Alfabetismo- My literacy Journey
Laura Ornelas
El Comienzo…
Cuando empecé a pensar sobre mi camino hacia el
alfabetismo, automáticamente recordé las primeras frases que
me acuerdo haber podido escribir. Al pensar un poco mas,
establecí que mis primeras interacciones con el alfabetismo
fueron las innumerables planas que mi mama me ponía a hacer.
Las primeras consistían de círculos grandes que mi mama me
ayudaba a recalcar muchas veces. Como todavía no había
dominado como agarrar el lápiz bien, los primeros eran círculos
descuidados que solo podía hacer con la ayuda de la mano de mi
mama. Al pasar el tiempo, aprendí a usar el lápiz, y empecé a
hacer páginas de “culebritas” (squiggles) círculos, palitos, y
muchas combinaciones de esos. Aun antes de entrar al kínder,
mi mama se encargo de que yo estuviera preparada para todos
los temas que encontraría en la escuela. Desde una pequeña
edad, mi mama empezó a enseñarme en casa, empezando con las
cosas más básicas. Como empecé desde muy pequeña, no me
acuerdo de todo. Según mi mama, desde que podía agarrar un
lápiz y sostenerlo con la mano empezaron las clases en casa.
Estos ejercicios eran diseñados para que se me
soltara la mano y así poder escribir letras con
facilidad. Lo siguiente fueron letras. Hacia paginas de
cada letra del alfabeto, luego combinaba las letras en
combinaciones como “ma-me-mi-mo-mu” y “pa-pe-pipo-pu” al escribirlas, mi mama me hacia que las dijera
y así estudiaba no solo como escribir las letras, pero
también a leer y pronunciar. Al poco tiempo, empecé a
escribir letras pequeñas, y mi nombre.
Me acuerdo que me encantaba escribir! Cuando mi
mama hacia quehacer en la casa, yo la seguía y le decía
que me dictara palabras para yo escribirlas y hacer
planas. Después de las palabras, aprendí a poner las
palabras en frases. La primera frase que aprendí a
escribir fue “Te Quiero.” Esto es uno de los eventos más
impactantes porque me acuerdo perfectamente lo
emocionada que estaba. Se me hacia increíble que yo,
tan pequeña tenia la habilidad de escribir mensajes
secretos (porque hacia cartitas y las doblaba) que otra
gente, incluyendo los adultos podían descifrar para
encontrar el mensaje que yo escribí
Con todos los ejercicios que hice en casa,
al entrar al kínder en mi Rancho, me sentía
súper orgullosa de saber todo lo que la
maestra Verónica nos estaba enseñando, y
aunque a veces me hartaba de tanta
practica, al fin del día estaba muy feliz de
ser una de las estudiantes mas avanzadas en
el Kínder. En México,
los estudiantes mas
avanzados tienen la
oportunidad de detener
la bandera, y el año
que salí del Kínder, me
toco ese honor.
Durante los dos años en
el Kínder, y los
primeros meses del
primer año de
primaria, mi mama me
seguía poniendo
ejercicios de escritura y
matemáticas en casa.
Una de las
herramientas que
usaba mi mama era un
libro llamado “Mis
primeras letras.” Mi
mama me compro este
cuaderno de
actividades para
cambiar la rutina de
las planas que me
ponía. Aunque no
recuerdo este libro
mucho, sé que me ha de
haber ayudado mucho
porque estos libros son
diseñados para niños, y
los dibujos y
actividades se ven mas
divertidos que la
monotonía de las
planas que hacia con
mi mama.
La transición
El año 2000 cambio mi vida por
completo. Al mudarme a los Estados
Unidos, también cambio la dirección de
mi camino de alfabetismo. Aunque ya
sabía leer y escribir muy bien, al llegar
a California, pensé que todo el esfuerzo
que había dedicado en México había
sido en vano porque no sabía nada de
ingles. Afortunadamente, el alfabeto es
igual, y me inscribieron en una clase
bilingüe en la escuela Verde Elementary
School. Aquí fue donde mi vida en
“spanglish empezó.” La clase era una
clase combinada de segundo y tercero.
