Project 1: HOW HAVE YOU BECOME THE READER AND WRITER YOU ARE TODAY?
How I’ve become the Reader and Writer I am today
Reading and writing are two essential skills impressed upon us at a very young age. These skills offer a healthy way to learn, exercise the brain, expand vocabulary, intake and develop new ideas, and train the mind to think critically. From a young age, we learn to read in school, and apply that knowledge to reading books that inspire our imaginations. Developing the imagination early on helps make us curious individuals, which entices us to learn continuously. Reading allows us to question and criticize information, affording us the opportunity to logically sort out our own opinions and ideals. Both fictional and nonfictional writings teach us valuable lessons about history and morality. There are so many varied reading sources available, ranging from personal interests, to world news and politics, to science and academia. To me, reading is an expression of freedom. It is much easier to control someone, or a group of people, if they are uninformed. We can look back to when slaves were prohibited from learning how to read, to the Nazi book burnings, to even now with certain government censorships. It is a blessing to live in a place and time where education is highly encouraged, and most information is easily accessible.
I remember learning the alphabet in in preschool and kindergarten, and beginning to read books in first grade. As I recall, I was a little bit slower to pick it up than my siblings were. Perhaps I was feeling slightly embarrassed for being less competent than my older siblings, but with a little time and effort I had caught up to my peers. My parents were surely my best, most influential sponsors of my literacy. Deborah Brandt’s article “Sponsors of Literacy” describes sponsors as “any agent, local or distant, concrete or abstract, who enable, support, teach, model, as well as recruit, regulate, suppress or withhold literacy—and gain advantage by it in some way” (Brandt, 166). My parents connected the importance of being able to read and write effectively to being a happy, successful, wealthy individual in my adult future. I can remember them reading us bed time stories each night for years on end, and always filling our home with books of every interest. From light-hearted fictional stories, to mystery novels, to history and science books, and everything in between, our options were limitless. I would watch my parents read the newspaper at the breakfast table, and enjoy novels during rare, yet treasured, downtime. I remember reading “Highlights” magazine with my mom each time we had to kill time in a doctor’s office or a dentist’s waiting room. Reading had become an enjoyable way to pass time, whether I was sick, traveling, getting ready for bed, or simply bored.
It took me a few more years to truly understand the educational value of reading. My parents were well aware of Brandt’s claim that “literacy, like land, is a valued commodity in this economy, a key resource in gaining profit and edge. This value helps to explain, of course, the lengths people will go to secure literacy for themselves or their children” (Brandt, 169). Society today is so developed and so successful due to the massive increase in literate individuals. Though each individual’s motivation and passion for literacy varies, we have collectively increased the number of literate, competent individuals in education and the workforce, and therefore created a more knowledgeable and wealthy nation.
Reading often is critical to the successful development of writing skills. According to WebMD, children aged 6-10 “learn to read,” and subsequently “read to learn” from age 10 on. Though spelling, vocabulary, and grammar structures are taught repeatedly throughout our elementary schooling, what we gain from continuous, subconscious exposure in books is unmatched by educational institutions. We see this demonstrated in Malcolm X’s article “Learning to Read.” For someone with no schooling beyond the eighth grade, he confidently expresses his ideas with a distinguished vocabulary and impressive writing skills. This was not a gift he was born with, but rather developed with his perseverance to read and to learn. Writing allows for ideas to flourish with organization and eloquence, and ultimately a better understanding from the reader. Being able to write well is a critical skill to have in order to succeed in a competitive, professional job market.
I remember, only vaguely, learning to write in first and second grade. I can recall much more vividly participating in class spelling bees than physically learning how to write. I do remember that in third grade we began to write in cursive. Unfortunately, these days cursive is more or less a lost art. With increased prevalence in computer proficiency, handwriting either in print or script is on the decline. In Anne Chemin’s article “Handwriting vs. typing: Is the pen still mightier than the keyboard?” she discusses whether or not handwriting delivers greater cognitive benefits than typing. While some argue that it is the content and quality of a text that matters, rather than the means of producing it, others assert that learning, analyzing, and comprehension are far superior when stemmed from physically handwriting. According to a British study of 2,000 people in 2014, one in three respondents had not written anything by hand in the past six months, and on average, had not put a pen to paper in the previous 41 days (Chemin). I can only assume those numbers have increased over the past year. I can personally confirm that I learn more, and feel much more mentally stimulated when writing by hand. However, it is much more efficient to type each document, and less time consuming to edit.
Throughout my educational studies, I enjoyed writing book reports and research reports. The process of analyzing information and putting my arguments down on paper was intriguing and fulfilling. I, again, attribute many of my writing successes to the help and inspiration of my parents. I often asked them to edit my papers before turning them in, and gained invaluable insight from their constructive criticisms. Not only did I become better at self-editing and reducing simple grammatical errors, but I was also able to produce more eloquent and persuasive sentence structures and paragraphs.
I am so thankful for my parents’ dedication to raising intelligent, literate children. Without their emphasis on the importance of education, reading, and quality writing skills, I certainly would not be on the path to success that I find myself on today. Though I consider my peers, former and current educational institutions, and media outlets to be substantially influential sponsors of my literacy, none have been as meaningful or successful as my family.
Works Cited
Brandt, Deborah. “Sponsors of Literacy.” College Composition and Communication. 49.2 (1998): 165-185. Jstor. Web. 29 May 2015.
Chemin, Anne. “Handwriting vs Typing: Is the Pen Still Mightier than the Keyboard?” The Guardian. 16 Dec. 2014. Web. 24 July 2015.
Feature, Annie. “When Should Kids Learn to Read, Write, and Do Math?” WebMD. WebMD. Web. 25 July 2015.
Malcolm X. “Learning to Read.” The Autobiography of Malcolm X. New York: Random House, 1964. Web. 29 May 2015.
