Thursday, February 17, 2011

Literacy. What Fun!


There are so many more things I could not do that I do now if I were to be illiterate. I think life would be a lot more confusing if I could not read or write. I love to read books. Although there are books read on audio, I would not be able to read those books I enjoy so much that have not been recorded on audio. I also like to write poetry. I enjoy having my alone time to write my poetry as an outlet. There are more things I would be unable to do, but the most important thing illiteracy would affect is my family.
            I am not a phone person. When on the phone I get distracted and end up not listening and my ears start to hurt after a while. I prefer to write letters or e-mails. I have family that lives outside of California that writes to me through letters and e-mails. Our relationship is through the reading and writing, which is easier to get everything wanted to be said out either before it is forgotten, or as it is happening. If I were to be illiterate, the pen and paper or e-mails would be of no use to me, and since I do not like to use the phone, my family relationships outside California would probably be almost nonexistent. That would be quite upsetting due to the fact that my family, immediate or extended, is very important to me.
            Speaking of family, my daughter loves to read. I have read to her since she was in my tummy. Sometimes we take turns reading to each other and it has been something we have done and still do for fun. When my daughter has homework where she has to write something, I am the one she reads it to. When she was younger I would check for spelling errors and we would fix them together. Another thing we do for fun is write little poems to each other back and forth. Also the board games we play together have writing on the cards and on the spaces we move to during our turns. We would miss out on all the fun we have had these last eleven years if I could not read or write.
            Some people do not concentrate on how much being able to read and write affects our everyday lives. I have not thought about, before now, how much literacy affects not only my life, but those around me as well. Literacy plays a huge role when it comes to being in contact with my family and even spending time with my family. If I were illiterate, I would probably not have the closeness I have with my family, immediate, or extended. I could only imagine what it would be like to not be able to do these things I do now if I were unable to read and write. There would also be the question of if my daughter would love reading as much as she does now, if she would like poetry, write poetry, and if she would be into writing her stories that she writes so well.

3 comments:

  1. Ammoura, you touched on some important points in regards to literacy; and I think it is important to think of it in the fashion that you did- how it affects those closest to you. Honestly, I never thought about how I would be if I were unable to read and comprehend; let alone how it would affect my family who I hold most important in my life. As I thought about it, not only would I be subject to endless ridicule as a result of my illiteracy; I would probably not even understand the cheap little pop shots that are being directed my way. My family can be brutal to those who lack wit to say the least, so I know firsthand how it is for those who aren’t as sharp as some of the rest of us, and it’s no place that I’d like to be. On the flip-side of that, those who are illiterate can still have a good quality of life. As I mentioned before, I have family who are and they’ve done everything from graduating high school to owning homes and paying bills like the rest of us. Although they may never be considered as academic scholars, they still contribute enough to help make this little world of ours go round. Thank you for sharing your ideologies on the subject, It did provoke thought 

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  2. Hi Ammorua, we share something in common! I am not a phone person either, but instead of emails I rather text. As a teenager, I like to chat with my friends and gossip but over the phone I get distracted at times too. I have found it easier to get the point I am trying to get across better by writing it than saying it. I also think it is very cool for you to bond with your daughter in that way. The way you fix spelling errors together and she reads to you should be very encouraging to her and I'm sure it means a lot to her. That is good parenting. I'm sure thanks to you she will enjoy reading for the rest of her life, which is great. I believe that reading increases knowledge and awareness. Being illiterate can really affect a person in their life. It would be very hard to get by without knowing how to read and write. Like you, I know we use literacy every day of our lives. I know a long time ago people got by without reading and writing but in today’s world that would be too complicated specially with all the technology we have. It is a requirement for mostly every job giving it more importance.

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  3. Hello Ammorua, I think it's cool that you read to your little girl while she was in the womb, I have heard studies on that and it is supposed to help developement. Your being able to read and write reflects your daughters being able to read and write, so thats good that you can teach her how to. If you were illiterate her reading level would be far lower and I think your right when you say it would affect your relationship with her. I think before we all got this assignment we kind of took being litterate for granted. This assignment expended our minds and allowed us to try and imagine what it would be like to be illiterate and what we would miss out on. Living in the tech-savy world that we do being technologically able is an absolute must. It would have affected your relationship with the people you email for communication. I also email my cousins back east for communication, and if I was illiterate there lives would pass right by me without me even realizing it. Facebook and G-mail would be non-existent in my life if I was illiterate and that is about ninety percent of my communication, especially with friends who moved away.

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