Holewinski 1 Morgan Holewinski Dr.

Guenzel English 1101-0011 12 September 2013 Paper 1 Final Draft Adding It All Up Entering college seems difficult. For me, it felt ten times worse than difficult because I failed something that seemed so simple. Algebra one and two were my easiest subjects in high school. I always thought mathematics was my literacy. How could I begin to fail my University of Central Florida mathematics placement test? Taking a math tests online was very new for me, however pencil and paper was all I had known which made entering answers a nightmare. There are many different ways to write one answer, but only certain ways were accepted which made my score drop with every question I completed. So why was failing a non-graded placement test an issue for me? Failing something that I am good at and love had a huge effect on how I looked at college. If I could not pass something I am already familiar with, what made me think I could achieve at something that is completely unfamiliar, in this case college. Taking a breath and thinking about how I have grown to love the literacy of math made me realize that, even if I failed once, it is still and always will be my literacy. Writing and solving math problems has been engraved in my palms since I can remember. Over the years, many people have asked what makes me enjoy math over other subjects and literacies. It always added up some way somehow. Having a specific solution to a problem meant more to me than throwing out my opinion about a novel or poem. For example, reading a book or poem leaves room for all sorts of different interpretations. If I did not interpret

Holewinski 2 it how the teacher did then I had the chance of being wrong even when I thought I was right. With math, there is rarely any room for different interpretations due to the fact that you are either right or you are wrong, no questions asked. The art of manipulation has made mathematics an intriguing world for me. Re-working problems in different forms was my way of expanding my mind. Take the equation and slope of a line for example. The transformation of an equation of a line allows you to view different parts more clearly without actually changing the values of the equation. Reading, English, science, history, and economics were very time-consuming for me. Completing 100 math problems was faster than reading 50 pages in a literature book. Overall I would rather take organized, logical steps to find an answer than have my personal opinion influence the outcome of my response. Speaking of influences, many people in my life have contributed to the way I feel about math. We will call these people my literacy sponsors. A literacy sponsor is someone who helps others become literate in specific ways (Brandt). The first literacy sponsor in my life was my parents. My mother was a straight A student was my literacy sponsor for nearly any subject I was interested in. My father, on the other hand, did not make it to high school. It might be surprising to note that my dad had a greater impact on my love for math than my mom did. As a contractor who laid tile and marble for a living, math was an everyday thing for him. While completing certain tasks, he would have to take measurements, convert decimals to fractions, add and subtract fractions, and compute areas to figure how much tile he would need to cover the amount of floor he was doing. I would say that he is the reason that fractions are my friends. Entering school with a base knowledge of math allowed me to advance very quickly through lessons. My teachers greatly pushed me to do my best in all of my subjects, but they all could see my brain read math more clearly than anything else. Having teachers who support what

Holewinski 3 you enjoy learning was a great foundation for me. The first teacher I had to be a true literacy sponsor was my Algebra 1 teacher Mrs. Demelio. She influenced me to realize that math is fun. Every lesson had a small story or gaming exercise that made it fast and easy to understand. Learning to solve problems in an orderly and efficient way was her best lesson to her students. Then, my 10th grade Algebra 2 teacher, Mrs. Canfield, came into my life. She had a different impact on my mathematical literacy; she taught me how to take mathematical notes. For example, she explained how to retain the formulas without writing down everything in the book. This was a huge step for me, since I was taught to always write all the definitions and formulas in order to succeed. Lastly, Mrs. Pollmeier was my favorite teacher and favorite influence throughout my math career. Without her, pre-calculus and calculus would have destroyed me. Mrs. Pollmeier made sure we used it and did not lose it by putting all of our previous years of math together into the new concepts we learned. Her use of mnemonics made many things really stick. One of the examples I currently am using is how to remember when a line on a graph is undefined. When there is a number n on top of zero 0, it looks like it spells NO which helped me to remember NO ANSWER. However, being a good literacy sponsor does not have to mean to always help in a simple way. She wasnt an easy teacher. Honestly, she was the toughest math teacher I have ever had. I oddly appreciated it more than everyone else. I knew that all she wanted was for us to excel and in order to do that, being tough was key. Mrs. Pollmeier always said, There are no breaks in math, it will always keep going. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder has shaped much of who I am and how math stayed in the picture. There is a certain way and order I complete things, and if it is done out of a specific order there is a good chance I will do or read something wrong. Another reason I stepped away from reading subjects is because of my memory. My memory can remember formulas much

Holewinski 4 easier than literary concepts such as ethos, pathos, and logos. When learning y = mx +b, it sounded like a miniature song in my head and on the other hand learning how to identify certain parts of an article makes me think of an opera (they are long, confusing, and in another language). My brains understanding of math has allowed me to take my abilities farther than just school, but out into the real world. The literacy of math has given me a series of ups and down throughout my life. Mathematics has led me to find interest in a job that will take me far in life and present a stable career throughout the time being. Finding a literacy that will be useful throughout my career is something not everyone gets to have. Mathematics is all about being a problem solver as is accounting. Accounting may seem boring and depressing for some individuals, but I see it as my world of numbers. Having bumps in the road with reading based subjects was worth holding a math jungle in my head. Mathematics has led me to find great people who were and are supportive of my literacy. These people have pushed for me to continue to love it, even when it got rough. After overcoming many obstacles, I promised myself that I would never let another test get in the way of my future.

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Works Cited
Brandt, Deborah. "Sponsors of Literacy." Elizabeth Wardle, Doug Downs. Writing about Writing. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1998. 331. 16 September 2013.