Literacy Experience of the Past

Good morning, and hope you are having a fabulous day so far!  

Today, I would like to share with you my literacy experiences of the past.  I can honestly say that, I had only one unsavory moment during sixth grade.  For the most part, I lived wonderful experiences from seventh through twelfth grade!  I  will commence with the negative, so that I can later end on a good note. I started reading and writing both English and Spanish, at the age of 3.  Other cultures have consistently fascinated me, foreign books, traditions, foods, etc.  Without a doubt, I have always been proud of my roots, my culture, and my family.  Looking back I have always fancied sitting close to the front of the class, because there are less distractions, and it prevents me from missing important information.  I remember this one occasion (sitting at the very front of class) in sixth grade, when my teacher was reading a certain research article.  It included certain key terms in Spanish.  The teacher started to read the article to us and she was having difficulty reading a certain Spanish term.  I then decided to help her pronounce it.  Keep in mind I did not blurt out the word rudely or loudly.  I was simply helping her with the pronunciation.  She lashed out in front of the whole class and said: "If you are sooo smart, then why aren't you rich?"  I was in such shock by that statement, that I did not understand what she meant?  That was the very first time, I had experienced this kind of remark.  As a child, I was thinking over and over again, what does being literate have to do with being rich?  Keep in mind, I was zoned to a school that was a nice area at the time, I was in a honors program, which meant I had to take honors classes during middle school, and my parents owned four businesses during that time.  That day, I was determined that when I became a teacher, I would never ever lash out on my students like that.  I was not going to let this unfortunate experience make me think otherwise.  I prayed for her and moved on.  

From seventh to twelfth grade I noticed a pattern in the majority of my English/LA teachers.  The majority of these teachers, had some background in the arts, journalism, media, philosophy, psychology, and of course they wore black.  Many of these teachers helped me see literature from all these different view points. I had the opportunity to devour all sorts of literature throughout the years, and most importantly I was free to be me.  I enjoyed every bit of theater, drama, writing school newspapers, being the editor for our high school year book, reading and writing poetry, research British literature, research historical literature, dipped my feet in philosophy, wrote diaries, read literature on sociology and so much more.  This impacted me for life, because these experiences coached me for life.  Therefore, I understood that we did not live in a cookie cutter world, and that everyone's point of view is valuable in the classroom.  For the past eight years of teaching in a bilingual classroom, students have the opportunity to immerse in a plethora of literature, and are free to express themselves, through the diverse genres, and works. Exposing students to a variety of literature will give them the freedom of choice to find literature that they will love.

Blessings,

Evelyn Portillo

P.S. This is our year of fruition!