Monday, April 27, 2009

Autobiography #4

A Break Through in Literacy

I had a break through moment in literacy when I attended an English 311 class here at Cal State San Bernardino. Before 311 I always believed that simple grammar and the common rules of writing were the explanations behind language. Breaking words down to the morphological and phonological level was a whole new territory for me. I was amazed at how letters' sounds are manipulated to create the smallest bit of meaning within a word. Although I was intrigued by the class, I chose to continue on the Literature path in my concentration since it fit my schedule. Otherwise, I just might have changed my concentration to Liguistics!

Everyone in the class seemed to enjoy learning linguistics as well. The Professor was very engaged in teaching and held the class' attention with her performance of the phonology sound effects. I will be able to take with me reason why letters make sounds and be able to use this as a tool to teach my future classes basic linguistics.

Moss' Ethnography and Composition: Studying Language at Home

Beverly Moss describes the functions of ethnography, the fundamentals of it and the approach an ethnographer should take. This insight is very helpful to those who are considering doing some sort of ethnography for themselves. Moss explains that "the goal of an enthnographer is to study, explore, and describe a group's culture," (389). I have always found culture to be one of the most interesting aspects of the individual and also believe that studying the culture helps lead one to a better understanding of why people are the way they are. Growing up in San Bernardino, I have always been aware of the mixture of cultures that this city entails and have grown up to embrace different things from different cultures because it was always apart of ME. I have attended quincineras, attended an African American church, and have always engaged with others races. I have always desired to understand and relate to others how I got to be the person I am and that I evolved from a variety of cultures.
When considering doing an ethnographical study of San Bernardino, I see it as a challenge because there is not just one set culture in this city. As Hymes describes the three modes of ethnographic inquiry, (comprehensive-oriented, topic-oriented, and hypothesis-oriented) I feel it would be most logical to take the topic-oriented approach. Although hypothesis oriented might be an interesting evolution of the process. Moss also brings up good points about studying one's own culture. She notes that an ethnographer must be as open-mided as possible. Because you are dealing with a familiar life-style, it may be easy to overlook certain aspects of the culture that seem normal or uninteresting because it has always been part of the routine. This may be hard for someone from the community to do, as well as withholding bias or predjudice about things.
I like the fact that Moss refers to Shirley Brice Heath in this article because I have also read her work, and agree that it is most insightful into a different cultural perception. There was one town Heath observed that was very similar to the lifestyle and cultural beliefs I had been raised with, for example, reading books and talking to babies and preparing for school. The other town took a completely opposite approach to lifestyle, where the children were only to speak when spoken to, put on stage to see how they would react to certain incidents, and having a much different view of what was important in life. At first I was shocked to think that people would treat their children to public humiliation and not encourage education, but after reading more into the ethnography, I discovered how important these things were to their culture and also identified them in their community.
After taking African American Literature, I have always been interested in how their language has evolved from oral to written, and how much of a role the oral language still plays apart in the community. This ethnography seemed to reinforce this concept for me and gave me a more open mind for these sorts of studies. Ethnography has no room for bias or personal opinion but can be very helpful when trying to understand someone's reasonings and ways of life.
Lastly, I would quickly like to address Moss' quote that "finding out what students did outside the class was the key to helping them succeed in school," (388). Throughout my studies on teaching children, I have seen this point reiterated over and over again. I too, believe this is one of the most important things to understand when trying to teach children and ethnographies are a great way to study them. This can be a difficult goal to obtain, but it truly is the key to success for these students. Through a better understanding of the students' lives outside of school, the teacher can look for multiple ways to connect and engage his or her students which is necessary for the student to want to learn at all.

The Chance to Create (Week 4)

My Sophomore year of high school was my worst and best year for English. I started out the year in full I.B. (International Baccalaureate) classes, and this included English. I had always done well in my English classes before this year, but, to be honest, I struggled first semester in English. IB is a high honors program, and though the material was college-level and, therefore, challenging, it wasn't the course work that discouraged me- it was my teacher. I won't name names, because I went to high school right down the street from CSUSB, but this particular English teacher was absolutely horrendous. He was older and had a reputation for acting inappropriately with his female students. I won't go into detail, because it is unnecessary for this assignment, but his, ahem, style didn't exactly inspire me to take his assignments seriously.

