Autobiographical Assignment #3

A.J. Pallante
Prof. Boland
English 329
4 February 2009
Autobiographical Essay #3
For the most part, curriculum based activities focused upon literacy and recognition have always been rather easy to comprehend and acquire. They all consisted of similar routines and the same stale content. I am unable to remember a specific exercise that caused any form of extreme anxiety or concern. Though throughout grade school I found the weekly vocabulary packets and written comprehension packets to be quite tedious, I never really struggled to complete them. They were always very easy. Not much thought was required. Most of the time, I just filled out the packets the morning that they were due. The hardest part was disciplining myself enough to sit down and concentrate long enough to go through the motions of “learning.” This is where the selected homework assignments and endless pages of reading made literacy seem less like a companion and more like a form of cruel and unusual punishment, fit for a criminal.
Transitioning from high school to college, I thought the expectations would be a bit different. Until that point, I believed the college to be this grand institution where minds could flourish to expand and pursue developing theories. I will never forget the day I realized the exact opposite to be true. It was not too long ago, in fact. As I sat reading the same page over and over for an hour straight, I began thinking about the relevance of the text I was reading. I became very angry when I realized that the text I was reading held no relevance to anything. The text then became the endless ramblings of someone I would never meet. To calm down, I sat back and reflected on my entire college career. My attempt to calm down was futile, as I began to see how everything I had read was useless. This lead to me realizing how much money I had wasted on books, many of which I had never even used. No one ever enjoys throwing hard earned money away.
With this rough history of my developed distaste, I have been able to recognize the repercussions of misguided instruction. After all, I have very negative feelings toward reading and the institution of “learning.” However, I recognize the rarity behind an individual who is financially successful without the prefix of a degree by his or her name. In all honesty, this has made me quite bitter. I find this to be significant when I begin to let my feelings distract me from my objective. For, it is better to overcome than to be swallowed completely. This is what keeps me motivated.
Translating this into a classroom context, I believe relevant application to be the most important factor when it comes to instruction. Aside from higher education, most of the time, student are forced to suffer through a day of schooling. They are unable to recognize the privilege behind education. In order for students to truly appreciate and learn from any instruction, it must hold some relevance to their lives. For many students, letters printed on a piece of paper known as a report card are less important than wondering where their next meal is going to come from, or where they are going to sleep at night. As terrible as it sounds, many students have issues that transcend the importance of school. Many teachers seem to forget that. By recognizing this information and using it to strive towards a positive alternative, students will become aware of the teacher’s endeavor and see the deeper meaning behind education.