Life Savings --Literacy Autobiography 1

The sun streamed in through the bay window as I sat on the floor of the living room with my mom and sorted coins.  They never seemed to slide into the brown paper rolls from the bank that they allegedly fit into.  When I finished a roll, I tried to tape it closed, and usually ended up dumping half of the roll back onto the carpet when I accidentally squeezed the tube to fold it closed.  I was excited and nervous, with a touch of what I now recognize of apprehension.  I was going to buy the fifth Harry Potter book.  I’d never bought anything before, and was literally counting out my life’s savings of coins in front of me on the carpet.  What if I didn’t have enough?  What if I was going to have to wait a month for the library to buy the book and then I was too far down the waiting list? 

                I asked my mom to take me to Target as the store opened.  I carried a purse for this very special occasion.  It was heavy with the rolls and jingled as I walked along, torn between walking a half a step behind my mother and wanting to dash ahead in case Target sold out of books.  I picked my copy of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix from the display and clutched it to my chest.  I smelled it, and rather than smelling “old book smell” as I expected, I experienced the beauty of “new book smell” for the first time.  I remember the cashier looking confused as when she called out the price of the book to mom, my mom shook her head and looked to me.  I pulled out my two paper dollars, and then began pulling out my rolls of coins, adding the money up out loud until I ran out of rolls and began making stacks of coins on the conveyor belt.  I did, in fact, have enough.

                I still own that copy of the book.

                See, I’d always loved to read.  I was looking at pictures and making up stories before I could read, going through stacks of cardboard books in one sitting.  The above moment gave me a direction in my reading, and let me choose to acquire a book that I knew I’d cherish forever, and not enjoy for a single read-through.  It was a moment in which I chose to become a reader, because that was what I wanted to do.  I didn’t buy toys with that money; I bought a book, and would later defend that decision to my friends. 

                This moment contributes to how I plan on teaching literacy in terms of simple respect.  Some students will love to read, and be highly literate, some may dislike reading but love science, while some students will always see reading as a chore.  As an educator I have to respect these differences, especially when they do not align with my wishes.  The trick is to find alternatives to traditional reading/writing assignments, things that resonate with students as fun instead of work.