Catherine Reid

Reading 3311

Cultural and Literacy Autobiography

Growing up, I did not experience a whole lot of prejudice or negative attitudes to
any particular group of students or people in general. I was always taught that everyone was the
same; even if they did not appear to be on the outside. From a young age, I was encouraged to
read and write; I would always practice reading to my parents even though I had no idea what the
book actually said.
I have never had a teacher who discouraged me from reading and writing. I was always
pushed throughout every subject to try my hardest and strive for the best. My teachers helped
everyone to the same standards for everything and challenged us when needed. My third grade
teacher, Mrs. Delaware, would make us put our desks in clusters of four to complete group work.
We each would get a particular job and were all given the same amount of work throughout the
group. She was one of my favorite teachers, and now that I look back, I am thankful that she
held us accountable for ourselves. She, along with many of my other teachers, has helped me
gain a better work ethic.
My cultural background, along with my experiences with literacy, has shaped my
attitudes, beliefs, and practices related to children from diverse populations and the teaching of
language arts in a positive way. Since my family and community were unprejudiced towards any
specific race, I grew up with more of an open mind. I view everyone as equals, from their race
to their gender. As a student, I befriended everyone and never excluded anyone for anything
other than taking my glue stick; even then, I was only mad for about five minutes or so. In North
Carolina, there were not a lot of children who didnt speak English as their first language, so

Catherine Reid
Reading 3311

there were hardly any problems with children not knowing a few of the words and readings in
books.