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ABC
This was a very important moment in my life. My first encounter with literacy involved my grandmother and I. She used to sing songs to me in Spanish in an effort to help me learn my ABCs. I remember vividly how she used to point at each letter in the magazines she so religiously read every afternoon. When my parents returned from work, they used to ask me for the letters using T.V. commercials, magazines, books, and pretty much everything they had at hand. I really enjoyed this time of my life. -
EARLY YEARS-ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Starting elementary school was rough. I was used to having my grandmother around me, and the idea of not being with her was a scary one. As I progressed learning my ABCs I soon realized that it wasn’t enough with recognizing them, it was also necessary to be able to write them down, and neatness was paramount. It took me quite some time to develop handwriting that was up to the school’s standards. Even though practicing writing was exhausting, I loved showing my family my progress. -
PAPA SESE
With learning how to read and write came a curiousity for my dad’s personal library. At that time I wasn’t big enough to reach for the books that were at the very top of the bookshelves, until one day, my grandmother saw me pilling up some books in an attempt to get the most colorful one: “Colombia, mi abuelo y yo” She offered herself to read with me, and the coming days I became an explorer, eager to learn about this magical land of Colombia. This was the very first book I “read.” -
THE MELTDOWN
Experiencing bilingual education in French at my first elementary school was hard. The boring lessons, the long homework, and the fear that my French teachers generated in me taught me how to hate school. I stopped doing homework and started getting in a lot of trouble because of my behavior. I worked really hard to get myself expelled from this school and I don’t regret it. By this time I knew how to read and write in Spanish, and was developing my literacy in French. -
PUBLIC EDUCATION
Since I had been such a horrible student during the first part of fifth grade, my parents decided to enroll me in a public institution for the remainder of the school year. In this school I finished fifth grade. Being this school a public institution, the foreign language that was being taught was English. Here the grammar translation method was overused; however, this class was once a day for 60 minutes. Not bad at all! I regained interest in school, and fell back in love with Spanish. -
MIDDLE SCHOOL
My parents dislike the idea of having me in this public school; however, I managed to stay enrolled up to 8th grade. In this school I learned that education is an expensive right my government can’t wait taking off its shoulders. Sadly, my classmates were being taught very little when compared to what my previous ones were receiving in the private school. Their curiosity for reading had been replaced for the need of getting money to make ends meet. These were eye-opening years. -
DYSFUNCTIONAL LITERACY
Since my parents didn’t want me to study at a public school, I went back to my old private one. There I realized that even though my ex classmates knew how to read and write, the ones from this private school had different layers of understanding and used “different” words. They had perfect command of the code used by those in power, and more importantly, they knew how relevant this was for thriving in our society. I regained access to this code, and soon learned it. -
QUE VIVA LA MUSCA!
My family had to go that extra financial mile to have me studying in this school, and when money became scarce, I could not finish my last year of high school in this institution. I had to go back to the public school again. This last school year I was exposed to a more conscious approach to literature and I developed a taste for authors such as Julio Cortazar, Mario Vargas Llosa, and Andres Caicedo. This school year I finished reading ¡Que viva la música! One of my favorite novels up to date. -
UNIVERSITY
Once I finished high school I enrolled in a public university. Being 15 years old, my family still had certain influence over my life, so they decided my career path. I enrolled in the School of Industrial Engineering and Statistics at UNIVALLE, there I developed a different relationship with the language. I learned that English was important for accessing scientific content, and informational articles were the vehicle used by scientists to share their findings. I dove into a more factual world. -
YEEEEEAAAH!!!
After some time being away from literature, I felt trapped in the world of numbers. I had achieved mastery of mathematical concepts but my heart wasn't there. I decided to enroll in Foreign Languages, and by doing it I saved my life. I went back to reading, and this time I started developing literacy in English. I was curious about English authors and the way they crafted their stories. During this time I wrote my first papers in English, and started developing a sense of myself as a writer. -
NOWADAYS
After several years being a foreign languages educator, I have molded my conception of literacy into a broader element that is key to achieve success. My literacy path looks different in the three languages I speak; however, the one closest to my heart is the one that made me a “hijo de Cervantes” This remarkable moments in my path are so because they pushed me away or drew me closer to what I love about language: literature.
