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Emotional Literacy Literacy is a lot more complex than the average person thinks it is. It could be undefined and mean something different to each person. It can be a book, movie, video game, technology, etc. It also, has a different meaning to everyone and I believe everyone has a special specific event where some type of literacy has affected them or shaped them at some point in their lives. Literacy affected my life when I was younger in a very different way. It wa snt through an assignment or some wonderful teacher I had or a fantastic paper I wrote. It was unlike anything I ever thought would have an effect on my view of literacy. One day when my aunt and uncle went out of town, I spent the night at their place and watched my two little cousins. After I put the baby in her crib, I went to make sure my other cousin Malachi was getting ready for bed. I went into Malachis room to tuck him in. I sat on his bed and asked him which book he would like to read, and right away he looked at me almost in shock; I sensed that he was a little confused. I asked him again, which book would you like to read tonight? He answered, Mommy and Daddy never read me books at night. I was shocked. No books before bed time? What? Was he kidding? As a little girl, thats what I looked forward to at night. Knowing that my mom and dad would take the time out of their night to spend time with me even if it was just for a few minutes was special. My parents would call that little bit of time at night our time. Knowing that my little cousin didnt have our time like I had with my parents, broke my heart. I never really appreciated how much reading a book with my parents would mean to me, or how much it meant until that moment.

As I thought about what my nightly routine as a child was, I told him I was going to read him a book that night. Ive never seen him so happy and excited before. After reading one book to him, he said he wished his parents would do this with him every night. That made me realize how important one little childrens book could mean. It really made me enjoy reading and teaching I guess (in a way). It made me feel important, reflective, and responsible. It made me think of reading and writing in a completely different way. The feelings, thoughts, emotions, writing, reading, teaching, and learning in all different ways; is what literacy means to me. The emotional connection I had when reading my little cousin a book really affected my view on literacy and how much one seemingly meaningless thing could affect your views. It made me realize that literacy isnt just reading a book, or writing a paper. Its so much more than that, its the feelings and emotions you feel towards any type of literacy. Ive come to find that I have more of an emotional connection with literacy. I cant say that I really liked to read before, and I never really found interest in any of the books we had to read assigned by the teachers. The books we had to read for school were about the olden times, like William Shakespeare books, poems, a bunch of articles put together, etc. but that all changed my sophomore year of high school. My sophomore year of high school is when my perception on reading completely changed. I walked into my English class and sat down. On the board was something the teacher wrote, which was read for an hour and for the rest of the time think, reflect and write about what you read. I remember thinking here goes another boring book I have to read. In my mind I was already thinking that for the reflecting time of the class, I would just sit and think about what I was going to do afterschool. At first I remember

sitting on a cold metal desk, in the classroom which was freezing, and I could see the snow falling outside the window. As I sat there, I began to read the book Night. It wasnt like any other book Ive read. The first page immediately drew me in and I didnt want to put down the book. As I was reading the book, I could feel myself getting angry, sad, empathetic and all other sorts of emotions. I felt bad for the Jewish people, because here I was sitting in a classroom fully clothed with jackets and sweater, and they barely had clothes or shoes and they were always so cold. I sat there thinking about the lunch I had in my backpack; and to think they wouldnt eat for days and weeks; really broke my heart. It made me feel like I was taking everything for granted. Everything I have and most of us have and do on a day-to-day basis. To know that they had to struggle and persevere through very rough times just get through the day. I remember during the reflecting time, everyones face were indescribable, and all you saw were blank stares. People were in shock, and you could see tears streaming down their faces. The anger that arose within them too and some didnt know how to react to anything that they just read. This certain literacy event completely changed the way I thought about reading. I never knew I could get so emotionally attached to a book. Literacy is very complex in its meaning. Literacy is a term that can never be defined. As Sylvia Scribner said we have yet to discover or set its boundaries, and ongoing issue of the actual term. When we think of literacy we think of reading, writing, and the teaching of it. We dont really think of the feelings that go along with it, whether it be sad, mad, angry, or any emotional connection, but it is a very important aspect when dealing with literature.

My two literacy events really impacted my way of thinking of literature and completely made me open minded about more literacy out in the world. My first literacy event made me realize how important a book could be and it also made me think of the three metaphors of literacy. Thinking back at those moments I felt as in a state of grace, I felt superior, I felt like a teacher. My second literacy event really made me open my mind to different books and the deeper meaning behind stories not just the basic story line or point of the book. As I stated before literacy has different meanings and has different meanings to everyone. Scribners opinion stated that there isnt one best way to define literacy. He mentioned that conflicts and contradictions are intrinsic, meaning that the problems with literacy and defining literacy are what makes literacy widely viewed, and understood by many people.

Works Cited
Scribner, Sylvia. Literacy in Three Metaphors. American Journal of Education 93 (1984): 6-21. Print.