Selina Pena

Professor Doutherd
English 5M
24 November 2017
Process of Improvement

I remember driving by Maya Angelou Library and always seeing many kids walk in and
out the doors. This library was on my way home from school, so I would always look out the
window as we passed by. After school my mom would regularly take my sisters and I to pick out
a book, and we would read it there for 30 minutes. We would do this regularly and were soon
handed a map where every book we read got us closer to treasure, which was a free ticket to
John's Incredible Pizza. Getting the ticket was my motivation to read as a child, but throughout
time it helped me improve my literacy skills. Reading as a child really impacted me because
Spanish was my first language, and reading allowed my vocabulary in the English language to
expand. From the moment I began to speak, read, and write, I've had many sponsors that have
impacted my improvements on literacy such as my parents and teachers.
My first sponsors of literacy were my parents who immigrated from Mexico and spoke
nothing but Spanish. According to Deborah Brant who wrote The Sponsors of Literacy,
Differences in performances are often attributed to family background (namely education and
income of parents) or to particular norms and values operating within different ethnic groups or
social classes (Brant, 6). I agree with Brant that family background affects the development of
literacy because I come from a Spanish speaking background, which made it lot harder for me to
communicate, read, and write in English as a child. Both of my parents didn't know English so
instead of teaching me to read and write in English, they taught me in Spanish.
From my parents, my mom helped develop my literacy skills the most because she was
the first one who introduced the alphabet, vowels, and books, helping me develop my literacy. I
remember my mom making me write out words on paper and having me sound them out. Then,
as soon as I began to read, she would make me read the bible, and I would have to tell her what it
was about to prove that I comprehended what Ive read. Having practiced these things at home
helped develop my literacy, and made it easier for me once I entered school; however, at school I
had to learn to translate it to English.
Other sponsors of literacy that I had were my teachers since they were the ones who
taught me the alphabets, writing, and reading in English. When I entered school, I was at a
disadvantage compared to native English speakers because instead of continuing from what I've
previously knew, I had to learn to translate it putting me behind. However, with the help of my
teachers I was able to learn many more things. My teachers would regularly hand out spelling
words and required me to write the definitions to help me learn their meaning, trace dotted lines
to learn how to write, and rewrite them multiple times to learn how to spell them. This method is
similar to Malcolm X, who was a prisoner who self taught himself to read. Malcolm X would
regularly read the dictionary and would copy the definitions multiple times, which eventually
helped him learn to read (Malcolm X, 120). By having new spelling words every week it helped
develop my literacy because I eventually memorized them helping me read and write in English.
During high school, my sponsors continued being my teachers and parents; however, they
were no longer just teaching me how to read. Instead, they helped me interpret the readings by
thinking outside the box which helped improve my literacy. In my first two years of high school,
my sponsors assigned me to read regularly for homework, then I would participate in class
discussions and write essays based on a major theme, motif, symbol, or a character in the novel.
Before taking these classes I never knew the importance of the motifs or symbols, but after
taking these classes I learned that every book has a deeper meaning behind it. For example, a
specific novel that I read was The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald which was about a man
named Nick who became rich and was considered new money (became rich), compared to his
lover Daisy who was rich, but was old money (comes from wealth).
With this novel I learned that a book has a undercover message in which this one was to
explain that the American Dream can not be achieved. If my sponsors were never to teach me the
importance of the theme, motifs, or symbols I would have thought that the book was simply
about a man who loved a woman and got shot. However, since my sponsors showed me how to
really interpret a reading, I was able to learn that Nick getting shot symbolized that the American
Dream can not be achieved and that a person who is new money can strive to achieve the
American Dream, but people who are old money will still be higher
In my last two years of high school my sponsors continued being my teachers, and they
helped develop my literacy by teaching me how to interpret poems and formatting an essay
effectively. For example, a major assignment my sponsors helped prepare me for was the
Individual Oral Commentary (IOC), which is a test interpreting a poem from either Robert Frost
or Walt Whitman. To pass this test my sponsors showed me new skills such as annotating, and
focusing on the structure, sound, rhythm, repetition, mood, or tone in the poem. By using these
skills it allowed me to analyze a poem, which helped me understand the moral message behind
the poems.
Another way my sponsors helped develop my literacy was by teaching me how to format
an essay effectively. For example, my teacher taught me the Jane Schaffer paragraph format,
topic sentence, concrete detail, commentary, commentary, concrete detail... which has helped
improve writing skills since it helps me avoid writing irrelevant information and being repetitive.
Before learning this format, I would write very long paragraphs with a lot of irrelevant
information. By using this format it has helped me organize my essays effectively, and taught me
the importance of the thesis, topic sentences, and analysis. Another thing my sponsors taught me
to organize my essays was by using transition words and literary devices (juxtaposition,
hyperbole, diction). By using these literary devices, it helped my essays flow better, and also
helped me write more relevant information.
Overall my home environment, school environment, and being bilingual really influenced
my literacy. My parents background caused me to be bilingual, my mom specifically, was the
first one to introduce the alphabet, reading, and writing in Spanish, my elementary school
teachers helped me practice reading and writing in English, and my teachers in high school
helped develop my literacy by teaching how to interpret books, poems, and showing me how to
format an essay effectively. Being bilingual put me at a disadvantage as a child because learning
English was difficult, since I didn't practice it at home. However, now I believe being bilingual is
an advantage because it has allowed me to communicate with more people.