Becoming literate is one culmination of a very long and creative practice. This is done by responding to both the external and internal motivations. In this process skills that are new are acquired and then layered to the skills that are secure. Some of the skills that are acquired are terminated after they have done their duty of scaffolding new learning. According to Clay 1, some of the skills acquired remain dormant, and wait when they are required probably when reading and writing becomes challenging. The skills are intertwined organically and this aids in creating a firm base for decoding and handling sounds and symbols.
The process of becoming literate was not easy for one had to pass through a lot to get there. As a child I started acquiring literacy skills even before I went to school. I started learning through interaction with parents and friends. Literacy is not only about reading and writing but it also involved grasping and understanding a set of complex attitudes, expectations and behaviors and many other skills that are related to reading and writing. I learned how to read and write before I joined school. My skills here were shallow and are very different from what I have acquired now. I started reading small books that had simple grammar and vocabulary that I had picked from people conversations. I used to speak broken English but no one ever laughed at me everybody supported me and this helped me to build my vocabulary every day.
At school my teacher used to advise me to read lots of vocabulary to improve on my reading and writing skills. I got new vocabularies every day that helped me to build my communication skills. In the process I started acquiring technical skills for I involved my brain in carrying out activities. I engaged in activities such as molding and curving at such an early age. This helped me develop more than the others. As I continued learning I acquired more and more skills that helped me to develop my literacy skills. These skills are developed all the way to the level of university.
In this process it is so enticing how one meets several people from all walks of life. This is a very good stage where by I interacted with people from almost all parts of the world. This gave me a great opportunity to learn new things. I learned cultures and practices of people around the world. I learned also to appreciate these practices and borrow what is good from them. This has led to promotion of cultural cohesion among countries. Teachers in this process acted like mentors and role models all through. They gave us light on what we should do in future and indeed they were of great help. Parents also gave financial and moral support to make the process a success. They offered advice that was rich with wisdom, at times one could think that the parents disliked them not knowing that it as for their own good. At that time one could not realize it is now that we realize that they were right and we were wrong.
There are also various events that took place that made me learn a lot. We engaged in various activities like dances, cooking foods of different culture, practicing activities from different countries and this helped a lot in building of moral values. In school we had clubs and associations that informed about various activities going on in the country. Some these clubs build our leadership skills and environmental conservation skills. We had clubs such as: environmental club, wildlife club, and many others. Literacy is not acquired only through reading but also through active interaction with others.
There are a lot of challenges that I faced as a literate person. The process of acquiring literacy is so costly. There is a lot of fees that is paid in order for one to reach literacy. It reaches a point when one does not have the money you cannot acquire the knowledge and skills you need. Another challenge is that we face a lot of uncertainty. You find a case where by a person that is illiterate gets a very good job unlike the one who is literate. Most of the people who are literate lack jobs yet they have all the skills and knowledge to do the jobs. They are not sure about their future and at times they feel as if they wasted their time and money.
Most of the people also get knowledge and hope for great things in future but the opposite happens. They face a lot of frustrations because their expectations are never met. They regret having spent all their life time and investing all they have in this and then they do not make it. They feel disappointed. I completed my university but now I do not have a job because they are scarce. But thanks to my teachers, parents and friends because the knowledge I have acquired can help find something to do.
Despite these challenges the people who are literate stand a better chance in life than those who are not. The knowledge they have will help them to overcome the challenges that they face. In this world the richest man is the man that has knowledge. They can apply this knowledge in all aspects of life. Being literate is the best thing that can happen to any person in this world.
Work Cited
Marie M Clay, Becoming Literate: The Construction of Inner Control. Heinemann Publishers: University of Michigan, 1991.
