Michelle Wilson ENGL 1101-040 Professor Dutta What is my Literacy?

Literacy by definition is the ability to read and rite accordin! to the Webster dictionary" ho e#er $ ould li%e to belie#e it is a ord that encom&asses any act of learnin! done by a human bein!' $t is somethin! hich almost all (merican citi)ens no ta%e for !ranted" if in fact $ thin% hard on the sub*ect of Literacy $ reali)e that it is #ery fortunate to be in a &lace ere bein! literate is somethin! common and e+&ected of by others' (s $ read throu!h the researcher re&ort by Leseman in &re&aration for class some days a!o" it lead me to be!in thin%in! about *ust hat e+actly is my o n literacy com&rised of' $ ill di#ide my analysis of literacy into four main conce&tual areas bein! o&&ortunity" instruction" coo&eration" and socio-emotional ,uality' $ am also limitin! the area of obser#ation" my literacy domain" to that of the home en#ironment -Due to my en#ironment !ro in! u&" ho e#er community and home o#erla& !reatly" this is better e+&lained in the ne+t &ara!ra&h of this essay.' $ am doin! this for the sa%e of clarity and sim&licity for both myself and for you" the reader of this &iece" in attem&t to limit confusin! to&ic-crossin! as much as &ossible' Gro in! u&" $ must admit that $ ne#er truly had a &ermanent home' /ince my father as in the military e mo#ed from state to state stayin! only about t o years in any one location and u& to 0 in any re!ion of (merica' (dditionally $ also come from a family of many different cultural bac%dro&s" s&ea%in! t o lan!ua!es at home' My family

is some hat uni,ue bein! a mi+ of /cottish" 1is&anic" and 2hinese in herita!e' 3hese circumstances &ro#ided me ith many o&&ortunities such as access to different re!ional customs and traditions" and the ability to lea#e this country and see other cultures' 4rom these $ !ained literacy on ho to ada&t and acce&t almost any situation' (fter all it is hard to constantly mo#e about if you are not able to find solutions in order to ma%e yourself more comfortable ith all the ne thin!s around you' My &arents also really #alued education so $ had to %ee& my !rades hi!h in school and study a lot hen $ as at home' $ ent to se#eral different schools fi#e or si+ that $ could name off the to& of my head' 3his is &robably the reason my &arents &laced such #alue on my education" $ thin% they may ha#e been orried that there ould be !a&s in my learnin! due to all the mo#in! about' 3hey al ays &ro#ided me ith any boo%s or tools that $ anted or needed to be able learn' 3heir coo&eration and s&onsorshi& in my education as hat dro#e me to as&ire to ta%e ad#anta!e of any o&&ortunity that $ can find no " as $ reali)e that alone these are difficult to find' 3he one thin! hich as ron! ith my learnin! or literacy at home as that ith the amount of mo#in! around $ feel li%e $ became a bit more isolated from e#erythin! that as !oin! on around me' 3he socio-emotional &art of my de#elo&in! literacy lac%ed some %ey &arts of the 5social5 &art of the conce&t" so my home6community literacy is some hat of a lonely e+&erience $ ould su&&ose as $ met lots of &eo&le but ne#er really !ot to %no them ell'

3o summari)e and conclude" my literacy en#ironment as #ery rich and full of su&&ort yet also as #ery isolated' My home as the community and my community as

my home because they constantly chan!ed" no that is chan!in! and se&aratin! those t o domains'