Narrative

Paul Hess

Professor Licastro

English 151

10 September 2018

Narrative

Five learning tools that I used when I was a child was pen, paper, computer, school, and texting. With these five tools I am now able to understand how to write because these helped me be successful. When I started out writing in pencil it was around kindergarten and they had us write on dotted paper so that we were able to write out the letters of the alphabet. The dotted lines would help me write the letters neatly and correct so that I am able to learn how to write. I did not need the dotted paper anymore as I got older because I became independent and could write on my own. I did not need the dotted paper anymore or a pencil at this point. Is I became more advanced in my writing I did not need a pencil or dotted paper anymore so I switched to using a pen. The first time I used a pen was around fourth grade because that is when my school allowed us to use them instead of pencil. Writing in pen would help me write more smoothly which ultimately helped express myself more efficiently from being able to think better. Once I was able to write in pen it made me feel more mature because I felt that I was moving up in the world and I felt cool. To this day I only use pen in all my classes besides math because we are required to write in pencil so that we are able to fix the mistakes me made. As I got older and technology caught up we turned to computers. I took computer class at my school all the way up to eighth grade, but we did not start using them in class until I was in sixth grade. At this time we started to write our essays on the computers and turning them in online. This was a more efficient way of doing work at school. It wasn’t until I reached high school that I realized how valuable using computers were. Doing work on a computer made you be organized because it had the tools to do so. It made writing essays better because you could put down your thoughts from the keyboard helping you write faster. Without computers I would not be the writer I am today because of the benefits of being able to write more fluently and not being afraid to misspell a word because of the the spell check that is installed into every computer.  

When I became of age to obtain a phone because my parents had trust in me that I would use it wisely it became clear that texting played a major role to help me become a better writer. Once I got a phone texting became a part of my daily life because I was always on my phone. This helped me in a way because even though I was always on my phone I would always be writing because of the people I would text. Texting made me always be engaged with writing and trying to figure out ways to use my words to be funny or be serious. With texting comes bad habits such as using slang words in your essays, but I believe it is good for writing because it makes you think of a different way to write instead of every average writer. Texting is like using a miniature computer and it is no different than typing on the any computer. One of the better tools used to help me write was school. School is the best tool used for writing because that is where people go to learn how to write and obtain many more skills. School helped delineate how important it is to learn how to write. It taught me how writing can help use express yourself and be able to deal with problems in your life and anything for that matter. My freshman year of high school our teacher had us write an essay about the troublesomes we faced in out lives at the time. All he wanted us to do was find a way to express ourselves in a different way than doing it vocaly like most people do. He knew that it is easier to write things down than to say them. Writing that paper taught me so much about not only writing, but a way to better understand myself and where I stand with things in life. Without school I would not be as accomplished as I am today.

Along with writing comes reading. Five tools to help me read are books, parents, glasses, library, and video games. Reading books was a major role in helping me read because it would force me to become a better reader even though I did not like reading. Reading helped me learn to comprehend things such as attention to detail, understanding why certain things are happening, and to become a better speaker. At a young age I began focusing on reading when I was in first grade. First grade is when school actually starts because that is when you start to understand things better. I was given books to read that were suitable for my reading level and they were cartoon books that had the number one on it so that you would know what level reading it is. I remember enjoying these books because they were not that challenging and I loved the pictures in the books of course. I would read these books until I was in the third grade because I was capable to read different books because of the level books i was reading. These books taught me how to read and books will keep teaching how to read with better detail as I get older.

The only way for me to read when I was younger was to have my glasses. I could not see when I did not have my glasses on  and to this day I struggle to see as well even when I am just driving. even though they are just glasses they played a big role in helping me be able to read. Most of the time as a kid my parents helped me learn how to read because it was hard for me to see. They would make me read them the books and if I had trouble reading they would then step in and help me. This forced me to become a better reader because I was learning how to pronounce new words and be able to understand them. I was able to overcome obstacles and would not have been able to do so if it wasn’t for my parents. Not only were my parents a tool for me to read, but having mandatory library as a kid was very beneficial for me. It is a tool that most people underestimate nowadays because people just go online for books, but we had to have physical books. We had library once a week every week for the year and we would have to go around and find a book to read for the forty five minute period. At the end of class we would also have to take a book out and return it the next week. Taking advantage of the time given in that period was very beneficial because it helped me learn new words that I can put into my vocabulary and use them in my daily life. The library is a valuable place to be able to learn how to read so that you can be more effective in life.

Video games I think played a huge roll in my reading capabilities because most of the time as a kid I was playing a lot of them. On these video games you would have to read what the characters were saying or listen to them speak with subtitles under under the screen so that you can take directions when the game would give you an objective. As a kid video games were much harder than they are today. It’s not because they made games harder it’s that when people get older they become more developed which then helps them understand the game more and are able to read directions and understand them. I did not understand video games that well till I was around the age of 14 because I was more developed. I remember going back to one of my spider man games on my gamecube and I remember how challenging the game was but once I played it again and was able to understand the directions the game was describing to me I easily beat the game. This is because I can understand things From knowing more now because reading has helped me understand the directions better. Video games help you read not only visually but through the sense of sound. Just like when you read to yourself you are basically talking to yourself and when you hear outside sources your brain reacts to it the same way. This I believe helped me become a better reader and help me to understand directions in a different way. It made me think differently and made me find new ways to figure things out. This made me have to develop new thinking patterns which ultimately made me become a better reader.