Connor 1 Craig Connor Miss E.

English 1101-017 26 September 2013 Discourse: a Personal Literacy Narrative Every student becomes literate at different times and in their own way. Becoming literate in many fields of study is key to communication in the work place, and success in ones chosen carrier. As most students advance through the years of elementary school, they learn to read and write with more ease as they progress through school and each grade. My experience in my developing years of school was not this way as I progressed through school, some of my classmate and I did not increase reading speed or comprehension. Because of this my writing and spelling abilitys suffered. In the public school, Crabapple Crossing, if you fell behind they would not do much to help you catch up to the level that the other students were at. They main goal was to get through the curriculum, not to help the students develop basic literacy skills. I recall once in the second grade sitting in the library looking at the other kids who could read better then I could. They look like they almost enjoyed reading. But at that time reading even short sentences was difficult for me and the way the students were taught to read was that we had to memorize every word, we were not taught how to read phonetically. I remembering being very frustrated with my struggle to read. Thinking to myself, am I dumb, why does this come so easy to them, and it is so difficult for me. I can remember sitting in class and having my 3rd trying to memorize what they called sight words; I could never remember half of these

Connor 2 word. Mrs. Firenze, a very nice teacher, but would be angry at anything that would slow the class down. She never told us what prefixes or suffixes where. And she told us, If you are smart you could remember these words. This was very hindering to my motivation and to my ability. How was I supposed to learn to read if I didnt believe I could? By the time I got the fourth grade I still could not read at the same level as the other students. It became apparent that I was not being taught to the way I learn best. At this point my Parents took me to have educational testing done. After finishing, the Educational consultant diagnosed me with the multiple learning disabilities. I remember my parents coming home and siting me down. I was nervous as most kids are when there parents sit them down to talk. My mom said We have made a decision to move you to a private school. I nervously asked why. My Mother responded the testing we had you do, showed you have some trouble learning, there are other schools that can help you learn to read and write better. I then responded why do I have trouble. The doctor found you have dyslexia and trouble focusing. She then when on to explain to me that dyslexia is not a disability but a different way of thinking. She began naming many smart and italectual people throughout history that also had dyslexia, such as tomas Edison, Albert Einstein, and Alexander Grand Bell. I had learned about all of these people in history at school and was astonished that I had this in relation with them. Intill this point I though these scientists and inventors were just like my classmates and school came easy to them. But my mother and I did some more research and they all struggled in school just like I did most of them gave up on school after just a short period of time. But they all had one thing in common they all though of ideas that no one else could. This was

Connor 3 very inspirational for me. The following year I was move to a small school of 50 student. The school was a started specifically for students with dyslexia. The school was named the swift school. Although the school was in an old church and my classroom was in trailer. I soon became comfortable with the students and the teacher and then as they taught me how to read and write with ease and also taught me on a personal level to the way that I learned. Because my 5th grade class only had eight students, the teachers could help each student master the material that was being cover without being concerned with the finishing there curriculum for the year. This was the most pivotal point in my academic career. After finding teachers that cared more about students learning then meeting deadlines. I began take an interest in learning and understanding all subjects at school. Students in the same class were on different levels of academic progress and they were given work that fit there level. And threw out the year each person made lots of progress and did not feel not as smart or advanced as other students. After a few months at this school I was able to read books and write much better than before. I started the school only able to read simple sentences, but after only a few months at the swift school I began to be able to read whole books. They assisted my reading speed and comprehension by using books on tape and having me follow along with the speaker. The first book I remember reading purely for pleasure was Flags of or Fathers. This book was a very advanced and graphic novel. My parents were concerned when buying it because they though I couldnt finish it. In about two weeks a walked down stairs and told my mom that I had finished the book and she was astonished. She could not believe that in only a half of a year I had progressed from only being able to read simple sentences to finishing a whole novel of a book written for adults. I stayed at this school

