My Literacy Memoir A literacy event is an experience that occurs when a piece of writing alters the way a person views

literature. Everyone experiences different literacy events, as they shape the way he or she writes and perceives literature. Sylvia Scribner, an educational researcher, claims that there are different stages to understanding and conquering literacy. ersonally, ! have experienced various literacy events within each stage described by Scribner. Scribner states that there are three different stages in literacy. "urther, she uses each stage as a metaphor. #he first stage is adaptation. #his level is goal$oriented, and is the lowest possible level of literacy, otherwise %nown as the &baseline'. #he second stage of literacy is %nown as power. !n this stage, a person is well educated, possesses the ability to communicate with different people, and prospers in a competitive wor%ing environment. #he third, and last, level of literacy is the stage of grace. (hen a person reaches this stage, he or she is considered to have reached salvation. )thers tend to revere people in this stage, such as priests or nuns. As a child, learning to read was a constant, strenuous struggle for me. ! dreaded reading in front of the entire class. ! despised nothing more than the gut$ wrenching feeling that occurred as ! stumbled and slurred my words, while my classmates listened and snic%ered at my beginner$level reading errors. &*eading and (riting' time in school was the worst part of my day, and ! always attempted to con+ure up an excuse as to why ! could not participate that day. ,onetheless, all of this emotion started to change after ! successfully read,my first boo%, cover

to cover, aloud to my mother one night. -sually, bedtime stories consisted of my mom reading to me as ! listened and observed the captivating illustrations. Listening to my mother.s soothing voice before ! drifted off to sleep was an exceedingly peaceful way to end my day. #his night, however, my mother as%ed me if ! wanted to read the boo% instead. My first reaction was &of course not/ !.m not prepared to do this at all/' My mom quic%ly calmed me down with her affection and support, and then encouraged me to pic% out a boo%. ! chose Love 0ou "orever by *obert Munsch, as it was always one of my favorites. ! grabbed the boo% and sat down next to my mom on the bed, blan%ly staring at the cover. #his was it. Either ! would ma%e my mom proud, or embarrass myself in front of the one person who believed in my reading s%ills. ! opened the first page and struggled to pronounce the words. !t seemed as though they were blatantly placed there, staring bac% at me, almost moc%ing my inabilities. (ith the help of my patient and supportive mother, however, ! started to understand what ! was reading. (hen ! finally finished the boo% ! noticed my mother did not say anything. ! loo%ed up at her with excitement, and she smiled bac% at me but could not say anything. ! then noticed she had tears in her eyes. She explained to me that she had never been as proud as she was at that moment. *eferring to Scribner, this was the first time ! felt a sense of adaptation. ! was moving up in the world, even if it was only in a minute aspect. ! was now literate. #he next immense literacy event in my life, was teaching my younger sister how to read. My sister and ! are five years apart, a large enough age$

difference where she can loo% to me as a role model. After ! learned to read on my own, ! began reading bedtime stories to her. 1ust as my mom did to me, ! would let her pic% out the boo%, and then ! would read it as she fell asleep. #his became routine, until one night ! went in to her room and she told me that she had a surprise for me. My sister already had a boo% in her hand, and she as%ed me to sit on the bed and listen, she was ready to read aloud. !nitially, ! was shoc%ed. ! had no idea that she would be able to pic% up reading this fast. My sister opened the first page, determined and anxious, and the rest was history. After she finished reading, a colossal smile spread across her face. She clearly felt accomplished, and she then confessed that she could not have done this without my help. ! already %new she viewed me as a role model, but now ! felt li%e an inspiration. !n relation to Scribner.s metaphor, this event made me feel a sense of power. ! was able to teach another how to read, an ama2ing accomplishment and experience for both parties. My biggest literacy sponsor would be my eighth grade English teacher, Mr. (eiss. )ur reading for the semester was #he 3oy in the Striped a+amas by 1ohn 3oyne. A novel about the atrocious 4olocaust, it told the story of a little boy accidentally %illed when exploring a concentration camp. #his tragic story truly taught me to view the world from a different perspective. !t provided me with the reali2ation of how precious life truly is, and further how it cannot be ta%en for granted. After we completed the boo%, Mr. (eiss held class discussions about all of the topics covered in the boo%. Mr. (eiss and ! had many one$on$one conversations in which we pondered different event.s impacts on life, and our

different perceptions on these events. #hese discussions ! participated in helped shape me into the person that ! am today. All of these literacy events have molded the way that ! understand literacy today. #hey have altered the way ! write, and changed how ! comprehend what ! read. Scribner.s different metaphors for literacy have introduced me to the different stages of my own literacy events. #hese events have truly shaped who ! am today, as a writer, a reader, and most importantly, as a literate and educated member of society.