Literacy History - Assignment 1

Growing up I was raised in a home that spoke Hungarian as our main language so it was much different for me to become literate in English too especially at a young age where mixing the two languages in a sentence could be a common occurrence.  However, my parents did a really good job at making me fluent in both Hungarian and English.  The first home I ever lived in, we had a neighbor who I considered my Nana and it is her I could thank for my success in all my years of school.  Being that my parents were foreigners English was a language they were learning just like me, so my Nana was my main teacher outside of the public education system.  My mother and father inspired me most because they came here to America for new lives and that has always been a spark in my life to do better because I always want to make them proud and make their big move worth it in the end if I can be successful here. My parents and Nana always strived to help me be greater in school and that is why I never settle for low grades, I will always push myself to do the extra steps.  Since I knew I always had their support I never felt discouraged because I always had a strong support system behind me who would help me in any way possible.  My earliest experiences with literacy that I can remember are from my mother and I reading a book in Hungarian that taught you basic words with pictures, for example: it would show a picture of a dog and it would say dog in Hungarian underneath it.  Books were a huge part in my literacy growing up especially Dr. Seuss and other simple children’s books.

I most certainly began to feel literate once I began going to school so around the age of 4-5 when I was in Pre-K.  I was never the foreigner that did not know English and I thank my parents and Nana for that because I never need to take ESL (English as a second language).  I always enjoyed books when I was younger which I think is funny now because I don’t remember the last time, I read an actual book for fun and enjoyed it; I’ve also always been quite the talker.  Nothing really frustrated me when it came to literacy because I always knew if I kept trying and practicing, I would master whichever words I was struggling with.  As stated, my parents have sacrificed so much for me throughout my entire life that they never cease to amaze me which is what makes them my role models indefinitely.  I aspire to be as genuine, kind-hearted and hardworking as them.

I thought it was interesting in class when Dr. Rosen said “reading, writing and speaking all make you literate” because I suppose I never really thought about literacy in depth like that, I believe I always thought it was just writing and speaking.  Literacy is something we are always surrounded with, it is inevitable since every single day we speak, most of the time we write or type, and whether people realize it or not, they read so much due to text messaging.  Considering I work full-time in a contractor’s office I am always composing emails, talking to my bosses and coworkers, and reading various things from invoices to proposals.  Working and college continue to sponsor my literacy development because I am always surrounded by new things to learn in both settings which is very beneficial to my future to know more information than I previously did.  I am looking forward to the rest of this class because I know my knowledge is going to skyrocket and I am excited for the new experiences and information.