Blog – Page 8 – Composition and Writing With Sources

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Two parents were talking one day and one asked the other what their son was taking in college. The one replied: He’s taking every penny I have (Cirelli)! I graduated High School in June 2017 from Century High School in Carroll County, MD and now have begun college at Stevenson University in Owings Mills, MD. I am currently studying nursing, as I aim to become a Neonatal RN after I graduate. I am 5’5 feet tall, have brown hair that goes down past my shoulders, and brown eyes. I have always been tech savvy and tend to figure things out quickly. I have always been an honor roll student, but have always found myself struggling with reading and writing.

When I first began to read when I was younger the two main things I relied on were flash cards and a Leapfrog. First, my Mom and Dad started helping me learn little words such as cat, hat, bat, pot, etc. using the flashcards. My Mom is about 5’4 feet tall, has brown hair with blonde highlights, has brown eyes, and has a soft voice. My Dad is about 5’9 feet tall, has brown short hair that is always in a buzz cut, brown eyes, and a stern but caring voice. My parents have been together since I was born and both care about me very much and have always set high standards, wanted the best for me, and were always there to help me. We first started using these flash cards when I was around the age of four. The flash cards were the ones that would come in the little cardboard box that you can buy at Walmart, Safeway or Target. They were in the shape of rectangles and had a plastic feel to them, so kids around my age wouldn’t just tear through them. On the cards they had a big picture of an object that you already knew about halfway down on the card with the word of what the object was below it, so you could start to put the words and spelling together with the object that you already knew.

After I had already become familiar with most of the flashcard words, we then moved on to the Leapfrog. The Leap Frog that I owned wasn’t like the current ones that are sold. My Leapfrog was pink and had room for a Leap Frog book that was kind of like a spiral notebook to sit in it. The Leap Frog book would come with a little plug-in that you would insert into a certain spot so the system would know that was the book you had in there. The Leap Frog system also had a pen connected to the actual leap frog that you could run over the words with the pen and it would read the words you went over. This also really helped me learn how to read because I had a variety of ten different books that I would continually use and eventually it allowed me to learn the words.

My tenth grade English teacher, Mrs. Dill

My learning to write never stopped though. My 10^th grade English teacher at Century High, Mrs. Dill, was a huge asset to my writing. Mrs. Dill was from Tennessee, a huge Peyton Manning fan, had maroon dyed hair that was always cut into a bob, always wore high heels and had a few tattoos that you could always see. Going into 10^th grade I would always just write, not knowing there were certain structures or ways you should organize your writing. I always knew I wasn’t a proficient writer, so I had always just accepted B’s or C’s on my papers. After I had written my diagnostic paper in her class on the first day of school, she read it and told me to come see her during our flex mod the next day. The next day I went to see her and she sat me down and told me that I had no structure in my paper. This was the very first teacher in my 11 years of going to school that specifically went out of their way to explain to me what was wrong with my writing. Every week she would teach more and more about structure and how to become a good writer. Every week the grades on my papers would start increasing. She wasn’t the only one who helped me with my writing though, since my Dad has also helped me with my writing. My dad has always kind of been my personal tutor when it comes to my writing. I would always write my papers and then sit down with him and we would talk about what could be better and edit it together. Even to this day we sit down and edit my papers together and my grades have increased after double, triple and even quadruple checking and editing my own papers.

Old school ways of learning to read and write were always proficient, but now we live in a world filled with technology. Today’s generation gets a bad rep because we all turn to technology instead of figuring things out for ourselves, or writing with paper and a pencil. Not all technology is bad though. I got my first cell phone in sixth grade. Of course, back then we all had our separate iPod touches and a regular slide up phone. Now I have my 5^th phone and I have never done more writing in my life. I currently have a rose gold iPhone 7 that I keep in a gray Lifeproof case because I tend to drop my phone a lot.

An example of my every day text messages from my iPhone

Every day I have at least three people text me, I text at least four people, I send at least three emails or I post on variety of social media sites at least once a day. With all of this technology and a tiny computer in my hands at all times, I have found myself doing more and more writing. I am one of those texters that will send lengthy paragraphs describing my side on the argument, what I am doing, where to meet me, the plans for today, etc. With all of this extra writing on a daily basis, I have become much better at getting my point across in words just as if I were talking to someone face to face. Throughout the years, the increase in social media posts, messages, reading of articles on Facebook or Snapchat, I have developed my writing and reading skills more than I would have without always having a tiny computer right there at my fingertips every second of every day.

