Entry Blog: Becoming Illiterate

 Entry Blog:

Becoming Illiterate 

    My name is Nahira; I'm 22 and in my fourth year, majoring in computer science. I first started coding in high school and loved it, making me want to pursue my major in computer science to be a web developer. I took this class for two reasons: first, I needed it, and second, I thought it would be interesting. So far, I like the course; this is the first course I took where I had to write a blog. I thought the idea was new and refreshing.

    In 2003, a year after getting my visa approved and being shipped to the States, I attended school from kindergarten to third grade; it was a small school where I made friends and met a lot of teachers. These are the earliest years of becoming illiterate. Throughout the years, I had a lot of English teachers, but the one that I loved and was the most memorable for me was Mr. Mel. He was my third-grade English teacher; he was tall, had black hair, and had big, round glasses. He was one of those teachers who actually cared and wanted to teach me, he made sure that I understood everything being taught, and I was never ignored; he made me feel comfortable and safe. Every day I was in his class, we would sit on the giant bean bags together, and he would read a different book to me every day. Then he started teaching me how to read, and we would do small activities together. We began by writing out words and then sounding out letters, and when I passed each exercise, I would move on to a new activity until I started to read, I discovered English was my favorite subject. The process was not easy as, on some days, I did not have the motivation, but he encouraged me and pushed me on the days I didn't. When graduation day came, we were given a bag with goodies, and in that bag, Mr. Mel gave me a big purple Disney princess book to read and encouraged me to challenge myself and try new things.

In 2007, I went to a middle school called school 6; in this school, I joined a book club; we did numerous activities in English practice books to strengthen our comprehension and writing skills. My

English teacher Mr. David was the club's founder; he selectively picked me along with a few other students to join. We practiced not only for ourselves but for the state tests we would have to take every year. We would practice for an hour every day after school, practicing and reviewing. In a short time, I became knowledgeable and confident enough to take the state test. Although the book club didn't last, I was elated by the experience. I feel learning to be illiterate is essential because u can use it in your personal life, such as writing an essay, filling out resumes, etc.