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Mom's Always Talking
Soon after I was born, my Mom says that she would always talk to me. She would talk about what we were doing that day, what we would be eating, among other things. Whenever we were out she would always point out things like birds, trees, signs, anything of interest and tell me something about them and what they were. She says that she would always be holding me, and always talking with me. As a child, our ears are always open, even just hearing words on a daily basis is so important. -
Early Reading
My Mom and I shared many books together, some of my favorites being Tikki Tikki Tembo, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, Curious George, Richard Scarry, Caps for Sale, and many books by Eric Carle. Often times, I wouldn't be the only one reading with mom, as my two younger brothers were often included in the readings as well once they could join. I know that just by having these books read to me, and me eventually reading them had a great influence on my literacy levels at a young age. -
Thomas? Who's That?
Just before I started Kindergarten my Mom and I went in to meet Mr. Pazol, my teacher. There were name cards sitting on the table, and we were to find our own FULL name. I simply just couldn't find it. There was no H, A or S in "Tommy", and that's who I was; I was Tommy, not Thomas. Mr. Pazol was a little worried, but my veteran Mother? Cool as a cucumber, she knew I was literate by the way I spoke, actively listened, and my excellent questions. I think now, what if Mom DID panic? -
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Cougar Press
Throughout elementary school, each student was required to publish at least one story that they wrote through the "Cougar Press". Each year I would only publish one of my stories, but it was still really cool to have something "published" with a hard cover and everything. Now that I look back on it, it certainly made me more comfortable and confident in sharing my work with not only my classmates and teachers, but also with my family! -
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Library Summer Reading Program
For many years my mom would sign me and my 2 younger brothers up for a summer reading program at our library. The system was simple; read books, get prizes. Awesome! Especially because I wasn't a child who would choose to read, I was a child who needed to be strongly encouraged, and often times forced to read. Yes, I may have only read to get the prizes, but at least it got me reading a little more! I think this program made reading a far more normal thing for me to do. -
Spelling Whiz
I distinctly remember taking advanced spelling tests in my 3rd grade classroom with Mr. Friziellie. In order to get into the advanced group you had to score high enough on the initial spelling test, and nearly every single week I was moved into the advanced spelling group where we learned how to spell more challenging words. This made me believe in my spelling ability, and made me much more confident in my reading and writing. -
4th Grade Reading Logs...
Oh the classic elementary school reading logs... The epitome of an honestly done homework assignment, right? WRONG! Reading was definitely not what I wanted to be doing in my free time; with sports, video games, and 2 younger brothers to play and pick fights with reading was way towards the bottom of my priority list. I would lie on my reading log claiming to read Sports Illustrated or some random book in the house. My parents were ALWAYS hesitant to sign off on my hours and rightfully so. -
Sneaky Note Passer
In the 5th grade, my friend Alyson and I would pass notes all of the time. As you could safely assume they were hardly ever class related. We would gossip about who likes who and other typical 5th grade subjects. This was one of my first memories of communicating with a peer quickly through written word. I learned to share my thoughts, and feelings to another person without having to say it out loud. Writing was a safer place for me to communicate. -
The Faked Book Report
I'll never forget it. I thought I could just write a book report for my Language Arts class in the 6th grade based off of reading the back of a book. It's fair to assume that this was a pivotal moment in my schooling. The embarrassment of being caught by my teachers was more than enough to scare me into reading for any assignment I had to do. It's a good thing I learned this early on, because it simply just wouldn't fly in high school. This moment pushed me to be a better student, and reader. -
"College Prep English" just a fancy name for At-Level
My Freshman year I was placed into the "at-level" english class, which I really didn't mind all that much, except for the fact that all of my middle school friends were in advanced or honors english. So everyday I would hear them talk about the books they were reading, and I never had anything to say because we didn't read the same books. This was tough for a little bit, but it wasn't long until I was able to find a community within my class to discuss the books we College Prep students read. -
Pulling More from the Text
With the help of my Sophomore year English teacher, Ms. Cullen, I learned to read far deeper than the surface. She really did a great job teaching us how to pull themes from the text, and she taught it in a way that really stuck with me. Through books like Fahrenheit 451, and Animal Farm I was able to learn more about the world around me through relating it to the text. We tackled difficult subjects and themes, but in an incredibly manageable way. She really allowed me to grow in her class. -
Junior Research Paper
Through my Junior year research paper, I really learned how to take an essay to the next level. This was the biggest paper I would craft throughout my whole high school experience, and it was a doozy. I learned many research methods, as well as how to form a good argumentative claim based in good research and evidence. Here, I was forced to really embrace the writing process, and to share my beliefs with others in a formal manner. It really taught me how to back up a claim with GOOD evidence -
Mr. Block Opens My Eyes to the World
My Political Thought teacher Mr. Block did wonders for me my Senior year of high school. I was exposed to new ways of thinking, through exposure to writers like Thoreau, and Emerson, as well as Ayn Rand. Through reading texts such as Into the Wild, and then having a class mock trial where we tried Chris McCandless my eyes were really opened to new paths of thought. This class opened my eyes, and without it, I'm confident I would be as open-minded as I am now to new thoughts and ideas. -
A Change in Beliefs
In Mr. Block's class we had a debate about Civil Liberties vs. National Security. My entire life I had never really challenged nor questioned the beliefs of my parents, but then I had to prepare for this debate, and it had me rethinking everything I had ever thought. Mr. Block even told me just last year that I made a complete 180 in that class in regards to my opinions. I began to question my beliefs, and really I believe this was the start of my interest in critical literacy. -
FYS
My first semester of college is when I really decided to dedicate myself to my schoolwork. I believe my effort in FYS is telling of that. I was fascinated by the books we would read, and would learn so much (because unlike high school, I would actually read them). I annotated everything so thoroughly, trying to get every detail. I also learned many lessons on how to write, and through my good grades on my papers I actually felt like a good writer. -
Critical Literacy
Critical Literacy was a skill that I just scratched the surface on my senior year of high school, but through ED 398 I learned an incredible amount about reading strategies to be critically literate. Now whenever I read something I have so many questions, not necessarily about the text, but about why the text exists, how it's trying to position me, what it's purpose really is. To put it simply, I feel that I really learned to question everything, and to never just assume something is true. -
Time Abroad
Through my time abroad I practiced my literacy in a very new way. I practiced daily, for hours on end on my literacy in Spanish. A class which I had taken for years. I was communicating in every which way, writing essays reflecting on experiences, or preparing and delivering speeches to classmates, even giving a presentation about my schooling experience to co-workers abroad. It has certainly shaped me as a future Spanish teacher, and my time abroad has helped me be more adaptive as well. -
Today
These experiences, and so many more are the reason that I am the reader, writer, speaker, and person that I am today. Throughout my life I've had countless inspirations that have influenced me to be where I am today, a Junior at Butler University, with the aspirations of becoming a high school Spanish teacher. How I communicate with others, and with myself is all thanks to those, and what I've encountered on the way, from my Mom all the way to my professors and peers. The end. Thank you!
