Henderson 1 Brian Henderson Professor Raymond UWRT 1103-038 18 September 2015 Learning Never Stops Reading and writing are two very important skills that everyone must acquire. To live a successful life you must know how to read and write, To most people, these skills are very basic things you leam as child in school. The first time I ever encountered any type of literacy I can remember would be my parents reading to me when I was a child. That is where it all started. ‘Then coming up through school I learned much of what I know today, from reading and writing simple words, to reading novels and writing papers. Without these two basic skills, no one will get very far in life When I was a child | always disliked having to learn to read and write. Unless a book was about one of my interests, I did not enjoy reading it. My mom, Cj was the main person that helped me learn to read and write before I started school. She would always sit with me and ‘make sure I was actually reading the book like I was supposed to be doing. Instead I would usually daydream and stare off into space, so it was nice to have her there to keep me on track. I also remember her teaching me how to write out simple words, and spell my name. The most significant story I remember reading was Go Dog Go by P.D. Eastman. 1 used to love that book and I would read it all the time. It was about dogs who could drive racecars. Growing up I had an older sister and brother, Lauren and David, so they always helped me with my reading and writing too. Coming up through school, reading and writing was always somewhat difficult forHenderson 2 me, When it came to reading I just never had the attention span to actually want to sit down and read, With writing I always liked to have an assigned prompt because I would waste too much time thinking what I should write about with an open prompt. When I went into tenth grade, I had an English teacher, Ms. Battista. The way she taught her class was difficult at first, but eventually I got the hang of it. Her class made me a better writer, and I have not had as much trouble with it ever since. We would do quick writing prompts every class, so eventually I got better at using my imagination. After her tenth grade class English went from being one of my lowest grades to one of my highest grades. My tenth grade year was probably my best year of ALTHO improvement for reading and writing overall...) nao Over the years technology has increased immensely. Back in my parent’s childhood it would have been much more difficult to practice basic reading and writing. It is so common for people to have books just laying around, even pencils and paper. But it did not used to be that way. Technology has greatly influenced my Literacy Narrative without me even knowing about it, It would have been difficult to simply write a research paper before we had computers and the internet, Now all I have to do is search a topic and I’m on my way. Growing up in my generation made it much easier to learn to read and write. I had all the basic necessities like books, paper, and pencils. When I was a child I disliked reading and writing in general, but technology has made it much easier to learn. Overtime I have grown to like it more because of technology. On the internet, there are millions of books at my fingertips. I can open a word document and just start writing something anytime I want, This is a huge advantage over what my parents had growing up. They would have had to go to the library and check out books just to learn about something. Now kids can just look most topics up on the intemet. A study of kindergarteners in Auburn, Maine has shown that students who use iPads score better in everyHenderson 3 literacy test than those who don't. The study focused on 266 children whose instruction featured the iPad. Those who used the device scored higher on the literacy tests. This technology is only going to get better and make it even easier for future generations (Schramm). Technology influences everyone’s Literacy Narrative whether they realize it or not. I know it definitely influenced mine. T/\QS! rioded Nore ‘When I was in school, I was always encouraged to read and write. No matter what, subject, I was always encouraged to push myself to the limit, and always try my best. After reading Sherman Alexie’s story, I realized his school experience was completely opposite of mine. He was never encouraged to succeed in school. In fact, he was encouraged to not answer questions, or work hard,,This is because he was Native American, Even though Sherman Alexie had everyone against him, he was still very successful when it came to his studies (Alexie) 4 Co One thing that has always been big in my life is storytelling. My parents and > wet A ine grandparents have always told me stories about their life experiences. Through these stories I» have learned many life lessons that I feel have made me the person I am today. Mainly general thas hibps things like the golden rule. In the book The Secret Life of Bees, storytelling was important to 7) vs ; Va Lily. It gave her a way to escape reality and imagine a different world. This reminded me of my /“ family and all of the stories I’ve been told over the year Everyone has different influences inHenderson 4 Works Cited ype, Sherman, "The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me." 50 Essays. 2nd ed. N.p.: Bedford/St. Martin, 2007. N. pag. Print. _paan, Mike. 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