After discussing my intimidation of him with my father, my dad decided it was time for me to switch out of his class at the semester. For the first time in my high school career, I was no longer in full IB classes. My dad asked to have me transferred into the AVID program at my school after I told him about it (a few of my friends in P.E. were in the program and told me I should join). I was ecstatic to be transferred out of this teacher's class, but was a little hesitant when I realized that my new English teacher was a man, too. I really didn't need to worry, however. Mr. Garrett was probably the complete opposite of my previous teacher. He was younger, very outgoing and most importantly, he was warm and he took his students seriously. To be honest, for the first time in high school, I felt as though what I thought and what I said was respected and heard by a teacher.

The assignment that I remember best from all of high school was given to me that second semester. We read Ayn Rand's Anthem , which isn't exactly an easy read, but it was short so I wasn't turned off to it. We, of course, answered chapter questions to make sure that we understood the readings, but the assignment I'm talking about came at the end of the book. Mr. Garrett gave us a few (and by a few, I mean probably 10) final assignments to choose from, ranging from research papers to creative writing projects. I narrowed my choices down to two, one being an academic paper and the other being creative writing. I'm not sure what provoked my courage, but I decided to go with the creative writing project. The question was to write the story of the man Equality 7-2521 (the main character) saw being burned at a stake at the beginning of the book. I don't know what it was, but the combination between this book, the writing prompt and Mr. Garrett encouraged me to write a story for a grade, which was something I had never done before.

When I got my assignment back from Mr. Garrett, I was only encouraged further. I got an A+ on the assignment, and he wrote comments giving me helpful tips and praise. For the first time in high school, I felt talented and intelligent. He was the only teacher I had in high school who did anything remotely creative with writing assignments, and I attribute my success in his class to his patience and belief in his students. It was after his class that I considered seriously going into creative writing in college, and as those of you reading probably know by now, I did. The experience I had in his class also has given me ideas about how I want to give writing assignments to my future students. Because of his class, I know the importance of giving students room to be everything they can, even when that means going above and beyond what I might be expected to do as a teacher (as Mr. Garrett did). Because of this class, I know the importance of giving students a chance to create something they are proud of.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Universal Literacy?

In examination of Szwed's text on The Ethnography of Literacy, the notion of the socialism of education comes to mind especially as it pertains to the "social meaning of literacy". The difference between functional literacy and academic literacy and how the two are closely related to financial success and quality of life within the modern class system. Szwed referred to "the negative correlation of skills in literacy with lower socio-economic standing." and also how family and community literacy contribute to the "culture of poverty". Szwed asks perhaps the most poignant question on the matter of the ethnography of literacy when he asks "What is it that people read and write?" I also that in conjunction scholars researching the subject should also ask why? The books most often translated and read have to do with faith, ie the bible, torah, and koran etc. the knowledge of these books in impoverished and underdeveloped communities world wide is an important part of any literacy debate. The concept of those who don't have acess to the type off education that creates complete literacy being "street" or "functionally" literate is an old world ideal. When education was reserved for a privileged few poor people learned scripture, literary classics, fables and wives tales passing them from one generation to the next in a hybrid of oral tradition and the inclusion of certain texts as "functional literature". When it was illegal for a slave to be taught to read there were slaves who knew the bible chapter and verse from memory. Was this an example of literacy? Szwed examines "motivation" for literacy in his text and in understanding culture of poverty I can conclude that survival is one of the strongest motivating factors for literacy but in many instances due to the availability of information and the strain of poverty functional literacy is all that can be obtained. Szwed states that "ethnographic methods ... are the only means for finding out what literacy really is and what can validly be measured." In looking at literacy community by community world wide gives scholars a more sound foundation on universal literature and how it can be achieved, if that's possible

