I have been fortunate enough to have had my literacy sponsored by many people throughout my life, and one of my other posts is devoted to that (that’ll be up shortly). I did want to take some time, though, to acknowledge and analyze the biggest sponsor(s) of my literacy: my parents.
After putting together my research project and facing the statistics that early childhood is, perhaps, the most important period for cultivating a positive attitude towards literacy and reading, in particular, I took some time to think about the people who were most active in my life during that time. Our minds are undoubtedly the most open, chemically primed for learning, and plastic during our early childhood, so the experiences of learning to read, being taught to read and write, discovering enjoyment of stories, and experimenting with language are critical for our development as literate human beings. In short, these experiences affect us for the rest of our lives and prefigure our attitudes as adults.
I am convinced that without my parents’ support and encouragement, I would not only not be the reader/ speaker/ thinker that I am today, I wouldn’t be where I am in life today. One of my earliest memories is being taught Spanish while taking a bath – my dad is fluent in Spanish – he or my mom would point to body parts or colors or objects and ask me what they were called. I still remember some of the words for the parts of the face – ojos (eyes), labios (lips), nariz (nose). I also remember my dad spending hours with me doing Hooked On Phonics… does anyone else remember that?! My mom took me to the library often, helped me get my own library card once I was old enough. They always made reading seem fun and being smart seem like the most important/ valuable thing I could be. All these experiences shaped who I am as a person and who I am as a reader/ writer.
