t much interested in doing the assignment. It required that I did a book report and, well that would be work. I didn’t get a book that we were aloud to read for the assignments in class at the library because I caught up looking at the books of Marmaduke comic strips. The teacher told me I could pick out a book in her shelf. As I gazed over the book selections one book caught my eye "The Sword in the Tree". Doesn’t the author know that the sword was stuck in a stone? I enjoyed the knights of the round table so this book looked good, maybe I could fin ne material for playing knights at home. We would get on our bikes and try to knock each other of with whatever we could find that looked like a lance. It took one or two falls before jousting yielded to sword play.
I wrote down on the paper the name of the book I intended to read and turned it into the teacher. The teacher replied, "Oh, that’s a good book you’ll like it."
It took about a minute or two before I realized the fowl play of similar titling. This wasn’t a book about knights it was a book about a Japanese girl. Not going to happen. My I can’t read a book about a girl, it’s not a guy thing. Taking the book to the teach I told her that I thought it was a different book and that I would like to pick another one. She told me that reading time had ended and that I should probably stick to the book I picked because the book report would be due before I knew it. Reluctantly I used that bok I had pick for my book report.
In the following days I read the pages. The girl would oil her fathers sword once a week it, was her job. One night attackers came and killed her father. They were looking for the sword because it was the symbol of property ownership and if they found it the would own his lands. The girl hid the sword in the Ginkgo tree in the court yard. The more I read the more I was interested. I competed the book and the assignment. It was actually better than a knights book it had depth and I was able to learn something about another culture. As for my play time we played Samurai for a while instead. One book that I read recently for the third time was a book called "Miracle of the Scarlet Thread". It’s a book about the various customs around the word about the concept of blood covenant. For sur a book that I wouldn’t pick up unless I knew I liked hearing about other customs and beliefs.
We never know what books or assignments might be the ones that capture the minds of the student and carry them to a far off place. It’s important that we always keep trying even with the student that never shows interest. I just take s a spark to ignite an entire forest. One well placed book to change the corse of a life. That third grad book showed me that I enjoyed learning about other places and customs. Something that, otherwise, I would not have know.

In the article, "The Achievement of Desire" written by Richard Rodriguez, Rodriguez explores his goal as a child through education and compares them to the truths he has come to know as an educated adult. Through his abandonment of family, heritage and all else he thought would hinder his goal to achieve education, he realizes, after reflecting on his life, that education in itself is not what he truly desired. With the help of some writings form Richard Hoggart about the persona of Scholarship boy, Rodriguez achieves clarity about his life and embraces cleaved parts of his past.
In Rodriguez’s youth he made a decision to pursue academics. He enjoyed the attention and the praise he received from his teachers. During his pursuit of academics he became embarrassed of his home life. Rodriguez was raised in a bilingual home. His parents struggled some withe finer elements of the English language. The more he pursued education the further he drifted away from his family and emulated his instructors in speech and action. This choice alienated him in his own home. When he finally came to the end of his educational road he realized that there was still something missing. Something was lost along the way. Finally at the end of the long grueling educational road he realized that who he was had been lost and he had become just like the other people in his obscure highly educated elitist sect.
In reading Hoggart He saw his own life reflected in the life of Scholarship boy. From his alienation of his middle class family, his anger at his parent inaptness, to emulating the people in educational circles. But above all it was probably the most blazing statement by Hoggart cut Rodriguez deeply. "He longs for membership lost, He pines for a nameless Eden where he never was."(Hoggart) What Rodriguez had lost or never had was a childhood. A relationship with his family.
Rodriguez didn’t need to pull away from his family to become something great. True greatness is found in embracing who you are and taking the knowledge you gain from books and lessons and making them your own. To simply be able to recite something you have learned is something that can be done by all speaking life forms above the stature of a parrot. To truly make use of an education you have to let knowledge come in where you ponder on it, let it expand and evolve into something that you can use to create, build or inspire. Education creates the ability formulate thought and promotes freethinking.
Literacy isn’t just the compiling schools of thought. Literacy is also going on around us in homes were we are students of culture, tradition, and social science. Literacy is about understanding ourselves and embracing our hopes and dreams without losing who we are. If we loose sight of this fact we may ourselves become, even full of knowledge, hollow.

