Your name:

Mya Evans

Instructions: Please respond to the questions that follow with as much detail and description that you can. The more you put into reflecting now on the complexities of your language and literacy development, the better off you’ll be in completing our major assignment for our first phase of this course. Take as much space as you need.

When it comes to your experiences with language (speaking and listening) and literacy (reading and writing), what specific moments in your life can you recall that are particularly vivid or that emerge as being significant to you? Yes, it could be an example from your earliest memories of learning to speak, read, and write (in school or elsewhere), but it doesn’t have to be. It could be a memorable encounter—a moment of tension, confusion, or triumph. It could be about experiences developing additional dialects/languages and advanced literacies (i.e., learning to speak/write in different peer groups, at school, at work, with family, online, in different locations across the nation or world, etc. Please select 3 moments to describe. Then, explain why each is interesting or significant.

1. One moment that is particularly striking to me with my experience with language and literacy is writing a speech and saying it on television and with many people around me. While writing the speech I had to make sure my message was getting across is a clear and concise way. I was on schedule as other students were also making speeches at the rally so I couldn’t drag on. It also helped me with editing and making sure everything was perfect before approaching the podium. It was a moment of triumph that I was able to articulate my feelings and have other people listen and understand my point of view.

2. Many significant literacy progression happened when I studied and took vocabulary exams in middle and high school. These tests were specifically significant because it was a different format of test, it being on the meaning of words rather than questions about learned topics. These tests aided in my ability to articulate sentences with a higher intelligence. I did extremely well in these exams that I was allowed to help my teachers grade the exams.

3. I had a class where I had to write my first huge paper based on a honors program I was placed in during high school. The essay had to be on the career path I chose for this program, I chose dance. The topic was to write about critical dilemma in the field. This was honestly one of the most confusing and difficult assignments I had to complete and I kept putting it off because I felt it was so hard to complete. I kept changing my topic again and again because I couldn’t find reliable sources to cite in my paper. I had to hand this assignment in by the end of the semester, when the class ended so no matter how difficult it was I had to persevere and give it my all because it was a really part of my program and huge part of my grade. I put a lot of time into sticking with a topic and going through countless sources. I wrote, rewrote, revised, and scrapped out parts of my paper until I had the final result that I am still proud of. This was a significant moment in my writing career because writing assignments usually came easy to me and when this one didn’t, I wanted to give up. I pushed through the challenge and when you go through struggles like that and come out on top is when you truly learn and develop your skills.

What specific materials or artifacts (i.e., objects, writing, learning materials, pictures, video recordings, etc.) from your past can you locate/recall and that in some way represent a meaningful moment in your reading/writing development? This can be something like a journal or book, but also anything at all (e.g., a toy, piece of furniture, cereal box, art supplies, etc.) What memories and feelings can you extract from these examples you’ve gathered/recalled? Explain.

My journal is a meaningful moment in my reading and writing development because it is a showcase of how far I have come. I started the journal right before the first day of high school and have written in it since. It is a timeline of how i’ve developed better handwriting, better vocabulary, and how to be a better writer. I have many feelings with my journal as it is filled with memories and story ideas. I used to have a disdain for my older writing but I have a newfound sense of happiness from it because it shows my desire to improve my skills and that I have continued for four years to practice even though when I started I wasn’t very good.

For better or worse, who and what impacted how, when, and why you developed your languages and literacies? Who in your family, at school, among your peer group, or in your community played a part? How did your particular situation or experience shape your literacy? That is, what sorts of issues, experiences, organizations, or life circumstances played a part? What kinds of languages and literacies did you gain from those people and your particular situation? How? Why? Explain.

One of my close friends positively impacted my languages and literacies. We worked together on writing a story. We focused heavily on world building, backstories, and the characters. It was the first time I develved deeply into any my story ideas and she really helped me progress in my skills. We had weekly meetings and would contact each other in multiple ways such as texting, images of journal notes, phone calls, and voice messages. I learned to work with other people besides myself, editing and revising skills, gain inspiration from many sources. I gained language skills when we had our meetings. Listening to all of her ideas, gaining clarification, and making feedback on her writing and speaking my ideas clearly with the ability to accept help and changes. I gained literacy skills when I wrote up scenes, dialogue, and ideas as well as reading her work too.

In what ways do you see your language, reading, and writing capabilities as having social consequences or impacting your life circumstances—that is, what advantages did/do you have and what disadvantages did/do you face as a result of your language and literacy learning?

A disadvantage that I faced do to my language and literacy skills was not getting accepted into my dream college. The university is a very competitive and prestigious institution and it has heavily impacted my life circumstances and how I will navigate my college and career life. My writing capabilities with my college essay and why I wanted to apply there essay were not up to par with the university’s current applicants and students. Of course, the writing supplements were not the sole reason for getting rejected but it was a major cause in the decision. An advantage of my language and literacy skills was having the opportunity to go the state capital and be able to fight and lobby for bills that I believed in and saw as very important for the NYS student demographic. Being able to coherently speak my opinion and fight for what I believe is right is a privilege I will always cherish and I am very proud of myself for having the skills to accomplish such a feat at 17.

How might your experience with language and literacy connect to larger social realities (e.g., of your life, family, generation, gender, race, culture, nation, geographic location, historical moment, etc.)?

My experience with language and literacy connects to my family, race, and geographical location. All of my schooling took place in New York City. In all of my schools, the majority of the students were people of color. And because of these two factors, I could tell I wasn’t getting the best education from these institutions. My father says that these schools give “second-rate educations”. They’re not as good as schools in wealthier areas with white students and they’re not as good as the NYC specialized schools. This has severely impacted my language and literacy skills.