What Literacy Means to Me?

Dad and Mom

I don’t think literacy is something that can be defined in one word.  It is multilayered and dynamic. I feel like literacy is all around us and embedded in every aspect of our lives, from the activities we partake in to our social interactions.  I strongly believe that literacy empowers us to be knowledgeable and understand our surroundings.  Two important people who have shaped and played a fundamental role in my early literacy learning, are my parents.  They provided and created experiences that fostered my literacy journey.

My Early Literacy Experiences in Zambia, Africa

Zambia, Africa
Image: Where is Zambia? (2014). 
Retrieved from:http://sevennaturalwonders.org/where-is-zambia/         

Family picture outside our house in Zambia

My brother and I grew up
watching our dad read the newspaper on a daily basis and then talk to us about important issues happening in the community.  My dad was very fond of reading and enjoyed going to the library and getting books and magazines on the economy and home remedies.  We lived In Zambia, Africa, and that is where I spent my early childhood.  In the early 1990’s, in Zambia, there was only one library and it wasn’t very close to where we lived. It was quite a commute but my dad made sure that we visited the library once every two weeks. On our ride to the library, my dad, mom, brother and I discussed what kind of books we wanted to look for once we reached the library. 

Potholes on the road
Image : Elphick-Pooley, E. (Photograher).  (2014). Potholes. 
Retrieved from: http://www.africa4x4cafe.com/htm/africa_4x4_cafe_faq.htm 

View while driving on the roads in Lusaka, Zambia
Image:  Knight, F. (2003). York Farm, Kafue Road. 
Retrieved from: http://search.zm.knightfrank.com/zm628

The route to the library was a very scenic one; there were large trees and many potholes on the roads.  My brother and I would guide my dad and tell him when we saw potholes coming up.  We made our driving trip into a game and kept track how many potholes we could avoid.

Once we reached the library, my brother and I were allowed to pick the books, audio books and videos that interested us.  My dad would help me pick out books that were too high for me to reach and help me sound out the titles of the books. My mom would be interested in looking for magazines, especially the ones that came from India.  I remember that on our ride back home from the library, my mom would read the magazines she got and if she found something interesting, she would read it out loud to us in our native language, Gujarati.  My dad would mostly converse with us in English while my mom would converse with us in our native language, Gujarati.  My parents wanted us to comprehend both languages and consequently, they each took on the role of being responsible of teaching us one of the languages.

Family picture while on vacation in South Africa

                                            

Reflecting Back on My Favourite Childhood Book Series

Image: The Berenstain Bears (2002). 
Retrieved from:  http://pbskids.org/berenstainbears/art/ecard/card-03.html

Image: Grandmas Little Bugs. (August, 2015).
Retrieved from: http://www.grandmaslittlebugs.com/2015/08/ 

My favourite books to borrow from the library and read with my parents and brother were the Berenstain Bears series books by Stan Berenstain and Jan Berenstain. I think I really enjoyed picking books from the Berenstain Bears series because of the way the stories were depicted.  The stories were centered on family relationships and how no matter what happens family members will always be there for one another.  The stories always had a problem or issue that one of the Bear’s encountered and how they as a family collaborated to help solve the problem.  

I feel like there are similarities between the way my family interacted with one another and how the Berenstain Bears family was portrayed. We were a family of four and so were the Berenstain Bears.  I have an elder brother who I share a really strong bond with and look up to.  However, while  growing up, we would constantly argue and compete with another just like how the relationship between brother bear and sister bear is depicted in the stories. Yet at the same time, whenever one of us was in a problem, we would do all that we could to help one another out. Hence, I felt there was a connection between my family and the Berenstain Bears books.

Me and my Brother

My Bilingual LiteracyJourney

My mom and I

As mentioned earlier, my parents wanted to us to be familiar with both English and our native language, Gujarati. My mom played a crucial role in further enhancing my bilingual literacy journey. After I would finish reading books or listening to the audio books, my mom would ask me to share what the story was about with her. My mom would engage in conversations with me and make connections to things she had experienced.  During our discussion about the text my mom would communicate with me in both English and Gujarati.  She would rephrase what I would say in English into our native language, in order for me to practice comprehending both languages.  She would sometimes ask me to write a reflection about my favourite parts of the story.  I would write my reflection in English and then she would teach me how to translate a few of the words in Gujarati.  I am really grateful to my mom for having those conversations with me and teaching me to communicate in more than one language.

            

Alphabet in Gujarati: ઍ બી સી ડી ઈ ઍફ જી ઍચ આઇ જે કે લ ઍમ ઍન

ઑ પી ક્યૂ આર ઍસ ટી યૂ વી ડબ્લ્યૂ ક્ષ ય જ઼ી

Left to Right: Dad, Me, Sister-in-law, Niece, Brother and Mom

Till this date, the tradition has continued; as a family we still have conversations in both English and Gujarati regarding different books or articles we read. We enjoy learning from one another and having open discussions about different topics we each encounter.  I am thankful to my family for promoting different forms of literacy in my childhood.  I still remember our wonderful trips to the library in Zambia and how they helped us bond as a family.  I am grateful to my parents for those trips to the library and for setting time aside to shape my early literacy journey.  Their encouragement and guidance in my literacy development has made me realize the importance of understanding different cultural practices that can impact ones literacy development.

Current and Future Literacy Practices as an Educator

As I prepare myself to become a teacher, I would like to remember my own personal history and how having a bilingual literacy practice has shaped the person that I am today. My parent’s supportive interactions and involvement in my reading and writing development has fostered my dream of wanting to be a teacher. I would like to create the same supportive and interactive learning environment for the students I educate.  I would like to practice culturally inclusive learning practices with the students I work with.  I would like to construct a compassionate environment where there is a connection between home and school and where parents can be involved in their children’s literacy development.  I would like to further learn about and understand links between language, literacy and culture.  I feel that it is important to appreciate and celebrate the diverse cultural and linguistic practices that individuals participate in.

Image: Culture Matters. (September, 2014). Retrieved from:
 http://ianrpubs.unl.edu/epublic/pages/publicationD.jsp?publicationId=1655

Image: Quotes Gram. (n.d.). Retrieved from: http://quotesgram.com/quotes-about-early-childhood-literacy/

I consider myself to be a life long learner and would like to continue to build on my literacy journey through my education at Brock University and in the future when I work alongside the students I educate. 






Thank you for reading !