Literacy and Me by Erikah

Literacy and Me by Erikah - October 2016 Scholarship Essay

If roles were reversed, and I could teach any subject, I would teach Reading and Literacy for elementary school students. I do not mean English or Language and Composition. Those subjects are important, but people need the fundamentals from Reading and Literacy. I chose Reading and Literacy because it is such a hard thing to learn, and with patience, it is such a rewarding thing to teach. When I was in middle school, as a community service project, we used to go to a nearby elementary school and help the children read. It was very frustrating. It wasn’t because the kids couldn’t read, it was because the kids were simply disinterested and the teachers welcomed their complacency with coloring books and videos on hospitality. It’s annoying. Reading and understanding what you read is one of the most important skills in life. It helps you communicate effectively, learn about things deeply, and see the beauty in humanity. There are people who would kill to know how to read. Some people even take the initiative and teach themselves how to read. However; a lot of people do not have the know-how and feel like they have missed their opportunity. I want to instill the love for reading in children while they are young. Language is such a beautiful thing and learning it is so important to do if you want to be successful in this world.
Learning to read is so important to me because of my older sister. We are two years apart. Every day when she came home from school, she would teach me everything she learned that day. She was a 5 ½ year old girl teaching a 3 year old how to read, write, and do math. She is why I could read at the college level in the 8th grade. She is the reason why I know that I am capable of learning anything that interests me. She unlocked my love for reading. Outside of reading, the experience was important to me because she took the time to teach me on her own, because she wanted me to be “smart”. That means a lot to me. I would want to be that person for my hypothetical students. Teaching someone to read is not only teaching them a subject, it is opening up their world to broader horizons.