Response to Yancey Piece

The first thing that came to mind when I was reading the piece by Yancey is how important writing really is. One of the most important cases of writing in the history of the United States was in 1776 when the Declaration of Independence was written declaring the thirteen colonies independent from Great Britain. I don’t write anything like that, nor do I know anyone who writes anything near that important, but I do know writing is an important thing to everyday life in the 21st century.

One of the more apparent forms of writing I can think of comes in the form of text messaging and e-mails. Long has passed the days when normal mail is sent on a regular basis and when people would actually call each other on the telephone. Now most communication is done by writing a “text message.” These types of writings are very informal, but they are used at an astonishing rate. Everyone I know seems to be constantly texting someone else. Granted most teachers may not consider texting a good form of writing, I still would consider it writing.

Teachers, or most teachers, want students to be formal, very proper writers. I agree with Yancey when she makes the point that a lot of people only know how to write to perform on tests. I consider “test writing” a completely different form of writing than writing something from the heart, as corny as that sounds, or simply writing to write. I believe that when people write simply to write they can express themselves a lot more than they are able to express themselves in a test setting where they are given thirty minutes or so to write everything on a topic they can think of. Writing should not be a rushed form of literature, rather it should be free flowing and stress-free. With everything out there to cause stress to students, why should teachers force one more thing on them to increase that stress anymore? Writing should be set more on the level of reading or other hobbies. It should be a pleasurable activity that we enjoy doing on a regular basis. There are millions of people that read for pleasure, but how often do you find someone who, instead of reading, writes for pleasure? Writing can be another form of getting away and immersing oneself in another world. Let your thoughts flow and see where your fingers take you (assuming you’re writing on a computer). Writing is a fun activity and when teachers put too much emphasis on being “perfect” and knowing the “exact” way of doing things, it detracts from the real goal of writing: write to express not to impress.

Response to "Brit's Fantasy Factory" Blog About Learning to Read

Like Britton, I not very concerned about my timeline of learning to read. I don’t remember exactly when I was able to first read, but like him I do remember the Animorph books. I thought they were the coolest thing; however, I liked them because if you flipped through them quickly in the bottom right side of the pages you could see the character morph. I don’t think I actually ever read any Animorph books, but I do know I flipped through numerous ones. I remember Harry Potter growing up, but never actually read the series until I was a senior in high school. They are still probably the greatest books I have ever read, along with the J.R. Tolkein Lord of the Rings series. I have only read The Hobbit (probably close to ten times) and The Fellowship of the Ring. I read part way through The Two Towers, but never finished it. I too have read a number of books on swimming. Being a swimmer, I never seem to be able to get enough of that stuff. Most of my swimming reading, however, comes from Swimming World magazine.

Learning to Read

I have sat pondering the answer to the question “How did you learn to read?” for the past twenty-four hours or so. I’ve gone back and forth about it a lot and have come to the conclusion that I didn’t wake up one morning and say to myself, “Hey, I can read!” Instead reading to me was a process, a very long and painstaking process. Learning took time, a lot of time.

It started with learning the ABCs when I was around the age of two and a half or so. Once I knew my ABCs I learned what sounds each of the letters made. My parents would read to me and I was always curious about which words looked like what. For instance in the child book See Spot Run I wanted to know which word was see or spot or run. I began recognizing the letters and putting them together into small words. My vocabulary was small and I would have to ask my mom for help on a lot of occasions, but I kept reading gradually getting better.
When I was in first grade I was put in the “advanced” reading group in Ms. Sherrill’s class. We would read books like Goosebumps and Box Car Kids, while the other students were reading simpler, shorter books. They were books that didn’t have chapters. I felt so cool because I was able to read chapter books when I was in first grade. I felt like a smarty pants. Now I know that being labeled as “advanced” is only a term. Studies have been done that prove that children who perform below average on placement tests, but were told they were “advanced” would actually begin performing at that “advanced” level. I’m glad I was labeled as such because it has helped me become who I am today, but I do realize now that it’s only a term… but back to learning to read now. I remember being told that I was able to read at a senior in high school level once I reached sixth grade.

I also remember that in kindergarten I was so excited about reading that I would teach my sister how to read every day after school. She is two years younger than I, so wasn’t going to start school for another two years. My parents were so pleased with how well she could read after I finished kindergarten that they enrolled her for following fall. She started kindergarten a year after me when it should’ve been two years. Now she is going to school to become an optometrist. I don’t know if the two have any correlation, but if she ever makes more money than me, she owes me big time.

To sum things up, reading wasn’t a wake up one morning knowing how to do it type thing, but rather it was a long process that took a lot of trial and error. Constant help from my parents and teachers have allowed me to be a good reader. It’s a good skill to have, but it has also been many years in the making, not an overnight osmosis type thing.