Autobiographical Essay: Week Three

East of Eden is by far my favorite book. I was given it as a gift from my Aunt. “Now that you learned to read, tell me when you finish this book…” she told me. My grandfather had just passed away a year ago, and the family was slowly drifting apart further than we had ever been before. Problems at home were getting worse, my brother and I were tossed back and forth from parent to parent. I was starting to lose faith in prayers, church, everything – including the main figure of them all. All though the book is not directly biblical or preaches in any way, I had to read many bible stories in order to take everything the book offered. The book is generally about good v. evil, a man marries a young woman who has a set of twin boys. She quickly takes off leaving her husband to raise them – which he does horrible if at all because of his depression. There are also many side stories of the neighboring families – but the focus is on the twin’s development and their ties to good and bad. I believe this book had lead me to the path of where I stand religiously today. I read this book first without reading the bible, then again after I had read most of the bible. After that, I began to appreciate the actual literature of the bible. And the experience of reading East of Eden the second, third and every other time since became a greater pleasure. Although I did appreciate the Bible more, it did lead me towards my atheist attitude. I love the stories as they are, but my mind just cannot further buy into the concept of the rest.

Books were always available in my house, but they didn’t play much of a role until about the fourth grade. By then, my younger brother was learning to read and I helped him as much as I could. For Christmas and Birthdays, books were my favorite gifts – and always the first thing I request when we went to the stores. My mother, father, step-parents were very supportive and encouraging to read – and never hesitated to give in when asked about new books, or trips to the library.

The most recent book I read would be The Eldest. It is the second book in a series by Christopher Paolini. Science fictional with dragons, magic, and elves – I find that it is enjoyable to read at a young or older age. I really like this book (although I am reading the third one – and that one is definitely looking better than this one) because the characters are very easy to relate to. Although the events didn’t quite play out as in the book – I connect with many of the various aspects of the stories and problems each character faces. Books that parallel my life usually hold the greatest of interest to me. 

Autobiographical Essay # 2

  The Holy Bible has influenced the entire world throughout history. This was the first book to really affect me in any way. Sure I read my assigned readings, the “Scarlet Letter”, “To Kill a Mockingbird”, “Frankenstein” along with “The Hobbit” and other such books. None of these ever had a profound affect on my life. They were nothing more than entertainment that I was forced to enjoy. This apparently small fact actually portrays a lot more about myself and my interaction in life today. I do not take much time to partake in activities that do not benefit me in a tangible progressive manner. Reading for fun, based on my experience, was a waste of time and was keeping me from doing more productive things. That is of course until I found a book worth reading.

            It wasn’t until late last year that I desired to read the book. It was a realization of my need to read it rather than a spontaneous act of enlightenment. The book challenged my thinking, my doing, my perceptions, my actions, and most importantly my realization of my beliefs. The book was always present in my house, was always there in times to refer to. It would even take short journeys to church with me on occasion. It was not until I wanted to read it, did it turn into The Bible. This book was and is saturated with blessings, lessons, learning potentials, age-old wisdoms, future and historic events. The Bible has opened not only a thought process, but also a sense of order and reliance in the chaos of my life. It created chaos in my life so that I would be detached to that which I was to shake off.

I understand this assignment may be trying to focus on the literary side of reading rather than the spiritual side of the text but if the literary guides you in a spiritual matter than so be it. Many people read for pleasure and to escape from reality and they enjoy the mind exercise of reading and thinking and using their imagination. Alike to these things the Holy bible does this for me. As I read about the miracles that Jesus performed it exercises my mind like no other book can, contemplating the unfathomable things coming to existence. The gratification of the reading, the sense of confidence, the love that is displayed and sense of purpose and hope it beams throughout it’s words can radiate into every ounce of your body.

