MY LITERACY STORY BY SHARON MARON HOME EXPERIENCES

MY LITERACY STORY BY SHARON MARON

HOME EXPERIENCES

MY FIRST WORDS WERE “SURPRISE!” MY DAD WAS ALWAYS WORKING WELL AFTER WE WENT TO SLEEP, SO WE DIDN’T GET TO SEE HIM AT NIGHT, OR HAVE HIM READ TO US VERY MUCH. . MY DAD USUALLY JUST READ THE NEWSPAPER, BUT WITH THEIR MODELING, THEY BOTH ENCOURAGED ME TO BE AN AVID READER. I ALWAYS SAW MY MOTHER READING, OR DOING CROSSWORD PUZZLES. I THINK THAT MADE ME WANT TO READ EVEN MORE!

THERE WERE A FEW BOOKS I ABSOLUTELY ADORED!! EVENTUALLY MY MOTHER REFUSED TO READ LITTLE CLOUD OR THE MONSTER AT THE END OF THIS BOOK BECAUSE SHE WAS SO TIRED OF READING THEM TO US!

BOTH PARENTS ENCOURAGED US TO DO OUR HOMEWORK ON TIME. MY MOTHER ALWAYS USED APPROPRIATE LANGUAGE AND HER GRAMMAR AND WRITING WERE ALWAYS WELL DONE. CURSING WASN’T ALLOWED IN MY HOUSE, I DON’T THINK I SAID A CURSE WORD UNTIL I WAS TWELVE OR THIRTEEN! MY FATHER USED “AIN’T” A LOT AND USED TO SAY “SPECIFIC STREET” INSTEAD OF “PACIFIC STREET” AND “I PACIFICIALLY TOLD YOU!” INSTEAD OF “SPECIFICALLY. ”

SCHOOL EXPERIENCES

CHILDREN WHO THEY DEEMED AT A HIGHER READING LEVEL DIDN'T HAVE TO DO THE CARDS, THEY JUST READ A BOOK OF THEIR CHOICE DURING THIS TIME. IT WAS REALLY BORING. I WENT TO MARY OUR QUEEN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN OMAHA. WE HAD PHONICS AND I REALLY ENJOYED THE ACTIVITIES THAT WE DID IN THAT CLASS. IT WAS STRANGE WHEN WE TRANSFERRED TO PRAIRIE LANE ELEMENTARY, A DISTRICT 66 SCHOOL, IN THE 6 TH GRADE AND DIDN'T HAVE PHONICS ANYMORE. AT PRAIRIE LANE WE HAD A ENGLISH LAB AND YOU SAT AT A TABLE WITH THREE OTHER PEOPLE AND PICKED OUT ACTIVITIES TO DO ON THESE CARDS. I DIDN'T GET MUCH OUT OF THAT.

I REALLY ENJOYED READING THE LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE BOOKS, ANYTHING BY JUDY BLUME, AND I LOVED THE MRS. PIGGLE WIGGLE SERIES! I ALSO REALLY ENJOYED THE CHOOSE YOUR OWN ENDING BOOKS, THOSE WERE NEW WHEN I WAS YOUNGER!!

IN MIDDLE SCHOOL WE REALLY GOT TO LEARN HOW TO WRITE AND GIVE SPEECHES. I REALLY LOVED MY SEVENTH GRADE ENGLISH TEACHER, MRS. WEISE! SHE ALWAYS ENCOURAGED ME TO WRITE MORE AND WAS VERY FRIENDLY AND HELPFUL WHEN I MADE MISTAKES. SHE REALLY HAD A PASSION AND ENTHUSIASM FOR TEACHING AND SHARED IT WITH HER CLASS.

In High School my favorite classes were English classes. I loved reading The Pearl, Lord of the Flies, To Kill a Mockingbird, and even Romeo and Juliet! I really enjoyed creative writing and poetry in high school, I did a presentation on ee cummings that knocked everyone's socks off! I pretended to do a eulogy at his funeral and had funeral music playing and I wrote a poem that was very similar to his style of

I DIDN'T LIKE GREAT EXPECTATIONS OR THE GREAT GATSBY. I THOUGHT GREAT EXPECTATIONS WAS VERY WEIRD AND MORBID. I ALSO THINK I WASN’T MATURE ENOUGH TO ENJOY THE GREAT GATSBY.

