Carla Herrera's Literacy History Blog

 

Greetings, my name is Carla Herrera. I am a Junior at NJCU (New Jersey City University) and a fine arts major. My concentration is painting and drawing and I absolutely love it. Initially, I planned to study architecture, but I realized my passion was not in this field. I decided to focus on the artistic side of architecture and fell in love with this process instead. I enjoy painting and drawing different types of concepts as it helps me learn more about the world. The world is ever so changing and I believe you must stay curious to get the most out of it. Besides fine arts, I do have other interests I cater to. One of my biggest interests is language learning because of how powerful communication is. I love learning about different cultures and how each language represents the history of the people. (Fun fact, I took Japanese for four years and currently studying Thai). Communication is the key to a successful society and I took this course (Literacy and History of American Education) to have a greater understanding of the American literacy system.  

America’s educational system has many flaws. However, it has helped society move forward to a better future. The foundation of the American education system are the teachers and this is evident in their students. A personal example of this is me. I was not born in this country, so I had a lot of difficulty understanding the language. In elementary school, I had a very passionate ESL teacher that went above and beyond to help me learn English. I am forever grateful to that teacher because he instilled the foundation of English literacy to help me in my future endeavors. As far back as I can remember, I only spoke Spanish. When I learned English, I became a well-adjusted member of society since I can properly communicate. Thanks to my ESL teacher, I adjusted to the American society easily. 

Learning English has created endless opportunities for me. After learning English, I remember feeling so encouraged to learn even more. Whether it was greeting people or ordering food, I remember how proud I was to be understood. As I progressed through school, I noticed how difficult the American education system became. I embraced these difficulties because it reminded me of my own experiences. Even though I thought I could never learn English, I did. This kept the younger version of myself staying inspired and motivated for other things that seemed impossible before. The more I learned about the American culture, the more love I felt for other types of new experiences.  

One of my earliest memories of being literate was when I was in preschool. I remember reading this book and attempting to understand what it was saying. Even though I could not properly understand it, I made an effort and my teacher would help me. There were instances where I would be frustrated because I am literate. An example of this would be when I could not comprehend poetry. I did not understand what the poet was trying to write and I was highly upset. I could not understand why anyone would write like this but my teacher explained the importance of this writing style. Fast forward to today, I understand the importance of all different writing styles as they escalate your English literacy skills.  

In America, the educational system has helped society progress forward. Although there are flaws in the educational system, it has helped create a foundation for students to build on. Teachers are the foundation of the education system and without their help, many students such as myself would be lost in society. I am forever grateful to all the teachers I have had over the years as they have built me up to become a progressive member of society. Being literate, has helped me with present and future achievements that I would have not reached without the help of the teachers apart of the American education system.