Steffek, 1

Evelyn Steffek
READ 3311_320
Dr. Colvin
9/23/2015
Cultural and Literacy Autobiography
The old fashioned question of Who am I, and what am I doing here? rings in my mind.
Beginning the Tarleton Education program has had me questioning my desire to become a
teacher in a positive light. I have had to dust off old memories of my childhood and adolescence
and recall my favorite and least favorite school days, teachers, classmates, subjects, pieces of
literature; the list goes on. My dreams and goals of becoming a teacher are becoming more
defined, chiseled so deeply just from a few classes. Especially after remembering my most
cherished childhood books and library visits, I am recharged to put forth time, energy and hard
work to sculpt and mold myself into my dream. Here in this autobiography, youll discover my
experiences with literacy, some of my cultural background, beliefs and the light behind my
passion to teach.
Growing up, both of my parents were elementary school teachers. I feel as though this
gave me a unique disposition throughout my school days. I seemed to be the quiet and sensitive
type, a teachers pet. Because of this I believe I distanced myself from my classmates. I
sometimes felt like I had an outside perspective of classroom management and on-goings. I
attended a public school in a low income suburb of Waco. Like with any class, there were
students with behavior problems. They would interrupt class and my teachers would scold them
with warning after warning, and color change after color change. After a fair amount they would

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get sent to the principals office. At times I could see the loss of temper in my teacher as they
reprimanded, but I would never say they were disrespectful. However, with my perception as a
teachers pet, I understood their discipline methods to be just and fair most likely because the
students were breaking rules to the degree of punishment. Because of this, I tended to hang
around the quiet or upper level kids for fear of getting in trouble. The school I attended for most
of grade school had very different socioeconomic segregation which led into a segregation of
race. I would say that it probably still remains there today. Subconsciously, at a young age, I
segregated myself along with the rest of my classmates whom I most resembled and acted
similarly to. This seemed to be something that happened naturally in our growing up. Later in
adolescence, friend groups would become more cliquey and hostile towards each other. I really
wish I could somehow go back in time and befriend people I normally wouldnt had been friends
with. I think this would have made a difference in our unity as a class and trust in one another,
creating a greater bond of trust and energy to succeed together.
I remember some of my first memories from school are from my journal entries. Every
other morning, there would be a small prompt written on the chalkboard asking us what we did
over the weekend or what we wanted to be for Halloween. Initially, these journal assignments
gave me great anxiety until I learned the familiarity and schedule of the assignment. Eventually,
I grew to enjoy writing in my journal and drawing illustrations to go with my frequent fiction
narratives. In first grade, I remember we also had a reading corner with really fun seating
arrangements. My teacher was married to a farmer, so she brought in an extra saddle from their
ranch for sitting on while we read. This got me very excited to read. She also put up a gigantic
paper tree that stretched from the floor and all the way across some of the ceiling. This tracked
our AR reading points. I remember not liking the idea of having people know how many points I

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had, given my score was not low. Regardless, I felt insecure about not being at the top of the
tree. I remember my favorite reading memories were with my father. In the summertime, we
would go on library adventures and scour the Waco Public Library for the perfect book. I
learned to love how books smelled and the neat swivel stools you could use to scoot down the
aisles. My favorite room of the library was the childrens section. It was so colorful and had all
of my favorite books. Dad would have to set a limit on the number we could take home with us.
My love for reading diminished after his passing away when I was 9. However, today in my
everyday life, I have noticed myself reading for pleasure more and more. My love for reading
became ignited again once I stumbled upon some heroic saint stories, tales of great people
fighting mediocrity, and living for a higher cause. I owe it to my faith for introducing me to
great authors like C. S. Lewis, and Dante, St. Therese of Lisseux, and St. Augustine. Recently
Ive been interested in reading a series of encyclicals by Pope John Paul II called Theology of
the Body. I especially enjoy reading these authors before my bedtime. I tend to have sleeping
problems, and these authors works help me put my worried thoughts into perspective and to
relax before I turn in for the night.
I enjoyed reading as a child was an understatement. The diversity of books my father and
I would bring home very much broadened my vision of the world. In a sense, I became
cultured just from reading the stories and tales of other human beings. And without having
ever left the country or traveled in a time machine, I got to explore the world outside of time. I
was particularly interested in classic fairy tales as a child. I believe, although they are fiction,
parts of them overlap and even seep into real life. The morals, the charge and momentum, the
driving passion behind seeking the goodness in life is why people desire to read these books
from our childhoods. It is a very important thing to introduce all types of literature to students,

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young students especially, from all types of cultural backgrounds. The purpose in this being so
they can experience how the world is moved as a whole, to understand what drives and moves
humanity, and to become fluent readers. Language Arts was one of my favorite classes, not just
because we read exhilarating works of literature, but because of my instructor. Mrs. Fadal is an
optimistic, down to earth, encouraging and liberating educator. I remember in seventh or eighth
grade I was in her class for the first time. I was new to the school because I had just transferred
and remember myself to be somewhat shy. She coaxed me out of my shell through encouraging
me, along with the rest of second period, to read a paragraph or two out loud. She gave me
positive and constructive criticism on my assignments without being too intimidating. This did
me well in school and strengthened my self-esteem and confidence. Eventually, I entered high
school and thanks to Mrs. Fadal, I became less of a wallflower and more of a social butterfly.
Through her encouragement, my love for writing grew strong and I began journaling again.
In conclusion, these events have shaped my desires and goals. From fairy tales to saint
stories, Ive grown up but still have the same heart. Imagine if my father would not have taken
me to view the broad spectrum of childrens literature on our summer adventures. I would not
have found a piece of who I am or who I want to become in such an exciting way. Also, I would
like to highlight how closely reading and writing parallel each other through the course of my
life. I can see clearly now that when I practiced one, the other grew strong as well. With great
educators like the ones I have been honored to have, I believe this correlation will stand true and
our students will be more knowledgeable of the world that awaits them.