Como estaba muy avanzada en español
y matemáticas, el maestro Mr. Lozano
me daba ejercicios y tarea de tercer
grado aunque estaba en segundo. El
ingles se me hacia muy difícil porque no
estuve en los Estados Unidos para
aprender todos los sonidos de las letras.
Mi confusion con los sonidos de las letras, e identificar fotos
fueron los obstaculos mas dificiles. Cynthia Barron, la Teacher’s
Aid me traia Worksheets el en summer, y me daba extra
homework to do at home. Poco a poco, I learned to
recognize words, sounds, y como era aun muy pequeña,
I learned at a fast pace. Soon, I found myself mixing
words, and being able to not only understand what
was being asked of me, but was also able to
respond orally, and in writing. Ofcourse,
everything was not that easy. One of the
most difficult parts of the worksheets they
provided wasn’t the spelling, or the
pronunciation, but to figure out what
the pictures were so that I could then
write the word. I not only had to know
how to read, but identify objects and
words that I had never used before in
Mexico. During the long summer
sessions that I participated in, I
struggled with small worksheets
that other students could breeze
through. One sheet for example,
had pictures of things like rakes,
and a b all of yarn. These things are
easy to identify if you’ve seen them
before, but that was not the case for
me. I stared at the oddly shaped ball
and was confused for several
minutes. Under this black and white
picture, was the following: Y___n. I
think the worksheet was trying to get
me to notice the difference between long
and short vowels since the word RAKE
was next to it. Puzzled, I asked Cynthia for
help. She looked at me and said something
along the lines of “Mija, just look at
the
picture and sound it out.” She didn’t
understand that it was the picture that was
confusing me. At times, I would just sit there in
frustration because by this time, I knew the difference
between the “A” sound in the words “RAKE” and “YARN”
when they were pronounced, and maybe even when they
were written since I could read. Now I understand that I
wasn’t introduced to literacy not just in reading and writing,
but also in orality and identification/symbols.
Another memory I have with
Cynthia was a much more
pleasant one. It was with her
help that I read my first book.
The Little Red Hen, by
Lucinda McQueen was one
of my favorite
accomplishments. As
mentioned previously, my
first year in the United
States was in a bilingual
classroom, and my teacher,
Mr. Lozano (who is still
one of my favorite
teachers) always had tons
of books in English and
Spanish around the
classroom. I would usually
pick books in Spanish since I
felt comfortable, or small books
like “I See Spot Run” in English.
Mr. Lozano believed in me, and pushed
me to read books with more words in English. He
suggested a glossy yellow book.
This hardcover book is still clear in my mind as I think
about it. When I first got it, I was completely intimidated
and did not get very far, but he asked Cynthia to work
with me and she tried to help me, but was also working
with other students, so Mr. Lozano came back with the
same book in Spanish. “La gallinita roja.” After having
Cynthia read with me a few times, I felt comfortable
reading the book on my own, and since I had read it in
Spanish on my own, I knew exactly what the words
meant. This was a big step for me, and I felt empowered
because not only could I read the entire book on my own,
but it wasn’t one of those “baby books” that I was used to
reading like “I See Spot Run.” This book had an actual
story that developed a moral, and various characters. And
to top it off, I could enjoy this story in English and in
Spanish!
At this point, my literacy
was a mixture of Spanish
and English. Spanglish took
over my life, especially
because many of my friends
spoke Spanglish, and
whenever I found words
that I did not know in one
language, it was easy for
me to just use the word I did
know. Words like
“chireando” replaced
“haciendo trampa” because
it was easier, faster, and
sounded like “cheating” in
English. Aunque no tenia
mucho tiempo en los
Estados Unidos, yo misma
notaba que la revoltura de
idiomas estaba borrando
poco a poco el español
academico que empecé a
aprender en México.
In terms of academics, the next big step for me was three years
later in 2003, when I received a proficiency award for both English
and Spanish from the School District. This recognition was a proud
moment for me because it meant that my hard work had paid off and
people other than me recognized my ability to read in both languages
as literate. Of course, even though I was very proud of this
recognition, I did not feel that I was proficient in English.
Sometimes, I would read words, sentences,
passages, or stories just for the sake of reading, but
did not understand everything within that story.
