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Both of my parents are immigrants from Poland, and, therefore, Polish was the first language I learned at home. When I was young, my parents knew very little English, and were unable to teach me English. Fortunately, at about age 3, I developed a love for watching cartoons, and from these cartoons, I began to learn English. As a result of my frequent cartoon watching, I was able to learn to understand and speak quite a bit of English before I even began kindergarten.
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When I began junior kindergarten, I was first exposed to writing in English when my teacher gave each student a journal and had us write journal entries once a week. Every Monday, we were instructed to write about something fun we did on the weekend. This was my first exposure to writing in English. As it turns out, I had seen English written enough times, in books and on TV, for example, that I did not struggle much with writing in English, despite being a new English language learner.
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In the primary grades, my teachers read aloud to us quite often. We also had library time once a week, when the librarian read us a story, before we chose and checked out our own books. I thoroughly enjoyed these read alouds; they are what ignited my love for books and reading in my early years. These read alouds also helped me to discover some of the books that were my favourite as a kid, including "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," "Love You Forever," and "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom."
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In grades 3-6 I participated in the Silver Birch reading programs at my school. This meant spending many lunch periods reading the books that were nominated for the Silver Birch Award. After we had read a certain number of the books, we were eligible to vote for which book we think should win the award. I enjoyed being able to voice my opinion about which book I thought deserved to win. I participated in the Red Maple program - the Silver Birch equivalent for the intermediate grades - as well.
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In grade 4, I had a teacher who used to teach in Africa, and she had connections to a school in Kenya. As a result, she was able to arrange for all of the students in our class to be matched with a pen pal from this Kenyan school. I really enjoyed writing back and forth with my pen pal and getting to know her. After learning more about her, it was interesting to compare how her way of life differed from mine. This experience led me to enjoy writing, and helped me to improve my writing.
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All throughout elementary school, we participated in "Book Buddies." In the primary grades, this meant that an older student came to read to us for a period. Nonetheless, it was not until I was in grade 6, and got to be the older "Book Buddy," that I truly began to appreciate the process. Reading to a young child made me feel like I was making a difference - teaching somebody how to read - and this experience first ignited my love for working with children.
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In grade 8, my teacher gave us an assignment that involved creating a scrapbook about ourselves. There were a few components that the assignment required us to include in our scrapbook, such as a letter to a best friend, and a letter to a role model. Beyond that, we had complete creative freedom over our scrapbooks. I thoroughly enjoyed the process of creating my scrapbook, as I was able to write about things and people that were meaningful in my life.
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In grade 9 English class, I was first exposed to the works of William Shakespeare. In this class, we read and studied Shakespeare's play "Twelfth Night." At first, I was overwhelmed by the language in the play, and had a difficult time understanding it. Fortunately, over the course of high school, I became more comfortable understanding Shakespearean English. I really enjoyed studying this play, and this is what ignited my love for Shakespeare.
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In grade 10 English, while studying the play "Romeo and Juliet," the teacher had us complete an assignment for which we were required to perform a scene from the play, in small groups. My group selected act 3, scene 5. This assignment challenged me, in that it taught me to use language in a new way. Instead of just reading the play, I was now expected to perform it. This assignment brought me out of my comfort zone, while deepening my understanding of the conventions of language.
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In grade 12 English, my teacher presented the class with the challenge of writing and illustrating our own children's book. My partner and I created a book entitled "The Pumpkin Pie Baking Contest." This assignment brought me tremendous joy, because I love working with children, and I was proud to create a story that would put a smile on a child's face. By this time, I already knew I wanted to be a teacher, and completing this assignment heightened my enthusiasm for teaching literacy.
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I began my undergrad in the Honours Arts program, at the University of Waterloo, unsure of what I wanted my major to be. I was required to declare my major by the end of my first year. The very first English course that I took in my first term, called Intro to Literary Studies, influenced my decision to major in English Language and Literature. The course developed my love for studying literature, and made me excited to, on day, be a teacher, and share my love for literature with my students.
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In the second term of my undergrad, I took an Intro to Academic Writing course. For this course, I wrote an argumentative essay in which I argued that it was unethical to advertise to young children, and supported my argument with substantial research. I am very proud of this essay, and am grateful that the professor allowed us to write the essay on a topic of our choice. I enjoyed being able to write on a topic that I am passionate about, and produce a paper that I am truly proud of.
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In my second year of university, I took a Sociology of Education course that I thoroughly enjoyed. I found all of the readings and writing assignments incredibly interesting, because I was learning about the sociology of a field that I knew I wanted to work in. I would say that my writing improved over the course of this course, because I was writing about something I was passionate about, and I believe that my great effort and passion came through in my writing.
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In my final year of university, I took a history course entitled "History of Education in Canada." The readings in the course taught me about how all aspects of the education system in Canada, including literacy learning, have progressed into what they are today. An assignment, for which we were to interview and orally present about a prominent female who faced adversity during her educational journey, challenged me to orally present about this woman's turbulent, yet inspirational journey.
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In June of 2019, I graduated from the University of Waterloo with a degree in English Language and Literature. This was a monumental moment in my literacy journey, because it granted me significant confidence in my personal literacy - confidence that I have been building up all throughout my literacy journey. Receiving my degree gave me the affirmation that I am ready to move on to the next step in my academic and professional journey to becoming a teacher.
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This course, EDBE-8P34, is the final event that I am including on this timeline, and it marks a milestone for me, in my literacy journey. While I still have a lot more to learn about literacy, I am proud to say that my literacy journey thus far has brought me to where I am today, working toward fulfilling my dream of becoming an educator. I am excited to put my literacy skills to work in this course, and to learn how to share my knowledge and passion for literacy with my future students.
