Literacy History - Assignment #1

 POST 1

Hello everyone! My name is Hadia Awan. I am currently a senior here at NJCU with a double major in English and Secondary Education. I am certified for grades K-12 in New Jersey and working on the last requirements of my education degree. My hobbies include going on walks to enjoy the fresh air, watching television, and sleeping. Overall I have an interest in makeup and literature (two vastly different things as you can see). Something interesting about me is that I had a COVID wedding over Zoom last August! Only my family and my husband’s family were present and our friends from the United States and Pakistan joined on Zoom.

The reason I took this course is because I aspire to be a teacher and I believe that it is important to understand the history of the field I plan to work in. The history of education is not necessarily something that is taught in grammar school. However, it is definitely an important timeline to study as we can learn how the system we have today was created. It is also a way for us to appreciate the laws that have been put in place to ensure the success of the public school system. 

1. Think about your earliest experience of becoming literate.  This can even include things like holding a book correctly or scanning text left to right, etc.

• Who helped you? Who inspired you?  Who supported you? How?

• Were you encouraged or discouraged?

• What are your earliest experiences with literacy?  Which of these experiences significantly impacted my development?  What occurred inside/outside the school setting?

My earliest experience of becoming literate is from when I was about four or five years old, around the time I started school.  My parents were born and raised in Pakistan and were fluent in three languages: Urdu, Punjabi, and English. Before my schooling started, we would speak Urdu at home but after I started Pre-K, they would speak English with me to reinforce the English I was learning in school. My parents would sit with me and read books to me and patiently listen to me read

The book above is one of the books my parents used to help me read. I cannot remember if I had all the letters but I did grow a close attachment to the many I did have. Along with these books, my parents bought me countless other books to practice my reading with and would always sit with me while I did my homework. Needless to say,  both my parents supported and encouraged me in my journey of learning literacy. 

Along with my parents, my teachers supported me during my literacy learning experiences. When I entered the classroom, I spoke a mixture of Urdu and baby-talk. Sometimes it was hard for even my parents to understand what I was trying to say. Thankfully, my Pre-K teacher was also Pakistani and helped me tremendously in my transition from Urdu to English. Because I began speaking and communicating only in English, my literacy began to improve at around five years old. 

              2. As you continue planning, think about your earliest experiences as a learner. When did you begin to feel literate?

• What kind of writing, reading, speaking, listening, viewing activities did you tend to enjoy?

• What frustrated you?

• Who was a role model?

I believe that I began to feel literate at about the age of six. By this point, it had been a year since I began to learn how to read. Also, I was able to write basic words such as my name and a few sentences. I used to enjoy writing names, especially those of my family members. In terms of reading, my favorite books are the Sesame Street letter books, such as the one in the image above. In terms of speaking, I loved to talk. I could talk to my parents all day and still have more to say; regardless of how much I would talk, my parents always listened attentively. They gave me the attention I needed to become confident not only in my speaking but in my reading and writing as well. I really enjoyed looking at picture books and watching television shows such as Dora the Explorer. 

I remember feeling frustrated when I was told that I wrote “b” instead of “d”. These seem like very simple and silly mistakes now but at the time they would bother me as that simple flip of where the “bubble” was would make my entire word wrong. Other than that, I would flaunt my writings in front of my parents. I really enjoyed showing them everything I wrote. Lastly, I would consider my mother my role model. My mother loved reading anything she could get her hands on: novels, newspapers, and books (both fictional and educational). She was, and still is, very passionate about education. In her home back in Pakistan, education was considered the top priority and everything else came after that. My mother and father enforced the same ideals on my sisters and me. I would see my mother reading both for fun and to learn and it inspired me to be the same.

3. Think about how you feel as a literate person today.

• How do you feel about literacy? Why?

• In what ways do you continue to use literacy in your personal life? 

• What or who continues to sponsor/inspire your literacy development?

As an aspiring English teacher, I believe literacy to be an extremely important skill to be learnt. Students and some adults even believe that literacy is something limited to school and studies. However, reading and writing has proven to be assets to people. Literacy affects a person’s success in this life as a whole. Those who are illiterate are at a risk of harming themselves, not caring for their safety or their hygiene, and becoming involved in crime. This is why I think it is important for every person to be literate to some degree. 

In my personal life, outside of school, I use literacy when I create my grocery list every week. I look through weekly circulars and create a list. Also, anytime there is something I need to get off my chest, I end up writing out all my feelings on a piece of paper. I articulate all of my feelings on that piece of paper or text a friend to properly communicate what I am feeling to understand my emotions. The idea of being able to teach other students and my own kids one day about the importance of literature and literacy motivates me every single day. Also, teachers and professors I have had in the past also continue to inspire me. My senior year English teacher in high school is who inspired me to become an English teacher in the first place. From time to time, I think about him and how he put this passion of writing and reading in me and in those moments I hope to be able to do the same for someone else.