Throughout my continual studies of the Holy Bible, literacy tools play a major role in deciphering the meanings throughout it. Pastors use Power Point presentations to show verses on the projector, pamphlets are handed out to churchgoers and transients alike. To fully understand it, would take eternity but to get the vitals of it only takes seconds. It was my thirst for answers and hunger for a virtuous life that brought me to choose this book for my writings. 

Precis 1 Frederick Douglass: Learning to Read and Write

In Chapter seven of his narrative, Frederick Douglass depicts the struggles he encountered learning to read and write. As a slave, he had to resort to learning the skills without any proper instruction. His mistress had first begun instructing him, but soon put an end to his instruction when she realized the knowledge to read and write would hinder his usefulness as a proper slave. Douglass persevered through the challenges and hurdles he approached by finding innovative means of learning. Challenging young white school boys into proving he was better at writing than they were was one way he managed to acquire a lesson.

As his ability to read increased further, Douglass was starting to see how bad of a position he was in as a slave. He now knew enough of the world around him to become discounted with his situation. He decided on taking the advice of some men on the docks to run away, but felt that he first must learn to properly write as well in case the need came up in his travels. Open to any form of a teacher, Douglass found his way to write by spending time in the ship-yard. After continuous practice, and a never failing attitude, Frederick Douglass learned to write as well.

In his narrative, Douglass mentions that he “[felt] learning to read had been a curse rather than a blessing”.  Knowledge and understanding comes with a price, no matter what type of situation or social standing you are in life. In some cases life can be dealt with easier when one is oblivious to their surroundings; however things can change dramatically once they are able to comprehend what is going on, as was the case of Frederick Douglass. Reading Douglass’s experience in accomplishing to read and write as a slave was very inspiring. I feel that stories of perseverance and achievement even in the most difficult times are something that needs to be continually passed on to others.

Today where almost all children are given the chance to learn to read and write, we almost take the skills for granted. Frederick Douglass however, saw the importance and the freedom that came with the ability to read. Learning to read and write provided Douglass with a glint of power. From there, it was a matter of waiting that he would be able to rise from his position as a slave to what we know him now today. Today, many children are not influenced enough to understand how empowering their education can be. It is easier to blame our children about the drop-out rates, and the behaviors that goes on; however I feel that we need to find a better way to instill the need/want to learn on to the children to make a better difference.

Autobiographical Essay: Week 2

I was the new student second grader in Miss M’s second-third grade combination class. I jumped from different elementary schools so much that the transfers no longer bothered me as much. However, I knew this time was going to be different. I never was taught how to read properly prior to attending this new school of mine. I could write my name perfectly – and I did know my alphabet and could write them exceptionally well too. The others schools I attended never put much more interest in teaching the students more than that though. It seemed as though they hoped the parents would take responsibility over whether their child could read and write.

The day finally came where I was tested for my reading and comprehension skills. Never was there a worse time where disappearing from the face of the Earth seemed like a better option to me. I had to tell the teacher that I had no idea what any of the stories really were saying. I could barely pick out any of the words. I was afraid that this fancy new school of mine would reject me entirely. All their students were gifted – and now they had to deal with one that couldn’t even read?

They told my parents, and they had numerous meetings on finding the best way to address the situation. By this time – I was willing to do anything to stay in this new school. All I could imagine was the feeling of failure if they decided I wasn't worth the teacher's time. They didn’t put me down; instead they made me a priority student. I was able to forget what the kids might be thinking of me for my inability to read, and agreed with my teacher and parents to take reading lessons with the Kindergarten class during my recesses. I think I can easily say that was the hardest thing I have ever worked at. I would ask anyone who would listen to just sit with me and read a few sentences from whatever article or book they might be holding.

It didn’t take much longer that I became a top reader. I loved my new ability more than anything. Book after book – each new word I could read and understand pushed me that much further in the direction I had been gated from going in only a few weeks prior. I still consider this my greatest accomplishment. I consider my self so fortunate to have so many teachers go out of their way to help me, something I never experienced with any other schools. In some ways, I am glad that this is the route I took to finally get my reading and writing skills down. I am not sure my passion for literature would be as great, or my enthusiasm to write would be as strong if things were any different.