Connor 4 for two years until I was too old to stay there. During the second year I was there the school started a student run newsletter. This experience is important to me, because it made me believe in my writing abilities. I was in charge of writing one of the main articles. I with the help of some of my friends and classmates wrote an article. The article we wrote was about the vulture birds that had recently been circling the school and scaring some of the students as well as the parents. I explained in the article that this particular kind of vulture only eat small dead rodents. This article received complements from almost every faculty member in the school, and put ease in the minds of the parents and younger students. This made me gain confidence in my writing ability that I had never had before. After I had the leave the shift school I then Enrolled in Saint Francis College Preparatory School. Threw out my remaining years of middle school I receive great help from my teachers and adapted to the change of going to a much large and difficult school. I remained at the school threw the rest of my high school career and continued to make decent grade and I progressed through the years. I began to struggle when I began taking more difficult English classes but I thought it was due to not trying hard enough and trying to juggle school and football with minimal time to focus on my studys. I made it through with decent grades. And though I just need to try harder next year. My senior year of high school English class was a disaster. In the last month of school I found myself with a 62 grade average. And had three weeks to pass. I was stuck in this situation due to a combination of senior year syndrome and dealing with very difficult to read old English. so I began to study and work very hard on my work and my average slowly began to move up and I finished the semester with a class score of 68. I

Connor 5 felt as if I was making very good progress, and would be ready to take my final examination. I then began to study for the final exam and began to ask the teacher questions. I came into the final as prepared as possible. The final was one long essay. When I walked in to the final examination room I felt as if there was known way I could get below a 90 on the test. I had spent long hours rereading the works and spend time every day after school reviewing with my teacher. I had memorized all the vocabulary words, and new all the literary devices uses in each work. As I was taking the final I answered every question as completely as possible. After finishing the final I thought I had to have gotten an A at the very least. After waiting the agonizingly long time for the teacher to grade the exam I received my grade. As I walked into room and she told me You did great on the final and had one of the best essays in the class. After hearing here say this I was very happy. I though my grade in the class would be pulled up ten of fifth teen points. I was sure I got an A She the handed me the test back my test and at the top of the page in bright read was a 76. I began to look through the test and look at what points were taking off for. I then began to see points taking off for misspellings and grammatical errors. That were not supposed to be taken off for on this Exam. I was shock I scored so low this grade was the exact right number to give me a 70 and pass the class. After all the studying and preparation I was given a C. This made me think that I was actually good at English but the grading system of my school was flawed and they gave Me the grade they wanted me to have, not the grade I deserve. Due to my learning disability they were supposed to assist me with educational accommodations, and give me extra time on all quizzes and tests. But the school decide to pick and choose which accommodation I should have and not what I was supposed to receive by the federal

Connor 6 Americans with disabilities act. These actions were s shocking to me I began questing my whole high school academic achievements. I then thought maybe I am actually good at writing and I was not given the help I needed. Maybe I can write well despite the grades and view I had developed throughout high school. Threw out my whole educational development my escape from the stresses and struggles of school was working on my dads project car. The Car was a 1971 Buick Gran Sport, a very valuable and rare car. This was my dad dream car sense he was twelve. Some of my earliest memories I have include working in the grudge with my dad. Constantly work on and learning how cars work is another genre I have developed literacy in. In contrast with school, Learning how mechanical and electrical systems works came naturally to me. With very little effort I could figure out how things go together and work. Even when I could figure out how something worked my father was there to explain how it worked. This was very inspirational for me as a child. I always had a strong drive to learn about car. When I was learning chemistry and physics in high school, my dad would help learn and gain interest in these subjects by showing how the different topics can be applied to cars. As the car moved closes to completion, my dad and I spent more time in the grudge together. The more I worked on the car the more is was able to apply what I learned in class to real world situation. This was key to me wanting to go to Engineer school. My fascination with cars and science grew and the more I learned the more I wanted to learn. This experience was very different than one I had trying to become literate in English. When I began to realize that my other friends who were also car guys did not find learning about engines as easily I did. I reminded me of being in the library at Crabapple

Connor 7 Crossing. For some people reading just came naturally and easily, but for me it was a struggle. Now I was in the opposite position and it was quite strange seeing others struggle with information I found easy. Throughout My Literary development I have face a good deal of struggle and adversity. To Spite this I feel as if I have overcome and become literate in many areas. Every person become literate in different ways and time. But one must become literate to be successful in life and in there career. The skills a person developed in the first two decades of their life will change and shape their future.