Week 4 Autobiography: Orwell Misunderstood

When looking back at my schooled experiences with literacy, they were mostly beneficial except for my ninth grade year at San Bernardino High School. This is the only time that my schooled literacy experiences did not seem like a friend to me. This academic year was the only time that I did not finish the texts assigned to me and felt as though I could care less about the story or more importantly, what the author was trying to say. Without much reflection I figured it was just my attitude about school at the time, but now I see how influential the other factors involved were.
My English teacher also happened to be the water polo coach and it was immediately apparent that he favored his chosen sport over his teaching subject. Even his students that were on the team were favored over those who weren't. His attitude towards English affected me from the beginning even though I did not see it at the time.
My biggest failure, or should I say HIS biggest failure that year was the lack of interest in the literature. We were assigned to read George Orwell's, Animal Farm from start to finish but I had already finished after the third page! I never picked it up again. I don't ever recall being introduced to the author's background, or his purpose for writing the book which might have sparked my interest a bit more, but really, I think that I just picked up my teacher's attitude and uninterest for literature.
Usually I will not finish a book if I am completely uninterested in it, but I don't ever remember stopping after the third page. I am not interested in all the literature I have ever read, but I think this feeling was intensified by my teacher's lack of guidance and interest in his job. Today, I have yet to read this story but I wish I could have given it more of a chance. I didn't even give literature a chance to be my friend in this case and I regret this decision today, but I feel I had no one to show me how to be interested in it. This teacher had a big influence on my ninth grade literature, but not in the way I had hoped.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Week 3 Autobiography: Bestest Books

I have had books read to me or have been reading them for so long, that trying to determine the first time a book really affected me is difficult to do. When I was younger, there is one author that still follows me around in my career of creative writing: Dr. Seuss. Whether it was the iambic patameter, the creative, outrageous circumstances of the story, the use of alliterations, or just how the story was told, Dr. Seuss was an enormous influence to my take on literature. I loved how easy he made rhyming seem and I followed his patterns as I began to write my own poetry by third grade.
I remember I wrote a poem called "Little Brothers" which ended up being entered into the Writing Celebration, a program my school was a part of, and won third place out of all who entered. Needless to say, my younger brother, Andrew, was not as thrilled as I was since the poem basically bashed on him. But as I look back, I am positive that Dr. Seuss was where I developed a sense of poetry at all.
Dr. Suess books were also great books for learning to read and I remember my grandmother bought me the whole collection once. My favorite book by him was Are You My Mother? My mom would sit down and read this book to my brother and me over and over again and we would laugh and laugh when the bulldozer would say "Snork!". It was real quality time.
Being an English major, I have read so many books! If I had to pick one (series) that I enjoyed the most, it would have to be J.R.R. Tolkein's, Lord of the Rings. I have never been more into another book than that trilogy. I think it was because it was like entering into another world that had been created special for me. I loved how he set up the entire world and tok the characters on that incredible journey. I remember at the end when Frodo is at Mount Doom and claims the ring for himself, I was so upset!! Feeling such passion for a book really draws me in and makes me never want to leave!

Moll/Gonzalez: Let them Use the Knowledge they Already Have

Luis C. Moll and Norma Gonzalez's Lessons from Research with Language-Minority Children was written to inform the reader about their findings, workings and implications of studies they have done with what they call "funds of knowledge" (158) and "inquiry-based instruction" (163). They define "funds of knowledge" as "those historically accumulated and culturally developed bodies of knowledge and skills essential for household or individual functioning and well-being," (160). They argue in this piece that education for bi- or multi-lingual students needs to include the knowledge that is necessary at home because they then can see themselves fitting in an academic setting. They then discuss the importance of using these funds of knowledge to encourage student-driven research. They obtain research on both of these concepts by implementing several case-studies at both language-minority homes and schools.

They give a couple of examples from their research of both of these goals, as I think of them. While doing their studies on the funds of knowledge there were several researchers (and teachers) who went to the homes of participating students and discussed with the parents or guardians what their family does and what knowledge is necessary to do it. In one case, a researcher found that one family in Tucson, Arizona has rural roots, as many of the men in the family are cowboys. This family owns a ranch, and the researcher found that even though they do not make a living doing cowboy work they still hold great importance in "teach[ing] [the children] the funds of knowledge entailed in these old family traditions," (161). They also found that in most cases in language-minority homes there is more than one household that contributes to the knowledge a child obtains. The implications they express in these studies are to "debunk" the idea that "working-class, language-minority households...[lack] worthwhile knowledge and experiences," (161) and to "[understand] the concept of culture... as the lived practices and knowledge of the students and their families," (162) and not as a sort of myth.

