What are your earliest memories of reading?

Nathan:

My earliest memories of learning to read come from my kindergarten class. I remember reading through several sound and small word books as a child in kindergarten. Some I found hilarious, others difficult, but it was not long before I could sound out them all. I believe we would have just a few pages to read, which really meant we read about 20 words or sounds. Beyond that, I remember beginning to understand when a teacher was mad at me or another student. Teachers were always intimidating when I was younger. Teachers were possibly stricter at my school though, because I attended a Christian school through sixth grade. I also remember learning to sense when something was wrong, either around my family, friends, or anyone else. Most of my learning experiences I can recall happened when I was in school or checking out books from the library.

Dean:

The earliest memory I have of learning to read and write was before kindergarten. I was trying to write my name and my mom showed me how to do it. I then pushed myself to learn the alphabet out of shear competitiveness with my sister. She knew her ABC’s and I didn’t. After learning the ABC’s I tried to apply it to my normal everyday speech, I did not know however, that English, the language I grew up around, had so many rules. I would spell things such as; fon for phone, tok for talk, and moter for motor. This way of learning caused me to learn how to write before reading, which definitions are a must and forced my vocabulary to skyrocket. So, even though I read much slower than my kindergarten class, I was the only student using words like; enthusiastic, phenomenal, and even indubitably. This system I feel worked well for me, but I wouldn’t recommend it for everyone because my boring childhood had a factor in the way I turned out today. That is why people don’t like to stand too close to me.

Scott:

I do not particularly remember the first time I began to read fluently, but I do remember that when I was in kindergarten I had a speech impediment and was required to read from flash cards with an instructor once a week. I remember feeling different from the rest of the class and therefore resenting reading. I eventually grew out of my speech impediment and once I did, reading became enjoyable. I remember my favorite books to read were the Dr. Seuss books. My grandmother rented them from the library, and she would then read them to me. My learning how to read ultimately brought me closer to her.

These three stories don't even begin to show the infinite number of ways people learn to read. It is a very individual experience that reaches beyond paper and pencil. The surrounding environment greatly influences how people learn to read. We may learn to read first, write first, or learn to communicate in other ways such as sign language. The three of us went through kindergarten. Reading is taught across the country to children at a very young age. Some may say this has turned literacy into a mass production effort that leaves the experience stale. However, reading goes beyond what we learned in school, and what we see, hear, smell, taste, and touch all contributes to our language.