In Class Lab: Literacy Narrative

1.)    “The water continued to rise quickly, and the water pressure was so strong that water spurted out of the kitchen sink like a fountain.” (Page 130, Paragraph 1)

2.)    “I have no idea what to make of that ominous ‘if’ in the last sentence.” (Page 119, Paragraph 5)

3.)    “Greater by far than the responsibility to comrades in arms is responsibility to friends, family, and self, responsibility to the one life of us gets to live.” (Page 121, Paragraph 2)

“…she woke to find that her feet and the sleeping bag were soaking wet, and there was standing

water throughout her house.” (Page 129, Paragraph 2)

4.)    A List of Possible Topics:

·         How my first English destroyed my joy of writing at the beginning.

·         The difficulty of creating a historical story in U.S. History.

·         How I’ve managed to make my essays flow.

·         How my 11^th grade teacher helped me process, and make clear of what I am trying to say.

5.)    PURPOSE: I think I’ll choose my first topic as my story. Why? I feel there is something that I deeply need to remember of why it is that writing has always been a struggle, and from who generated these problems from the start. I want to share why it that writing has me so torn, and full of doubt whenever I use a word, or phrase. Why it is that events in my early childhood prevent me from truly enjoying to write out paragraphs in essays, or into stories.

6.)    AUDIENCE: I doubt they would have similar stories. I would need to fully express the reason why writing has always been a curse for me, and why it is I’m so torn with it. I’ll need them to try to understand my perspective through what was happening in that timeline.

 7.)    STANCE: I want to express a serious attitude, and wish to be a bit self-critical. I want the reader to see me as driven, but deprived of some enjoyment.

 8.)    MEDIA/DESIGN: My narrative will be in print, and for others to read on my blog if they wish.

 9.)    What do I see? I see a pale shampan portable out in the open surrounded by the elementary school’s (Brookewood Elementary in Virginia) bricked maroon structure from all sides on a rather bright sunny day. Inside is a room full of small desks with a larger desk in the corner for the teacher. The teacher was strong with authority, rather impatient, and submissive from what I recall.

10.) What do you hear? I hear a fan blowing in cool air into the mildly warm room. The teacher is telling me to stay in till I finish all my spelling work, and only then can I proceed to eat lunch with my other classmates. As an hour passed I recall upper classmen entering the room as I continued to work. After a while one of them helped me while the teacher left the room.

11.) What do you smell? The air contained a stale chemical odor from when the janitors might have cleanse the floor, and the smell of food from the cafeteria.

12.) How and what do you feel? I feel a sense of dread, and constant ADD/ADHD. I want to move, and ran, but am slightly terrified by my teachers constant barking commands without much assistance. I am confused, lost, and struggling with the current assignment in front of me. My writing is very well done for a 1^st grader, but my mind was always racing onto something else.

13.) What do you taste? I don’t taste anything. I am however very hungry at this point.

14.) Describe each person? 
Ms. Robinson- As far as background goes she was my teacher for a short while. She was lean, had dark skin, almost no hair, and carried a kind of confidence, or authority about her. Her voice made candy bitter when she is losing her patience on something, or someone. She had a southern accent mixed witha hint of something I couldn't put my finger on... French perhaps? Anyway I remember her eyes always seeming black to me as a child because she seemed kind of rough on me.
Child Me- Thinking back I use to be way different. I was a small 6 year old boy with a few teeth missing, and a straight-cut across the bang hairstyle. I was very hyper, and my mind was always dancing carelessly, but I was always respectful. The majority of what I wore was meant for comfort, so it was either sweat pants, or shorts with a T-shirt, and shoes.
15.) Recall
Me: *sounding out words* "Oovef! Of! U. F. Of!"
Ms. Robinson: Shhhhh! You're disturbing the rest of your classmates."
Me: *raises hand, and immediately talks* "Ms. Robinson can you help me? I'm not really sure if my spellings right, or if this makes much sense."
Ms. Robinson: "I've already helped you with spelling a word, but now you need to figure this one out on your own. The world doesn't revolve around you."
Me: "But Ms. Roberson-"
Ms. Robinson: "No buts, and don't talk back to your teachers!"
*entire class is watching, and I feel a slight twinge of embarrassment*
Me: "Ms. Roberson I really don't understand-"
Ms. Roberson: "Jacob, in till you can completely finish your work correctly you may not eat lunch with your fellow classmates."
16.) Summarize the action: Before I would come into class I would be carelessly wandering the halls, and my eyes always scanning walls on other classmates work. I walked in a rather speedy, but with a little hop out of habit. I firmly held a pencil in my hand, and a backpack on my back as I.