This was in part because of the literacy culture
fostered at my elementary school. We had
reading tests quite frequently. These tests
measured speed and pronunciation. The
teacher would give us a minute to read the
words as fast as we could, and all of us just
thought of it as a race. The passages never meant anything to me
because I just read to read. Comprehension was never a priority
during these tests because the goal was to read as many words as
possible, and I breezed through words, and even pronounced them
with only a slight accent. This made me proud, but when I was
asked for comprehension, I had a hard time explaining complex
characters, or
specific details that were I could not find
directly in
the text. For example, when asked to
find
certain words, or descriptions that
were verbatim, I found those
quickly, but even if the same
question was asked, but the
wording was different, I
struggled to think things
through and give a correct
answer. Slowly, my comprehension
skills began to increase, as did my
overall English literacy. This was evident because I used these
skills at school and even at home.
Since I was now considered literate, and could read
all sorts of words in English and in Spanish, my
role changed at home. Being the oldest, the
responsibility of translating became my job.
When speaking to adults, it was not too
difficult, but having to translate mail was
a very difficult task. Many times, my
parents would give me letters they
received in the mail from doctors, letters
regarding residency status of our family
members, or any other type of text that needed to be translated.
My mom or dad would hand me the text and say “Laura, lo puedes leer?” At first, I
was excited to show off that indeed, I could read the weird words on paper. I proudly read
out loud the many words. Once I was done, my parents waited, and asked “Y que quiere
decir?” I was stuck. I had no idea what I had just read. The lawyer
or doctor lingo was way beyond my understanding, and
although I knew that I was saying the words correctly, and
didn’t struggle to read it, I could not tell my
parents what was being asked of them, or if
they were being asked to do anything at
all. This was hard for me to go through
because my parents did not understand
how I could read, but not be able to
explain what I had just read to them.
This still persists in my life when I am asked to
read about taxes, immigration, or doctor notes.
Although now I know a lot more about each of these,
and might even understand what is being
asked, it is often difficult for me to translate the words
into Spanish. This shows how my path in literacy has taken yet
another turn. For years, I have been immersed in American culture, and
American literacy. Since I have not studied Spanish very long, I do not know
many academic terms, or proper Spanish, which can be seen when I understand academic
or professional writing in English but do not know these academic/professional words in
Spanish since I have not been brought up with them. It is as though my literacy in Spanish
and English has an asymmetrical balance, where Spanish is more slang while English is
more academic. Another reason is that literacy means different things in each of the
communities that I belong to.
It has come to my attention that in my
family (mostly my extended family), literacy is
not only thought to be simply reading and
writing, but it is also thought to be something
only used at school, or regarding academics.
For example, when we go grocery shopping, I
make sure to read what I am buying (mostly
because I am curious, but also because I have
accidently bought things that I cannot use).
There are many family members however,
that just buy things that “look” like what they
need.
My mom always buys cheese for us to make quesadillas since
they are a staple at home (because they are simple, fast, and
everyone can make them at any time), but she just picks up the
first cheese she sees. At first, I did not realize
why I only liked the quesadillas sometimes, and
why they tasted so weird other times. Soon, I
realized that my mom did not pay attention to
what kind of cheese she was buying. Instead of
buying mozzarella cheese, she would
sometimes buy Monterey jack cheese, which
not only melts at different temperature, but
tasted VERY different. Even last week, when I
went home, my mom just picked up cheese she
saw and put it in the cart.
Literate vs illiterate? My Mother vs My Grandmother
This example is even more interesting because my mom is not only literate in both English
and Spanish, but she is in the process of getting her masters,
and often sends me her 12 page research papers, which have
very academic writing. From this, I know that my mother is
capable of reading, writing, and understanding both text and
oral literacy, yet she tends to use it mostly as an academic
tool. This makes me realize that the divide that we have
created between literacy and academics can affect even things
like food. Although this is a minor example about cheese, the
fact that it is such a small mistake proves just how important
literacy can be, and it is almost scary to think about the effects
that the lack of literacy or not using our literary skills can be.
