Burgert 1

Andrew Burgert

Professor Jan Rieman

English 1103-001

September 16, 2010

I’ll Never Not Read Again

Self-assessment: I got here without too much struggle; it took a few hours

and interviewing my parents to get many of the details, as I was a bit

young to remember much of my early literacy. I took notes in an

outline format and then expanded the outline into the draft I brought

to the workshop. I think this paper, like most I write, lacks somewhat

in content but has great sentence structure.

My parents were the most important factor in my early literacy. I was read aloud to

nightly by parents. I came to memorize words with time. Mom, a (former elementary school

teacher) put letters/colors/shapes, and all sorts of teaching charts around the house – it was

like living in a 3rd grade classroom. I started identifying/reading road and business signs. I also

went to preschool, where teachers read aloud to me, and I could read books on my own. I

learned to read by three and a half years old, before I entered preschool. [Thesis?]

I’ve always had constant access to books at home, bookstores, and libraries. My

computer literacy started not long after that of reading - we got our first computer when I was

between four and five years old. I had open (but filtered) access to the computer – by the time
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I was five, I was loading my own games. Exposure to educational children’s TV shows, videos,

and computer games contributed to my early literacy.

Parents and teachers taught me academic and civic literacies - and religious literacy, I

suppose. In early literacy my parents were my primary/only sponsors. When I started

elementary school, my teachers took a greater role as sponsors. They pushed me to write,

beginning most memorably with a journal in first grade – I constantly edited it with proper

symbols. They also encouraged me to read more advanced material. Throughout school,

besides assigned readings, I read increasing amounts of literature at my leisure. It came to a

point where I was not able to sleep at night without reading.

I became a voracious reader of several different genres. Thanks to a healthy/weekly

dose of Star Trek: Voyager in my youth (credit: Mom), I was enthralled with all things science

fiction. Alongside that, I read my fair share of fantasy novels, particularly the Harry Potter

septilogy.

I feel the literacy access granted me – with relation to reading - has been superb, with

nearly any book I have wanted granted to me.

Obviously, I have much more skill in reading than in writing. Writing has always been

more difficult for me. I could have used more coaching on my writing skills throughout my

education.
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Literacy changes over time – as I once needed to read for a while before going to bed, I

now regularly browse the internet, read tech news, check email, et cetera for a while before

going to bed.

On the topic of types of literary access I have desired, I feel an e-reader would grant me

immediate access to books and grant me greater literacies.

[Conclusion?]