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Miss Muffet
Mom found a cat on her way home from work and it became my pet. Mom named her Miss Muffet after my favorite nursery rhyme. -
To Heck with the Pictures...
I remember Little Golden Books and a 26-volume set of children's encyclopedias shelved in colorful milk crates along my bedroom wall. The encyclopedias were where it was at for me, and I could read them on my own; I loved the brilliantly colored pictures, the rich text, full of information to soak up. I read them cover to cover many times almost until middle school. -
Off to Kindergarten!
Kindergarten was a blur of literacy for me. I remember walking with my mom to Edison from our apartment; I remember my sweet teacher, Mrs. Vaughn; I remember getting in trouble for throwing playdough at the ceiling and knocking a mobile down (it was peer pressure!), being jealous that Joshua Beaman could color in the lines better than I could, and my "boyfriend" Tony moving to Washington, D.C. at the end of the year. My favorite thing? Little Mr. and Miss books. -
Pippi Longstocking and The Boxcar Children
I must have read every book in each of these series, probably in 3rd or 4th grade. I wasn't the only one, though. I remember the frustration of waiting for someone to turn in a book. Even to this day, I get that frustration when I visit the public library. I'm manic about turning books in on time. -
Odyssey
My mom finally let me participate in the gifted program in middle school. It was the thought, discussions, and projects provoked by reading things like Flowers for Algernon and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn that created the first spark for my true love of literature. -
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And I Was Hooked...
I read everything I could get my hands on, both inside and outside of class. As my TAG teacher, Tom Pankiewicz introduced me to Fahrenheit 451, Snow Falling on Cedars, The House on Mango Street, The Bean Trees, The Good Earth, The Color Purple, Sophie's World, and many others. Outside of class, I frequented the downtown public library; even when I couldn't find exactly the right book, I relished in the atmosphere of the place. I don't visit it enough as an adult. -
A Whole New Literacy
I started to look for a job--mom's allowance wasn't cutting it! I developed work-place literacy, starting with job applications, and moving on to reading recipes as an employee at Dairy Queen, scripts and data entry screens as a telemarketer, and merchandising maps as a sales associate at Deb. High school jobs are for the birds... -
Warrensburg, Here I Come!
After graduation, I went to Central Missouri State University, where I double-majored in Criminal Justice and Psychology. My literacy became prominent in these areas, as I began to read case studies, court opinions, and the textbooks for my classes. I didn't read much else at this time, but do remember taking World Literature and reading Gilgamesh, The Odyssey, Oedipus Rex, and Medea. -
Sister Sister
I moved in with my sister and took it upon myself to read Anna Karenina, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and any book written by Anne Rice, among others. I think I finally got the chance to catch up on all the reading for pleasure I'd missed when I was in college. -
Reading I Never Imagined I'd Do...
Once again, my literacy evolved. I discovered I was pregnant (by reading my first pregnancy test--talk about a different level of literacy) and began reading anything about pregnancy, birthing, breast feeding, and child rearing I could get my hands on. -
English Education
When I started college again, I began reading in a different way. My literacy expanded in that I read beyond the mere words on the page, learning to extrapolate based on feelings I gleaned from the text. -
Those Who Can...
My first job as a teacher has brought with it yet another new literacy for me. I am constantly reading professional development books and articles, as well as a wide variety of literature to help myself and my students be successful within the classroom. This literacy is different because I am reading with a new purpose. -
Atlas Shrugged...
I began reading what would become one of my all-time favorite books. I became so enthralled by Ayn Rand's prose, her flexibility with metaphor...I could go on...that the world almost literally stopped for me as it did in this voluminous novel.