The following example is about my grandma on my
mother’s side. My grandmother is illiterate. She does not know
how to read, write, and can only recognize a few numbers.
When I found out that she is illiterate, I was shocked. I
wondered how she could go about life without it. It is so
necessary in our culture, even in Mexico, that I did not
understand. Even the simplest thing like signing her name is a
task that she has not mastered. When signing documents, like
when she got her residency, all the parts where her signature
were supposed to go were substituted by an “X”. I remember
asking my mother tons of questions about how she goes about
her life, like using money, and my mother responded to all of
them. She explained that she memorized the different colors
and sizes of the peso bills, and the sizes of the coins and in
order to pay the right amount. Since she does not even know
the letters of the alphabet, I can sometimes hear that she does
not pronounce words correctly. She usually just says words as she thinks others say them. For
example, when she calls me by my name, there are times where her pronunciation sounds like she is
saying “laugra” instead of “laura.” These differences are very subtle, but since I only learned about
this a few years ago, and in all honesty, it is still weird to me that she does not read or write at all.
Even though my grandmother is illiterate, and will probably always be
considered illiterate by the majority of society here and around the world, she can not
only communicate perfectly in Spanish, but has mastered an art form that even some
of the most educated and literate people I know cannot reach. My grandmother has
successfully mastered the art of storytelling andcasual conversation. Any sort of
family gathering, whether it be a small casual gathering of 5-20 or large events that
can have up to 100 people, my grandmother makes herself known. She can engage
her audience with a simple story by somehow making it interesting and appealing to
everyone. Her rhetoric skills amaze me. Audience members of all ages (literally ALL
ages!) can participate in her stories without being bored. She imitates voices of the
characters in her stories, who are usually local people that everyone knows, adds
humor for the children, and now that I am older, I can catch the double engenders
that she uses for the adults in the crowd.
After being named proficient in English and Spanish, I would have thought that
too could emulate this skill, but that is a skill that I have yet to unravel myself. I can
write a very detailed and cohesive academic essay about almost any subject in either
English or Spanish (given enough time to understand the subject of course) but to this
day, casual conversation; especially in Spanish is a
struggle for me. I used to think it was a generational
thing that that was the reason I could not
communicate in this manner but I have
realized that my cousins, some
younger, older, and same age as me
can do it. I have realized that they
have grown up seeing this on a daily
basis from different sources in Mexico.
Since I moved to the United States, I
did not get a chance to learn. No
matter how much I know, no matter
how much I can contribute to the
conversation, without the
knowledge of how and when it is
appropriate to use these jokes, voices of imitation,
and double engenders, I will never be able to excel in casual
conversation like my grandmother can. I can do it once in a while, but I
have to think about what I say and how I say it while my grandmother and even
some of my “less educated” family members in Mexico seem to naturally come up with
things on the spot.
Lately, I have come to terms with the idea that literacy does
not just mean reading and writing. It also does not necessarily
create a hierarchy of intelligence. Since it is a social construct,
which means different things to different societies, cultures, or
groups, I can say that I am multi-literate because the different
groups I belong to have
very different ways of
seeing literacy. Not only
does literacy differ
between location, but
also between generations.
I think that the ability to use
technology is a form of literacy. It
is only recently (within this past
quarter) that I have decided to
categorize technology as a form of
literacy. When I think about the internet, computers, cellphones
and various other technological advances, I think about the newer
generations that are brought up using these innovative
technologies. There are many older generations, and even some
that are not that old that do not know how to use these
technologies. Since reading, writing, and orality are all methods of
communication, I can easily add technology into this category
because it is also a form of communication, which combines
technology with either text or oral ways of communication. For
example, email and text messaging are a very important part of
my life today, and they bring people from different places together
(just as spoke and written language does) but can also divide
people between those who are tech-savi and those who are not.
Today, I am still traveling through a literacy path, which I hope will
balance out with my Spanish literacy ya que aun sigue siendo una parte de
mi. Espero que al pasar del tiempo la desigualdad entre los niveles de
alfabetismo se reduzca y algún día pueda sentirme cómoda al
comunicarme en ambos idiomas. I also hope that my literacy in terms of
technology continues to increase. As society evolves, and changes, so does
our literacy.