Literacy Autobiography

       Reading has always been a challenge for me. I strongly believe that it is because English is not my first language. My country's official language is French and learning English was really hard to do.  In elementary, I did not look forward to reading time. As all of the children grabbed their favorite books, I hid in the back hoping my teacher would not see me. I was not read to by my parents when I was younger. I spent two years in ESL and every morning my teacher read children books to my class. The book that is most memorable to me is Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel. I did not have many books at my house when I was younger. I frequently went to my local library to pick out books. I did this only because my parents forced me to do so. I would take five books out each Sunday, but I would not read any of them. I remember in middle school my teacher had the class read The Face on the Milk Carton. I absolutely loved that book; I have ever since been hooked on mystery books.

        Reading out loud was the worst possible thing for me ever. I avoided reading out loud in most of my classes by saying I had a sore throat.  As I got older I started to read more and when I read, I kept a dictionary with me. I looked up words that I did not know and wrote them down in my reading journal. I began understanding the stories better and the meaning behind the words. Still now I avoid reading out loud in class. I panic if a professor asks me to read something out loud thinking that I might just forget my English. The first week of class my professor asked me to read some words on a strip of paper and I decline the task.  I did not like reading as a child, so I therefore do not really have a passion for reading now.  I only read books when I am required to. I do not read for fun because it brings back horrible memories of me being teased for my French accent. My accent is all gone now, but for some reason reading is still a challenge.  As a child I had to read many books on my own, especially in elementary. My teachers would hand out a list of books that all students must have read by the end of the year. I dreaded this because I only understood half of the story of each of those books.

   My least favorite book was “The Cat in the Hat”.  I did not understand why a cat would be in a hat and I knew that eggs were not green. Not speaking any English really made me not like several books only because I could not understand them. When I was in high school I also did not like the book titled 1984, by George Orwell. When I entered middle school, I became very interested in the Harry Potter series. I read every book and watched the movie to make sure that I understood what was going on. When I saw that this helped, I started reading books that had movies made for them. I also started taking audio books so that I would hear how words are supposed to sound.  I started to enjoy reading books that were either about fantasy or mystery. My reading habits as a child really affects me now because I still do not like reading. If I do read a book it is usually for class.

   In the very rare occasion that I am reading for fun, I would most likely read fantasy books (like twilight) or mystery books. I enjoyed being read to every day at the beginning of class. I have taken many literacy classes and they have all stressed the importance of reading. Today I mostly read to improve my vocabulary.

      My personal goal is to read as much books as I can this semester. My professional goal is that I learn how to encourage students like me to read when I become a teacher. My favorite author is Stephenie Meyer. Many friends of mine do not like Twilight, but I really like it. Her imagination is so beautiful. I also like Stephen King and James Patterson. As of right now, I do see myself as a reader. For the first time since I have been in college, I have been actually reading all of my reading assignments and not just glancing at them. I also feel that I have to set a good example for the children around me. How will I be able to motivate student about reading if I never read.