Afore I could make out the denotements of whole words, my bookshelves were stocked with a plethora of picture books. Their spines would stare back at me from my little white bookshelf, and though I could not genuinely read the denominations off of the covers, I kenned which was which predicated on the illustrations and colors. When I craved a certain story I would beseech my mom to read it to me, and she would, patiently and punctiliously so that I could better absorb every syllable she pronounced. From Dr. Seuss to Richard Frighteningly eerie, children’s authors impacted my early learning experiences and remarkably, I still attribute my appreciation for literature to children’s books. My first literacy-cognate recollections were through active heedfully aurally perceiving, as opposed to visual reading, and the recollections mainly consist of my mother reading me stories virtually every night afore I went to bed. Albeit I didn’t quite ken my alphabet yet preserve for humming the alphabet musical composition, I would follow along in the book as my mom read from the pages. Anon I commenced associating sound, printed word, and picture. Coalesced with mom’s vocal inflections and her gestures, I expeditiously learned to appreciate the indited word and books would anon become a consequential aspect of my early childhood. Furthermore, the rhymes in many children’s picture books, especially those in Dr. Seuss, prodigiously contributed to my appreciation of inditing because they integrated a musical and lyrical quality to what would otherwise be dry prose. I must additionally admit that television played no minute part in the development of my literacy. Children’s edifying shows like ‘Sesame Street’ incorporated many literacy exercises and edified adolescent children like me their alphabet and tyros’ words in both English and Spanish.
Ergo, as I grew older I rapidly learned how to read on my own because I was so incentivized and stimulated by neophytes’ books and by inculcative television shows. Many of my friends withal relished to read, and we would often trade books. Some became scarcely cult favorites in elementary school, eminently those that were categorically frighteningly eerie or that contained ‘adult’ type themes. By the time I was seven or eight, I was devouring whole puerile adult novels, mainly mystery stories and tales of the supernatural. As with anything, the more intrigued I was in the subject matter the more alacritous I was to read. I am identically tantamount way now; I incline to read mainly that which intrigues me. I’m sure most people feel the same way about reading: some of us wouldn’t go near a book on economics while others would dote to read The Wall Street Journal every morning. Regardless of the subject matter, however, good inditing is always good inditing. I have learned that a good author can make the most boring subject matter come alive, captivating their readers virtually against their will.
A never joined a book club or anything of the sort. As an independent child and adolescent, I read on my own. When taking English courses in grade school, especially from the junior high school level onward, my love of reading definitely diminished. I cannot incriminate my edifiers, who were definitely doing their best to introduce their students to the great works of literature like Beowulf. However, so many of the texts they edified did not interest me. I found them arduous to comprehend and resented being injuctively authorized what to read. Albeit I persisted in reading and in developing my literacy, I ceased reading on my own. Mainly this was because I didn’t have enough time to read what I wanted; I was too diligent reading what I had to for class.
While I do appreciate the fact that I was introduced to Shakespeare and company in junior high and high school, I do optate that the material had been presented differently, perhaps in a homogeneous way as I had been edified how to read in the first place: through pictures and other multimedia formats that would make the subject matter come to life. Additionally, I would relish to visually perceive more English edifiers inspiriting their students to read and discuss works of fiction that they discover on their own. Even if those works are not considered high literature, they nevertheless contribute to a student’s literacy because of sheer interest alone.
Determinately as a senior in high school I encountered an English edifier who would impact me in the same way that my mom had impacted me when she read Dr. Seuss aloud to me at night. This English pedagogia had us read classics of American literature such as William Faulkner, and the inditement exercises she had us do were frolicsome and stimulating. Moreover, she was highly auxiliary and complementary of all her students. We all participated in class and suddenly I found myself reading books with more ebullience than I had in years. I owe a lot to that high school English edifier for reintroducing me to my ardency for the indited word. In that class I expanded my mind through encounters with works of literature that I might have never discovered on my own accord.
Through my early childhood and adolescent experiences, I have learned that literacy development mainly depends on ardency and interest, but that ardency and interest can themselves be cultivated. Interest can be stimulated through inspirational role models such as my high school English pedagogia or a relative. For example, my aunt turned me on to many works of modern literature that she appreciated. She didn’t require to poke or prod me; I simply venerated her judgment enough to take on the initiative to read the same books she did. Gradually I expanded the types of books that I would read. I was no longer only fascinated with certain genres or certain authors but would and still do read anything, from science fiction to science fact, from malefaction novels to newspapers. Literacy remains one of the most paramount aspects of my life; it fills my mind with innumerable conceptions, opens my life to incipient experiences, and avails me envision the world in entirely incipient ways.
