Jesse Pentz Professor Leslie Wolcott ENC 1102 21 February 2013 Literacy Narrative Literacy, by the most basic

definition, is the ability to read and write coherently, but its really more than that. Its the proverbial light bulb above your head that that flickers with life after finishing the poem. Literacy is not only about reading and writing, but a deeper understanding of the text that can be much more arduous of a task to obtain, sometimes even taking a lifetime. For most people, the journey to read begins with kindergarten. Unlike most children, I was fortunate enough to be born to an elementary school reading teacher, so well before I entered school I was taking the first steps to learn to read. Even before pre-k I was exposed to interactive computer reading games which help me learn to recognize and form letters. By the time I entered kindergarten I was already well ahead of my classmates, so although some progress was made that years, it was primarily taught to me by my mother, rather than my teacher. It is for this reason that I consider her to be my literary sponsor; not only for laying the building blocks for my literacy but also for encouraging my reading in later years. Upon entering the first grade I was switched into the Project Child program, a unique teaching style that aided me tremendously. Project child is a system in which three specialized teachers are put in a group to teach three classes, and the students in those classes stay with the teachers for three years. This meant that I had one teacher for reading and one for writing who were able to track my progress over the course of several years. I however had entered the program a year late, so I only got the benefit of having the same teachers for two years. During my time in Project Child I had a wonderful Reading teacher. Based on our Fountas and Pinnel level Ms.Wesley split us into groups, so the select students that were in my group were on the same reading level and learning the same skills as me. She also used computer games, similar to the ones I used to learn basic skills as a younger child, to expand my vocabulary as well as teach other topics such as context clues. During the first and second grade

I also read innumerous take-home books, which I was then quizzed on in class using the Scholastic Reading Counts software. My mothers classroom also had a wide assortment of books at my disposal, ranging from Dr.Seuss to childrens science books. I had a profound desire to read at this age, and combined with my free access to reading material my literacy blossomed. Literacy, however, is a two sided coin, and thus it is also important to examine the conditions in which I learned to write. I was also blessed with my Project Child writing teacher, the histrionic Ms.Bridges. Though her thick Jamaican accent she preached about punctuation and persuasive prompts, but the thing that really aided my education was the portfolio she kept of our writing. She routinely had conferences with me about my strengths and weaknesses, and I believe that it was this individualized approach that made her class so effective. When examining the conditions in which I became literate, a few key factors immediately become manifest. The role that technology has played is unmistakable; computers have been an invaluable resource since before I knew the alphabet. Perhaps the greatest advantage they provided me was making my literary education bearable, if not enjoyable. There were also many other material aspects of my literary education, yet it seems that the specialized attention I received in elementary school was the predominant circumstance leading to my literacy. Now, over a decade later, my current reading and writing styles and techniques stand not as a reflection, but rather an evolution of those skills acquired in primary school. Although my interest in reading has dwindled and I currently use writing as more of a tool than for expression, my experience through the process of becoming literate can serve as an example of a very effective way to teach reading and writing through nonconventional means.