IN HIGH SCHOOL I USED TO LOVE THE SWEET VALLEY HIGH SERIES! IT WAS ABOUT TWIN SISTERS WHO WERE VERY CLOSE, BUT YET COMPETITIVE. . . I COULD RELATE TO THAT! I ALSO LOVED TO READ MAGAZINES AND THE CHEERLEADERS SERIES. I ENJOYED ENGLISH ALL THROUGH SCHOOL AND I FEEL LIKE I WAS WELL PREPARED FOR COLLEGE.

CURRENT HABITS

I LOVE TO READ ROMANCE NOVELS AND FICTION. I ALSO ENJOY READING BIOGRAPHIES OF PEOPLE I ADMIRE! I LOVE ANYTHING BY JANET EVANOVICH OR JENNIFER CRUSIE. I ALSO ENJOY NORA ROBERTS AND SHANNON DRAKE. I LOVE ROMANTIC MYSTERY NOVELS WHERE THERE IS A HEROINE AND SHE SAVES THE DAY! I USED TO READ ALL THE TIME AND GO TO THE LIBRARY OFTEN. SINCE I HAVE STARTED SCHOOL I DON'T THINK I HAVE GONE TO THE LIBRARY FOR ENJOYMENT AT ALL. I USED TO READ AT LEAST TWO BOOKS A WEEK.

THE THING I ENJOY MOST IS WHEN I AM READING, IT FEELS LIKE I AM RIGHT THERE IN THE MIDST OF THE ACTION WITH THE CHARACTERS IN THE BOOK. MY SISTER AND HUSBAND COULD BE TALKING TO ME AND I WOULDN'T HAVE A CLUE, I AM SO ENGROSSED IN THE BOOK.

I DON'T LIKE SCIENCE FICTION OR HORROR BOOKS AT ALL. I TEND TO HAVE NIGHTMARES AND WHEN I READ THOSE TYPES OF BOOKS I DREAM ABOUT THEM AND END UP GETTING VERY UPSET. I ALSO HAVEN'T FOUND A MOVIE BASED ON A BOOK THAT I HAVE READ THAT I ENJOYED MORE THAN THE BOOK ITSELF. ONCE SCHOOL IS OUT I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO READING FOR LEISURE AND FUN AGAIN! I USED TO REALLY ENJOY READING MY PSYCHOLOGY TEXT BOOKS, ESPECIALLY ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY. I ALSO REALLY HAVE ENJOYED ALL MY TEACHING TEXT BOOKS.

I LOVE TO DO CREATIVE WRITING AND MAKE UP STORIES. I ALSO LOVE TO WRITE MAD LIBS! I ENJOY MAKING UP SILLY POEMS TO MAKE PEOPLE LAUGH. I WRITE IN A JOURNAL OFTEN AND FEEL AS IF I GET MY FEELINGS DOWN ON PAPER I CAN DEAL WITH THEM BETTER. I THINK THIS RELATES TO MY ENJOYMENT OF ROMANCE NOVELS AND FICTION. HANDWRITING IS SO MUCH MORE ROMANTIC AND EXPRESSIVE, I LOVE HOW I CAN LOOK THROUGH MY JOURNAL AND TELL WITHOUT READING THE WORDS HOW I WAS FEELING THAT DAY. I WOULD SAY I WRITE IN MY JOURNAL AT LEAST TWO TIMES PER WEEK. I HAVEN'T GOTTEN TO WRITE CREATIVELY FOR AWHILE. . . I MISS THAT…

I DO NOT ENJOY TECHNICAL WRITING OR WRITING ABOUT RESEARCH. I MUCH PREFER WRITING FICTION OR ABOUT MY EXPERIENCES. I LOVE PUTTING MYSELF INTO MY WRITING, EXPRESSING MY OPINION, AND TECHNICAL WRITING IS TOO STRUCTURED FOR ME TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT. I RECENTLY HAD TO DO AN APA STYLE LITERATURE REVIEW. I FIRST GOT ALL MY SOURCES TOGETHER AND READ THEM. I UNDERLINED IMPORTANT FACTS IN THE SOURCES. I THEN DECIDED WHAT I WANTED TO QUOTE AND WHAT I WANTED TO PUT IN MY OWN WORDS. THEN I JUST STARTED WRITING.

