Running head: CULTURAL AND LITERACY AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Cultural and Literacy Autobiography

Perla Escalon
READ 3311-030
September 16, 2016
Tarleton State University

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When I was little I never had the opportunity to read books. Reading has always been a
major challenge in my life as there are many factors that influenced my literacy experiences. I
was born in a small town in Guanajuato, Mexico, and I lived there for most of my life. I
remember my childhood as being one the best phases in my life, as I had the opportunity to grow
up in a friendly environment that taught me important values. I had many friends who enjoyed
my company, and for the most part I had a very good experience growing up. However, it was
not so great when it came to my education experience. Growing up I did not have the opportunity
to attend kindergarten full time like most of the students, I only attended some days of the week.
This happened because my mother was not able to take me every day of the week. When I
entered first grade I was behind in mostly everything. I learned how to read when I was in
second grade. It was a difficult process since my school did not have a library and I did not have
access to many books. I only had access to six books each year and those were provided by the
school for each of my subjects. For the most part I followed that process during my elementary
and my middle school years.
Being born in a different country, is easy to see that our education system is totally
different compare to the one in the United States. During most of my education experience I
attended school for a total of five hours each day. Growing up I only had one teacher for each
grade level and therefore that teacher taught me every subject. The teacher had to make sure she
covered all of the subjects in one day and because of that she taught each subject in a fast way.
For that matter, I was not able to learn all of the things I needed, but somehow I managed to pass
each year.
Growing up I never had any recollections of reading. As I mentioned before, I never had
access to books or to any kind of reading. The whole process of learning to read was hard. I do

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not have any single memory of parents reading to me. Being the youngest child in a family of
eight, my parents did not have the opportunity to read to me. My mother for the most part took
care of house chores and my father lived in the United States, because had to work in order to
raise us. Growing up I never had the support of parents in terms of reading or writing. Not
having the support from my parents in my early literacy was connected to my academic
achievement. The lack of parental support caused me to be academically behind. I learned how to
read thanks to the help of one of my sisters. She was only two years older than me, and she
taught me to read the books from my classes. She even allowed me to read her the books from
her class. The short stories from those books became my favorites, and I used to read them over
and over again.
After a couples of years my life took a turn when I moved to the United States. One day I
made the decision to move to this country when I was only sixteen years old. This news took
most of my family by surprise, as if it was something they would never expect from me. What
led me to this decision was the fact I wanted to get a better education. My parents supported my
decision and I moved to Texas with my older sister, who was already living here. The process
was difficult as I was leaving behind my family and friends. My sister enrolled me in school in
ninth grade and that was the first step that changed my life. I was held back one year mostly by
the fact that I did not know English and I was placed in the ESL program. Adjusting to the new
changes was not easy for me. The first year in school was the hardest, yet the most exciting year.
During the first year I struggled so much, as I was trying to adjust to the new changes. I
remember being terrified when someone came close to me. I was scared because I did not how to
communicate with other people as I was in the process of learning. I clearly remember that
students made fun of me because I did not know how to read, how to write or to even say simple

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words. Students laughed at me when they saw me getting my dictionary out because I needed it
to translate something. Surprisingly, my dictionary became my favorite book, and I owe part of
my knowledge to that book. I remember the struggles I had to go through in each class, as simple
tasks that were easy to others, were difficult for me. I was not able to read and write or to even
understand the directions of my teachers. I was like a little girl starting first grade all over again.
Along with my bad experiences came my best learning experiences. I had the good
fortune of having excellent teachers who helped me through the difficult process. I had the
opportunity of having an assigned person who helped me and others with school work. The
following year in high school I met my ESL teacher, who soon became the person who had the
most impact on my education. She helped me with my writing, vocabulary, grammar rules,
reading, and pronunciation. In addition, she helped me believe that I was capable to achieve so
much more. My ESL teacher encouraged me to write and read at home to thereby improve my
skills. Her teachings helped me expand my knowledge in my other classes. Soon after, I found
myself knowing the things that struggled with the most. In high school I remember reading Lord
of the Flies which I found very interesting. I read the Great Gatsby, the Diary of Anne Frank, and
some other books for pleasure. I was not able to understand them 100 percent but I got the idea
of what they were saying, my main point was to practice reading. When the time came my ESL
teacher helped me prepare for my TAKS tests and I was able to pass them all on the first attempt.
After all my efforts, I graduated from high school and began the new chapter in my life.
After I graduated I decided that I wanted to be a teacher and I went to Weatherford
College where my learning continued grow. I attended to college and during that time I
continued to read for pleasure. I read books including The Hunger Games, The Notebook and
some of the Harry Potter books. Not only did I improve my reading and writing skills in college,

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but I was also able to develop my social skills. All of my experiences led me discover that I was
wrong about my assumptions. I always thought I hated reading, but the truth is that I enjoy
reading I just did not know it at the time because of the lack with literacy skills. Now I
discovered that reading is learning. However, the process is different for everyone as each
student have individual strengths, as is the case for English learners. According to Cecil et al.
(2015), If children cannot speak English, they can be taught to read and write in their own
language while becoming proficient in English (55). As the author stated, having bilingual
classrooms is very helpful for new English learners.
My cultural background shaped my experiences with literacy as I learned to overcome
most of my obstacles. My experiences led me to decide that I wanted be to a bilingual teacher, as
I know how difficult it is to learn a new language. Being bilingual would give me an advantage
in my future career as an educator as I know that everyone comes from a different background
just like I do. I hope to be able to teach students the many amazing things they can accomplish
by being bilingual. One day I hope to be the kind of teacher that inspires students to overcome
their own barriers, regardless of their cultural background, language or disabilities. I want to
inspire students to read and write just the same way my ESL teacher inspired me. She believed in
me and taught me that everything can be possible, we just need to believe in ourselves. It is very
important for teachers to incorporate rich reading materials in the classroom. By doing so, the
students will be more motivated to develop their literacy skills. Currently, I am not where I want
to be, because of my background experiences I still face problems with reading, writing, and
communicating. I believe in myself and I know there is so much more I can accomplish. I will
improve myself in these areas, so that I can be better prepare for my career. Because learning is a
never ending process, I consider everyday as a new opportunity to learn.

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References
Cecil, N. L., Baker, S., & Lozano A. S. (2015). Striking a Balance Early Literacy. Scottsdale,
AZ.: Holcomb Hathaway, Publisher, Inc.