These implications lead to their discussion about inquiry-based instruction and student-driven assignments by using research done by Warren, Rosebery, and Conant (1636). This connection is that teachers can use the knowledge these students are getting from home as a springboard for assignments that the students are interested in. This "knowledge" includes languages they know other than English. In one example they gave, students were encouraged to speak in the language they were most comfortable with. This helped the students to organize their thoughts in the language they are most fluent in. They gave another example of a classroom in New York City with Puerto Rican and African-American sixth graders (165). The teachers asked the students what they would be interested in researching, and the students wanted to research "where and how to obtain resources to help the poor and the homeless, questions about drug and alcohol abuse, the etiology of diseases, crime and child abuse, early pregnancies, women and employment, and the food shortages," (166). The teacher let them organize themselves into groups based on which they would like to research and let them name their group. After the research was finished, a student said it was different from their other school projects because the teachers gave "the idea and let (them) find out the information and say how (they) feel," (167). This study showed that a working social relationship between teachers and students is incredibly useful in helping students take charge of and participate in their education. Moll and Gonzalez conclude that "'language-minority' students have the intellectual capabilities of any other [child]... and... instructional arrangements that capitalize fully on the many strengths they bring into classrooms" should be implemented (171).

Monday, April 20, 2009

Autobiography week 3

Teresa Espinosa
Posted late with permission. Thank you.

Non-Motivational Reader

As I mentioned in class today, the first time I was required to read a whole on my own was when I was in the seventh grade. I remember it vividly because throughout elementary school, the teachers usually just read to the class or had us volunteer to read out loud. The book was, The Call of the Wild by Jack London. I loved the book and almost kept up with the reading. I did however finish the book but it was on my own pace since the class advanced faster than I did. I was not use to reading on my own; it required lots of discipline and time. I was a very slow reader. I remember the book was about sled dogs and their owner and snowstorms and survival. If I remember correctly, one of the sled dogs was the leader of the pack and was very smart and helped the owner survive in the wild.

My teacher had every student take home a copy of the book and when I got home, my chores were waiting for me. I always had chores to do and my mother was the type to brush off ‘books’ and she supported hard, physical work instead. All I wanted to do was to read on my own. I was excited to do so. As soon as I completed my chores, I isolated myself from the family and read in my closet so they couldn’t find me.

In my family, reading consisted of the daily newspaper or closed captioning on the television set even though no one was deaf. My mother liked reading the captions because my two brothers and four sisters and I were always noisy. We didn’t have books around the house. Our day consisted of chores and sometimes homework. The rest of the day we were to play outside.

The Call of the Wild is the first book that mattered to me because it was the first time the teacher trusted me to take it home and read it on my own. I will never forget that. Although I was excited to read at that point, I lost that motivation soon after because my teacher Ms. Lavaign, had to leave to have back surgery and she never came back. Her substitute has lower expectations for the class and we didn’t have to check another book for the rest of the semester. I was curious and went to the library but quickly got overwhelmed at how many books I had to choose from and left.

Literacy Development; Dyson

By Teresa Espinosa

Dyson
According to Bakhtin, “we are all textual borrowers,” (327). It is not uncommon for someone to hear something from someone or somewhere else and use the words in a separate conversation in a context appropriate for the conversation. Vygotsky says, “language manipulates mind in society” (327). This means that we, society are required to think critically when searching for word choice thus language navigates the conversation. This happens because of the words’ history and meaning.
Some of the ways children learn language is through their everyday activities, conversations, storytelling, and literary response and through dramatic plays. The text by Dyson explains that children respond well to interesting media that they could follow along such as colorful. Language is age appropriate and meaningful and come from power. With that being said, the children can pick up and interpret the meaning of the language and ten use it creating an understanding.
The use of media reference includes: pleasure; stimulation, sports media shows provided especially boys source of displayed knowledge, and the sports media offered affiliation and differentiation. These references served as social functions allowing the children to connect their media world with school. The “media could provide resources for participation in school literacy events, particularly assigned writing,” (336) this helps motivate student to participate in written activities.
Many children have different learning styles and it is important for educators to be able to hone in on each students’ style to gain interest in the lesson.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Literacy Lives in Us All

