John Koehler Ms Fuentes English 1101-074 Literacy Memoir 9/23/2013

Literacy is crucial in todays modern world. Statistics show that 43% of adults at level one literacy live in poverty compared to the 4% of adults that live in poverty at level five literacy.(purple) This statistic shows how important it is to become literate. There is a lot that goes into literacy and education one of the most important aspects are literacy sponsors defined as people, ideas, or intuitions that help others become literate in specific ways.(Wardle) Some of my literacy sponsors in my life include family and teachers, my economic background, speech therapy, and being diagnosed with dyslexia, Literacy sponsors can incorporate a lot of things including ideas, people, and events. Everyone has different literacy sponsors making everyones literacy history unique. For example some of Malcolm Xs literacy sponsors included going to jail. Now a lot of people would wonder how that is a literacy sponsor. Malcolm X said that he would spend upwards of 15 hours reading, and he went on to say that he learned more in jail than he would have in college. (Wardle) Literacy sponsors can be almost anything and there different for everyone. One of the most important aspects of a childs literacy development is their early childhood literacy sponsors. Some of my literacy sponsors include my parents, siblings, teachers, and counselors. Researchers have found a strong correlation between childrens academic success and their early childhood professionals. (green) Their research has shown that with a firm foundation children will become more academically successful. So I attribute much of my

academic success to my elementary school teachers and family for teaching me the basic literacy skills such as reading and writing. Overviewing childhood literacy an important aspect is family engagement. My family was very involved in my own literacy it was one of the key factors of my literacy development. Research shows that when families share songs, stories, and books with their children that it develops literacy skills, but more importantly it motivates children to read and write. (green) Specifically I remember my family members reading me Goodnight Moon over and over again as a bed time story. A few of my siblings still say they have the book memorized because of how many times they read it to me. This interaction between a child and his or her caregivers essential for the development of that childs brain as it forms connections and develops literacy. Personally my family used to read to me every night before I went to bed this keep me interested in learning about reading. Research has shown that between 16 and 18 months while a child is acquiring a larger vocabulary that most of the development depends on economic background. (green) Coming from an upper middle class, white family I feel as though my education was valued highly and therefore during that time I may have learned a larger vocabulary than someone from a different economic background. Economic status is one of the bigger factors of literacy, because it often times it determines a large amount of things about someones life. How much money someone makes often correlates to where they live, what they do, and how they live. My family has a very high value on education all the members of my immediate family attended and finished college. Being the youngest child I had to fallow in everyone elses footsteps and to be illiterate or unsuccessful wasnt an option.

Growing up I had a stuttering issue which now I attribute to my dyslexia which wasnt diagnosed till a later age. This was a major speed bump in my literacy development. In order to compensate my parents enrolled me in speech therapy classes with a speech pathologist. The goal of these classes was to improve my fluency and reading abilities. My personal literacy and fluency in speech was greatly influenced by the speech pathologist. Without attending the speech therapy my fluency would still be poor and my reading ability would not be as strong. When attending these classes I would spend time reading and speaking. Often times it was in the form of flashcards with pictures or words. Eventually after attending the speech therapy classes I was able to overcome the stuttering problem. It wasnt an easy process I took speech therapy classes for 2 and half years. I kept with it though and overcame the stuttering problem. Overcoming my stuttering problem allowed me to become more fluent and communicate what I want to say with ease. Greatly affecting my literacy allowing me to say what I want to say when I want to say this gave me a great deal of confidence. In the fourth grade I was diagnosed with dyslexia. This diagnosis became a very large part of my own literacy history. Dyslexia is said to account for 80% of all diagnosed learning disabilities. (Yellow) I had to work hard to overcome learning differences that could have negatively affected my path to success. However, I worked diligently with private tutors and teachers to learn how to compensate for my learning differences. I challenged myself to my fullest potential by gradually taking harder high school courses. I could have taken an easier course load and been allowed modifications for test taking, but I chose not to use my disability as an excuse. This is an important literacy sponsor of mine not allowing my dyslexia to be used as an excuse to do poorly. So I put in extra time and effort into my studies outside of class and challenged myself to become successful even in the face of adversity. It was not the easiest way

to go about it but by challenging myself I have become a better student and a stronger and more literate person.

Dyslexia is defined as Developmental reading disorder is a reading disability that occurs when the brain does not properly recognize and process certain symbols. (brown) This learning disability can have an effect on the individuals reading comprehension, writing, spelling and sometimes speaking abilities. (grey) This reading disability affected the way I learned how to read, write and speak. Specifically dyslexia affects the area of the brain that is responsible for phonological processingthe ability to analyze, sort out, or sequence sounds heard in spoken language. (yellow) Not allowing the brain to analyze words prevents or hinders the dyslexic individual from understanding the material affecting the persons literacy abilities. Specifically dyslexia makes it hard for me to read and comprehend material in a timely manner. This made reading more challenging as a child because everything took just a little bit longer. Research has shown that individuals with dyslexia while they have difficulty with reading and writing excel in other areas such as reasoning, problem solving, spatial, motor skills and athletics.(Yellow) I think this perfectly defines my literacy I am weaker in areas such as reading and writing but excel in the sciences, spatial, and motor skills. My diagnosis with dyslexia was a major factor of my own literacy history because it made everything just a little bit more difficult. In summary my literacy history can be attributed to many things. Some of which include family and teachers, my economic background, speech therapy, and being diagnosed with dyslexia. Statistics show that 2/3 children that cannot read proficiently after the 4th grade end up

in jail or on welfare. This shows the importance that it is to become literate in the modern world. People that are not literate in this modern era often do not succeed in life.
Work Cited 1. Board, A.D.A.M. Editorial. "Developing Reading Disorders." Developmental Reading Disorder. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 01 Apr. 2013. Web. 18 Sept. 2013. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002379/> (brown) 2. "Literacy Statistics." Literacy Statistics. Begin To Read, 2012. Web. 18 Sept. 2013. <http://www.begintoread.com/research/literacystatistics.html >(purple)

3. NCLD Editorial Team. "What Is Dyslexia?" National Center for Learning Disabilities. National Center for
Learning Disabilities, n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2013. <http://www.ncld.org/types-learningdisabilities/dyslexia/what-is-dyslexia>(grey) 4. "Signs & Symptoms of Dyslexia." Smart Kids With LD RSS. Smart Kids With LD RSS, n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2013.< http://www.smartkidswithld.org/ld-basics/signs-symptoms/dyslexia-article >(yellow) 5. Wardle, Elizabeth, and Doug Downs. "Chapter 3/ Learning to Read Malcolm X." Writing about Writing: A College Reader. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2011. 353+. Print. (book) 6. "Early Language and Literacy Development." Zerotothree. Zero to Three, 2011. Web. 18 Sept. 2013. <http://www.zerotothree.org/public-policy/policy-toolkit/early-literacywebmarch1-6.pdf>. (green)