With the ever changing world that we currently live in, you never stop learning. Everyday whether it’s a paper for Biology or English, or even an article on Facebook or Snapchat, we read something new. In an era where we never stop developing, there is always something new to learn. One of my favorite lines spoken by Hercalitus is, “the only thing constant is change”, and that has never been more true. As I continue through the next three years of college there will be paper after paper, assignment after assignment, and a bunch of reading. Even after I graduate I will have to continue to learn in the medical field, because there is always new technology and new research findings that as a nurse I will need in order to stay up to date. I look forward to continuing to learn in this constantly evolving world we live in.

Cirelli, C. (n.d.). College Humor Jokes. Retrieved September 06, 2017, from http://college.lovetoknow.com/College_Humor_Jokes

The Tools of Learning to Read and Write

Many of my life experiences have influenced who I am now. One of the most important factors in my life was learning to read and write. Without these skills, I would not be who I am today. I grew up in upstate New York. I have lived there my entire life. I went to a catholic school for 9 years and then transferred to a large public school for high school. Until recently, I was always known as a very quiet girl.

Author: K Whiteford; Title: Stick Figure Family

Nobody would have ever believed me if I told them I was going six hours away for college. I am now a freshman in college at Stevenson University. I love doing things with my family, such as playing games, going places, and even eating dinner together. One of my favorite things is playing golf with them.

I began golf at the age of three and I am a very competitive person. I played on three softball teams throughout middle school and high school. Another activity that I enjoy doing is babysitting. I love not only making money, but also being around young children and helping them when they are my responsibility. Part of me has always thought it would be cool to have younger siblings. One who you could teach new and exciting things, such as learning to read and write.

Each person has their own story about how they learned to read and write. Mine began before I even started kindergarten. When I was younger, probably around 3 or 4, I enjoyed learning things that older kids knew. For example, I wanted to learn how to write before any of my neighbors. Most of them were a few years older than I was, but we spent a lot of time together. One tool that I used was an alphabet tracer. It helped me learn how to physically write. It was a red plastic sheet with outlines of the alphabet. You had to place your pencil in the small opening and follow the edges around to make the shape of the letter. I remember receiving these as a gift for my birthday. I was very excited that I might know something that my older friends did not. Although this is something small, it really helped me learn how to write my letters, before I started school.

Going to school every day was a difficult transition for me. When I started kindergarten, I would look forward to coming home after school every day to see my mom and watch television. It was a nice break from doing schoolwork. I would always sit down on the couch and watch a thirty-minute show before I completed my homework. One of my favorite shows to watch was Dora The Explorer. This was one of the many educational shows for young children. Throughout each episode, the characters would introduce new words in English and Spanish. I loved trying to replicate what they were doing. I thought it was a game. This was a great way for me to expand my vocabulary that was fun. Although I didn’t realize it at the time, now I know that this show helped me begin learning the English language.

In addition to television, rewards were very beneficial in my education of learning to read and spell. Throughout elementary school, my teachers would offer a rewards system for learning new words.

Title: I Buy You an Hour; Date: March 15, 2013

I remember specifically my first-grade teacher, Mrs. Hayden, rewarding us with toys for each new word we learned per week. We would use little containers, like piggy banks, and she would give us pennies for each item we could remember throughout the week. The toys were from McDonald’s Happy Meals, which I find hilarious. We were very competitive little first graders, just to get those toys. I can picture how excited we would get when it was time to hand in our change for those toys every Friday. Mrs. Hayden helped me learn a lot with her rewards system.

A second person who helped me learn to read and write was Mrs. Greene. She was my reading teacher throughout elementary school. Mrs. Greene had a small little room in the corner of the library. There were only three desks in there. One for me, one for another girl, Jaclene, and one for Mrs. Greene. I would go see Mrs. Greene twice a week for many years. I loved going to see her for two reasons. The first is that she always had fun games that we got to play. Each game was educational. The second reason is that I got to get out of regular schoolwork. Mrs. Greene helped me learn to read and understand what I was reading. Every day we would go to her room and practice our reading skills. She was an amazing teacher that had a major impact on my education.

Another tool that has helped me learn to read and write are flashcards. Beginning in middle school, I have used flashcards for vocabulary words. I used flashcards for English, as well as Spanish class. In one of my high school Spanish classes, our teacher would give us extra credit if we wrote the words on flashcards before the quizzes. Her name was Mrs. Leforester. Her class was very easy, but it always felt good to get the extra credit on each quiz. By forcing us to write the words on the flashcards, we were learning increasingly more each time. She would come around before the quiz and check to make sure that all the words were on your cards. She would then do a little scribble at the top of your quiz, so she knew who to give the extra credit. I can still remember most of the words to this day. Flashcards are one of the most vital tools for a child learning to read and write, especially with new vocabulary words.