According to Yetta Goodman's chapter, "The Development of Initial Literacy," the development of literacy is present in all children at a very young age. Children begin to comprehend very early on, how reading and writing have great emphasis on communication and meaning in society. Just like in oral language development, written language shows meaning and a form of communication to youngsters. So if this is the case, then why are there so many children who struggle through these rooted incentives throughout school? Of multiple reasons for this developed delinquency, Goodman points out the important fact "that children's development of literacy grows out of their experiences, and the views and attitudes towards literacy that they encounter as they interact with social groups..." (317).
While social class may emphasize the degree to which children feel the competence to read and write, this does not mean that the lower-class children cannot read or comprehend meaning from reading. Literacy just comes in different levels of importance to different social groups. Lower-class families might not read the same sorts of literature as do middle-class families. For example, children might get their reading practice from food labels in the grocery store rather then sight words from a book. Either way, the child is still recognizing the importance of meaning through reading. Another prime example of reading determinants by social class could be the way which reading is presented to the child. If reading is only seen to the child as a chore to his parents, there is a good chance he will grow up thinking of it as a chore as well.
How we display reading to our children will have a major impact on how they perceive it in the years to come. As teachers we must try to show a variety of texts to students and read and analyze them in exciting ways. We must open their minds to the potential which is already within them.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Fairies and Birch Trees (Week 3)

I mentioned in my last autobiography the Dr. Seuss books I got in the mail every month, but the first book that really captivated me was this huge (literally- it was probably almost as tall as I was) book about fairies. It was actually fairly long for this type of book, I believe that it was about 30 pages, and it was printed on hard, cardboard-like material. I think my sister and I got it for Christmas when I was about eight (this is a guesstimate) from one of our several aunts/uncles.
The things I loved about it most were its size and durability. I could open it up, lie half of my body on it and read stories about fairies that lived in huge trees in the forest. The pictures in it were lovely. They were brightly colored and, to put it simply, very pretty. I have always had an over-active imagination (in fact, I was convinced for a long time that there were fairies who invited me to ride roller coasters in the birch trees in our backyard, and I now attribute that longing to this book) so, needless to say, this book suited me perfectly. I would spend hours looking at the pictures and reading the stories over and over.
I hadn't given much thought about why this book enchanted me to the extent that it did until now, but I think it was the way the book literally invited me in. It gave me a whole other world to go to when I was bored with the one I was in and pretend I was there, I guess. Unfortunately, I can't really remember much of the details about what the stories were about, but I do remember that a few of them were about the fairies in conflict with some dark force. I remember daydreaming about ways to help them until the end when everything was resolved. Ok, I know I was a really weird kid, and I'm probably still incredibly weird to a lot of people, but I don't mind. I loved that book.
Other books/reading materials that were around when I was younger were, honestly, everywhere. I remember this subscription to some sort of Discovery magazine special on animals that we got monthly in the mail. My mom would read them to us until I could start reading, and then she encouraged me to read them to my younger sister and brother. They were kind of like pamphlets, I guess, that had scientific information about all kinds of different animals, and we collected them in these miniature three-ringed notebooks. I know this isn't a very great description of them, but I remember being so excited to read them and learn about all sorts of animals. This communal reading was very common in my house growing up. We were all expected to participate in reading or listening, and honestly, it wasn't much of a chore for any of us ("us" being me, my sister and my brother). All three of us always loved reading and being read to, probably because we were for as long as I can remember.
The most recent book I read with the same (or similar) enjoyment as the fairy book was, ok, don't laugh at me, the seventh (and final) Harry Potter book. I finished reading it a second time back in October, and I think I enjoyed it even more the second time. I know, I'm an English major and I've read several books since October, and I know that many people think these books are lame, and there are inconsistencies in them (trust me, I've seen them, I've read all the other books five times), but they fill the same spot in me that the fairy book did. They give me a world to go to when I'm bored with this one. I no longer think there are fairies in the trees next to my apartment, but I do have the same imagination, and it needs to be fed every once in a while.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Don't be "Afraid" (Week 2)

When I think about my first experiences with literacy, the first thing that comes to mind is this huge sort-of “Hooked on Phonics” cardboard box that my mom used to help me learn letter sounds and basic words. In it were flashcards, cassette tapes and small books that my mom rotated using. Along with these practices, both of parents continually read to me and sat patiently with me while I learned to read. Reading Chicka Chicka Boom Boom was especially exciting, as my parents went to extreme lengths when reading it to me. They often created different voices for each of the letters to spark the idea that one can create your own characters when you read, thus sparking my interest in reading in genteral. My parents were also influential in my early literacy development when they got me a subscription to receive Dr. Seuss books monthly for my sixth or seventh birthday. I waited every month for these books and would read them over and over again until the next one arrived. These books also were incredibly influential in my growth as a reader.

