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Michelle Foote
ENC 1102
The Cheerleaders
Literacy Narrative
30, January 2014
The Literary Code
Many would agree that successes and milestones are acquired by the
acquisition of many small victories. In my case, these victories were small
and gradual understandings of literary concepts. Literacy is defined by the
National Assessment of Adult Literacy as, the ability to use printed and
written information to function in society, to achieve one's goals, and to
develop one's knowledge and potential(nces.ed.gov). This explanation
drives the point I intent to make by its explanation of literacy not only being
the ability to read and write but also using these skills to further ones
knowledge to the next level.
Literacy is founded upon the understanding of small concepts. For this
reason, many think first of childhood memories when considering our literary
history and growth. I will share three simple memories that exemplify this
thesis. The first, being a recollection of basic comprehension. I remember
sitting on the piano bench with my brother as he and my dad spelled things
out, their code to keep me, the little sister, from understanding. However
that day the code did not work. For the first time, I was able to process the
letters flying by, remembering what they were and putting them together in
my head. Then sounding it out. The first word broken of their code: B-O-X. My

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dad and brothers surprise to my exclamation of box was encouragement

for me to continue trying to crack their code as they doled out simple words
to see what else I could put together. This new game we played has shaped
my own literacy and techniques I continue to use today. I still spell out words
in my head when writing them, such as a-w-e-s-o-m-e and b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l.
Reflecting on memories such as this, I see how my family slyly acted as
literary sponsors to me every day.
My next milestone was understanding the concept of phonetics and
writing. Our first grade class did an exercise every week where we were
divided into small groups and each circle member would read a page from
one of our reading books to the group. I remember practicing my page all
week. I had my selected page down in the exception of one word-phone. On
a sticky note I placed in the margin was written fone so I would remember
the proper pronunciation when it came time for me to read my page. After
this week, I had phone in my permanent memory. Due to this one
experience, I was able to build off my knowledge and apply it to other words
the more I read such as photograph or photosynthesis. Coming to this
realization opened my first-grade eyes to even more possibilities for literary
growth.
The R.A.H-R.A.H reading program at my elementary school will be my
concluding example of a small concept that helped form my literary
personality. This acronym stands for Read At Home. The program is based on
a color system that correlates a students reading abilities to a table of books

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of equal difficulty. Every so often, students are evaluated when swapping

books to see if they can move to a higher color. This system seemed to truly
get kids excited about reading. I personally saw its abilities to bring out my
competitive side, wanting to reach the highest level, wanting to keep up with
friends. All while getting students to not only practice reading on their own
time but build the skills to a point where it is an activity of enjoyment. This
instance is not too different from Malcom Xs experience in which he was
self-motivated to learn basic literacy. Once gaining the basic knowledge, his
thirst for knowledge snowballed to becoming the educated and influential
man he became. For this reason, it is important that the opportunity to gain
literacy is accessible to all. The next big discovery may never be revealed if
literacy is not a top priority in the generations to come.
My understanding of literacy today, the way I can apply learned
knowledge to a new situation, the way I spell some words out while writing
them, and the overall enjoyment I gain from reading is entirely due to small
instances. Small victories that encouraged me to expand my literary
knowledge in ways such as taking the AP Literature and Composition class in
high school, going the extra mile for college essays, to the point I am today,
and where it will take me in the field of hospitality hotel operations and event
management.

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