Portfolio Piece: Reflective Writing: Senior Year High School

Throughout my childhood and teenage years, I have not been an avid reader. When I was younger I was continually encouraged to read but the most significant reading was the twenty Boxcar Children books I read during early elementary years. Despite this, I never gained a passion for further reading. My father did his best to encourage me to read. For example, he would not let me go outside and play with my friends if I did not read ten or fifteen pages of a book. I simply could not gain interest to spend an afternoon with my nose in a book.

It was in high school when I began to read novels. I remember reading novels such as the Glass Menagerie and the Scarlet Letter. With much regret, I admit that I did not read either of these books from cover to cover. I believe this was due to two reasons: we didn’t have to read the novels and I simply wasn’t interested in reading them. Through class discussions and guided questions, I was able to get good grades and know the material.

What I did read was textbooks, articles, and the news. As simple as this may be, I spent many evenings reading from these sources. Almost daily, I would seek additional research on a topic I had studied in class. I would also go online and read articles on local, national, and worldwide news stations. I can see my reading as both beneficial and disadvantageous in respect to my writing. In my opinion, it is because of this that I write in a “cut and dry” and “to the point” style. Textbooks and news, in particular, display information in a way that shows ‘this is what happened and this is how it is.’ My writing reflects this style because while growing up, I continue to read more historical articles and current news than I do the classic novels my father recommends I read.

In addition, my senior year made me grow as a writer more than any other year in school. Many reading and writing experiences in my English class supported my writing abilities but it was preparation for the I.B. oral commentary that, I believe, benefited me the most. As a class, we read works from William Shakespeare, James Baldwin, Edgar Allan Poe, Sylvia Plath, and Ted Hughes. Exposure to such a broad range of literary works introduced me to many varieties and styles of writing. Preparation for the commentary included in-depth analysis of works including Everybody’s Protest Novel, Daddy, King Lear, The Fall of the House of Usher, and several other works. These works provided a basis for further education in college. Preparation for the commentary gave me the ability to critically analyze a broad range of works. I believe this ability will support not only English courses in college but other classes as well.

My strengths as a writer are the result of my past and current reading and writing experiences. It has been said that a writing strength I hold is the ability to write a good research paper. For example, I was successful in completing a Psychology Internal Assessment scoring a perfect score on the I.B. scale. When I turned in my first rough draft I had to make very few edits. Another strength I believe I hold as a writer is the ability to determine the meaning of a word based upon its root. I give credit to my fourth grade teacher Mrs. Wintersheimer for this. I remember she would give our class worksheets with Latin roots and we would have to write the definition of that word.

My weaknesses as a reader and writer are also the result of my past and current reading and writing experiences. For example, I don’t read works from a variety of styles and genres. I limit reading to works for school and my personal favorites of news articles and textbook style essays. From personal experience, the students who write well in the senior class are avid readers. They contain a large vocabulary and are capable of using more academic words in their writing and speaking. As I said before, this is why I write in a ‘cut and dry’ style.

Growth as a writer has not been determined by one grade or school, but mainly by certain experiences I have had, most notably preparation for the oral commentary. Overall, the I.B. Program has contributed to my growth as a writer but I cannot mention this growth without giving credit to Ms. Davidson. She provided the support and instruction to analyze works, pick them apart to understand their meaning, and many other techniques I would otherwise never have learned. This was accomplished throughout the both years I have had I.B. English but, for me, the oral commentary benefited me the most. My growth as a writer cannot be mentioned without having explained my goals in reading and writing. My future goals for literacy are to begin reading classics that my parents read when they were my age. I would like to read novels including Where the Red Fern Grows and The Grapes of Wrath. I have read very few novels that my parents once read so I feel this is an important and realistic goal to accomplish.

In conclusion, it is difficult to choose one specific event or ‘aha!’ moment that benefited my reading and writing. The passing of time and exposure to different literary works has influenced the way I read and write. My future goals for literacy are the most important aspect of this paper and without these goals, I cannot grow as a reader and writer. Throughout my educational career I have set goals and whether or not I achieved all of them, I still advanced as a reader and writer. Although I’m not the best reader and writer, I understand the importance and significance it has had and will have in my life.