In third grade, I couldn’t for the life of me spell “afraid.” There was something about that silent ‘i’ that kept me from remembering it. It was one of the words for my spelling test, and my mom was quizzing me for the test the next day. I became so frustrated that I couldn’t get this word that I began to cry. My mom was so good at remaining calm and putting things in ways I could remember, and she came up with a rhythm that she said over and over again until I got it. I still remember it today (and would type it here, though I don’t know if the effect would translate through text). My growth as a writer was a bit more of a challenge than my growth as a reader, but through my struggles with writing I grew to love it.

Also during third grade I entered a story I wrote into a writing competition my school held. I spent a lot of time on this story and I actually still have it. The spelling is terrible, but the point was that I was writing. Surprisingly it is about three and a half pages long and actually pretty funny. The opportunity I had at the school to write creatively paired with the encouragement to read from my parents both helped develop my literacy skills.

Week 2 Autobiography; Born into Books

In the early development of my language and literacy, reading was always an important factor. My mother would always read children’s stories to me before I was in school and I enjoyed it because she always read with such passion and did character voices. She made the books we read fun and entertaining and hence, I developed a love for literature at a very early age. Both my parents are college graduates and so I have been exposed to books for as long as I can remember. My father was a pastor, among other things; a playwright, author, poet, and composer, which I suspect I picked up some amazing qualities from. My mother was a housewife and later went into teaching which I was also able to benefit from. Entering into kindergarten I advanced quickly at learning to read and could read and write easily. Spelling always came naturally to me and I excelled quickly in English subject matter.

As my understanding of the English language grew, so did my interest in creating my own stories: my own voice. Growing up as the minister’s daughter, I often felt obligated to withhold my opinions so as not to offend anyone. This led to a lot of internal confusion and conflict and I was eventually prompted to write for my own benefit. It is here that I discovered that writing was the perfect outlet to comment on my personal perspectives and nobody had to know. It was a way for me to express concerns about family, society, and religion among any other topic I wished to dissect. Although I was always talented at writing fiction (even in elementary), my ideas of writing finally extended from journaling, to implementing my own voice and experiences into my fiction works.

It is through literature that I developed my love for story telling, but more importantly, a chance to connect to someone else. Literature can be a friend to someone who has none. It can be a catalyst, a springboard, an inspiration, a warning, or simply a view on life and it is through literature that one may realize that they are not alone in their opinions or views. It is always nice to feel the comfort of sympathy and to be able to share your feelings with others. Throughout my experiences of reading and writing, I have gained cultural, historical and fantastical views about life and can appreciate literary works for more than just education. I can relate to texts and hopefully find insight into my own life.

"Mistaken Identitity" (Week 2)

A Case of Mistaken Identity

I am not hundred percent sure when my literacy and language development began, however, what I do remember is being very young and being put into an English language learning class with students who didn’t speak any English. I don’t remember the grade I was in when I was asked by my teacher to follow the teacher standing at the door. She took me the classroom where many other students waited for instruction. I was confused as to why they were putting me in that class since I knew no Spanish. It took the teachers a many days and weeks before they realized they made a mistake. I remember just staring at them when they held up obvious pictures and asked me to name them. That is probably why it took them so long to figure out that I didn’t belong with the English language learners. They figured that because I was dark skin with dark hair and brown eyes, that I knew no English.

I have no idea how long I was in that class before they sent me back to my regular class. I know now that precious time was lost in teaching me how to read and write like the other native speakers. I know this because when I returned the other kids were reading and I still struggled because I was being taught how to pronounce words based on flash cards the ELL teacher was teaching me. So, this is the role school played in my literacy skills.

At home, I remember my mother and older brothers and sisters constantly correcting me when I spoke. At the time it was annoying however, I am certain it helped stretch my vocabulary. I don’t remember my family ever taking the time to read to me and it wasn’t extremely important to my mother that I did my homework. Needless to say, I didn’t have much support at home to motivate me to be a good student. Although I lacked support, I was determined to please my teachers. Although they made the mistake of holding me back by putting me in ELL class simply because of the way I looked, I was blessed with some teachers that helped me develop my reading and writing skills.

All signed in!

Took me a while but I made it here!