Learning to read and write is vital for success in a real job. This challenging process is one that most people will never forget. I will always be able to imagine each tool that I used. This process will help me with my future in many ways. In general, it makes me realize that everyone needs to take baby steps first. This is a good lesson to understand. I would not have been able to read, if I did not learn small words first. In addition, I will never forget the impact using flashcards had on improving my vocabulary. They can also be used for other important information. Another tool that I can bring in to my future is the feeling of receiving a reward for doing something well. This can be very helpful in life, because sometimes people need rewards to complete difficult tasks. I can use this experience to my benefit in my future. The process of learning to read and write will allow me to be more successful in my future.

First Step of Life

On December 19, 1999 at 6:00 p.m. in Southern Maryland Hospital in Waldorf, Maryland, in Prince Georges County, I was born Kail-La Smith. I am a seventeen year old female who attends Stevenson University. I am a sister of four brothers. When I was first born, my family was beyond excited. Growing up without a father who refused to be a responsible adult, my mother at the age of 26, became the “breadwinner” and my role model. Without having a leading male figure, besides my grandfather, “Mommy” was my father and mother figure. Till I was able to take care myself, my mother’s goal was to raise me into a responsible woman and make her proud. Her first step was finding a babysitter when I was about 6 months.

After all, I attended a babysitter every day. Mrs. Mary. Due to my mother, having to work and my grandmother also maintaining a job, Mrs. Mary was like my second mother and my second home. She was this little pale-colored woman who had gray hair that was in her late sixties. She lived in Seat Pleasant, Maryland in Prince Georges County, about 20 minutes from my grandmother’s house. She had a little brick house. As I remember, as soon as you walked in her house, she had these colorful rubber giant puzzle pieces that filled up almost her whole floor. As long as I could remember, every morning, she would feed me oatmeal. I can still remember the sweet smell of it. She would play the ABC’s on a music player. This was my first step to learn how to read and write. Mrs. Mary had a brown book shelf with lots of books on it. I remember she would also read to me, a Dora book, the Bernstein Bears, and Blue’s Clues. Even though, I had no idea what she was saying as a baby. She would sound out the words. As I grew older, old enough to write, she began teaching me how to write my name, my letters, and numbers. I would trace over the dotted letters she would write a piece of paper. By the time, I was two or three, I had knew how to write my name, letters and numbers, and knew how to read and sound words out.

Before my mother knew it, it was time for me to attend Pre-Kindergarten, also know as Pre-K. There I was walking into a school named Progressive Christian Academy in Temple Hills, Maryland, also in Prince Georges County. At this point, my mother was working at this school. I remember walking into the school for the first time and four of my mother’s coworkers sprinting up to me. I can hear them saying, “Aww, she’s so cute!” One of them was one of my teacher. Her name was Mrs. Thomas. She was this brown skinned woman with very long brown hair. She wasn’t very tall, but she wore black glasses. The classroom was very big. The tables and chairs were just my size. The tables were red, yellow, green, and blue. The chairs fitted under the table perfectly. In the classroom, there were cubbies that we put our stuff. I remember my mom let go my hand and let me sit in one of the chairs right in the front. Immediately, I met my first friend, David. He had curly light brown hair.We sat next to each other. I didn’t even notice my mother had left. Mrs. Thomas taught me a lot of things in that class. She gave me new words to learn to say everyday and more practice with tracing letters and numbers. Everyday, she would practice reciting and learning new words with the class. Each and every day, I began getting better and better at reading and writing. My mom was a teacher at this school, so I remember her coming pass the class. She would have the biggest grin on her face. I just knew I was making her proud. However to be great, I would also practice at home.

Along with going to school everyday, my mom would read with me every night. I had the Disney Princess’s book collection. The Disney Princess’s book collection had eleven books in it. She would let me pick the one I wanted to read. I remember her sitting me on her lap after my bath and taking the time to read to me. After I tried to sound each word out, words I couldn’t say, she would help me sound them out and keep repeating them.

At age four, my aunt bought me my first Leapfrog. A leapfrog was a learning system that came with a backpack, the system, four set of books and the cartrigdes for each book. The system was blue and came with a red stylis connected to the front of the system. My first books for the system was Dora to the Rescue, Thomas the Train, Dr. Seuss, and Leap’s First Day. I took my Leapfrog everywhere, except to school. Along with my Leapfrog, I also watched some television. Every day after I came home from school, I would climb in my grandmother’s big bed and watch TV. My favorite shows were the Bernstein Bears, Dora Explorer, and Blue’s Clues. These shows allowed me to learn new words by pictures and by sounds. Watching television, also allowed me to expand my vocabulary.