AS I HAVE GOTTEN OLDER I FEEL MUCH MORE CONFIDENT SPEAKING IN ANY SITUATION. IF OTHERS ARE NOT CONTRIBUTING TO A CONVERSATION OR IF A SPEAKER ASKS FOR QUESTIONS, I WILL BE ONE OF THE FIRST ONES TO ASK A QUESTION OF THE SPEAKER. I HAVE BEEN TOLD OFTEN THAT I ASK QUESTIONS THAT OTHERS HAVE, BUT DON'T WANT TO ASK. I ENJOY SPEAKING IN FRONT OF SMALL GROUPS AND TO INDIVIDUALS. I DO GET NERVOUS IN FRONT OF LARGE GROUPS OF PEOPLE, BUT I KNOW I COULD DO IT WITH EASE, ONCE I GOT OVER THE INITIAL NERVOUSNESS.

I AM A GOOD LISTENER. I ONCE WAS TOLD BY THE PERSON I WAS LISTENING TO THAT THEY COULD TELL I WASN'T FORMULATING MY NEXT QUESTION WHILE HEARING THEM SPEAK, THAT I WAS FOCUSED ON WHAT THEY WERE CURRENTLY SAYING. I FEEL LIKE I HAVE GOTTEN OUT OF THAT HABIT A BIT, SINCE I HAVE BECOME MORE SOLUTION ORIENTED. I NEED TO GET BACK TO JUST LISTENING, AND NOT HAVING TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM. I AM A DIFFERENT KIND OF LISTENER TO FRIENDS THAN I AM IN PROFESSIONAL SETTINGS. IT ALSO DEPENDS ON IF MY FRIEND IS ASKING FOR ADVICE OR IF THEY JUST NEED ME TO LISTEN. IN PROFESSIONAL OR SCHOOL SETTINGS I WOULD SAY I AM VERY FOCUSED ON GETTING THE MATERIAL THAT I NEED TO SUCCEED FROM THE SPEAKER.

I ONLY TEND TO TALK TO PEOPLE ABOUT PERSONAL MATTERS WHO I FEEL VERY COMFORTABLE WITH. I DON'T SHARE A LOT ABOUT MYSELF OR LET MY GUARD DOWN WITH A LOT OF PEOPLE. IF I DO HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY IT IS USUALLY A QUESTION OR SOMETHING TO MAKE PEOPLE LAUGH. I LOVE MAKING PEOPLE LAUGH.

I USE THE INTERNET ALL THE TIME FOR RESEARCH, I LOVE TO USE EBSCO HOST OR WILSON-WEB FOR MY RESEARCH. I HAVE FOUND THAT I USE OLD TEXT BOOKS THAT I HAVE KEPT OFTEN WHEN DOING RESEARCH. I AM ALWAYS WILLING TO TRY SOMETHING NEW TO GET THE INFORMATION I WANT. I LOVE THAT YOU CAN LOOK AT JOURNALS THROUGH ONLINE SITES RATHER THAN HAVING TO GO TO THE LIBRARY AND LOOK THROUGH HARD BACK JOURNALS. -I LOVE DOING PODCASTS, THEY ARE SO MUCH FUN! I DID THEM WITH MY PROJECT SMART GIRLS THROUGH GIRLS INC. , AND I HAVE DONE THEM FOR MULTIPLE PRESENTATIONS. I JUST THINK THEY MAKE PRESENTATIONS MORE INTERESTING. I LIKE ONLINE CLASSES, BUT I DO BETTER IN FACE TO FACE CLASSES BECAUSE I STAY ON TASK INSTEAD OF PLAYING BEJEWELED!