Up until this last semester, I thought that I was a pretty good writer. I would usually receive A's on all of the papers I turned in unless I did not put in the effort I needed too. Last semester I had to take two classes with a teacher who focused her assignments on the analysis of data she would provide. I realized very quickly that this was a part of writing that I am not good at at all. I can certainly research a topic and make it sound pretty on paper, but when it comes to drawing my own conclusions and digging deep into the information I am lost. I had to work very hard to overcome my lack of analysis skills and did so with a passing grade in both classes. I am thankful for the classes and am now much more confident when tackling an assignment that requires me to analyze the data given in order to arrive at the information needed on my own rather than having it handed to me. My mission as an educator will be to equip my students with this task so they can be ready for a teacher like the one I had. It will be much better for them if they walk into a situation like that rather than being thrown into it blindly like I was.

                                                    

This last semester I took a class about language and how it affects culture. This class uncovered the different ways that language as well as literacy affects the people who use it and the way language is used to express culture. The class spoke of the way that literacy created a divide between the people of a certain language. Those who are literate are able to enjoy the benefits of reading, writing and communicating while those that are illiterate do not have such a privilege. Literacy is an incredibly powerful tool that everyone should be able to wield. It is our job as future teachers to empower our students with this skill as well as the many others with which we will be equipping them.

Because of the summer reading books I was forced to read each year, I discovered that I actually enjoyed reading. During my high school years, I would go to the library and spend hours looking at books to borrow and read, racking up some incredibly large late fines. Sometimes I would spend all day with a book that would make my mother angry that I wasn't doing my chores, but she couldn't get too mad at me since I was reading instead of watching tv or wasting time on the computer. I am so glad I found out that I like to read. It is a much more refreshing experience to read and stretch the mind than to stare at a screen that requires no help from the imagination.  Reading is enjoyable for me because I was taught well by my teachers to find the important parts of a story and put them together to understand the bigger picture that the author was trying to relay to the readers

.Understanding the Big Picture Podcast

Throughout elementary and middle school, I was required to complete summer reading projects ever summer. At the time, I thought this activity was unfair since I had to go to school all of the other months of the year and I believed that I deserved a few months off from learning. I would always complain about reading the books and put it off until the very end of the break until I had to read all day for a week or two just to complete the assignment on time. I can remember more times than not I would actually enjoy the book that was assigned which I admitted to no one. With the knowledge I have now, I'm very glad these books were assigned to me so my brain had a chance to exercise each break.

The Beginning

The first literacy event I can remember was when my dad would read the Laura Ingalls Wilder books to me when I was little. He told me that he began reading the books to me because the main character's name was the same as mine. I remember reading many of the books with him every night as I grew up. It was kind of strange because I identified so deeply with the little girl named Laura in the book. Whenever I imagined the father in the book I would picture my dad, and the events in the stories seemed as though I were experiencing them for myself as they were being read to me.