John Teunis

UWRT 1101
Personal Literacy Narrative
Humans are not brought into this world having an understanding of literacy. We are born
without knowing how to speak, read, or write. Each individuals abilities, appreciation, and
understanding about literacy are formed and molded throughout their educational career. There
are many factors that have an effect on the molding of these personal literacy characteristics.
Things such as environment, parents, friends, availability of materials, and teachers affect each
person on different levels and in different ways. The variable that had the largest positive affect
on my views of reading and writing was a teacher of mine.
This teacher was my freshman and junior year Honors English teacher, Mrs. Foster. I
would in no way say that I was her favorite student. She didnt favor one student over another,
but she was able to connect to each student on a personal level and create a teacher-student
friendship. For example, Mrs. Foster noticed my good humor and called me Red instead of
Alex because of my red hair. She paid attention to each students behavior and interests, and
learned what things made each student tick. By doing this, she was able to connect literacy into
each students life so that it became relevant to them, their life, and their well-being.

The support Mrs. Foster gave me and all of her students was similar to the support Dr.
Larabee gave Akeelah in the movie Akeelah and the Bee. One of the quotes from the movie
describes the way Mrs. Foster viewed all of her students. Dr. Larabee said, Our deepest fear is
not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond imagination. It is our
light more than our darkness which scares us. We ask ourselves who are we to be brilliant,
beautiful, talented, and fabulous. But honestly, who are you to not be so? Mrs. Foster felt that
all of her students had the ability be brilliant, even the students some teachers considered too far

John Teunis
UWRT 1101
gone. She especially connected with students who rarely paid attention and skipped class.
Unfortunately, I was one of those students.

She noticed this behavior forming during my freshman year, and when I had her class
again as a junior she took action. I skipped her class one day early on in the year and I received a
day of in school suspension because she reported me. The next day she could tell I was angry, so
she had a talk with me. She explained that in order for me to be successful in the future I had to
take responsibility for my education. She emphasized the importance of being able to
communicate properly and using a wide vocabulary. Also, she emphasized how reading and
writing skills are necessary in any work place, and that strength in reading and writing can result
in a higher paying job when applied correctly. Mrs. Foster was able to make literacy relevant to
anyones life. Even if you lived all by yourself in a cabin in Alaska living off the land, Mrs.
Foster could find a way to convince you that reading and writing skills are important.

As I started to become more involved in the classroom I actually started to enjoy the time
in class. My vocabulary quiz grades went up because of more involvement in vocabulary
activities. Knowledge and understanding of these words resulted in use of these words, which
will make anyone sound intelligent. I began to get more into the reading and found it to be more
interesting and enjoyable, causing me to become more engaged in classroom discussions. The
writing assignments that she gave us were very opinionated and gave us the opportunity to share
our beliefs and ideas. I am a very opinionated person and I like to stand up for my beliefs and
ideas, so these writing assignments appealed to me. Since I enjoyed the writing assignments, my
writing skills improved drastically and my literary potential was revealed to me.

John Teunis
UWRT 1101
I would definitely say that Mrs. Foster was a Participationist. This group stresses that to
know something, to have knowledge, means to participate in its making, constructing through
language, reading, writing, and talking to others who are also participating in making
knowledge. (This Isnt What We Did In High School, pg 223) I was not a participating part of
the classroom before the conversation she had with me and after that conversation, I became one.
I began to notice literary improvement within myself, and made a mental connection between my
participation and my grades. Mrs. Foster was able to turn me from a slacker who wasnt
concerned with literacy, to an active student who was taking charge of his literacy education.
Mrs. Foster heavily believed in peer support, help, and understanding. She didnt like
competition over grades, or bullying of any type. She would have strong feelings over the
statement, From the very beginning of school we make books and reading a constant source of
possible failure and public humiliation. (Making Children Hate Reading, pg 19) We did a lot of
reading aloud in the classroom, and there was one student who rarely talked because he had a
high pitched voice. I had many classes with him and would always try to make friends with him.
He would never talk to me, just nod and smile at the things I said to him, and if I was lucky Id
get a chuckle. Mrs. Foster knew this student didnt like to talk but she would still call on him
occasionally to read out loud. If she heard another student make a joke about his voice, she
would put the jokester on the spot. Any time someone was made fun of for spelling something
wrong or mispronouncing a word, Mrs. Foster would have something to say. This made me
realize that everyone is not at the same literacy level and some people struggle with the subject.
She emphasized that making fun of people for their struggle had no positive effect on the
improvement of their education and that instead, we should strive to help others along their

John Teunis
UWRT 1101
educational journey. Even though some people were embarrassed to participate, it was still
important for them to do so, so that they could improve their own literacy skills.
Mrs. Foster played a huge role in forming my respect for reading and writing and my
drive to improve my literacy skills. Before, my junior year of high school I didnt appreciate,
enjoy, respect, or fully understand literacy. After having her class, I realized literacys
importance in life, how it can be beneficial, how participation can result in improvement, how
struggle can lead to success, and how reading and writing can be fun if one choses to be engaged
in the material.