My mother, my grandmother, my Leapfrog, my television, and my teachers, all furthered my understanding of how to read and write. I practiced everyday. These people and material objects, all really changed my everyday life and future. As I look towards the future, I know there will be more and more things, and/or people who will help me further my knowledge and understanding about life and more about reading and writing. Learning how to read and write, opened up many doorways and gave me many opportunities to become a better reader and writer. Without these people, places, and objects, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Each and every day, I remember that in the future, I can accomplish anything I put my mind to with practice and with people who aid in helping me learn important steps of life.

My mommy and I, only six months.

A life Changer

On June 10, 1998, I, Jacqueline Ndayizeye, the daughter of Nyawenda Jonasi and Capitolina Ndayibanje, was born in Mukugwa in a refugee camp in Tanzania. My last name means “Imana wizeye” translating to “Worshiping the glory that God gives in life”. My family cherished everything that they had and always helped others, even if they did not have much themselves. As I started to grow up, I realized the capability of going to school in Tanzania was out of the question as my family didn’t have enough money to put me in school. My father tried and I started preschool, but I didn’t get to finish.

When my family and I came to America in the middle of spring 2004. We barely spoke any English let alone knowing how to read and write. The International Refugee Committee (IRC) and the Refugee Youth Program (RYP) was able to take us in and help us settle in America. The environment and the community was very new to me. It was filled with different types of people, whereas before I only knew people like me. But in America, it was like a rainbow of so many different things. It was very shocking to me. I remember the first time I saw snow, which I had never seen before in my life. I thought it was another way of how America received rain. It was so white, like clouds in the sky. I didn’t know how cold it was until I couldn’t feel my feet. I cried out to Mama that it felt like a bee sting.

Nevertheless, the RYP helped put us into schools. My aunts and uncles, and myself. I was so excited to go to school. I wanted to learn so much even though I didn’t speak any English. I knew it was going to be hard to communicate but that didn’t come to my mind at that time. The excitement was exotic.

As I entered the school building, I felt a rush of light and noise far ahead. Children like me, and others older than me, pushing and shoveling. I thought to myself why are they in such a hurry. Ms. Kursten who worked at the RYP took my hand and lead me into a classroom. She bent down to me and started saying things that I had no clue meant. The only thing I could do was stare into her mouth and see how her mouth moved every time she spoke. She then smiled and I kindly smiled back. I stood in the corner while she was talking to this lady. She was middle aged and wearing a long black skirt with a white shirt, her lips colored in red, short black hair, and I remember thinking she was tall as a tree. I looked around the room and I saw different kinds of letters hanging off the wall, stickers, game boards and two desks. I soon found out that the lady’s name was Mrs. Jordanna and that she was my ESOL(English as your second language) teacher.

Mrs. Jordanna taught me a lot of things and I began speaking English little by little. As I learned how to write, she gave me words to trace and told me to sound them out. She would point to an object and say words that I believed was that object. I would then try to repeat after her. It took me a while to process everything but I was so excited that I would always go home and show my family what I learned at school.

I would turn on the television and watch my two favorite shows, The Magic School Bus and Teletubbies. In those shows, there were things that I was able to manipulate and I would go to school the next day and try to say the new words I learned. But, some of them I couldn’t pronounce correctly and other kids would laugh at me, so I kept my mouth shut.

There were so many ways I was able to learn to read and write. Since English is not my first language it was very hard. It took me couple of years to learn it, and I still have trouble from to time. But through the years, kindergarten to fifth grade to be exact, I had ESOL which was helpful. In order to pass the ESOL class, I had to take a test and unfortunately, I didn’t pass. But, my time in ESOL gave me the opportunity to go to a boarding school. In that boarding school, they didn’t have any ESOL classes so I struggled. In English class I strived to do better with my reading and writing. I started to read lot of books, write poetry, journaling, and asked a lot of questions. Reading and writing is still a struggle but I can say that having that foundation of ESOL class, teachers and mentors who have helped me help me overcome those struggles. I am able to help my family also, and help another younger refugees learn how to read and write.

This process of learning how to read and write really changed my future forever. It developed my skills and my way of life from half way around the world. It also opened my mind into a new dimension of creativities and opportunities. Without the help from the teachers and mentors and the IRC/RYP, I wouldn’t be sharing this story. They are within my circle and I won’t let them go. It showed me what I can do and what I can accomplish. The future is in the air of success and giving back to the world.