Francisco Betancourt
Dr. Schmertz
Eng 6327
16 Apr 2016
Literacy Autobiography
Memory seems to be the main place where culture exists, and it is also the locus of interaction between the reality of the individual and the reality outside the individual. Thus, memories are both intensely personal and also reflective of a culture at a given time and place.
(Teski and Clino, 1995, p. 2)
Our memories serve as a home for the many experiences we have had in our lives. They help us find a connection between our own personal experiences and the ones of others. They also allow us to place ourselves within a certain context when recalling those experiences. My memories of literacy remind me that its acquisition is an endeavor that can be undertaken in many different ways and subject to many outside influences that will have an impact on not just how it is acquired but also what type of literacy we will have access to.
As a child my exposure to literacy was limited to just what I could learn from watching television. This wasn’t entirely bad as when my favorite shows like Batman and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles weren’t showing I would resort to watching one of PBS’s educational children’s shows. Wishbone in particular played an important role in my literacy development. The show was about a dog who would read a new book every episode. The story from that book was acted out with the dog playing one of the characters. It was great as it also helped me develop a love for literature early on especially for stories from Mark Twain.
Aside from television and my frequent trips to the library I didn’t really have many other factors involved in shaping my literacy. That was until the second grade. Before then I was only enrolled in all-Spanish speaking classes. My mother however wanted me to start learning English and her idea for me to learn as fast as possible was to avoid any transitioning methods such as dual language courses and throw me straight into English speaking only classes. Her decision was met with opposition from the administration as they did not think I was ready for that jump. They believed I would fail and it would only cause me to repeat the grade. I remember my mother being very adamant that I would succeed and that I was more than ready. I can’t really recall what I felt at the moment. I can’t remember if I agreed with her or if I doubted myself. Regardless, I was allowed to enter an all English speaking class.
Things were difficult from the start. I didn’t know much English but I knew enough to know when I was being insulted by the other kids for not being as proficient in English as they were. I remember the anger and embarrassment I felt as I pushed myself to learn as quickly as possible. Fortunately, I was able to pick it up a good pace. How to speak it, how to write it, how to read it, all of it. I learned quickly and got good at it. Even better than most of the other children. My childhood experience taught me other things though. The first was that some people will try and prevent you from acquiring certain literacies because they believe you are not ready. They act as gatekeepers, safeguarding their language from those who they deem unworthy of learning it. I also learned that aside from these gatekeepers you are bound to encounter people who are on the same journey as you in trying improve their literacy who will also dissuade you from learning the same things they are. These were some of my earlier more negative experiences with literacy sponsors.
After this part of literacy development the next most impactful moment for me would have to be around 2007 when I found myself doing something I never thought I would. I was deployed to Iraq and without any internet or phones to communicate with people back home those of us living out in the wild (as I called it) outside from the safety of the camps had to resort to writing letters. I was never much of a writer before then and my interest in English was near non-existent. However, the more I began to write letters, the more my appreciation for the language grew. I learned to use words in ways I hadn’t before. I began to experiment more and more and soon I began to grow an affinity for writing. It was this continuous letter writing that made me grow interest in furthering my education of the English language. I wanted to improve the skills I had. I wanted to better my writing and how I used the language in both speech and writing. After my discharge I jumped right into it.
Every class has taught me one more skill or improved upon an existing one. I feel very proud of how long I’ve come with literacy from being that young kid who didn’t know more than a handful of words and phrases to where I am now in grad school. Even now I still find myself learning new things or approaches that have improved my use of the language. What sponsors I have interacted with along the way have been more positive than the ones I encountered early on. They have been supportive and have often pushed me into new areas of the language that I felt I was incapable of succeeding in. They have taught me that the acquisition and improvement of literacy isn’t something that requires little effort on my part but rather than it is almost entirely dependent on how much I’m willing to commit to it.