Autobiographical 1

Salvation

I remember as a child, not being particularly fond of reading and even less so of spelling. To me reading was tortuous especially when the teacher would ask me to read aloud. I was always so nervous that I would mess up the simplest of words and the other children giggle as made repeated attempts. My mother was going to collage while I was growing up and didn’t really take much interest in my studies. She would ask if I had homework and I would simply reply, no and she would continue with her studies. I continued to squeak by in school.
It was when I was just going into 6th grade when I took an interest in the bible. I took down the book and dusted it off and started reading. Many of he words in that old King James Bible were hard to read but I just kept at it and learned to understand what I was reading. It wasn’t that I couldn’t read I was just slow and disinterested. I looked at many of the books that we had at school and wondered what it had to do with my life. The bible however, was something that I could read that meant something to me. One of the great benefits was that it increased my ability to understand what I was reading in all the other subjects and did better in school. Someone told me later that the original reason the public school system was created was to teach children to read at the level of the King James Bible, and that that is why King James is considered twelfth grade reading. Whether it is true or not Reading that old bible helped me develop my literacy.

Autobiographical Essay # 1

Literacy development at an early age is a major
foundational block in the progress of a child’s’
learning potential. Learning to read and write is
challenging. Growing up with a hearing deficit caused
me to overcome certain challenges that others would
never think of. As a result, I have learned how to
read lips, I’d sit in the front of the class so I
could hear the teacher better, I would focus more
intently so that I can do well in school and I have
missed more than my fair share of instructions in the
process. In this brief essay, I will discuss some of
the challenges of literacy development while growing
up and the role that my school and parents played
throughout the process.
My earliest recollection of literacy was in 1st
Grade. Mr. Shea, my teacher, was teaching the class
the alphabet. He would have us right our names, which
was difficult for me to do neatly. Luckily, with the
invention of the computer, penmanship isn’t as
important today because mine hasn’t improved since 1st
grade. Throughout my studies I would obviously have
to work on my penmanship, but I think the ugliness of
my writing forced me to focus on the letters, the
shape and curves. In an attempt to correct the sorry
squiggly excuse of letters I called writing, I focused
harder and this caused the letters and sounds to
become ingrained in my brain. The written words were
the answer to all my questions related to my hearing
impairment. If someone wrote his or her request of me,
like a writing assignment instruction sheet, there was
no question about what I heard or what the teacher
wanted, it was in writing. The need for this
unquestionable form of communication instilled in me
the desire to learn and use it. Reading came easy,
spelling was fun because it taught me the proper way
to pronounce the words and elementary reading was all
about stories, so it was fun.
My hearing deficit came parallel with a speech
deficit. Throughout my elementary studies I would
often leave class to attend a speech class. Where we
repeatedly pronounced words over and over again. The
teachers there would say a word, I would say it back
to them, and they would in turn tell me I said it
wrong and talk slower repeating themselves. What I
heard, was what I would say back, but there was no
common grounds between the teachers and me. Reading
corrected a lot of my oral shortcomings and more
exposure to language increased my familiarity of
speaking.
My family was always very supportive; as my dad
couldn’t hear very well from the heavy machinery he
worked with growing up. My grandpa was the same way as
he raced drag boats, which weren’t exactly whisper
quiet. It taught me patience because you can’t help it
if someone doesn’t understand you based on a hearing
loss. My parents bought me a hearing aid but fitting
in as a kid was just as important as hearing at the
time. One comment by another kid and I would take it
out and trying to put it back in later was a hassle.
The hearing aid spent more time in the drawer than it
ever did in my ear. My family was always supportive
and encouraged reading. They never used it as a
punishment and they never denied it from me.
I believe literacy has to do with the environment you
are raised in. Learning was praised and taught as a
good thing. When we, as little kids, want to learn,
the things that help us learn become our friend and
anything that tickles and tackles our imagination
becomes entrancing. Everyone I knew encouraged me to
do well in school, reading was a major asset to do
well in school and as a kid we really want to please
our parents which was another big motivator in
learning to read and write.